How to stop your iPhone saving photos as HEIC

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Convert existing HEIC photos

Your iPhone saves photos in HEIC format unless you tell it otherwise. HEIC saves a lot of storage, but it causes headaches the moment you move photos off Apple devices: Windows PCs, Android phones, printers and many websites don’t handle it well.

You can switch the iPhone to JPG in about ten seconds. This guide shows the setting, a second setting most people don’t know about, and what to do with all the HEIC photos you already have.

Already have HEIC photos you need as JPG?

Convert them here

Before you switch: what you give up

HEIC exists for a good reason. A HEIC photo is typically about half the size of the same photo as a JPG. If you take a lot of pictures, switching to JPG roughly doubles the space new photos use, both on the phone and in iCloud.

A few features also depend on the high-efficiency formats. On recent iPhones, some modes, such as 4K at 60 fps video, HDR video or certain ProRAW/48 MP options, require “High Efficiency” to be on. The setting below changes video recording too, so check that you don’t rely on those modes.

If storage is tight, a good compromise is to keep HEIC on and let the phone convert to JPG when you copy photos to a computer (Option 2), or to convert only the photos you share.

Option 1: switch the camera to JPG

This makes every new photo a JPG (and every new video H.264 instead of HEVC).

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Tap Camera.
  3. Tap Formats.
  4. Choose Most Compatible.

That’s it. Photos you take from now on are saved as JPG. Photos you already took stay HEIC; the setting doesn’t convert them.

To switch back later, choose High Efficiency in the same place.

Option 2: convert automatically when transferring to a computer

This keeps HEIC on the phone (saving space) but hands your computer JPGs when you import over a cable.

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Tap Photos (older iOS versions list it as “Photos & Camera”).
  3. Scroll to Transfer to Mac or PC.
  4. Choose Automatic.

With Automatic, photos imported via a USB cable into Windows Photos, File Explorer or Image Capture arrive in a compatible format, usually JPG. With Keep Originals, they arrive as HEIC.

The catch: it only applies to cable transfers. Photos downloaded from iCloud.com, sent through AirDrop, shared to cloud drives or attached in some messaging apps may still be HEIC. Sharing through Mail and many apps does convert automatically, but not all of them do.

Option 3: share as JPG when you need to

Sometimes you only need a handful of photos as JPG. You can convert them as you go:

  • In the browser. Open HEIC to JPG in Safari, tap Choose photos, pick them from your library and save the JPGs to Files. Nothing is uploaded; the conversion happens on the phone.
  • With the Files app. Saving a photo to Files and sharing it from there sometimes converts it, depending on the app receiving it. It’s less predictable.

The browser route also removes location data from the photos, which is handy if you’re posting them publicly.

What to do with HEIC photos you already have

Switching the setting doesn’t touch your existing library. If you need old photos as JPG, convert them in batches:

  1. On a computer, copy the photos off the phone (or download them from iCloud Photos).
  2. Open HEIC to JPG and drop in up to 50 photos at a time.
  3. Download them as a ZIP and unzip into the folder you want.

For photos you plan to edit heavily, HEIC to PNG gives lossless copies. For photos you need to upload to a form with a size limit, convert first and then use Compress to 100 KB.

Should you switch? A quick decision guide

You mostly… Recommended setting
Stay within Apple devices (iPhone, iPad, Mac) Keep High Efficiency
Copy photos to a Windows PC by cable Keep High Efficiency, set transfers to Automatic
Send photos to people with Android or Windows Switch to Most Compatible, or convert when sharing
Upload photos to work, school or government sites Most Compatible saves the most hassle
Are short on storage Keep High Efficiency and convert only what you share

Frequently asked questions

Does switching to JPG make my photos look worse? No. At the iPhone’s camera settings, JPG and HEIC look the same to almost everyone. The difference is file size, not quality.

Will my Live Photos still work? Yes. Live Photos are still captured; they’re stored with a JPG still image instead of a HEIC one.

What about Portrait mode? Portrait mode still works in Most Compatible. Depth editing in the Photos app may behave slightly differently on older iOS versions.

Why do some photos still show up as HEIC on my PC? They were taken before you changed the setting, or they came through a route that doesn’t convert (iCloud downloads, some cloud drives). Convert those with the browser tool.

The short version

Go to Settings › Camera › Formats and choose Most Compatible to make new photos JPG. If you’d rather keep the storage savings, leave HEIC on and set Settings › Photos › Transfer to Mac or PC to Automatic. For photos you already have, convert HEIC to JPG in your browser, privately and in batches.