HEIC to JPG: why iPhone photos will not open, and three ways to fix it
Since iOS 11 the iPhone camera saves HEIC by default. Here is how to convert the photos you already have, and how to stop the problem at the source.
What HEIC is
HEIC is the container Apple uses for the High Efficiency format. It stores roughly the same picture as a JPG in about half the space, which is why the iPhone camera has used it by default since iOS 11.
The trouble starts outside Apple’s world: plenty of upload forms, older Windows installs, print shops and web tools still accept only JPG or PNG. The photo is fine — the container is unfamiliar.
Three ways out
The second and third options only help from now on, which is why most people need the first one at least once.
- Convert the photos you already have. Any batch converter turns HEIC into JPG; keep the quality at 85 or above and the difference is invisible.
- Stop it at the camera: Settings → Camera → Formats → Most Compatible makes the iPhone shoot JPEG from then on. Photos already taken stay HEIC.
- Convert on the way out: Settings → Photos → Transfer to Mac or PC → Automatic converts when you copy photos to a computer, where “Keep Originals” does not.
What you lose, and what you do not
A JPG made from a HEIC is a little larger on disk and cannot hold the depth or Live Photo data of the original, so keep the originals if you edit portraits. For a form upload, a print or a message, none of that matters.
Photos taken in HDR can look slightly flatter as JPG, because JPG has no place to store the extra brightness range.
Doing it in ToolMelo
The photos are decoded in your browser and never uploaded, which also means a photo of your passport or an ID card does not leave the device.
- Open HEIC to JPG and drop in up to 20 photos, or a whole folder’s worth in batches.
- Choose the quality, preview the results, then download them one by one or as a ZIP.
- If the form also caps the file size, send the converted photos straight to Image Compressor and enter the KB limit.