How to Convert iPhone HEIC Photos to JPG

You take a photo on your iPhone, send it to a Windows computer or try to upload it to a website, and it fails. The file ends in “.heic” and nothing seems to open it. This is one of the most common phone problems, and it is easy to fix.

What is HEIC?

HEIC is the photo format that iPhones use by default. It stores the same picture in a smaller file than JPG, so your phone can hold more photos. Apple’s own apps open HEIC without any trouble.

The problem is that much of the rest of the world still expects JPG. Many Windows programs, older Android apps, printing services and online forms do not understand HEIC. When you send them a HEIC photo, they show an error or say that the file type is not allowed.

JPG is the safe choice because almost everything can open it.

Way 1: Make your iPhone save JPG from now on

If you do not need the smaller files, tell your iPhone to use JPG:

1. Open Settings.
2. Tap Camera, then Formats.
3. Choose Most Compatible.

New photos are saved as JPG. Your old photos stay as they are, so you may still need one of the other ways below. Menu names can change a little between iOS versions.

Way 2: Let the iPhone convert when you share

When you share a photo from the Photos app, the share sheet often has an Options button at the top. Inside, you can choose a more compatible format. The phone then sends a JPG copy. This is handy for one or two photos, but it is slow for a big batch, and the wording depends on your iOS version.

Way 3: Convert HEIC to JPG in your browser

For many photos, or for photos that are already on a computer or an Android phone, use our HEIC to JPG tool. It works in your browser, so you do not install an app and your photos are not uploaded.

1. Open the tool and tap the box. Choose your HEIC photos. You can pick many at once.
2. Pick a JPG quality. The default of 90 looks the same as the original on a screen.
3. Tap Convert to JPG.
4. Download the photos one by one, or all together as a ZIP.

Why does something download the first time?

Safari on iPhone and Mac can read HEIC by itself, so nothing extra is needed there. Other browsers cannot, so the tool downloads a small converter the first time you choose a HEIC file. It is about half a megabyte over the network and is only fetched on the HEIC pages. After that it is remembered, and it even works offline. Your photos are never sent to a server. Only the converter comes to you.

What happens to the photo?

• Quality. At quality 90 or higher you will not see a difference on a phone or computer screen. The JPG file is usually bigger than the HEIC, because HEIC is more efficient.
• Rotation. Photos should come out the right way up. If you made a PDF and a page still looks sideways, turn it with Rotate PDF.
• Live Photos. Only the still picture is converted. The little video is left out.
• Hidden details. When the new JPG is made, hidden information such as the place where the photo was taken is not copied into it. That is good for privacy. If you want to keep the location, convert on the iPhone instead.

Make the files smaller or the right size

Converted JPG files from a modern iPhone can be several megabytes each. If you need to email them or upload them to a form:

• Use Compress Image to lower the file size, or ask for a target size such as under 200 KB.
• Use Resize Image to change the width and height in pixels.
• Read how to reduce photo size for online application forms for the whole process.

Need a PDF instead?

If your photos are pictures of documents, receipts or forms, skip JPG and go straight to a PDF with HEIC to PDF. It places the photos in a PDF in one step, with the page size and margin you choose.

Troubleshooting

“The HEIC decoder could not be loaded.” You may be offline, or your connection dropped during the first download. Reconnect and try again.

“This HEIC file could not be read.” The file may be damaged, or it may be an unusual variant. Try sharing the photo from the iPhone as JPG using Way 1 or Way 2.

“This photo is too large.” Extremely big panoramas can be too heavy for a small phone. Try a computer, or close other apps and tabs.

The photos look dark or washed out. Some iPhone photos use a wide colour range that other programs show differently. The picture content is fine, but the colours may look a little different on some screens.

Quick checklist

1. Decide whether you want to change the camera setting, or convert existing photos.
2. For many photos, use the browser tool and download a ZIP.
3. Check one converted photo before uploading the batch.
4. Compress or resize if the destination has a size limit.
5. Keep your original HEIC photos as a backup.

HEIC is a good format for your phone, and JPG is a good format for sharing. With the right tool, you can have both.