How to Open iPhone HEIC Photos on Windows
Updated 9 November 2026
You copy photos from your iPhone to your PC and Windows shows a blank icon, or Photos asks you to install something. That is because the files are HEIC, Apple’s default photo format, which Windows does not fully support out of the box.
Option 1: Install the HEIF and HEVC extensions
Windows 10 and 11 can open HEIC with two extensions from the Microsoft Store: HEIF Image Extensions (free) and HEVC Video Extensions (a small fee in most regions; sometimes pre-installed by PC makers). After installing, the Photos app and File Explorer thumbnails will work.
This lets you view the photos. Many other programs and websites still will not accept them.
Option 2: Let the iPhone convert when transferring
On the iPhone, open Settings → Photos, scroll to Transfer to Mac or PC, and choose Automatic. When you import over USB, the iPhone will convert photos to JPG on the fly.
Option 3: Take new photos as JPG
Open Settings → Camera → Formats and choose Most Compatible. New photos will be saved as JPG. Photos are larger, and existing HEIC photos are not changed.
Option 4: Convert in the browser
Drag the HEIC files into a HEIC to JPG converter and download the JPGs, or a ZIP of all of them. Ours runs in your browser, so nothing is uploaded and it works the same in Chrome, Edge or Firefox on Windows.
Which to choose
If you only want to look at the photos on your PC, install the extensions. If you need to send, upload or print them, convert them to JPG. If you move photos to Windows often, change the transfer setting on the iPhone so it is done automatically.