Someone AirDrops or emails you a photo, and Windows says it cannot open the file. The extension is .heic. The picture is fine. Windows Photos does not always include the decoder for it.
You have two honest options: teach Windows to read HEIC, or turn the photos into JPEG and move on.
Why Windows struggles
HEIC is common on iPhone and uncommon everywhere else. Microsoft has offered HEIF extensions, but they are not present on every PC, and a locked-down work computer may not let you install them. A browser that cannot draw HEIC has the same gap.
Renaming the file to .jpg does not fix it. The file is still HEIC.
Convert to JPEG and open it anywhere
- Copy the HEIC files onto the PC. They might be in Downloads, or on a phone cable transfer.
- Open HEIC to JPEG.
- Drop in the files. Add as many as you need, up to 30.
- Choose Original if you want the full photo, or Web if you only need it for a document.
- Download the JPEG or the ZIP, then open that file in Photos, Word, or the browser.
The conversion stays on that PC. You do not create an account, and the photos are not uploaded to be converted in the cloud.
This is the better path when you need to send the picture onward, drop it into a slide, or upload it to a site that lists JPEG only.
If you want Windows to open HEIC itself
On Windows 11, the Photos app or the Microsoft Store sometimes offers the HEIF Image Extensions. After they are installed, double-clicking a .heic file can show the picture. That does not help the colleague whose PC cannot install store apps, and it does not help a website upload form.
Use the codec when this PC is where you want to browse HEIC. Use JPEG when the file has to travel.
A folder full of iPhone photos
Select the HEIC files in File Explorer and drop the whole group on the converter. Each finished picture shows its old size, new size, and pixel dimensions. Download ZIP when the batch is done.
If one file fails, it is listed as failed and the others continue. A Live Photo still becomes the still image only.
Frequently asked questions
The file is called .HEIC in capitals. Will it work?
Yes. The extension check is case-insensitive, and the file is also checked for a HEIC brand inside the header.
Photos opens some HEIC files and not others
A PC can have a partial codec. Newer iPhone photos sometimes use a HEIC variant that an old extension does not read. Converting to JPEG avoids that mismatch.
Can I convert and keep the date?
Yes, for JPEG. Leave Keep date and camera on. Turn on Include location only if the JPEG should contain the GPS point. Windows Explorer can then show the date on the new file.