If you’ve tried copying photos from your iPhone to your PC, you’ve probably hit a snag when trying to view them because of their unfamiliar HEIC format. Most PCs recognize image formats like PNG or JPEG, the latter being the most storage-friendly.

Whether you’re a photographer or just backing up your photos on your PC, you’re probably wondering how to open a HEIC file on Windows and convert to JPEG. We’ve got you covered with a few easy options.

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It’s Apple’s new name for the HEIF standard (short for High-Efficiency Image Format) to save photos, live photos, and videos on iPhones with more recent iOS versions (iOS 11 and above).

It allows saving digital photos in smaller file sizes through its modern compression algorithms while still maintaining higher image quality than the JPG image format.

JPG images can lose more details the more they’re compressed, while HEIC files maintain their quality and level of detail regardless of their compression.

HEIC formats can only be opened on iDevices, unlike JPG, which supports Windows and Apple’s devices.

So, What’s HEIC Anyway? 

There are some options that can help with this.

HEIC Image Viewer is available for free in the Windows Store. It’s pretty user-friendly and easy to use. So, all you have to do is download it and use it to open your HEIC photos on Windows.

The good thing about Image Viewer is that it needs no additional purchases, no extension support needed, and no converters either. 

Right-click on your photo, select Open With and choose HEIC Image Viewer.

You’ll find that Windows Photos can’t open HEIC photos by default. Instead, you’ll be prompted to download and install the HEIC support package.

However, you’ll need to purchase the HEIC support package before you can download and install it.

This may not work for you if you don’t prefer purchasing online software or if you know you won’t need it frequently enough to make the purchase.

Adobe Lightroom is an editing software by Adobe where you can open photos and other visual media in different formats.

Adobe software provides several registration options: you can subscribe to Lightroom as part of Adobe Creative Cloud, purchase the full version or use the trial version first.

Whatever option you choose, when you open Adobe Lightroom, go to the File menu, choose Add Photos, browse your computer for your HEIC photos directory, then open the photo you would like to view.

How To Open HEIC File on Windows

We’ve now covered what you can do only to view your photos and keep them in HEIC format. However, you may want to convert them to JPG format. Don’t worry, we got you covered.

Convert HEIC to JPG Using Real HEIC to JPG Converter

Real HEIC to JPG Converter is available on the Windows Store as a conversion tool from HEIC to JPG. It’s pretty intuitive to use and easy to get around like any other Windows app.

Using Real HEIC to JPG Converter, you can easily convert your HEIC photos to our beloved JPG format and save them for later to open normally in Windows Photos.

There are numerous online tools to convert your HEIC photos to JPG. HEIC to JPG is one of them, and here’s how you can use it:

Drag or choose the HEIC photo you want to convert.

The conversion will start automatically as soon as the photo is uploaded.

After the conversion is completed, download your new JPG image to your desired download folder.

Note that it can only convert up to six files, but you can easily work around this by closing your browser window and opening a new one. Then you can convert six more.

We’ve covered what you can do in the previous sections if you’ve already transferred your photos and stored them in HEIC format on your computer and would like to open them or convert them to JPG.

However, you can save yourself all this hassle from the very beginning, and we’re here to show you how.

How to Convert HEIC to JPEG

When connecting your iPhone or iPad to your PC or Mac, go to your device (iPhone or iPad) directory on the computer. Select Export Photos, choose to export them in JPG format and Start Export.

Now, your photos will be saved in JPG format in the directory to which you’ve selected them to be saved without the need to further conversion on any other extension support.

How to Export HEIC Photos to PC or Mac

You can save yourself a lot of time and effort with this tip. Now you’ve known that your photos are saved in HEIC format, you can change the format in which your images will be saved afterward.

You can set your iPhone to save the photos in JPG format through Settings > Camera > Format.

You’ll see the High-Efficiency option selected by default. Change it to Most Compatible.

You may want to know that saving photos in HEIC saves space on your device, but JPG will offer more compatibility to handle your files afterward.

HEIC Conversion Tip

To sum it up, you can use HEIC Image Viewer from the Windows Store, install HEIC extension support for Windows Photos, or purchase Adobe Lightroom to open and view your HEIC photos.

For converting HEIC to JPG, you can do that either on your PC or online. Many apps in the Windows Store, such as Real HEIC to JPG Converter, a free converting app. HEIC to JPG is a good, user-friendly option if you prefer online converters.

Finally, for a hassle-free image viewing from the start, you can simply choose to export your photos from your iPhone or iPad in JPG format, and you’ll have your photos saved so that you can quickly view them in Windows Photos.

How To Open HEIC File on Windows and Convert to JPEG

How To Open HEIC File on Windows and Convert to JPEG

So, What’s HEIC Anyway?

How To Open HEIC File on Windows

How to Convert HEIC to JPEG

How to Export HEIC Photos to PC or Mac

HEIC Conversion Tip

Conclusion

How To Open HEIC File on Windows and Convert to JPEG

How To Open HEIC File on Windows and Convert to JPEG

So, What’s HEIC Anyway?

How To Open HEIC File on Windows

How to Convert HEIC to JPEG

How to Export HEIC Photos to PC or Mac

HEIC Conversion Tip

Conclusion

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