What potential issue is the user facing when trying to download a PDF file using the PHP code?

The potential issue the user may face when trying to download a PDF file using PHP code is that the file may not be downloaded correctly due to headers not being set properly. To solve this issue, you need to set the appropriate headers in the PHP code before outputting the file content.

$file = 'example.pdf';

if (file_exists($file)) {
    header('Content-Description: File Transfer');
    header('Content-Type: application/pdf');
    header('Content-Disposition: attachment; filename="'.basename($file).'"');
    header('Content-Length: ' . filesize($file));
    readfile($file);
    exit;
} else {
    echo 'File not found.';
}