Guide
What is a HEIC file, and how do you open one?
The short answer
HEIC is the photo format iPhones and iPads have used by default since iOS 11. It stores the same picture as a JPG in roughly half the space, but most Windows programs, Android apps and upload forms still cannot read it — so the usual fix is to convert it to JPG.
By FixMyFiles Updated How we write these
What HEIC actually is
HEIC is a container — High Efficiency Image Container — holding an image compressed with HEVC, the same codec used for H.265 video. Applying a video codec to a still picture is what makes it so efficient: HEVC was designed to describe complex images in very few bits, and a photograph is exactly that.
The file usually ends in .heic, sometimes .heif (the wider standard HEIC is a profile of) or .hif on some cameras. They are close enough that a tool reading one normally reads the others.
One HEIC file can hold more than one picture. Apple uses that for Live Photos, for the depth map behind Portrait mode, and for burst shots, which is why a single HEIC can surprise you by being larger than you expected.
Why it will not open
HEVC is patent-encumbered. Playing or decoding it requires a licence, and that licence costs money per device or per copy of the software. Apple pays it; Microsoft historically has not, which is why Windows asks you to buy a codec extension from the Microsoft Store to view a file your phone made.
The same licensing is why so many websites reject HEIC uploads. It is not that the format is bad — it is that the server would need a licensed decoder to make a thumbnail of your photo, and JPG needs nothing.
Android support arrived later and is inconsistent: a recent phone can usually view HEIC, but an app on it may still refuse the file.
The three ways to deal with one
Convert it. The most reliable answer, because the result opens everywhere. HEIC to JPG does it in your browser — your phone already has a HEVC decoder, so the conversion is local and the photo is never uploaded.
Stop making them. On the iPhone, Settings → Camera → Formats → Most Compatible switches the camera back to JPG. You lose about half the storage efficiency, which is a real cost if your phone is nearly full, and it only affects photos taken afterwards.
Let the transfer convert for you. iPhone Settings → Photos → Transfer to Mac or PC → Automatic converts HEIC to JPG as it copies. It is convenient but silent, so you can end up with JPGs when you wanted the originals.
What you lose by converting
A HEIC to JPG conversion is a re-encode, so the result is a lossy copy of a lossy original. In practice this is invisible at a sensible quality setting — you are unlikely to see the difference on any screen — but the file will typically be one and a half to two times the size of the HEIC, because JPG is simply less efficient.
Extras do not survive. Depth data, the Live Photo video, and any edits stored alongside the original are dropped, because JPG has nowhere to put them. Keep the HEIC if those matter to you and treat the JPG as an export rather than a replacement.
Location and camera metadata do carry across by default. If the photo is going somewhere public, remove the metadata afterwards.
Questions
Is HEIC better than JPG?
For storage, clearly: the same picture takes about half the space. For compatibility, no — JPG opens on everything, and HEIC still does not. HEIC vs JPG has the full comparison.
Can I convert HEIC to JPG for free?
Yes. HEIC to JPG converts a whole batch in your browser using your device’s own decoder, with no upload, account or watermark.
Does converting HEIC to JPG lose quality?
A little, since JPG re-encodes the picture, but not in a way you will see at a normal quality setting. The bigger change is the file size going up, not the quality going down.
Why is HEIC not supported on Windows?
HEVC, the codec inside a HEIC, needs a paid patent licence to decode. Windows does not ship one by default, so it offers a paid codec extension instead.