Due to compatibility issues, iOS automatically converts HEIC images to JPG whenever you share them with other apps. But if you use an iPhone and a PC, you are bound to collide heads with a HEIC file sooner rather than later. iCloud for Windows, for example, does not sync your HEIC images in a PC-compatible format. If you want to open HEIC files on Windows, you must either download the relevant codecs or convert them to a compatible format manually.
How to Open HEIC Files in Windows 10 With Codecs
How to Open HEIC Files in Windows 10 With Codecs
If you have Windows 10 version 1809 or later installed, you can open HEIC files by installing two codecs from Microsoft — HEIF Image Extensions and HEVC Video Extensions. HEVC (short for High-Efficiency Video Coding) is another efficient format that iPhones use to store videos. But there’s a catch; although HEIF Image Extensions is completely free, HEVC Video Extensions costs $0.99. Even if you have no intention of opening HEVC encoded videos, you must have both codecs installed to open HEIC files in Windows.
How to Convert HEIC Images to JPG in Windows 10
How to Convert HEIC Images to JPG in Windows 10
Codecs aside, there are several instances where you may want to convert HEIC files to a widely compatible image format in Windows.
You are dealing with a rare one-off batch of HEIC files.You don’t want to pay for the HEVC Video Extensions codec.You’re using an older version of Windows that does not support the HEIF Image Extensions and HEVC Video Extensions codecs.You want to share HEIC files with a person using a HEIC-incompatible device.Your computer runs into performance issues while opening HEIC images.
In these cases, we recommend using iMazing HEIC Converter. It’s a free utility that you can use to convert batches of HEIC files to the JPG or PNG formats easily.
Other Methods to View or Convert HEIC Files
Other Methods to View or Convert HEIC Files
You can take advantage of a handful of additional methods to deal with HEIC images if you use an iPhone and a PC.
Use iCloud Photos Web App
If you use iCloud Photos, you can view any image shot in the HEIC format via the iCloud.com web app in Windows. You can download any HEIC image from iCloud.com in the JPG format as well.
Transfer Images Over USB
Your iPhone can transfer HEIC images in a compatible format to your PC whenever you copy them via USB.
Shoot Photos in JPG on iPhone
You can also make an iPhone shoot photos directly in the JPG format. This can eliminate future compatibility issues with Windows, especially if you have iCloud Photos set up on your PC. However, JPG images will take up almost twice the size of a HEIC image, so you may not want to do this if your iPhone’s storage is a concern.
