How to save iPhone photos as JPG instead of HEIC
You can save iPhone photos as JPG with a single camera setting, but that is not always the best fix. iPhones take HEIC photos by default because they use about half the storage, and iOS already converts them to JPG in many situations. This guide shows the setting, the gentler alternatives, what happens when you share photos and what to do about the HEIC pictures already on your phone.
Why your iPhone uses HEIC
Since iOS 11, the iPhone camera’s default setting is “High Efficiency”, which saves photos as HEIC and videos as HEVC. The pictures look the same as JPG, take roughly half the space and can carry extras such as HDR highlights and depth data for Portrait mode.
The downside appears when photos leave the iPhone: Windows PCs without the right extensions, some Android apps, websites and print services can’t open them. You can fix that at the source, during transfer or when sharing.
Switch the camera to “Most Compatible”
This changes the format of every new photo you take. Menu names below are from recent iOS versions and may shift slightly in future updates.
- Open the Settings app.
- Tap Camera.
- Tap Formats.
- Under Camera Capture, choose “Most Compatible”.
- Take a test photo. In the Photos app, swipe up on it or tap the info button: the file details should now show JPEG instead of HEIF.
To go back, choose “High Efficiency” in the same place. The setting only affects new photos and videos.
What you give up with “Most Compatible”
The switch has costs that are easy to miss.
- Storage: JPG photos are about twice the size, so your phone and iCloud fill up faster.
- Video: videos are recorded as H.264 instead of HEVC, which also makes them much larger.
- Some camera modes need “High Efficiency”, such as high-frame-rate 4K video and certain high-resolution or spatial formats on newer models. They become unavailable or are greyed out.
- HDR: the extra HDR highlight information is handled differently and may be reduced, depending on model and iOS version.
Keep HEIC on the phone, get JPG on your computer
If the problem is mainly your Windows PC, there is a better setting. Open Settings › Photos, scroll to the bottom and, under “Transfer to Mac or PC”, choose “Automatic”. When you connect the iPhone with a USB cable and import photos, it converts them to JPG on the fly. “Keep Originals” sends the HEIC files unchanged.
For iCloud Photos, the web version at icloud.com lets you choose, at the time of writing, between the unmodified original and a “Most Compatible” download when you save photos to a computer.
This way your phone keeps the storage savings and the extra image data, and your computer still gets files it can open.
What happens when you share photos
Even with “High Efficiency” on, iOS often converts photos for you when they leave the phone. Behaviour depends on the app and the iOS version, but at the time of writing it generally works like this:
- AirDrop to another Apple device usually sends the original HEIC, because the receiver can open it.
- The Mail app normally attaches photos as JPG and offers to shrink large images.
- Messages to Android phones (SMS, MMS or RCS) send a JPG, often compressed.
- Messaging apps such as WhatsApp convert photos to compressed JPG when sent as a photo; sending as a document or file usually keeps the original HEIC.
- Saving to Files, cloud drives or uploading through some apps may keep the HEIC original.
If a recipient tells you a file won’t open, it is almost always one sent as a file rather than as a photo.
What about the photos you already have?
Changing the camera setting does not convert anything already in your library. Existing photos stay HEIC, and there is no setting that converts them all in place. You have a few ways to get JPG copies:
- Import them to a PC with “Transfer to Mac or PC” set to “Automatic”.
- On a Mac, use Preview, Photos or the Finder’s Convert Image quick action.
- On the iPhone, build a simple shortcut in the Shortcuts app with the Convert Image action set to JPEG.
- Use a browser-based converter on any computer or phone.
Our HEIC to JPG converter handles up to 20 photos per batch for free and works in Safari on the iPhone as well as on computers. It keeps the color profile, the orientation and, unless you untick the option, the date and location details.