How to convert HEIC files—or prevent them altogether

HEIC image files are usually very practical, they take up less space than JPEG at the same quality, and one file can store multiple images. Despite these advantages, you may still find them incompatible with your device, operating system, or lifestyle. If you have trouble dealing with this file format, the following solution should solve the problem.

How to turn off HEIC format on iPhone

If you don't want to see the ".heic" file again, you can follow the steps below. But before you give it up completely, you should understand what you are dealing with. Apple applied the High Efficiency Image Format (HEIF) standard to iOS 11 and macOS High Sierra in 2017, chose HEIC as the filename extension, and has been using it for over four years to this day - it seems to be long-lasting. As the name suggests, it is very efficient – ​​the test photos we took for this article are 756 KB in size as HEIC file, and 1.18 MB after conversion to JPEG. The size difference is 56%.

However, you don't have to be restricted by it, you can tell your phone to only take images in JPEG format. To do this, open the Settings app for iPhone, click Camera, and then click Format, and select Most compatible. Doing so also ensures that all videos are saved in H.264 video format (more well known as MP4) rather than efficient video compression (HEVC). If you want to go back to HEIC and HEVC for any reason, follow the same steps, but select Efficient in the last step.

How to stop transmitting HEIC photos

Let's face it: Anyone who takes a lot of photos on a smartphone understands that storage space is invaluable. As we explained, HEIC is very good at suppressing the speed of the device filling. However, when you move these images out of your phone, you may not want to process the HEIC files. There is a setup that solves this problem.

Open the Settings app on your iPhone, find the Photo, and scroll down to the Transfer to Mac or PCTitle. There, make sure the small blue check mark next to Auto is selected. This will ensure that when you transfer pictures, they will be transferred in a compatible format. Another option, , retaining the original image , will be performed exactly as literally: transfer the original file without regard to compatibility.

Some devices and programs automatically convert HEIC files to compatible formats, no matter what you choose here. For example, if you send HEIC photos to people using an Android phone, it may be converted to JPEG when they download, depending on their device and operating system.

How to view, edit and convert HEIC files on Windows

Although HEIC is not an invention by Apple (this honor belongs to the group of motion images experts), it is popular in the Mac world and you may have more trouble on Windows machines.

You can view and edit HEIC files in the built-in photo app for Windows, but you may need to tell your computer that you want to use photos to open this type of file. If you try to open the HEIC file and receive a pop-up message asking you how to open it, make sure to check the box next to using this app to open the .heic file and select Photos . If the app is not listed there, click More apps, and if it still doesn't show up, click Find other apps on this computer to search for it. Another note: While this works for the latest version of Windows, it doesn't work for older versions - you need to update.

After the image is opened in the Photos app, you can crop, adjust and do anything about it. When you are done, click in the lower right corner to save the copy , and the photos you edited will be saved as JPEG. Of course, you can also edit HEIC files in various photo editing programs. For example, free GIMP supports them, but long-term users need to make sure they have been updated to a version that can handle HEIC.

The conversion is also simple and direct. Whether you want to edit a photo or not, the Save Copy button is always visible in editing mode of the photo. No need to change, click it to save it as JPEG. You can also view the folder where the HEIC file is located, click to view , select the box next to file name extension , right-click the file, select to rename , And replace ".heic" with ".jpg". Windows will warn you that this may make the file unstable, so you can decide for yourself whether to take this risk (the files we renamed in this way still work properly).

How to view, edit and convert HEIC photos on macOS

HEIC is part of the Apple ecosystem, so it is naturally compatible with macOS, and these HEIF files can be opened in preview as easily as other photos. You can edit it there, or edit it in any compatible image editing program.

Let's talk about conversion now. It—you guessed it—is also easy. After opening the HEIC file in preview, click File , Export , and then open the drop-down menu next to Format. There, select JPEG or any other option. Select your export quality, file name, and location, and click Save . Finish.

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