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How to open and convert iPhone HEIC photos to JPG

You emailed a photo from your iPhone and the other person cannot open it, or a form says "invalid file type". The photo is probably a HEIC file. It is a good format, but much of the world has not caught up with it. Here is how to deal with it.

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What HEIC is, and why your iPhone uses it

HEIC is a modern photo format that keeps the same quality as JPG in a file about half the size, which saves space on the phone. Apple switched to it by default. The trouble is that older Windows versions, many websites, printing shops and almost all government and exam upload forms still expect JPG.

Convert HEIC to JPG

  1. Open HEIC to JPG and add the photos. Many can be added at once.
  2. Leave the quality at 92% unless the file must be small.
  3. Press the button and download the JPG files. Several arrive together as a ZIP.
  4. If a form also has a size limit, run the JPG through Compress Image to get it under, for example, 50 KB or 200 KB.

Make your iPhone save JPG from now on

  1. Open Settings on the iPhone.
  2. Choose Camera, then Formats.
  3. Select "Most Compatible". New photos are saved as JPG.

What you lose, and what you do not

The picture looks the same at the default quality, and it is not resized. The converted file does not carry the date, camera model or GPS location of the original, which is better when you share a photo online. Keep the HEIC original if you need those details, or want to edit it again later.

For a Live Photo or a burst, only the main photo is converted, as a still picture.

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