How to open and convert iPhone HEIC photos on Windows

What a HEIC file is

HEIC (High Efficiency Image Container) is a photo format Apple switched to in 2017. It stores the same photo in roughly half the space of a JPG, which is why your iPhone can hold so many pictures. The catch is support: Windows, many Android apps, most government portals and plenty of websites do not open HEIC out of the box.

Option 1: Convert to JPG in your browser

The quickest fix, and the one that works on any computer or phone.

1. Open Image Converter.
2. Drop in your HEIC photos. You can add a whole batch.
3. Choose JPG and the Best or High quality setting.
4. Press Convert and download. Several photos arrive together in a ZIP.

The photos are converted inside your browser, so personal pictures are not uploaded anywhere.

Option 2: Let Windows open HEIC

Windows 10 and 11 can show HEIC photos in the Photos app if you install Microsoft’s HEIF image extension from the Microsoft Store. Some versions also need a HEVC video extension for certain HEIC files. This lets you view the photos, but they are still HEIC files, so forms and many apps will still refuse them. For uploading, you still need JPG.

Option 3: Make the iPhone send JPG

There are two settings worth knowing on the iPhone itself:

• Settings → Camera → Formats → Most Compatible. New photos are taken as JPG from now on. Files are larger, but they open everywhere.
• Settings → Photos → Transfer to Mac or PC → Automatic. When you copy photos to a computer with a cable, the iPhone converts them to JPG on the way.

Neither setting changes photos you already have, so convert those with option 1.

Does converting lose quality?

At high quality settings the difference is not visible in normal use. The JPG file will be larger than the HEIC, which is expected, because JPG is the less efficient format. If you need the JPG to be small, for example 50KB for a form, use Compress Image after converting, or convert and compress in one go there, since it accepts HEIC directly.

Live Photos and other iPhone files

• Live Photos are a HEIC still plus a short video. Converting gives you the still image.
• Portrait mode photos convert like any other; the background blur is already part of the image.
• Screenshots from iPhone are PNG, not HEIC. They usually open fine, but forms that want JPG will need them converted too.

Why renaming does not work

Changing IMG_1234.HEIC to IMG_1234.jpg only changes the label. The data inside is still HEIC, and the file will fail to open or upload. It has to be actually converted.

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