How to open iPhone HEIC photos on Windows (and stop getting them)

Option 1: convert HEIC to JPG (fastest)

If you just need to send, print or upload the photos, convert them. JPG works everywhere.

1. Copy the photos from the iPhone to your PC (cable, iCloud or a USB stick).
2. Open HEIC to JPG and drop in as many .heic files as you like.
3. Keep 90% quality (it looks the same as the original) and press Start.
4. Download the JPGs one by one or all together as a zip.

The conversion runs in your browser, so private photos — ID scans, family pictures — never leave your computer. If an upload form also has a size limit, run the JPGs through compress image afterwards.

Option 2: let Windows open HEIC

Windows 10 and 11 can show HEIC photos in the Photos app once two extensions from the Microsoft Store are installed:

• HEIF Image Extensions — free; adds support for the HEIC container.
• HEVC Video Extensions — needed to decode the images and iPhone videos; Microsoft charges a small fee for it (some PCs come with a free version from the manufacturer).

This lets you view the photos, but many other programs and websites still won’t accept the files — so for sharing you’ll usually convert anyway.

Option 3: make the iPhone save JPG

• Settings → Camera → Formats → Most Compatible. New photos are saved as JPG and videos as H.264 — larger files, but they open everywhere.
• Settings → Photos → Transfer to Mac or PC → Automatic. The iPhone keeps HEIC but converts photos to JPG when you copy them to a computer with a cable.

The second setting is a good middle ground: small files on the phone, JPGs on the PC.

And the iPhone videos?

Videos from recent iPhones are HEVC (H.265) in a .MOV file. If they won’t play on a PC, TV or website, convert them with MOV to MP4 — choose “Maximum compatibility” to get H.264, which plays everywhere.

Frequently asked questions