How to Convert iPhone HEIC Photos to JPG

Since iOS 11, iPhones save photos as HEIC by default — a format that compresses better than JPG at the same quality, which is why Apple switched to it. The catch is that HEIC support isn't universal. Some upload forms, older Windows software, and certain printers still expect a plain JPG and will simply reject a HEIC file outright.

Why the browser matters here

Converting an image in the browser depends on the browser being able to open it in the first place. Safari on macOS and iOS can decode HEIC natively, so a browser-based converter tends to work well there. Chrome and Firefox on Windows generally can't decode HEIC on their own, which means a HEIC file may fail to open in any browser-based tool — not just ours — until it's already been converted to something more universal.

The most reliable starting point

If you're on an iPhone or Mac, try our Convert Image Format tool directly in Safari first. If you're on Windows and the file won't open, the fastest fix is exporting a JPG copy from the Photos app itself before it ever reaches a browser: open the photo, use the share sheet, and choose "Save as JPEG" (or AirDrop/email it to yourself, which converts it automatically on many iPhones).

Stop it from happening again

If this trips you up often, change the capture format going forward: Settings → Camera → Formats → "Most Compatible" saves new photos directly as JPG instead of HEIC. It's a slightly larger file per photo, but it removes the conversion step entirely for anything you shoot afterward.

Once you have a JPG

If the converted photo is now larger than you need, our Resize Image and Compress Image tools can bring it down to a reasonable size for email or upload, entirely in your browser.