Open HEIC files on Windows

Three ways to fix it

If you’ve copied photos from an iPhone and Windows shows blank thumbnails or says it can’t open the files, you have three options:

1. Install the codecs so Windows can open HEIC directly. This is best if you’ll keep receiving HEIC files.
2. Convert the photos to JPG. This is best if you need to share, upload, or edit them in software that doesn’t understand HEIC. You can do this right in your browser with HEIC to JPG.
3. Change the iPhone settings so future photos arrive as JPG.

Most people end up doing two of these: converting the photos they already have, and changing a setting so the problem doesn’t come back.

What a HEIC file is

HEIC is Apple’s name for images stored in the HEIF container using HEVC (H.265) compression, the same technology used for modern video. iPhones have saved photos this way by default since iOS 11 because a HEIC is roughly half the size of a comparable JPG at similar visual quality. HEIC can also hold extras such as depth data, multiple frames for Live Photos, and wider color.

The catch is compatibility. JPG opens everywhere. HEIC needs a decoder for HEVC, and not every system includes one. For a deeper comparison, see HEIC vs. JPG.

Why Windows can’t open HEIC out of the box

Windows supports HEIC through two separate add-ons from the Microsoft Store:

• HEIF Image Extensions teaches Windows to read the HEIF container. It’s free and is often already installed on Windows 11.
• HEVC Video Extensions provides the HEVC decoder that the image data actually needs. HEVC is covered by patent licensing, so this extension isn’t always included with Windows and may cost a small fee in the Store. Some PCs ship with it preinstalled by the manufacturer.

With only the HEIF extension, you may still see errors or blank images, because the container can be read but the compressed picture inside can’t be decoded. You generally need both.

Installing the extensions

1. Open the Microsoft Store app.
2. Search for HEIF Image Extensions and install it, or confirm it’s already installed.
3. Search for HEVC Video Extensions and install it. Check the listing for the publisher, which should be Microsoft, and the current price.
4. Restart the Photos app or File Explorer.

HEIC thumbnails should now appear in File Explorer, and the files should open in Photos. Other desktop programs only benefit if they use the Windows codecs. Some editors and older software still won’t open HEIC, so converting is the more reliable route for them.

Convert HEIC to JPG in your browser

If you don’t want to install or pay for anything, or you need JPGs to upload to a website or send to someone, convert the files instead.

1. Open HEIC to JPG in Chrome, Edge, or Firefox.
2. Drop your HEIC files onto the page, or choose them. You can add up to 200 photos per batch.
3. The first time you add a HEIC file, the page downloads a decoder of about 3 MB, a WebAssembly build of the open-source libheif library. After that, conversion starts immediately.
4. Adjust the JPG quality if you like. The default of 90 keeps photos looking like the originals.
5. Select Process.
6. Download each JPG, or select Download all to get them as a ZIP.

The conversion runs entirely on your computer. Your photos aren’t uploaded to a server, which matters when they’re family pictures, documents, or anything private.

A few details about the output:

• Orientation is applied to the pixels, so portrait photos stay upright in every viewer.
• EXIF metadata, including GPS location, isn’t copied to the JPG. This is useful for privacy, but it means the date taken won’t carry over either. Keep the HEIC originals if you rely on dates to sort your library.
• Colors are converted to sRGB, the standard for screens and the web.
• Need transparency or a lossless copy for editing? Use HEIC to PNG instead. Expect much larger files.

Make your iPhone save JPG instead

To stop new photos from being saved as HEIC, change the camera’s format on the iPhone:

1. Open Settings > Camera > Formats.
2. Choose Most Compatible.

From then on, the camera saves photos as JPG and videos as H.264. The trade-off is file size: JPG photos take up more storage on the phone and in iCloud than High Efficiency (HEIC). Photos you’ve already taken stay HEIC.

Let the iPhone convert when transferring

If you want to keep High Efficiency on the phone to save space, the iPhone can convert photos as they’re copied to a computer over a cable:

1. Open Settings > Photos.
2. Scroll to Transfer to Mac or PC.
3. Choose Automatic.

With Automatic, the iPhone converts photos to a compatible format, usually JPG, when you import them over USB, for example with the Windows Photos app or File Explorer. With Keep Originals, you get the HEIC files exactly as stored.

Other ways of moving photos behave differently:

• AirDrop goes only to Apple devices and generally sends the original HEIC to a Mac, which can open it natively.
• Sharing from the Photos app by email or through some apps often converts to JPG automatically, but this varies by app and iOS version. Check the file extension on the receiving end.
• Cloud sync and downloads may deliver the original HEIC, depending on the service and its settings.

If HEIC files have already landed on your PC, any of these settings only helps with the next transfer. Convert the ones you have.

Quick troubleshooting

• File Explorer shows blank or generic thumbnails. The HEVC extension is missing. Install it, or convert the files.
• The Photos app says the codec is missing. Same cause. Install both extensions and restart Photos.
• A website rejects your upload. Many forms accept only JPG or PNG. Convert first.
• The file ends in .heif instead of .heic. It’s the same family of format. Treat it the same way.
• Converted on an iPhone, the JPG has fewer pixels than the original. On iPhone and iPad, Safari has a canvas size limit, so images above roughly 16.7 megapixels are scaled down to fit, and the result says so. On a Windows PC, photos convert at full resolution, up to 100 megapixels.