The short answer
- To open them: install HEIF Image Extensions and, if your PC doesn’t have it, HEVC Video Extensions from the Microsoft Store.
- To get JPGs instead: let the iPhone convert while you copy, or switch the camera to Most Compatible for future photos.
- To have both: keep the HEIC originals and make JPG copies next to them.
HEIC is the format your iPhone uses for photos by default. The pictures look the same as JPGs but take up about half the space. Windows can open them, but only once two small add-ons from Microsoft are installed, so on a fresh PC you see blank thumbnails or an error instead of your photos.
What HEIC is
When Settings → Camera → Formats is set to High Efficiency (the default), the iPhone saves photos as HEIC and videos as HEVC. Both use the same efficient compression, which is why Windows needs the HEVC codec as well as the HEIF image support to show them.
Option 1: Install the HEIF and HEVC extensions
- Open the Microsoft Store, search for HEIF Image Extensions, and install it. It’s free.
- Search for HEVC Video Extensions. Many PCs already have it; if yours doesn’t, it’s a small one-time purchase.
- Close and reopen the Photos app. HEIC photos now open normally, and File Explorer shows their thumbnails.
This keeps your photos exactly as the iPhone took them, at full quality and half the size, and it’s the right fix if you just want to view them.
Option 2: Save a JPG copy of one photo
With the extensions installed, open the photo in Paint and choose File → Save as → JPEG picture. It’s fine for a few photos you want to email or upload, and slow for hundreds.
Option 3: Let the iPhone convert while you copy
On the iPhone, Settings → Apps → Photos → Transfer to Mac or PC → Automatic makes the phone convert photos to JPG as Windows copies them. It’s the least work, with two catches: you don’t keep the originals on your PC, and on large imports the conversion can make Windows stop with “A device attached to the system is not functioning”.
Option 4: Take JPG photos from now on
Set Settings → Camera → Formats to Most Compatible. New photos are saved as JPG and videos as H.264, which open anywhere but take roughly twice the space. Photos you’ve already taken stay HEIC.
Best of both: originals plus JPG copies
If you want the small, full-quality originals and JPGs for other apps or people, keep both. Copy the HEIC originals to your PC, then add a JPG copy of each one beside it.
Questions people ask
Is HEIC lower quality than JPG?
No. HEIC keeps similar or better quality than JPG at about half the file size. Converting a HEIC to JPG makes a larger file, not a better one.
I installed HEIF Image Extensions and they still won’t open. Why?
HEIC photos are compressed with HEVC, so Windows also needs HEVC Video Extensions. Install it from the Microsoft Store and reopen the Photos app.
Can I convert a whole folder of HEIC photos?
Paint works one photo at a time. For a whole library it’s easier to get JPGs during the transfer, either with the iPhone’s Automatic setting or with JPG copies in PixelBeam.
Should I switch my camera to Most Compatible?
Only if you need every photo as a JPG straight away. You’ll use about twice the storage on your phone and in iCloud.