You took a photo on your iPhone, sent it to your computer, and now it won't open, or a website rejects it.
The file ends in .heic. Here's what that format is, why Apple uses it, and the easiest ways to
turn those photos into ordinary JPGs.
What is a HEIC file?
HEIC stands for High Efficiency Image Container. Apple made it the default photo format in iOS 11 (2017) because it stores photos at roughly half the size of a JPG with the same visible quality. On a phone that takes thousands of photos, that adds up to many gigabytes of saved storage.
The catch is compatibility. Apple devices handle HEIC perfectly, but plenty of other software doesn't: older Windows versions, some photo editors, printing kiosks, and many upload forms for jobs, visas and government services only accept JPG or PNG.
Option 1: Convert in your browser (any device)
The quickest way to convert a batch of photos is our HEIC to JPG converter. Drop in one or many HEIC files and download them as JPGs. The conversion happens inside your browser, so your photos are never uploaded anywhere. That matters for personal photos and scans of documents like passports and IDs.
Option 2: Make your iPhone send JPGs automatically
Go to Settings › Photos, scroll to the bottom, and under Transfer to Mac or PC choose Automatic. When you transfer photos to a computer with a cable, iOS converts them to JPG for you. Photos stay as HEIC on the phone, so you keep the storage savings.
Sharing a photo by email, or through apps such as WhatsApp, usually converts it to JPG automatically too.
Option 3: Stop taking HEIC photos
If you'd rather never deal with HEIC, open Settings › Camera › Formats and choose Most Compatible. New photos will be saved as JPG. Existing photos aren't changed, and each new photo will take up about twice the storage.
Option 4: Use the built-in apps on Mac and Windows
- Mac: open the photo in Preview, choose File › Export, and pick JPEG as the format. To convert several at once, select them all in Preview's sidebar first.
- Windows 10 and 11: install the free HEIF Image Extensions from the Microsoft Store. The Photos app can then open HEIC files, and you can use Save as to make a JPG.
Which JPG quality should you pick?
When converting, a quality setting of 85–90% is the sweet spot: you won't see a difference from the original, and files stay reasonably small. Use 100% only if you plan to edit the photo heavily afterwards.
Quick answer: to convert a few HEIC photos right now, use the HEIC to JPG converter. To avoid the problem in future, set your iPhone's transfer setting to Automatic.