You copied some photos off your iPhone, opened them on your Windows PC, and got .heic files that either won’t open or look wrong. Windows and Apple’s HEIC format have never gotten along perfectly. Here are your options, fastest first.

Quick answer: The quickest way is a browser-based converter — drop your HEIC files here and get JPGs back instantly, with nothing uploaded. If you’d rather use Windows itself, you can install Microsoft’s HEIF/HEVC extensions and export from the Photos app, but that’s more steps and sometimes costs a small fee.

Option 1: Convert in your browser (fastest)

No installs, no settings. Open the HEIC to JPG converter, drag in one photo or a whole batch, and click Convert. Each HEIC becomes a JPG that downloads immediately. Because it runs entirely in your browser, your photos never leave your PC — which matters if they’re personal. This works the same on any Windows version, and on Mac, Linux, and phones too.

Prefer a lossless copy for editing? Use HEIC to PNG instead.

Option 2: Use the Windows Photos app

Newer versions of Windows can open and export HEIC if the right codecs are installed:

  1. Try opening the .heic file in the Photos app. If Windows prompts you to install the HEIF Image Extensions, do so from the Microsoft Store.
  2. You may also need the HEVC Video Extensions, which sometimes carries a small charge (around $0.99).
  3. Once installed, open the photo in Photos, choose … → Save as, and pick JPG.

This works, but the codec hunt and the occasional fee make it clunky for a quick one-off.

Option 3: Change your iPhone so it stops making HEIC

If the problem is recurring, fix it at the source. On the iPhone: Settings → Camera → Formats → Most Compatible. From then on the camera saves JPGs, which open anywhere. You lose HEIC’s storage savings, but you skip conversion entirely going forward. (Photos already taken stay HEIC — you’ll still convert those.)

Which should I use?

  • A few photos, or anything private? The browser converter — it’s instant and nothing is uploaded.
  • You want Windows to open HEIC natively from now on? Install the extensions (Option 2).
  • Tired of dealing with it at all? Switch the iPhone to “Most Compatible” (Option 3).

Why does Windows struggle with HEIC anyway?

HEIC is Apple’s format, built on HEVC (H.265) compression. Apple adopted it as the iPhone default in 2017, but Windows didn’t ship the codecs by default for licensing reasons — hence the separate, sometimes paid, extensions. JPG has no such baggage: it’s been universally supported for three decades, which is exactly why converting to it just works.