Carry a complete copy of the Wikipedia online encyclopedia on your smartphone to view it from anywhere and even away from any Internet connection.
For many Internet users, consulting Wikipedia has become a reflex when it comes to finding detailed information or exhaustive explanations on a subject that you do not understand. The online, free and collaborative encyclopedia is available in many languages, which makes it a real reference around the world.
With over 2 million articles and nearly 20,000 active volunteer contributors, Wikipedia is a valuable source of knowledge. To enjoy it everywhere, even without an Internet connection, you can download the entire content of the encyclopedia to your smartphone.
1. Download Kiwix
Kiwix is ​​an application for downloading all the content offered on Wikipedia and other educational platforms. With it, you can save the entire encyclopedia locally on your smartphone to access it anytime, even away from any internet connection.
Download Kiwix for Android (Free)
Download Kiwix for iPhone (Free)
2. Download content from Wikipedia
The size of the French Wikipedia archive is substantial: 9 GB without images, and 30 GB with images. For convenience, it is probably best to download them from your computer. The resulting file, in ZIM format, can then easily be transferred to the iPhone or to the memory of the Android smartphone.
As the encyclopedia is updated daily, its content is constantly evolving. You can easily update its content on your device by downloading a new archive, which is usually updated every four months.
It is perfectly possible to recover the file via a direct download link, but for more speed, and especially to avoid ending up with a corrupted file, Kiwix recommends using the BitTorrent protocol. So you will need to download a Torrent client to your computer.
Download qBitTorrent for Windows (Free)
Download Transmission for macOS (Free)
Once the Torrent client is installed on your computer, download the Torrent file to start downloading the archive to your PC.
Full English Wikipedia without image 9.4 GB
Direct link
BitTorrent link
Full French Wikipedia 30 GB
Direct link
BitTorrent link
For those whose Internet connection is strong enough, the Wikipedia archive can be retrieved directly from the application. On iPhone, open Kiwix, press Open Library, in Category choose Wikipedia, and scroll to the bottom of the list to start downloading Wikipedia with or without an image.
On Android, launch Kiwix and tap Get Content. Go to the Online tab, and scroll through the contents to download the version of the Wikipedia archive you want. Please be patient while the download of the file is finished. If you do so, you can stop playback here, as offline Wikipedia is operational immediately after the archive has finished downloading.
3. Transfer the archive to the smartphone
If you have chosen to download the archive manually to your computer, you will need to transfer it to your smartphone to be able to use it.
On iPhone, you will need to use the iTunes file manager to transfer the archive to Kiwix.
Download 32-bit iTunes for Windows (Free)
Download 64-bit iTunes for Windows (Free)
Open iTunes and enter the iPhone sync window. In the left column, click File Sharing and then select Kiwix. Drag and drop the Wikipedia archive in ZIM format into the Kiwix Document pane.
On Android, connect your device to your PC using a USB cable and activate the mode to transfer files. Drag and drop the Wikipedia archive into a directory in your smartphone’s memory.
4. Open Kiwix
On iPhone the application automatically detects the Wikipedia archive that you have transferred. Open Kiwix, tap Open Library, and tap the local Wikipedia archive (On Device) to access the encyclopedia home page by tapping Open Main Page. You can start a search now by entering your query in the field provided.
Likewise, on Android, Kiwix automatically detects the Wikipedia archive stored locally. Open the app, tap Get Content, and go to the Device tab. Select the archive to open the home page of the encyclopedia.
