How to Change HEIC to JPG on iPhone, Mac, Android and Windows (No Software Needed)

You do not need to install anything to change HEIC to JPG. Every device that produces HEIC photos already has a built-in way to hand them over as JPG: the iPhone converts them the moment you share or transfer them, the Mac has a right-click “Convert Image” action and a Terminal command that batch-converts a whole folder in seconds, Android phones can be told to export JPG when sharing, and Windows 11 opens and re-saves HEIC through the Photos and Paint apps. Below are the exact menu paths for each platform, followed by the one-step option for when you have a whole batch and would rather not touch settings at all.

HEIC (High Efficiency Image Container) has been the default photo format on iPhones since iOS 11 in 2017. It stores roughly the same picture quality as JPG in about half the file size, which is why Apple and most Android makers switched to it. The catch is compatibility: older Windows PCs, many web upload forms, government portals, print kiosks, and some email clients still do not accept it. Converting to JPG fixes that, and you lose nothing you would notice on a photo.

How to change HEIC to JPG on iPhone

The iPhone gives you four different ways to get a JPG out of a HEIC, and none of them involves the App Store. Pick the one that matches what you are doing.

Option 1: Share the photo as “Most Compatible”

This is the method to use when you need a JPG of one or a few photos right now.

1. Open the Photos app and select the photo (or tap Select and pick several).
2. Tap the Share button in the bottom-left corner.
3. Tap Options at the top of the share sheet.
4. Under Format, choose Most Compatible, then tap Done.
5. Send the photo by AirDrop, Mail, Messages, or save it to Files. The copy that arrives is a JPG.

The Format option appears on iOS 16 and later. On older versions, sharing by Mail or Messages still converts to JPG automatically; only AirDrop and “Save to Files” keep the original HEIC.

Option 2: Copy and paste into the Files app

A lesser known trick: when you copy a photo out of Photos and paste it into a folder in the Files app, iOS pastes a JPG, not a HEIC. Select the photos, tap Share, tap Copy Photos (or long-press one image and choose Copy), then open Files, go to any folder in On My iPhone or iCloud Drive, long-press an empty area and tap Paste. The pasted files are named IMG_xxxx.JPG and can be shared or uploaded from there.

Option 3: Convert automatically when transferring to a computer

If the goal is to move photos to a PC or Mac over a cable, let the iPhone convert them on the way out.

1. Open Settings and scroll to Photos (on iOS 18 and later it is under Apps, then Photos).
2. Scroll to Transfer to Mac or PC.
3. Select Automatic.

With Automatic on, the phone converts HEIC to JPG (and HEVC video to H.264) whenever a computer imports from it over USB, using Image Capture, Photos, the Windows Photos app, or File Explorer. Choose Keep Originals only if you specifically want the HEIC files.

Option 4: Stop shooting HEIC in the first place

If you never want to deal with HEIC again, tell the camera to save JPG.

1. Open Settings, then Camera, then Formats.
2. Under Camera Capture, choose Most Compatible.

New photos will be JPG and new videos H.264. Existing HEIC photos are not converted, so use one of the methods above for those. Expect photos to take roughly twice as much space; if storage is tight, our guide to freeing up iPhone storage covers the quick wins.

How to change HEIC to JPG on Mac

macOS has handled HEIC natively since High Sierra, and since Monterey (macOS 12) there is a conversion action built right into Finder. Three options, from easiest to most powerful.

Finder Quick Action (Monterey and later)

1. In Finder, select one HEIC file or a whole group of them.
2. Right-click (or Control-click) the selection.
3. Choose Quick Actions, then Convert Image.
4. Set Format to JPEG, pick an image size (Actual Size keeps full resolution), and decide whether to keep metadata.
5. Click Convert to JPEG.

The JPG copies appear next to the originals. This works on hundreds of files at once, which makes it the best built-in batch converter on any platform.

Preview

Open the HEIC in Preview, go to File, then Export, choose JPEG from the Format menu, drag the Quality slider (around 80 to 90 percent is the sweet spot), and click Save. In the Photos app the equivalent path is File, then Export, then Export Photos, with Photo Kind set to JPEG.

Terminal, for batches and automation

Every Mac ships with sips, Apple’s scriptable image tool. Open Terminal, cd into the folder with your photos, and run:

for f in *.HEIC *.heic; do [ -e "$f" ] && sips -s format jpeg -s formatOptions 90 "$f" --out "${f%.*}.jpg"; done

That converts every HEIC in the folder to a JPG at 90 percent quality, keeps the originals, and finishes a few hundred photos in under a minute. Drop the formatOptions flag if you want the default quality.

How to change HEIC to JPG on Android

Android phones have been able to shoot HEIC since Android 10, and Samsung, Google, and OnePlus all offer it as an option, sometimes on by default under a “storage saver” or “high efficiency” label. There is no system-wide converter, but the built-in apps cover it.

Google Photos: Edit, then Save copy

This works on any Android phone with Google Photos, and it needs no settings change.

1. Open the HEIC photo in Google Photos.
2. Tap Edit.
3. Make a trivial adjustment (a crop of a single pixel, or open and close a filter) so the Save button activates, or simply tap Save copy if it is already available.
4. Tap Save copy.

Google Photos writes the copy as a JPG in the same album. The original HEIC stays untouched.

Samsung Gallery: convert when sharing

Samsung includes an automatic conversion switch. Open Gallery, tap the menu (three lines), then Settings, then look under Advanced (or “More settings”) for the option to convert HEIF/HEIC pictures when sharing. Turn it on, and anything you send from Gallery to another app, a message, or email goes out as JPG.

Turn HEIC off in the camera

To stop creating HEIC files: on a Samsung, open Camera, tap the gear, go to Picture formats (or Advanced picture options) and switch off High efficiency pictures. On a Pixel, open Camera settings, choose Advanced, and turn off Storage saver. Other brands put a similar toggle under Camera settings with “HEIF” in the name.

How to change HEIC to JPG on Windows

Windows 11 and recent builds of Windows 10 can open HEIC through Microsoft’s own HEIF Image Extensions, which is preinstalled on most PCs and is a free download from the Microsoft Store if it is missing. It is a codec, not a converter app, and once it is present the built-in apps do the rest.

Photos app

1. Double-click the HEIC file so it opens in Photos.
2. Click the Edit image button (or press Ctrl+E).
3. Click the Save options menu and choose Save as copy.
4. In the file dialog, set Save as type to JPG and click Save.

Paint

Right-click the HEIC, choose Open with, then Paint. Go to File, then Save as, pick JPEG picture, and save. Paint keeps full resolution, so it is fine for prints and uploads.

Let the iPhone do it on import

If the photos are coming straight from an iPhone, the “Transfer to Mac or PC: Automatic” setting described in the iPhone section above means File Explorer and the Photos app import JPGs in the first place. The same happens with iCloud for Windows when its Photos option is set to download “Most Compatible” versions.

Which method should you use?

The simplest way: convert a batch of HEIC files online

Every method above works, but each has a limit. Windows and Android handle one file at a time. The iPhone share sheet gets tedious past a dozen photos. The Mac batch tools are excellent but only help if you own a Mac. If you have a folder of HEIC files and just want JPGs back without changing a single setting, the simplest route is a browser-based converter, and the one we point people to is heicjpg.online.

It is free with no premium tier, no account, and no email address, and the page carries no ads, which is rare for this category. You drag in up to 20 HEIC files at once (40 MB each, far above the 1 to 4 MB a typical iPhone photo weighs), conversion starts on its own, and you download the JPGs individually or as one archive. Output is full resolution with no watermark, encoded at quality 92, and EXIF data such as capture date, camera model, and GPS location is preserved rather than stripped, which most free converters get wrong. It works the same on a phone, a Chromebook, a Mac, or a Windows PC, since there is nothing to install.

Two things to know before uploading. The conversion happens on the site’s servers, not inside your browser, and converted files stay available for 30 days so you can return for the download, after which they are deleted automatically. The site states files are never shared, sold, or used for model training. For a family album that is fine; for anything confidential you would rather keep on the device, use the Mac or iPhone methods above instead.

Troubleshooting

The photo still arrives as HEIC after I share it

Check the Format under Options in the share sheet; it resets to Current on some iOS versions. AirDrop and “Save to Files” respect that setting, while Mail and Messages convert regardless.

Windows says the file cannot be opened

Search the Microsoft Store for HEIF Image Extensions (published by Microsoft) and install the free version. Reboot is not needed. The separate HEVC Video Extensions package is only for videos and is not required for photos.

The JPG looks slightly softer than the original

JPG is lossy, so a second generation always loses a little. Choose the highest quality your tool offers (Preview’s slider, the sips formatOptions value, or a converter that encodes at 90 or above) and avoid converting a JPG back to HEIC and then to JPG again.

Live Photos lost their motion

That is expected. A Live Photo is a HEIC still plus a short video; converting exports the still frame only. Keep the original if you want the motion.

Frequently asked questions

Does converting HEIC to JPG reduce quality?

Slightly, but not visibly for normal photos. HEIC and JPG are both lossy formats, and re-encoding at 90 percent quality or above produces a file you cannot tell apart from the original on screen or in print. The JPG will be about twice the size of the HEIC.

Can I change HEIC to JPG on iPhone without an app?

Yes. Share the photo with Format set to Most Compatible, copy it into the Files app, email it to yourself, or set Transfer to Mac or PC to Automatic. All four are built into iOS and produce a JPG copy while leaving the original in your library.

Why does my iPhone take HEIC photos instead of JPG?

Apple made HEIC the default in iOS 11 because it stores the same image in roughly half the space, and it supports features like Live Photos and depth data more efficiently. You can switch the camera to JPG under Settings, Camera, Formats, Most Compatible.

Is HEIC the same as HEIF?

HEIF is the container standard published by MPEG; HEIC is Apple’s name for HEIF files that hold HEVC-compressed images. In practice the .heic and .heif extensions are interchangeable, and every method in this guide handles both.

Does Windows 10 open HEIC files?

Yes, once the free HEIF Image Extensions package from the Microsoft Store is installed. Windows 10 version 1809 and later support it; Windows 11 usually includes it out of the box.

What is the fastest way to convert a lot of HEIC files?

On a Mac, select them all and use Finder’s Convert Image quick action, or the sips loop in Terminal. On any other device, upload them in batches of 20 to heicjpg.online and download the results as a single archive.

The bottom line

Changing HEIC to JPG is a settings change or a share-sheet tap on the iPhone, a right-click on the Mac, an Edit and Save copy in Google Photos on Android, and a Save as in Photos or Paint on Windows. Learn the one that matches your device and you will never need to install a converter. When the job is a whole folder rather than a photo or two, skip the per-file clicking and let heicjpg.online do it in one drag.