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How to open HEIC files

Windows, Android, older Macs and the web — the working method for each, including the one free download that fixes Windows permanently.

Updated 2026-08-04

A HEIC file that will not open is almost never damaged. The format is simply newer than the program trying to read it — see what HEIC files are for the background. Here is the fix for each place it happens.

Windows 10 and 11

Windows can display HEIC, but not out of the box. Install HEIF Image Extensions from the Microsoft Store — it is free and takes under a minute. After that, File Explorer shows thumbnails and the Photos app opens the files normally.

There is a second package, HEVC Video Extensions, which Microsoft charges a small fee for. You need it only for HEVC video, not for photos. If your goal is opening .heic images, the free package is enough.

macOS

Anything running macOS High Sierra (2017) or later opens HEIC with no setup at all. If you are on something older, Preview will refuse and conversion is the practical route.

Android

Android 10 and later handle HEIC natively. On older versions, Google Photos will display the file even when the built-in gallery cannot — it decodes server-side. Failing that, convert.

In a browser

Modern Safari, Chrome and Edge decode HEIC. Firefox historically did not. If you are building something rather than just viewing, do not rely on it: check support at runtime and fall back to conversion.

When conversion is the right answer

Installing a codec fixes your machine. It does nothing for the person you are sending the photo to, the website that rejects the upload, or the print shop’s twelve-year-old kiosk.

For those, convert the file to JPEG — and convert a copy rather than the original, because conversion flattens Live Photos and discards depth data permanently.

Be careful which converter you use. Most upload your photo to a server, which means handing over the image and the GPS coordinates stored in its metadata. There is no technical reason for that; the decoding runs perfectly well in a browser, which is what this HEIC to JPG converter does — in batches, with the location data stripped unless you deliberately keep it.