How to convert HEIC photos to JPG on iPhone and iPad: 3 Ways

With iOS 11 and later, iPhone takes pictures in HEIC/HEIF, a file format superior to old JPEG (or JPG) in many ways. For instance, it takes only half the storage and offers 16-bit colors against the 8-bit offered by JPEG. However, even after two years, HEIC has limited cross-platform compatibility.

Thus, you will have to convert HEIC photos to JPG on your iPhone to use them with most apps, operating systems, and online services.

One student learned the importance of JPEG the hard way. He was uploading the test picture shot on his iPhone to the testing portal, and the website froze as it did not support HEIC. He ran out of time and had to retake the test in a few weeks!

If only he read this guide and remembered to convert HEIC to JPG! To ensure you don’t fall into any such situation, read along.

How to convert HEIC photos to JPG on iPhone using Files app

The Files app lets you quickly convert photos from HEIC to JPG. All you have to do is copy the images from the Photos app and paste them into the Files app. Later if you like, you may again save them from the Files app to the Photos app. And this time, the image format will be JPEG.

1. Open the Photos app and select one or multiple HEIC images.
   These will be the ones you have clicked using the iPhone camera.
2. Tap the Share icon and choose Copy Photo.
3. Open the Files app and choose iCloud Drive, On My iPhone, etc.
   iCloud Drive and other third-party locations will count against your storage and require the internet to upload and store the images. Thus, it is best to choose ‘On My iPhone.’
4. Optional: Tap the more icon (three dots inside a circle) and make a New Folder.
5. Long-press and tap Paste. The image will be converted to JPEG.
   
   
6. Open this converted image in the Files app and tap the Share icon. You may now tap Save Image to save JPG to the Photos app or share the JPG image via other apps and services.
   
   

Automatically convert HEIC to JPEG when you transfer the photos to Mac or PC

If you are looking to transfer photos from iPhone to Mac or Windows PC, you can have the phone transfer them automatically in a compatible format. For this:

1. Open iPhone Settings and tap Photos.
2. Under TRANSFER TO MAC OR PC, choose Automatic.
   
   

Convert photos from HEIC to JPG using a third-party app

There are third-party apps on the App Store that let you change HEIC to JPG easily. One such free app is HEIC To JPEG. Here’s how to use it.

1. Download HEIC to JPEG from the App Store and launch it.
2. Tap select Images and choose one or more pictures.
3. Tap Share as JEPG at the top-right.
4. Now, tap Save Image.
   If you wish to share it using another app or service, choose one from the Share Sheet.
   
   

This is how you can convert HEIC to JPG on your iPhone. However, if you are unsure which format your iPhone photos have, keep reading.

How to check if the image is in HEIC or JPEG on iPhone

1. Download the free Exif Wizard app from the App Store.
2. Launch it, open an album, and select an image.
3. Scroll to the bottom, and you will see the extension .HEIC or .JPG at the end of the file name.
   
   

If you want to stop iPhone from taking photos in HEIC format or wish to switch between high-efficiency and most compatible based on your need, there is an option to switch between the two. To do so, head over to this quick guide.

I hope this guide helped you. If you have any questions or found this article helpful, share it in the comments below. It will motivate me to write more and better.

Other helpful posts for you:

• How to reduce a photo file size on iPhone and iPad
• How to Take JPEG Photos Instead of HEIF on iPhone and iPad
• How to convert photo to PDF on iPhone and iPad
• 5 Way to convert WebP images to JPG or PNG on Mac

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