You entered the password. It accepted. The PDF opened. Every page is blank.
What's actually going wrong
Two issues stacked. First, the file is encrypted — solved by entering the password. Second, the file has render issues that the viewer can't handle even after decryption. The blank pages aren't from encryption; they're from whatever's separately broken in the content.
Common causes: transparency the viewer doesn't support, broken page streams, font issues. All independent of encryption.
The quick fix
Unlock the PDF in Flint with your password. Download the unencrypted copy. Then run that through compress PDF to rebuild the page streams.
The compressed version typically renders content where the encrypted version showed blank.
If that didn't work
If content stays blank even after unlock and compress, the underlying file has deeper issues. Convert to JPG which captures whatever the renderer can produce — even partial content shows the issue.
For documents where you have the source, re-export. Source recovery beats forensics.
Prevent it next time
Test files before encrypting. If a PDF renders fine before encryption and blank after, the issue isn't encryption — it's something the encryption process exposed.
FAQ
Can encryption cause blank pages?
Indirectly — encryption is independent of rendering, but the file structure may have issues exposed by the encryption process. Decrypt and rebuild via Flint to test.
Why does the password work but content not show?
Two separate problems. Password unlocks the file. Content blank means the page streams have issues. Unlock first; rebuild second.
Is the content actually there?
Usually yes — invisible doesn't always mean absent. Try compression to rebuild streams; if content reappears, it was there all along.
Should I re-encrypt after fixing?
Optional. If the file needs to stay protected, use Flint's password-protect tool to re-apply encryption to the fixed version.
Unlock first, rebuild second. Flint handles both — content reappears.