How to convert HEIC photos to JPG (iPhone, Mac, Windows, online)

What HEIC is and why it causes trouble

iPhones and iPads save photos as HEIC by default. The format uses HEVC compression, which stores the same picture in a noticeably smaller file than JPG, so it saves space on the phone and in iCloud. The problem is compatibility: some Windows PCs, older photo editors, printing services and many website upload forms do not accept HEIC files. JPG opens practically everywhere.

Which method is best depends on whether you want to change future photos, convert photos you already have, or simply open HEIC files on a PC.

Make your iPhone take JPG photos

If you rarely need the space savings, you can switch the camera to JPG. New photos are then saved as JPG and new videos as H.264, at the cost of larger files. Photos you have already taken stay HEIC.

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

Let the iPhone convert photos when you copy them to a computer

When you copy photos to a Windows PC or a Mac with a cable, the iPhone can convert them to a compatible format on the way. Go to Settings > Photos and, under Transfer to Mac or PC, choose Automatic. With Keep Originals selected instead, the HEIC files are copied as they are. This only affects cable transfers; photos stay HEIC on the phone and in iCloud.

Convert HEIC to JPG on a Mac

Macs open HEIC files natively, and Preview can save a copy as JPG. Several photos can be converted at once: select them all in Preview's sidebar before choosing Export Selected Images. In the Photos app, select the photos and choose File > Export > Export Photos, then pick JPEG as the photo kind. In Finder on recent versions of macOS, you can also right-click the files and use Quick Actions > Convert Image.

1. Open the HEIC photo in Preview.
2. Choose File > Export.
3. Set Format to JPEG and pick a quality with the slider.
4. Click Save.

Open and convert HEIC files on Windows 10 and 11

Windows 10 and 11 can show HEIC photos once the HEIF Image Extensions from the Microsoft Store are installed. Because the pictures inside HEIC files are compressed with HEVC, some setups also need the HEVC Video Extensions, which Microsoft sells in the Store for a small fee; some PCs already have them installed by the manufacturer. With the extensions in place, the Photos app opens HEIC files, and you can open a photo in Paint and choose File > Save as > JPEG picture to make a JPG copy.

If you do not want to install or buy extensions, or the photos are going to someone else anyway, converting them to JPG is often the simpler route.

Convert HEIC to JPG in your browser with FileReshape

FileReshape's HEIC to JPG page works on any computer with a modern browser, including Windows PCs without the extensions and Chromebooks. The photos are decoded in the browser, by Safari's own decoder or by the open source libheif library, and are not uploaded. You can convert one photo or a whole batch, up to about 200 MB at a time; several photos are downloaded together as a zip, each JPG named after its original, for example IMG_1234.jpg. Each photo is turned upright, and you choose the JPG quality, with 90 % recommended.

If you want to edit or retouch the photos, the HEIC to PNG page saves lossless PNG files instead. They are many times larger than the HEIC, so use JPG for sharing and email.

1. Open the HEIC to JPG page and drop your .heic photos in the box, or click to choose them.
2. Pick a JPG quality, or keep the recommended 90 %.
3. Click Convert to JPG and download the photo, or a zip with all of them.

What is lost when you convert

A Live Photo keeps only its still image; the motion and sound are in a separate video file. HDR and the wide Display P3 colour range are reduced to standard colour, so very saturated colours can look slightly less vivid. FileReshape does not copy the date taken, GPS location or camera details into the JPG. That is useful for privacy, but photo apps that sort by date taken will use the file date instead, so keep the HEIC originals if those details matter. Preview and the Photos app on a Mac are the better choice when you want to keep that information. The JPG is also usually larger than the HEIC; choose 70 or 80 % quality for smaller files.

Very large photos, such as 48-megapixel HEIF Max photos, need a lot of memory. A computer handles them easily, but a phone browser may fail; convert those on a computer.