How to convert HEIC photos to JPG on Windows, Mac and iPhone

You send photos from your iPhone to a computer, a printing shop or a web form, and they arrive as .HEIC files that won't open — or the upload button simply ignores them. HEIC is Apple's space-saving photo format. JPG is the format everything understands. Converting takes a minute once you know where to look.

On a Mac: Finder or Preview

• Several photos at once: select them in Finder, right-click, choose Quick Actions → Convert Image, pick JPEG and a size, and confirm (macOS Monterey and later).
• One photo: open it in Preview, choose File → Export… and set the format to JPEG.

On Windows

Windows doesn't read HEIC out of the box. The Photos app needs two add-ons from the Microsoft Store — HEIF Image Extensions and HEVC Video Extensions (the second usually costs a small fee). Once installed, open the photo and save a copy as JPG. Without them, a converter that runs in the browser is the quickest route.

In any browser, without uploading your photos

Many “HEIC to JPG” websites upload your photos to their servers to convert them. Your personal photos don't need to leave your computer: a browser-based converter does the work inside the tab, handles dozens of photos at once and keeps portrait photos the right way up.

On the iPhone: stop creating HEIC files

• For new photos: go to Settings → Camera → Formats and choose Most Compatible. The camera then saves JPGs (they take more space).
• When copying to a computer by cable: in Settings → Photos, set Transfer to Mac or PC to Automatic so the iPhone converts photos as they are copied.

Don't forget the hidden location

iPhone photos usually record where they were taken. A good converter leaves that out of the JPG. If you are sharing photos that are already JPGs, you can strip the location separately.