How do I convert HEIC to JPG for free?

Open the photo in ResizeAny in any modern browser, choose JPG as the output format and download it. The conversion runs on your device, so the photo is not uploaded. On a Mac you can also open it in Preview and use File > Export with the format set to JPEG.

Why can't I open HEIC files on Windows?

HEIC is an HEIF image compressed with HEVC, and Windows needs extra codecs to read it. Microsoft says to install both the free HEIF Image Extensions and the HEVC Video Extensions ($0.99) from the Microsoft Store, then restart the Photos app.

How do I stop my iPhone taking HEIC photos?

Go to Settings > Camera > Formats and choose Most Compatible. New photos are then saved as JPEG instead of HEIF. Photos you already took stay in HEIC, so convert those separately.

Does converting HEIC to JPG lose quality?

JPG is a lossy format, so the photo is compressed again, but at a high quality setting the difference is very hard to see. The JPG file will usually be larger than the HEIC original, because HEIC compresses more efficiently.

Can Android phones open HEIC files?

Android has been able to decode HEIF images since Android 9, so many phones can show them in the gallery. Websites and apps may still reject them, and Chrome does not display HEIC on web pages, so converting to JPG is the safe choice for uploads.

Can I convert many HEIC photos to JPG at once?

Yes. ResizeAny's bulk mode takes up to 100 images at a time, up to 50 MB each, and lets you download all the JPGs in one ZIP file. Preview on a Mac can also export several selected images in one go.

How to Convert HEIC to JPG on Windows, Android and Online

You send a photo from your iPhone to your laptop, double-click it, and Windows says it can’t open the file. Or an upload form rejects it. The file ends in .heic, and the fix is to convert HEIC to JPG, which every computer, phone and website accepts. This guide covers the built-in options on Windows, iPhone, Mac and Android, and how to do it in a browser without sending your photos to anyone.

Quick answer: To convert HEIC to JPG, open the photo in a converter that runs in your browser, such as ResizeAny, pick JPG and download it. On a Mac, use Preview’s File > Export. On Windows, the free HEIF Image Extensions plus the $0.99 HEVC Video Extensions let Photos open HEIC files. To stop new HEIC photos, set iPhone Settings > Camera > Formats to Most Compatible.

What is a HEIC file?

HEIC is Apple’s name for an HEIF image compressed with HEVC, the same codec used for high-efficiency video. Apple says iPhone 7 and later capture photos in HEIF from iOS 11 onward, and support for viewing it arrived in iOS 11 and macOS High Sierra (10.13). So if your iPhone is from the last several years and you never changed the camera settings, your photos are HEIC.

Apple uses it because the files are smaller. WebKit’s Safari 17 notes say a HEIC photo can be about half the size of a JPEG of similar quality. That saves a lot of phone storage, but it comes at a cost: support outside Apple’s own devices is patchy.

	HEIC	JPG
File extension	.heic (sometimes .heif)	.jpg or .jpeg
Compression	HEVC inside an HEIF container	JPEG, lossy
File size at similar quality	About half of JPEG, per WebKit	Larger
Opens on Windows out of the box	No, needs Store extensions	Yes
Shows in web browsers	Safari 17 and later	Every browser
Accepted by upload forms	Often rejected	Almost always

Convert HEIC to JPG online, without uploading

Most “HEIC to JPG online” sites upload your photo to a server, convert it there and send it back. For holiday photos that may not bother you. For a photo of your passport, your kids or your house, it should.

ResizeAny converts the file inside your browser. When you add a HEIC photo, the page loads a HEIC decoder (libheif compiled to WebAssembly, about 3 MB, fetched only when a HEIC file shows up), turns the photo into a high-quality JPEG on your device, and opens it in the editor. Safari already decodes HEIC, so there the decoder step is skipped. Nothing is sent to a server.

Open ResizeAny in Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari, on a computer or a phone.
Drop in the .heic photo, or tap to choose it. Single files can be up to 70 MB.
Set the output format to JPG. Leave the size alone if you only want a JPG, or set new dimensions or a file size limit at the same step.
Download the JPG.

For a batch, use bulk image resize: up to 100 photos at a time, 50 MB each, downloaded together as a ZIP. One more thing I like about doing it this way: the JPG is re-encoded from the pixels, so the iPhone’s EXIF data, including the GPS location, isn’t copied into the new file.

If the photo also has to fit a form’s limit, you can do both at once. The resize to 1 MB and resize to 200 KB presets are common starting points, and how to reduce an image to 50 KB covers the strict limits.

How to convert HEIC to JPG on Windows

Windows often can’t read HEIC until you add two codecs. Microsoft’s own support page says to install both the HEIF Image Extensions (free) and the HEVC Video Extensions ($0.99) from the Microsoft Store, even if you only care about photos, and then restart the Photos app. The same page suggests OneDrive as a way to convert photos automatically.

That gets the photos opening. It doesn’t give you a quick “convert this folder to JPG” button, and Microsoft’s Photos help doesn’t document one. To actually get JPG files, the simplest route is the browser method above: drag the HEIC files into the page and download a ZIP.

You can also avoid the problem at the source. Apple says HEIC photos may be converted to JPEG when you import them from an iPhone to a PC. If yours arrive as HEIC, check Settings > Apps > Photos on the iPhone: when Keep Originals is selected, the conversion is switched off.

On iPhone: stop taking HEIC photos

To make new photos JPG, go to Settings > Camera > Formats and choose Most Compatible. Apple’s guide says photos and videos then use JPEG and H.264. Switch back to High Efficiency when you want the space savings again.

This only affects new photos. Everything already in your library stays HEIC. Sharing by AirDrop, Messages or email can convert a photo to JPEG when the receiving device doesn’t support HEIF, but you can’t count on that for a website upload, so convert those files yourself.

On a Mac: use Preview

Preview does the job without installing anything. Open the photo, choose File > Export, set Format to JPEG, pick a quality and save. Apple’s Preview guide explains that you can convert several at once: open them in one window, select them all in the sidebar and export. Photos for Mac can export as JPEG too.

On Android

Android has handled HEIF for a while. The Android developer docs list HEIF decoding from Android 9, and HEIC camera capture was added in Android 10. So your gallery app may show a HEIC photo someone sent you without trouble.

The problems start when you try to use it. Chrome doesn’t display HEIC on web pages, and plenty of forms and apps refuse it. On Android, open ResizeAny in Chrome, choose the photo from your files, set JPG and download. It works the same way as on a computer, though a big batch takes longer on an older phone.

Which method should you use?

Situation	Best option	Cost	Uploads your photo?
One photo, any device	Browser converter (ResizeAny)	Free	No
Many photos at once	ResizeAny bulk mode or Mac Preview	Free	No
Just want to view HEIC on Windows	HEIF and HEVC Store extensions	$0.99	No
Never want HEIC again	iPhone Most Compatible setting	Free	No

Quality and file size after converting

JPG is lossy, so converting re-compresses the photo. At a high quality setting you won’t see a difference in normal use. Expect the JPG to be bigger than the HEIC, though, because you’re going from a more efficient format to a less efficient one. If size matters more than compatibility, WebP or AVIF can be smaller than JPG; our JPG vs PNG vs WebP vs AVIF guide explains when each one makes sense. For forms and email, stick with JPG.