You copied photos off an iPhone, the transfer worked, and now Windows will not show you a single one of them. Nothing failed. The files are in a format called HEIC, and Windows needs either a small download or a different approach. There are four ways out, and one of them stops the problem happening again.
The quick answer: double-click one first, because many Windows 11 PCs already open HEIC. If not, install the free HEIF Image Extensions from the Microsoft Store. To stop new HEIC files ever appearing, set Settings > Camera > Formats to Most Compatible on the iPhone. And if you are moving photos across to use them anyway, sending them wirelessly avoids the format completely. Free on the App Store
What a .HEIC file actually is, and why Apple ships a format Windows struggles with
It helps to know this is a deliberate trade, not a bug or a compatibility oversight:
- HEIC is a newer, far more efficient way to store a photo. The same picture at the same visible quality takes roughly half the space of a JPEG. On a phone with a 48-megapixel camera, that is a lot of storage saved.
- Apple switched to it as the default in 2017, so unless someone changed a setting, every photo an iPhone has taken since then is a HEIC file.
- The efficiency comes from video compression. HEIC stores a still image using HEVC, a video codec, which is exactly why support is patchy: the codec is patent-encumbered and licensing it costs money.
- That licensing is why Microsoft split it into two downloads, one free and one not. More on that below, because it is the part that confuses everyone.
- The file is not damaged and the transfer did not fail. Windows simply does not have the decoder, and it says so in the least helpful way possible.
Try one first: many Windows 11 machines already open HEIC and nobody tells you
- Support has been arriving quietly. Depending on your Windows build and how the PC was set up, HEIC may already work, so the first step is genuinely just to double-click a file.
- Thumbnails are a separate thing from opening. You can end up able to open a HEIC in the Photos app while File Explorer still shows blank icons. Both come from the same extension, so installing it fixes the thumbnails too.
- Some PCs came with it pre-installed by the manufacturer, which is why one machine in a house opens them and another does not.
The Microsoft Store extensions: which one is free, which one costs a dollar, and why there are two
- HEIF Image Extensions is free. This is the one that teaches Windows the container format. Install it from the Microsoft Store and most HEIC photos start opening.
- HEVC Video Extensions is a paid item, around one dollar. It supplies the actual video codec used inside many HEIC files, and without it some photos still refuse to open even with the free package installed.
- You may also see "HEVC Video Extensions from Device Manufacturer" listed for free. It is the same codec, provided under a manufacturer licence, and whether it is available to you depends on your PC. It is worth checking for before paying.
- Install the free one first and test. If your photos open, you are done and you owe Microsoft nothing.
- This is a per-PC fix, not a per-photo one. Fine for your own machine, useless the moment you send a HEIC file to someone else.
The one iPhone setting that stops HEIC at the source, and what it costs you
If you would rather never think about this again, change the camera format on the phone. This is the fix most people actually want:
- Go to Settings > Camera > Formats and choose Most Compatible. From then on the iPhone records JPEG photos and H.264 video, which every version of Windows opens.
- It only affects new photos. Everything already in your library stays as HEIC, so this fixes the future and not the past.
- The cost is storage. JPEG files are roughly twice the size for the same picture, so your library will grow faster.
- There is a second setting worth checking too. Settings > Photos > Transfer to Mac or PC set to Automatic makes the iPhone convert HEIC to JPEG as it transfers over a cable, which covers your existing library without changing the camera.
- Set that one to Keep Originals and you get raw HEIC, which is what you want if you are archiving and have already installed the extension.
Converting HEIC files you already have, in bulk, without installing anything
- The Photos app can do a few at a time. Open a HEIC, choose Save as, and pick JPEG. Fine for one or two, tedious past that.
- Paint handles single files just as well, and is sometimes quicker: open, then Save as JPEG.
- For a whole folder, a batch converter is the sane option. Plenty of free tools do it locally, which matters because the alternative is uploading your photos to a website.
- Be careful with online converters. They work, but you are handing personal photos to a stranger's server. For holiday snaps that may be fine. For anything with documents, receipts or children in it, use a local tool.
- Expect a small quality loss and a large size gain. JPEG is also lossy, so re-encoding costs a little detail you will not see, and the file roughly doubles in size.
Avoid the format entirely: send the photo as a JPEG in the first place
Every fix above deals with a HEIC file after it has reached your PC. If the reason you are moving photos is to use them rather than archive them, you can stop the file ever being HEIC.
- Camera to Clipboard sends a standard JPEG. The photo is converted on the phone before it is sent, so what arrives on Windows opens everywhere, with no extension installed and no conversion step.
- It lands on the clipboard, not in a folder. Press Ctrl + V and it is in your document or email. There is no file to convert because there is no file.
- It works regardless of the camera setting. You do not have to switch the iPhone to Most Compatible or give up the storage saving on the phone itself.
- Nothing is uploaded. The conversion and the transfer both happen between your two devices over your own network.
- It works on a batch, not just one photo. Select several existing photos and every one arrives as a JPEG, so a whole set stops being HEIC in one go.
Every HEIC fix compared: what it costs, how long it lasts, and what it does not cover
Click any column header to sort (best first; click again to reverse).
| Fix | Cost | Effort | Covers old photos | Covers new photos | Works on other PCs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HEIF Image Extensions | Free | One install | Yes | Yes | No, per PC |
| HEVC Video Extensions | About $1 | One install | Yes | Yes | No, per PC |
| iPhone set to Most Compatible | Free | One setting | No | Yes | Yes |
| Transfer to PC set to Automatic | Free | One setting | Yes, on USB transfer | Yes | Yes |
| Batch converting to JPG | Free | Per folder, every time | Yes | No | Yes |
| Camera to Clipboard | Free to try | One app each end | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Which fix should you use: it depends on whether you are archiving or using the photo
- You want your whole library readable on this PC: install the free HEIF extension, and the paid HEVC one only if some files still refuse.
- You never want to see a HEIC file again: set the iPhone camera to Most Compatible and accept larger files.
- You want your existing library converted as it transfers: set Transfer to Mac or PC to Automatic and import over a cable.
- You are sending photos to other people: convert to JPG, or send from an app that already does. A HEIC file is a problem you are handing on.
- You mostly move photos across to use them rather than to archive them: use a direct wireless transfer and the format stops being your problem.
Common questions about HEIC photos on Windows
How do I open a HEIC file on Windows?
Try double-clicking it first, because many Windows 11 installs already display HEIC. If that fails, install the free HEIF Image Extensions from the Microsoft Store. Some HEIC files also need the paid HEVC Video Extensions, because the image inside them is compressed with the HEVC codec.
How do I stop my iPhone taking HEIC photos?
Go to Settings > Camera > Formats and choose Most Compatible. From then on the iPhone records JPEG photos and H.264 video, which every version of Windows opens. Photos already taken stay in HEIC, so this fixes the future rather than the past.
Does converting HEIC to JPG lose quality?
Slightly, because JPEG is also lossy and the image is re-encoded once. At normal quality settings the difference is not visible on screen. The larger cost is file size: the same photo as a JPEG is usually around twice the size of the HEIC original.