Convert HEIC to JPG on Windows, Mac or Phone
Short answer
On a Mac, open the photos in Preview, select all, then File → Export Selected Images → JPEG — no download needed. On iPhone, long-press the file in the Files app and use Quick Actions → Convert Image. On Windows, use a browser converter that processes locally, since Windows needs a paid codec to decode HEIC natively.
On this page
HEIC is a good format that almost nothing outside Apple’s ecosystem will open. Which platform you are on changes the answer completely — a Mac converts a hundred files in ten seconds with no software, while Windows needs either money or a workaround.
This guide covers each platform properly. If you are specifically on Windows and want the full picture on codecs and licensing, the Windows-focused guide goes deeper on that, including the HEVC extension purchase and offline batch tools.
On a Mac: Preview does it, for free
macOS ships with the HEVC decoder, so HEIC files already open everywhere. The conversion is built into Preview.
Batch conversion in Preview
- In Finder, select all the HEIC files. Press Space then Enter, or right-click → Open With → Preview.
- In Preview, show the sidebar (View → Thumbnails) and press Cmd+A to select every image.
- File → Export Selected Images.
- Click Options at the bottom of the save dialog, set Format to JPEG, and set the quality slider.
- Pick a destination folder and click Choose.
Preview handles several hundred images comfortably. The quality slider has no numbers, but roughly three-quarters along corresponds to about 85% quality, which is visually indistinguishable from the original.
A permanent right-click option with Quick Actions
If you convert regularly, build a Quick Action once and it appears in Finder’s right-click menu forever.
- Open Automator → New Document → Quick Action.
- Set Workflow receives to image files in Finder.
- Drag in Copy Finder Items first (so originals survive), pointing at a folder.
- Drag in Change Type of Images and set the type to JPEG.
- Save as something like “Convert to JPEG”.
Right-clicking any selection of HEIC files now shows Quick Actions → Convert to JPEG. On recent macOS versions, Finder also has a built-in Quick Actions → Convert Image entry that does the same with less setup, offering JPEG, PNG or HEIF plus a size preset.
Command line, if you prefer
sips is built in and good for scripting:
sips -s format jpeg -s formatOptions 85 *.heic --out ./convertedCreate the converted folder first. This runs through a directory in seconds.
On iPhone: the Files app
You do not need to move photos to a computer at all.
- In Photos, select the photos → share icon → Save to Files. Choose a folder under On My iPhone.
- Open Files, navigate there, and tap Select to pick the files.
- Long-press the selection → Quick Actions → Convert Image.
- Choose JPEG, pick a size (Actual Size keeps the dimensions), and decide whether to keep metadata.
The converted JPGs appear alongside the originals. Share them straight from Files, or save them back to Photos.
Choosing Remove Location here is worth a moment’s thought — photos carry GPS coordinates, and a form upload or an email forwards them along with the image.
The AirDrop and share-sheet rules
Worth knowing because it causes confusion:
| How you send it | What arrives |
|---|---|
| AirDrop to a Mac | HEIC, unchanged |
| AirDrop to a PC (via Windows app) | HEIC, unchanged |
| Email from Photos | Usually converted to JPG |
| WhatsApp / Messenger | JPG, heavily recompressed |
| USB to PC, Transfer = Automatic | JPG |
| USB to PC, Transfer = Keep Originals | HEIC |
| iCloud for Windows download | Depends on the same Transfer setting |
That last pair is the setting most people have never seen. Settings → Photos → Transfer to Mac or PC controls it, and setting it to Automatic means your photos arrive on a PC as JPG with no conversion step at all — covered fully in stopping the iPhone saving as HEIC.
On Windows
Windows is the awkward one, because Microsoft does not license the HEVC decoder for free distribution.
With the extensions installed
If you have HEIF Image Extensions (free) and HEVC Video Extensions (about £0.79 / $0.99) from the Microsoft Store, HEIC files open natively, and the Photos app can convert:
- Open the photo in Photos.
- Edit image → the save dropdown → Save as copy.
- Choose JPG in the file type list.
This is one at a time, which is painful for a batch. For bulk, IrfanView with its plugin pack does File → Batch Conversion on unlimited files offline, as does XnConvert.
Check first whether HEVC Video Extensions from Device Manufacturer installs on your PC — it is the same codec, free, and available if your hardware maker licensed it.
Without installing anything
Our HEIC to JPG converter runs the decoder in your browser as WebAssembly, so it works on a PC with no codec installed and the photos never leave your machine. Drop in up to 20 files, choose JPG, and download them individually or together.
That last point matters more than it sounds. Most free online HEIC converters upload your files to their server, and holiday photos carry the coordinates of where they were taken.
On Android
Android has decoded HEIC since version 9, so most phones open them fine, and Google Photos converts on export without you asking. The usual problem is an app that will not accept a HEIC upload.
- Google Photos: open the photo, make any trivial edit, Save copy — the copy is a JPG.
- Files by Google: no conversion feature.
- Browser: the same browser-based converter works on Android exactly as it does on a desktop, which is the most direct route.
Choosing the output format
JPG is the default but not always right.
| Destination | Format | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Forms, email, Windows, printing | JPG | Universal support |
| A website you control | WebP | ~30% smaller than JPG |
| Further editing | PNG or TIFF | Lossless, no generation loss |
| Long-term archive | Keep HEIC | Half the space, and support is growing |
If the converted JPGs are now too large for an upload limit, convert and compress in one step rather than two — set a maximum dimension during the conversion, or run the output through the image compressor. The upload limit guide covers choosing dimensions.
What not to do
- Do not rename
.heicto.jpg. The extension is a label, not a conversion. Nothing will open the result. - Do not screenshot HEIC photos to “convert” them. You get a lossy screen-resolution copy, usually as a PNG that is larger than the JPG would have been.
- Do not convert your only copy. Keep the HEIC originals until you have confirmed the JPGs are correct, particularly after a batch run.
- Do not convert photographs to PNG. Lossless compression of a photograph produces a file several times larger with no visible benefit.
- Do not use an unknown online converter for personal photos. Location metadata is a real exposure.
- Do not convert the same photos repeatedly. If you are doing this monthly, change the iPhone setting instead.
What to expect
Preview on a Mac converts 200 photos in well under a minute. The Files app on iPhone handles a dozen in seconds. A browser converter on Windows does 20 at a time including a one-time decoder load.
Expect the JPGs to be roughly twice the size of the HEIC originals — that is HEIC’s efficiency advantage showing up as the cost of compatibility, not a fault in the conversion. If Windows is refusing to show the files at all before you even get to converting, why Windows 11 cannot open HEIC explains what is missing.