How to convert HEIC to JPG on Windows
Got iPhone photos on your Windows PC and they won't open? HEIC needs a codec that Windows doesn't include by default. Here's how to convert them to JPG, free and without installing anything.
Why Windows struggles with HEIC
HEIC is not really an Apple format, it is an open standard called HEIF, published by the same group behind MPEG. But the compression inside an iPhone's HEIC file is HEVC, also known as H.265, and HEVC is covered by a large pool of patents held by many different companies.
That is the whole story. Microsoft cannot ship an HEVC decoder with Windows without paying royalties on every copy, so it does not. Apple can, because Apple sells the hardware and absorbs the licensing into the price of the phone. Nothing is broken on your PC; Windows has simply never included the piece needed to read the file.
The practical result is that HEIC bounces off large parts of Windows, older Office versions, plenty of image editors, and a great many website upload forms will reject it outright.
The no-install method (recommended)
Open Edge, Chrome or Firefox, go to the HEIC to JPG converter, drop your HEIC files in, and convert. Everything happens on your PC, the images never leave your machine, and you can prove it by disconnecting from the internet once the page has loaded and converting anyway.
Worth being precise about how this works, because it is the reason it works at all: no desktop browser decodes HEIC on its own. Chrome, Edge and Firefox all refuse it, for exactly the same licensing reason Windows does. The converter therefore carries its own decoder, compiled to WebAssembly and downloaded with the page, so the decoding happens inside the browser tab rather than relying on anything Windows provides.
That is why it behaves identically on a locked-down work laptop with no admin rights, on Windows 10, and on Windows 11. Nothing is installed and nothing is licensed. Batch up to 200 files and download one ZIP.
What the Microsoft Store extensions actually do
You will see two listings: 'HEIF Image Extensions', which is free, and 'HEVC Video Extensions', which is not. They are usually described as the fix, and it is worth knowing exactly what you get, because it is less than most people expect.
Installed together, they let the Photos app and File Explorer display HEIC files and show thumbnails. That is genuinely useful if you only want to look at your photos. What they do not add is any way to convert a folder. Windows still has no batch export. You would be opening files one at a time in Paint or Photos and saving each as JPG by hand.
So they solve viewing, not converting. If your problem is that a website will not accept your photo, the extensions do not help: you still need a JPG, and you still need something that can produce a hundred of them without a hundred manual saves.
Batch converting a whole folder
Select all the HEIC files in File Explorer. Ctrl+A, or click the first and Shift+click the last, then drag them onto the converter page and hit Convert. You get every file back as JPG in a single ZIP, ready to email, upload, or archive.
Filenames are preserved, so IMG_4821.HEIC becomes IMG_4821.jpg and your photos stay in the order you recognise. If a few files in the batch are corrupt or truncated, those are skipped and the rest still convert, one bad file does not cost you the whole run.
Troubleshooting the usual Windows symptoms
Black or blank thumbnails in File Explorer: Windows is showing a placeholder because it cannot decode the file. The photos are fine. Converting them, or installing the HEIF extension, both make previews appear.
'It looks like we don't support this file format' or 'The HEIF Image Extension is required' in the Photos app: the classic symptom of the missing decoder, not a damaged file.
A website rejects the file type even though you clearly picked a photo: many upload forms accept only JPG and PNG, and an iPhone photo arrives as HEIC. Convert to JPG and re-upload.
Files land as .HEIC in capitals: harmless. Windows is case-insensitive here and the converter accepts either.
Why the files arrive as HEIC in the first place
If you copy photos off an iPhone with a USB cable, Windows receives whatever the phone stores, which is HEIC. Send the same photo through most messaging apps or email clients and iOS quietly converts it to JPG on the way out, which is why some iPhone photos arrive on your PC perfectly readable and others do not.
That inconsistency is not you doing something wrong. It depends entirely on how the photo left the phone, and it is why the fix has to live on the Windows side.
Quick questions
Are there free HEIC codecs for Windows?
Only partly. HEIF Image Extensions is free and adds the container support, but an iPhone's HEIC photos are HEVC-compressed inside, so viewing them also needs the paid HEVC Video Extensions. Installed together they add viewing and thumbnails, not batch conversion, and HEIF Image Extensions is not offered on every Windows build.
Does converting on Windows upload my files?
No. The converter runs entirely locally in your browser. Load the page, disconnect from the internet, and it still converts.
Can I convert 200 HEIC files at once?
Yes, up to 200 per batch, downloadable as one ZIP.
Why can't Chrome or Edge just open HEIC?
HEIC uses HEVC compression, which is patent-encumbered. No desktop browser ships an HEVC image decoder. The converter carries its own decoder in WebAssembly instead.
Do I need admin rights on my work PC?
No. Nothing is installed. It runs inside the browser tab, which is why it works on locked-down machines.
Does this work on Windows 10 as well as 11?
Yes, identically. Neither version can decode HEIC on its own, and the converter does not rely on either.
Why are my HEIC thumbnails black in File Explorer?
Windows cannot decode the file and shows a placeholder. The photos are undamaged, convert them, or install the HEIF extension, and previews appear.
Will the converted JPGs keep their original filenames?
Yes. IMG_4821.HEIC becomes IMG_4821.jpg, so a large batch stays recognisable.
Converters
The converter on this page handles every conversion this guide talks about.