How to open and convert HEIC files on Windows

A .HEIC file is a photo stored in the HEIF container and compressed with HEVC (H.265), the same codec many cameras use for video. iPhones have saved photos this way by default since iOS 11, because it roughly halves the file size compared with JPG.

Windows ships the container part but not always the codec part. HEVC is covered by patents, and Microsoft sells the decoder separately in the Microsoft Store instead of building it into every copy of Windows. That is why the same PC may show a HEIC thumbnail on one machine and a blank icon or an “install an extension” message on another.

Two Store apps are involved:

• HEIF Image Extensions: free. It teaches Windows to read and write the HEIF container. On many Windows 11 PCs it is already installed.
• HEVC Video Extensions: decodes the HEVC-compressed picture inside the container. The public Store version costs a small one-time fee. Some PC makers preinstall a free version called “HEVC Video Extensions from Device Manufacturer”.

1. Open the Microsoft Store app and search for HEIF Image Extensions. Click Get (or Install). If it says Open or Installed, you already have it.
2. Search for HEVC Video Extensions. If your PC maker included the free manufacturer version, it shows as installed. If not, the Store offers the paid version.
3. Close and reopen the Photos app and File Explorer so they pick up the new codec.

After this, File Explorer shows thumbnails for .HEIC files, and Photos opens them like any other picture. If Photos still says the HEVC extension is required, the codec part is what is missing.

You do not have to buy anything just to convert a few photos: the browser method below needs neither extension.

Double-click a .HEIC file. With both extensions installed it opens in Photos, the default image viewer on Windows 10 and 11. You can view, rotate and crop it, and it plays nicely with the rest of your library.

The Photos app has been redesigned several times and its menus differ between versions, so the exact label for saving a copy in another format moves around. In current versions, look in the editing view or the “…” menu for an option to save a copy; where a format choice is offered, choose JPG. If your version has no format option, use Paint as described next.

Paint is the most reliable built-in way to turn a single HEIC into a JPG, because its Save as menu has been the same for years.

1. Right-click the .HEIC file and choose Open with › Paint.
2. In Paint, choose File › Save as › JPEG picture.
3. Pick a folder and a name, then click Save.

Paint needs the same extensions as Photos: if it cannot open the file, install them first. Two limits are worth knowing. Paint handles one file at a time, which is tedious for a whole holiday. And it does not carry over photo details such as the date taken, so the JPG may sort by the day you converted it rather than the day you took it.

For a folder of iPhone photos, the faster route is our HEIC to JPG converter. It runs in Edge, Chrome or Firefox on Windows and does not need the Store extensions, because it brings its own HEIC decoder.

1. Open the HEIC to JPG converter and click Choose files, or drag the photos (or, in Chrome and Edge, a whole folder) onto the page.
2. Leave quality at 90 unless you need smaller files. Keep date taken on so the photos stay in order; remove location is on by default.
3. Press convert, then Download all (ZIP) and extract the ZIP where you want the JPGs.

The first time, the page downloads its HEIC engine (about 1–2 MB) and shows the size. Your photos are not uploaded: KiteConvert converts them on your PC. After the engine has loaded, you can turn off Wi-Fi and the conversion still runs.

If you regularly copy photos from an iPhone to a Windows PC, two iPhone settings save you the conversion step:

• Settings › Camera › Formats › Most Compatible makes the camera shoot JPG (and H.264 video) from now on. Files get larger, roughly twice the size.
• The Transfer to Mac or PC setting in the iPhone’s Photos settings, set to Automatic, converts photos to JPG while they are copied over a USB cable. Apple moved this setting in iOS 18 to Settings › Apps › Photos; on older versions it is Settings › Photos.

The second option keeps the space-saving HEIC on the phone and only converts copies, which is usually the better trade.

• Thumbnails stay blank after installing. Restart File Explorer (or sign out and back in) so it reloads the codecs.
• Photos asks for the HEVC extension even though HEIF is installed. The HEIF extension alone reads the container but not the picture; the HEVC part is still needed, or use the browser converter.
• The photo opens as a short video. That is a Live Photo that was shared in a way that kept its motion part. The still HEIC is the photo; the separate .MOV is the motion clip.
• A “.heic” file opens fine everywhere. Some apps rename JPGs to .heic. Our converter checks the real format from the file’s contents and simply hands back the JPG.

For viewing: install HEIF Image Extensions (free) and, if needed, HEVC Video Extensions. For converting one or two photos: Paint’s Save as. For a batch, or on a work PC where you cannot install Store apps: convert in the browser. For the future: set the iPhone to transfer photos as JPG automatically, and keep HEIC on the phone where it saves space.