A folder of iPhone photos on a Windows disk is often a folder of files Explorer cannot preview. Double-click and Photos may error; Paint will not open them; a web form will bounce image/heic. You have two separate problems: seeing the pictures on the PC, and producing JPEGs that every other Windows program already understands.
Convert without installing anything
This site’s converter runs in Edge or Chrome. Drag the .heic or .heif files onto the dropzone, wait for the worker to finish, and download .jpg files or a ZIP. Nothing is uploaded. You do not need the Microsoft Store, iTunes, or a codec pack for the conversion itself. That is the fastest path when you only need files for email, a printer, or an upload form.
If Explorer shows empty icons, you can still drop the files here; the converter reads bytes, not thumbnails. Watch the Network panel if you want proof the photos stay local.
Microsoft’s HEIF / HEVC extensions
Windows 10 and 11 can decode HEIF after you install extensions. Microsoft’s own notes are in HEIF and HEVC media extensions (search that title on Microsoft Support if the slug moves). The HEIF Image Extensions package handles the container. HEVC Video Extensions handles the actual image payload for typical iPhone HEIC files. One of those packages has been sold in the Store in some regions; the other may be free. After both are installed, the Photos app and Explorer thumbnails usually start working.
That still does not make every app HEIC-aware. Older Office, custom line-of-business uploaders, and many printers never learned HEIF. Even with codecs installed, converting to JPG is the compatibility layer. Do not uninstall the originals; keep HEIC as the archive and JPEG as the copy you send out.
Copying photos off the iPhone
USB: connect the phone, unlock it, tap Trust, and browse it as a camera in Explorer. The DCIM folders are HEIC (and MOV for videos / Live Photo clips). Copy them to disk first; converting from a flaky USB session is a good way to corrupt a transfer, not a decode.
iCloud for Windows: download the album, then convert the local copies. iCloud may offer “most compatible” downloads in some setups; if the files already end in .jpg, you are done. If they are still .heic, use this converter.
PowerToys and other desktop tools
Some people use Image Glass, IrfanView with a plugin, or PowerToys. Those are local too, which is fine. They are extra software to trust and update. A browser worker is enough for occasional batches and does not install a decoder system-wide. For a one-time dump of a vacation album, prefer the page you are already reading.
Limits on this site
50 files, 25 MB each, 200 MB total, 40 megapixels. A phone panorama can exceed 40 MP; crop or export a smaller still on the iPhone first. Live Photo video is not included — still frame only. Default JPEG quality is 0.92; PNG is available if a form wants lossless.
Command line, if you already have one
PowerShell cannot decode HEIC without extra binaries. ImageMagick with libheif, or heif-convert from libheif’s tools, will do a folder if you install them. That is a developer path. It is not required for this site, and it is easy to get a build of ImageMagick that was compiled without HEIF. If magick identify photo.heic errors, your build lacks the decoder; use the browser worker instead of fighting the installer.
OneDrive and Google Drive do not magically turn HEIC into JPG when you sync a folder from the phone. They store the bytes they were given. Convert before you upload if the people at the other end are on Windows without codecs. After conversion, you can delete the JPG copies from the PC and keep the HEIC on the phone. Do not invert that: deleting HEIC and keeping only the JPG is how vacation archives get mushy.
Last reviewed 2026-09-13.