Why your iPhone photos won't open on Windows
You copy photos off an iPhone, and Windows Photos refuses to open the .HEIC files. Nothing is corrupted. The codec is simply missing.
What HEIC actually is
HEIC is an image stored in the HEIF container, compressed with the HEVC (H.265) codec. Apple made it the default in iOS 11, back in 2017.
The headline is compression: roughly the same quality as JPEG in about half the bytes. If you shoot 5,000 photos a year, that is several gigabytes you never spend.
You get some other things along the way:
- Multiple images in one file — Live Photos and burst sequences.
- Transparency, which JPEG never had.
- 10-bit colour depth against JPEG's 8-bit, so gradients in skies don't band.
- A depth map, which is what Portrait mode's background blur is built on.
So why won't it open
HEVC carries patent licensing fees. Rather than bundle it, Microsoft sells the codec extension in the Store for about a dollar. A fresh Windows install therefore cannot decode HEIC.
When to convert, when to leave it
Convert to JPG when
- You're sending files to someone else. You can't know what they run.
- You're uploading to a website. Outside Safari, browser support is thin.
- You're feeding an older application — an old Photoshop, a government upload form.
- You're sending files to a print shop. Many still ask for JPEG or TIFF.
Keep HEIC when
- The photos stay inside iPhone, iPad and Mac.
- You're archiving originals. Converting throws away the 10-bit colour and the depth map.
- Storage is tight.
What conversion costs you
HEIC to JPG is one-way. Colour depth drops from 10 bits to 8, the depth map is discarded, and the motion in a Live Photo disappears. Keep the originals somewhere.
A multi-image HEIC also collapses to a single JPG — the key frame. If you need every frame, ask for the result as an archive instead.
Decide at capture time
On iPhone, Settings → Camera → Formats:
- High Efficiency shoots HEIC. Half the size.
- Most Compatible shoots JPEG. Opens anywhere.
If you only need JPEG when moving files to a computer, leave the camera on High Efficiency and set Settings → Photos → Transfer to Mac or PC to Automatic. The phone keeps HEIC and converts on the way out.