Home / Guides / Images

How to Convert HEIC to JPG on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android

By the FileTools team · Updated October 27, 2026 · 5 min read

You take a photo on your iPhone, send it to a Windows PC, and nothing happens: the file ends in .heic and no program wants to open it. Or you try to upload it to a job application, an online store or a government form and get an "unsupported file type" error. This guide explains what HEIC is, why it causes trouble, and how to convert HEIC to JPG in a few clicks on any device.

What is a HEIC file?

HEIC (High Efficiency Image Container) is the file format iPhones and iPads have used for photos since iOS 11. It stores pictures with the HEVC compression method, which usually produces files around half the size of an equivalent JPG at similar visual quality. That is great for saving storage, but HEIC is not as widely supported as JPG, so many websites, older Windows versions, printers, email clients and some Android gallery apps cannot read it.

Method 1: Use a free online HEIC to JPG converter

The quickest method needs no software. Open the HEIC to JPG converter, drop in one or many photos, choose a quality and download the JPG files (or all of them as a ZIP). Because the conversion runs inside your browser, the photos are never uploaded to a server, there is no file limit and no watermark. This matters for personal pictures; see our guide on whether online file converters are safe.

Method 2: Convert HEIC on a Windows PC

1. Install the free "HEIF Image Extensions" from the Microsoft Store so Windows can display HEIC files.
2. Some cameras' HEIC files also need the "HEVC Video Extensions" add-on.
3. Open the photo in the Photos app and use Save as to export a JPG, or use the online converter above for batches.

Method 3: Convert HEIC on a Mac

Open the image in Preview, choose File > Export, select JPEG as the format and pick a quality. For many photos, select them in Finder, right-click and choose Quick Actions > Convert Image.

Method 4: Stop your iPhone from creating HEIC files

Go to Settings > Camera > Formats and choose Most Compatible. New photos will then be saved as JPG. Existing HEIC photos stay as they are. You can also open Settings > Photos and under Transfer to Mac or PC choose Automatic, which converts photos to JPG when you plug the phone into a computer.

Method 5: Convert on Android

Open the file in a browser and use the online converter above, or share the photo to an app that exports JPG. Newer Android versions can display HEIC, but many upload forms still reject it.

Tips for the best JPG quality

• Pick a high quality (about 85-95%) if you will edit or print the picture.
• Use a medium quality for email and messaging to keep files small.
• Live Photos convert to a still image; the short video clip is not included.
• If the resulting JPG is too large for a form, reduce it with the image compressor to an exact size, as explained in how to compress an image to 100KB.

HEIC vs JPG: which should you keep?

Keep your originals in HEIC if storage is tight and you only view photos on Apple devices. Convert to JPG whenever you need to share, upload or print. If you are curious how JPG compares with newer formats, read PNG vs JPG vs WebP.

HEIC, HEIF and HEVC: what the names mean

The terminology is confusing because three similar names are used almost interchangeably. HEVC (High Efficiency Video Coding, also called H.265) is the compression method. HEIF (High Efficiency Image File Format) is the container standard that stores images compressed with HEVC. HEIC is Apple's file extension for HEIF images that use HEVC. In practice, if your iPhone photo ends in .heic, it is a HEIF image compressed with HEVC, and any converter that says it supports HEIC or HEIF will handle it.

What you may lose or notice after conversion

• Depth data and Portrait mode effects. HEIC can store extra layers such as depth maps. A JPG holds a single flattened picture, so those layers do not survive.
• Live Photo motion. The short video is separate from the still image and is not part of the JPG.
• Color range. iPhones can capture wide-gamut color. JPG files shared on the web are normally sRGB, so very saturated colors may look slightly less vivid.
• Metadata. Location, camera and date details may or may not be preserved depending on the converter. If you are sharing a picture publicly, check whether it still contains GPS coordinates, because those can reveal where a photo was taken.

Troubleshooting common HEIC problems

The photo opens as a grey or black square on Windows

Windows can find the file but lacks the codec to decode it. Install the HEIF and HEVC extensions from the Microsoft Store, or convert the file to JPG instead, which solves the problem for every program at once.

The converted picture is rotated

Phones store a rotation flag rather than rotating the pixels. Most converters apply it automatically; if one does not, rotate the JPG after converting.

A website still rejects the converted file

Check that the file name ends in .jpg or .jpeg, that it is under the size limit and that the site does not require specific pixel dimensions. The tools for that are Compress to Exact KB and the image resizer.

What file sizes to expect

A 12-megapixel iPhone photo is often around 1.5-2.5 MB as HEIC and around 3-5 MB as a high-quality JPG. If you convert a whole vacation album, plan for roughly double the storage. Choosing a medium quality can bring JPG sizes much closer to the originals with little visible change.

Frequently asked questions

Does converting HEIC to JPG reduce quality?

JPG uses lossy compression, so a tiny amount of detail is lost, but at high quality settings the difference is not visible in normal use.

Why are my converted JPG files bigger than the HEIC originals?

HEIC compresses more efficiently than JPG, so the same picture usually takes more space as a JPG. Lower the quality slightly if size matters.

Can I convert many HEIC files at once?

Yes. Add as many photos as you like and download them together as a ZIP file.

Related guides