The Windows HEIC situation, briefly
Windows 10 and 11 can display HEIC, but not on their own. Two pieces from the Microsoft Store are involved:
- HEIF Image Extensions (free): understands the HEIF container.
- HEVC Video Extensions (paid, small): decodes the HEVC-compressed image inside. Without it, HEIC files usually still won’t open.
Some PCs already have them; many don’t. And even with both installed, only your PC benefits. The person you email the photo to is back to square one, and older software or specialist apps may still refuse the file.
Install the extensions, or convert?
| Situation | Better choice |
|---|---|
| You view your own iPhone photos on your own PC | Extensions |
| Work PC with the Microsoft Store blocked | Convert |
| Sending photos to other Windows users | Convert |
| Using the photos in Office, older editors or upload forms | Convert |
| One-off “what is this file?” | The HEIC viewer |
Our guide to opening HEIC on Windows covers installing the extensions step by step if that’s the route you want.
Getting iPhone photos onto a PC as JPG
If you copy photos from an iPhone by cable, the iPhone can convert them for you: Settings → Photos → Transfer to Mac or PC → Automatic. That only affects transfers, not photos you already have as HEIC, and not files that arrive by email, cloud links or messaging apps. For those, convert here.
Why quality 90 by default
This page leans slightly higher than our standard 88 because Windows users often treat these JPGs as the new originals and delete the HEICs. At 90, a 12 MP photo stays visually identical and the file is still a reasonable size. Pick PNG instead if you plan to edit the photos repeatedly.
Explorer-friendly results
The converted JPGs get proper thumbnails in File Explorer, preview in the Photos app, and drop straight into Word or PowerPoint. Dates and camera details travel with them, so Photos still groups them by when they were taken.
No installer, no admin rights
Everything runs inside your browser tab, so it works on locked-down office PCs too. Your photos stay on the machine, and after the first load you can even convert offline. Bigger folders? The batch HEIC to JPG page is set up for whole exports.