What is a HEIC file, and how do you open one on Windows?

A HEIC file is a photo saved in the High Efficiency Image File Format, the format iPhones and iPads use for camera photos unless you tell them otherwise. It looks the same as a JPG on the phone and takes roughly half the space, which is why Apple chose it. The trouble starts when the photo leaves Apple’s world: a Windows PC shows a blank icon, a website says the file type is not supported, and a friend on Android cannot open the attachment.

This guide explains what is inside a HEIC file, how to open HEIC files on Windows, Mac, Android and the web, how to get a JPG copy without uploading your photos anywhere, and how to make the iPhone stop producing them if they keep causing problems. Everything about Windows and the iPhone was checked on 16 September 2026.

What is a HEIC file, exactly?

HEIF is a container format standardised by MPEG, the group behind MP4 video. A container is a box that holds one or more images plus information about them. HEIC is the name for a HEIF file whose images are compressed with HEVC, also called H.265, the same compression used in modern video. Your iPhone writes those files with the .heic extension; you may also see .heif, which is the same idea with a less specific name.

Apple’s support page on the formats says iOS 11 and macOS High Sierra introduced support for them in 2017, and that an iPhone 7 or later can capture them. Since then High Efficiency has been the default camera setting.

Because HEVC was designed for video, it is much better than the 1990s JPEG method at describing a photo in few bytes. The same scene saved by an iPhone as HEIC is typically around half the size of the JPG it would otherwise have written, with no visible difference. Over thousands of photos that is gigabytes of phone storage and iCloud space.

A HEIF container can also hold more than a single picture: the depth map used for Portrait mode, several frames, thumbnails and metadata such as the date, camera settings and location. A Live Photo is a HEIC still paired with a short video file.

Why so much else refuses to open it

The catch is licensing. HEVC is covered by patents that manufacturers pay to use, and browser makers and many app developers have chosen not to pay. As caniuse.com puts it, HEIC is “complex and expensive to license”. So Apple devices read HEIC natively, Windows sells the decoder separately, and Chrome, Edge and Firefox do not display it at all. Newer formats with free licensing, such as AVIF, are the web’s answer to the same problem; what is AVIF covers that one.

How to open HEIC files on Windows 11 and 10

Windows reads HEIC through two add-ons from the Microsoft Store. Both are made by Microsoft. As listed in the US Microsoft Store on 16 September 2026:

The HEIF Image Extension’s own Store description says the HEVC Video Extensions package must also be installed to view images in files with the .heic or .heif extension. In other words, the free one alone is not enough for iPhone photos. Some PCs come with HEVC support already installed by the manufacturer, so it is worth checking before you pay.

1. Try opening it first. Double-click the .heic file. If the Photos app shows the picture, your PC already has both pieces and you can stop here.
2. Install HEIF Image Extension. Open the Microsoft Store from the Start menu, search for HEIF Image Extension, check the publisher reads Microsoft Windows, and select Get. It is free.
3. Install HEVC Video Extensions. Search the Store for HEVC Video Extensions, check the publisher is Microsoft Corporation, and buy it. You will need to be signed in with a Microsoft account and have a payment method on it.
4. Open the photo again. Close Photos if it was open, then double-click the file. Thumbnails in File Explorer start showing too, sometimes after a moment.
5. Save a JPG copy if you need one. Right-click the file, choose Open with, then Paint. In Paint choose File, Save as, JPEG picture, pick a folder and save. The original HEIC stays where it was.

Search results also offer free third-party codecs and viewers that claim to do the same job. We have not tested them, and installing codecs from outside the Store is the kind of download worth being careful with.

How to open HEIC files on a Mac, iPhone and iPad

Nothing is needed. Photos, Preview and Quick Look open HEIC on any Mac running macOS High Sierra or later, and every iPhone and iPad running iOS 11 or later. To get a JPG or PNG from a Mac, open the photo in Preview, choose File, Export, and pick JPEG or PNG in the Format menu. In the Photos app on a Mac, File, Export, Export 1 Photo does the same with a choice of JPEG, TIFF or PNG.

On an iPhone, sharing usually takes care of itself. Apple notes that when you share by AirDrop, Messages or email to a device that may not support HEIF, the photo can be converted to a compatible format automatically.

How to open HEIC files on Android

Android has been able to decode HEIF images since Android 8.0, according to Android’s developer documentation on supported media formats, so most gallery apps on a phone from the last several years will show a HEIC photo someone sends you. Whether a particular app can edit or re-save it depends on the app. If one refuses, ask the sender to share it as JPEG, or send it through a messaging app that converts on the way.

How to open HEIC files on the web and in browsers

Only Safari displays HEIC images, from version 17 on macOS and iOS; Chrome, Edge and Firefox do not (caniuse.com, checked 16 September 2026). That has two consequences. A HEIC dropped into most web apps, including web-based editors and background removers, is either rejected or quietly uploaded to a server that can decode it. And a HEIC put on a web page will show as a broken image to most visitors.

The online converters that fill the search results for “HEIC to JPG” nearly all work by uploading your photo to their servers. Phone photos often carry the location they were taken, and many show faces, children or documents. Is it safe to upload photos to online converters sets out what the popular services’ own policies say, and how to check a website is not uploading your photos shows how to tell in two minutes.

How to stop your iPhone saving photos as HEIC

If HEIC files keep causing problems, switch the camera to JPEG. Open Settings, tap Camera, tap Formats and choose Most Compatible. From then on the camera saves JPG files, and videos are saved as H.264 instead of HEVC.

It only affects new photos. Everything already in the library stays HEIC, and the new JPG files take roughly twice the storage. Some features that depend on High Efficiency, such as certain high frame rate or high resolution video modes, need it switched back on, and the Formats screen on Pro models has extra options for ProRAW and resolution that sit alongside this setting.

For most people a middle path works better: leave the camera on High Efficiency so the phone stays roomy, set the transfer option to Automatic so a USB copy to a PC arrives as JPG, and convert the odd photo you need elsewhere. HEIC vs JPG vs PNG compares the three formats on size, quality and editing if you are deciding what to keep.

What to convert a HEIC file into

• JPG for a photo you are sending, uploading to a form or printing. Every app opens it.
• PNG if you are going to edit the picture heavily and save it many times, or if it will end up with a transparent background. A PNG of a photo is large, often five to ten times the HEIC.
• Leave it as HEIC if it is staying on Apple devices. Converting cannot add quality, only size.

Converting HEIC to JPG does not bring the file size down; it goes up, because JPEG is the less efficient method. That surprises people who expected a JPG to be the small one.

getSVG’s HEIC to JPG without uploading goes further into the routes on the device itself: the two iPhone settings that stop this happening again, the Finder Quick Action that converts a whole selection at once, and what the second round of compression costs a photo you plan to edit or print.

When a HEIC will still not open

• Windows still asks for an extension after you installed the free one. You also need HEVC Video Extensions, as above.
• The file is 0 KB or tiny. The copy did not finish, often because the original was only in iCloud and not downloaded to the phone. Open it on the iPhone first so it downloads, then copy again.
• It opens in Photos but not in an older editing app. That app uses its own decoder and does not include HEIC. Save a JPG or PNG copy from Paint or Preview and edit that.
• A website rejects it. Most browsers cannot decode HEIC, so the site cannot either without uploading it or bringing its own decoder. Convert on your own device first, in Paint, Preview or HEIC to PNG, which runs in the browser.

The steps, in short

1. Try opening it first. Double-click the .heic file. If Photos shows the picture, your PC already has what it needs.
2. Install HEIF Image Extension. Open the Microsoft Store, search for HEIF Image Extension (publisher Microsoft Windows, free) and select Get.
3. Install HEVC Video Extensions. Search the Store for HEVC Video Extensions (publisher Microsoft Corporation) and buy it; it cost US$0.99 when checked in September 2026.
4. Open the photo again. Close and reopen Photos, then open the .heic file. File Explorer thumbnails appear too.
5. Save a JPG copy if you need one. Right-click the file, choose Open with > Paint, then File > Save as > JPEG picture.

Questions

How do I open HEIC files on Windows 11 for free?

The HEIF Image Extension is free, but iPhone photos also need HEVC Video Extensions, which Microsoft sells for US$0.99. Some PCs already have HEVC support installed by the manufacturer, so try opening the file after installing the free extension first. Otherwise, change the iPhone to Most Compatible so new photos are JPG, or let the iPhone convert when it copies to a PC.

Is HEIC better quality than JPG?

At the same file size, yes: HEIC keeps more detail and shows fewer compression blocks. At the quality an iPhone saves either format, the difference is hard to see; the real gain is that HEIC files take roughly half the space. Converting a HEIC to JPG loses a little quality and makes the file larger.

Why does my iPhone take HEIC photos?

Because High Efficiency is the default camera format on iPhones since iOS 11 in 2017. It saves storage on the phone and in iCloud. You can switch to JPEG in Settings > Camera > Formats > Most Compatible.

Can Chrome open HEIC files?

No. According to caniuse.com (checked 16 September 2026), only Safari 17 and later display HEIC images; Chrome, Edge and Firefox do not. That is also why most web tools cannot read a HEIC photo without uploading it; getPNG brings its own decoder, libheif, and reads HEIC in the browser.

Does converting HEIC to JPG lose quality?

A little, because JPEG compresses again. Saved at high quality the loss is not visible, but the file will be larger than the HEIC was. Keep the original if you might need it later.

Is it safe to use an online HEIC to JPG converter?

Most of them upload the photo to their server to convert it, and your photos may include location data and faces. Check the service's privacy policy, or convert on your own device with Paint, Preview, the iPhone's own settings, or a browser converter that does not upload, such as getPNG's HEIC to PNG.