How to Open HEIC Files on Windows (Without Uploading Your Photos)

So you plugged in your iPhone, copied some photos to your Windows PC, and... nothing. Windows just stares at you with that "We can't open this file" error. Or maybe you're seeing blank thumbnails where your vacation photos should be.

Welcome to the HEIC problem. It's been annoying Windows users since 2017, and honestly, it's kind of ridiculous that it's still an issue in 2026.

The short version: Apple switched iPhones to a new photo format called HEIC. It makes files smaller. Great for your phone's storage. Not so great when you want to actually use those photos on anything that isn't made by Apple.

I've tested a bunch of different fixes for this, and I'll walk you through what actually works. Fair warning though, some of the "solutions" you'll find on Google are honestly worse than the problem itself.

Wait, What Even Is HEIC?

HEIC stands for High Efficiency Image Container. (HEIF is the same thing, basically. Apple likes to keep us guessing with acronyms.)

Apple made it the default on iPhones starting with iOS 11 because HEIC files are about half the size of JPEGs at the same quality. That's actually impressive. You can fit twice as many photos on your phone.

The catch? Microsoft and Apple aren't exactly best friends when it comes to supporting each other's formats. Windows doesn't include HEIC support out of the box, and this applies to both Windows 10 and Windows 11. So when you try to open one of these files, Windows basically shrugs and asks you to pay for a codec.

Yeah. Pay. We'll get to that.

Feature	HEIC	JPEG	WebP
File size	Small	Large	Small
Quality	Excellent	Good	Excellent
Works on Windows	Nope	Everywhere	Yes (Win 10+)
Transparency	Yes	No	Yes
Web browser support	Safari only	All browsers	All modern browsers

If you want the best of both worlds, WebP might be worth considering. It's got small file sizes like HEIC but actually works everywhere. We have a HEIC to WebP converter too if you want to go that route.

Why Most "Solutions" Kind of Suck

Google "how to open HEIC on Windows" and you'll find three things recommended over and over:

1. Microsoft's own extensions. There's a free one in the Microsoft Store called "HEIF Image Extensions." Sounds perfect, right? Except it often doesn't work by itself. You also need something called "HEVC Video Extensions" and Microsoft wants $0.99 for it. A dollar isn't much, but paying Microsoft to view photos from your own phone feels a bit insulting. And even then, plenty of people report it just... doesn't work on Windows 11. Great.

2. Random websites that "convert" your photos. These work, technically. You upload your HEIC files, they spit out JPEGs. But think about that for a second. You're uploading your personal photos (maybe your kids, your home, your ID documents, whatever) to some server you know nothing about. Those photos have GPS coordinates embedded in them. The date you took them. What device you used.

I'm not saying these sites are definitely doing something sketchy with your photos. But I'm also not uploading pictures of my house to a random website.

3. Desktop software. Apps like CopyTrans HEIC actually work pretty well. But now you're installing another program on your computer. Another thing to update. Another thing that might have ads or bundle some toolbar you don't want. It's fine, but it feels like overkill for viewing photos.

The Fix I Actually Use

Recommended

Okay, so here's what I ended up building after getting frustrated with all of the above.

There's a way to convert HEIC files that runs entirely in your browser. No upload. Nothing leaves your computer. It sounds like it shouldn't be possible, but modern browsers can actually run pretty sophisticated code locally now using something called WebAssembly.

The technical details don't really matter. What matters is: you drag photos in, you get JPEGs out, and at no point do your files go anywhere.

Here's how to do it

1. Open the HEIC to JPG converter
2. Drag your HEIC files onto the page
3. Wait a few seconds (it's doing the conversion right there in your browser)
4. Download your JPEGs

That's it. If you have a bunch of files, it'll give you a ZIP.

The conversion happens using the same image processing libraries that professional desktop software uses, just running in your browser instead. Browsers have gotten surprisingly powerful in the last few years.

The Microsoft Way (If You Want Native Support)

Alternative

Maybe you don't want to convert anything. You just want Windows to open HEIC files like it opens JPEGs. Fair enough.

Here's the process. It's more annoying than it should be:

1. Open the Microsoft Store
2. Search for "HEIF Image Extensions"
3. Install it (free)
4. Try opening a HEIC file

If that works, great! You're done. But for a lot of people, it doesn't. You'll get another prompt asking for HEVC Video Extensions.

The free workaround for the $0.99 codec

Instead of paying, search the Microsoft Store for "HEVC Video Extensions from Device Manufacturer." This version is free. It's technically meant for people whose computers came with specific hardware, but it seems to work on most PCs.

No guarantees though. I've seen people say this worked perfectly, and I've seen people say it did nothing. Windows is fun like that.

The downsides

Even when this works, you can only view HEIC files. A lot of apps still can't edit them. And if you need to send these photos to someone else - someone who maybe also uses Windows, they're going to hit the same problem.

Just Stop Your iPhone From Making HEIC Files

Prevention

Nuclear option: tell your iPhone to stop using HEIC entirely.

1. Settings
2. Camera
3. Formats
4. Pick "Most Compatible"

Now your phone saves JPEGs instead. Problem solved forever.

The downside is real though. Your photos will take up about twice as much space. If you've got a 64GB iPhone and take a lot of pictures, that might actually matter. But if storage isn't tight for you, this is honestly the simplest fix.

Obviously this doesn't help with HEIC files you already have, but at least you won't create new ones.

Desktop Apps (The Traditional Route)

Alternative

If you prefer having actual software installed, there are some decent free options.

CopyTrans HEIC - This one adds a right-click "Convert to JPEG" option in Windows Explorer. It also makes HEIC thumbnails work properly. Been around for years, seems trustworthy enough.

iMazing HEIC Converter - Simple drag-and-drop converter. Does what it says. The company makes iPhone management software, so they know what they're doing with Apple formats.

Both of these process files on your computer, not some remote server, so they're fine for private photos. The main downside is just... having another app installed.

Questions People Ask

Does converting HEIC to JPG ruin the quality?

A little bit, technically. JPEG uses lossy compression, so some data gets thrown away. But at quality settings around 85-90%, you really can't see the difference. iPhone photos are high-res enough that they can afford to lose a tiny bit of data.

Unless you're doing professional photo editing, don't worry about it.

What happens to the photo date and location info?

This is actually something to watch out for. A lot of converters strip out the EXIF metadata, which is the stuff that records when and where you took the photo.

The browser-based converter I mentioned keeps all of that intact. After converting, you can right-click the file, go to Properties, and check the Details tab to make sure the date and GPS info survived.

Can I convert a whole folder at once?

Yep. The browser converter handles batch processing. Select everything, drag it in, get a ZIP file back. No limits on how many files.

Are online converters actually dangerous?

Dangerous is maybe too strong. But you are trusting a company you don't know with photos that might be pretty personal. Those files contain metadata about your location. If that doesn't bother you, the online converters work fine. If it does bother you, use something that processes files locally.

Why does Microsoft charge for the HEVC codec?

Licensing fees. The company that owns the HEVC patents charges money to use them, so Microsoft passes that cost along. It's only a dollar, but it's still kind of annoying when Apple made HEIC the default knowing full well Windows would struggle with it.

The workaround is that "Device Manufacturer" version in the Microsoft Store, or just convert to JPEG and sidestep the whole issue.

So What Should You Actually Do?

Depends on your situation:

If you just have some photos you need to convert right now, use the browser-based converter. No install, no upload, takes like 30 seconds.

If you want Windows to handle HEIC files going forward, try the Microsoft extensions. Might work, might not. Worth a shot since it's free.

If you're sick of dealing with this entirely, change your iPhone settings to save as JPEG. Costs you some storage space but eliminates the problem permanently.

And if you're a "just install an app" kind of person, CopyTrans HEIC is solid.

Personally? I just convert files when I need to. It's not that often, and the browser tool is fast enough that it's not a big deal.