Why does my iPhone save photos as HEIC?
Since iOS 11, iPhones save photos in HEIC (High Efficiency Image Container) format by default. Apple made this switch because HEIC files are roughly half the size of equivalent JPGs at the same visual quality — which means more photos on your phone before you run out of storage.
The problem is that HEIC is an Apple format. Windows doesn't open it natively without a paid codec, most photo editors don't support it, and if you try to upload a HEIC to most websites you'll hit a wall. The format is great for storage, terrible for sharing.
The fastest fix: stop your iPhone from shooting HEIC
If you're constantly dealing with HEIC files, the easiest long-term fix is to tell your iPhone to shoot in JPG instead. Go to Settings → Camera → Formats and switch from "High Efficiency" to "Most Compatible." Your photos will save as JPG from that point forward — slightly larger files, but they'll open everywhere without any conversion.
This doesn't convert your existing HEIC photos, but it stops the problem at the source going forward.
How to convert existing HEIC files to JPG
For photos already on your device, you need a converter. Most options either require software installs, charge a fee, or upload your photos to a server — which isn't ideal for personal photos.
Filesmith converts HEIC to JPG directly in your browser. Your photos never leave your device.
1
Go to filesmith.io — you're on the Images tab by default.
2
Drop your HEIC file (or multiple files) onto the page, or click Browse files.
3
Select JPG from the format options.
4
Hit Convert, then ↓ Download. For multiple files, use Convert All.
Batch convert
You can drop an entire folder of HEIC files at once and convert them all to JPG in one go. Useful if you're migrating a large photo library off your iPhone.
Will I lose quality converting HEIC to JPG?
At high quality settings, the difference is invisible to the human eye. JPG at 90%+ quality looks identical to the HEIC original for all practical purposes. The tradeoff is file size — the JPG will be larger than the HEIC, since JPG isn't as efficient a format.
If you want to keep file sizes small while converting out of HEIC, consider WEBP instead of JPG — it matches HEIC's compression efficiency and works everywhere modern browsers do.