Why Won't My Windows PC Open HEIC Photos?

You plug in your iPhone, copy over some photos, and double-click one — only for Windows to show a generic file icon and refuse to open it, or throw an error about an unsupported format. This is one of the most common HEIC complaints, and the cause is simple once you know what's going on.

The short answer

Windows doesn't include built-in support for decoding HEIC images the way it does for JPG or PNG. HEIC relies on HEVC-based compression technology that's licensed separately, so Microsoft doesn't bundle a decoder into Windows by default. Without that decoder, Windows literally doesn't know how to turn the HEIC file's data back into a viewable image.

Fix 1: Install the HEIF and HEVC extensions

Microsoft does offer the missing piece as a free download through the Microsoft Store. You'll typically need two things:

1. Open the Microsoft Store app on your PC
2. Search for "HEIF Image Extensions" and install it
3. Search for "HEVC Video Extensions" and install it too — HEIC relies on the same underlying codec, and some systems need both
4. Restart the Photos app or File Explorer

Once both are installed, HEIC files should open normally in the Photos app, and you'll typically see proper thumbnails in File Explorer too. This is the most complete fix if you expect to keep receiving HEIC files regularly.

One catch: in some regions, Microsoft has charged a small fee for the HEVC extensions specifically, due to licensing costs, though the HEIF extension itself is usually free. If you'd rather not pay for a codec just to view a few photos, converting is the simpler route.

Fix 2: Convert the photos to JPG or PNG

If installing extensions feels like overkill for opening a handful of photos, converting them is usually faster. A browser-based tool like our HEIC to JPG converter handles this without installing anything — drop the files in, and you get standard JPGs that any version of Windows can open immediately, no codec required.

This is also the better option if you're not sure the person you're sending photos to has the same extensions installed — converting before sending guarantees it'll open on their end too.

Fix 3: Change your iPhone's camera settings

If this keeps happening because you regularly transfer new photos from an iPhone to a Windows PC, you can stop the problem at the source by having your iPhone save future photos as JPG instead of HEIC:

1. On your iPhone, open Settings → Camera → Formats
2. Select Most Compatible instead of "High Efficiency"

Keep in mind this roughly doubles the storage each new photo takes up on your phone, and it won't help with photos you've already taken — those will still need to be converted or opened with the extensions above.

Why does this only happen on some Windows PCs?

If you've noticed HEIC opens fine on one Windows computer but not another, it usually comes down to whether the HEIF/HEVC extensions happen to already be installed — sometimes bundled by the PC manufacturer, sometimes installed previously for an unrelated reason like a video app. There's no difference in the HEIC files themselves; it's entirely about what's installed on the receiving machine.

What about third-party photo viewers?

Some third-party image viewers include their own HEIC decoding built in, so you might find that a program like IrfanView (with the appropriate plugin) opens HEIC files even without Microsoft's extensions installed. This can be a convenient middle ground if you view HEIC files occasionally but don't want to rely on the Windows Photos app.

Which fix should you pick?

If you only need to open a few photos right now, convert them — it's the fastest path and doesn't require any installation. If you expect a steady stream of HEIC photos going forward (say, family members regularly send you iPhone photos), installing the free HEIF extension is worth the one-time setup. And if you're the one taking the photos and want to avoid the issue for people you send them to, switching your iPhone's camera format to JPG solves it at the source, at the cost of extra storage.

Does this affect other Microsoft apps too?

The same missing-codec issue can show up outside File Explorer and the Photos app — for example, if you try to insert a HEIC image directly into a Word document, PowerPoint slide, or Outlook email, and the codec extensions aren't installed, you may get a similarly unhelpful "can't insert this picture" error. Installing the HEIF extensions generally resolves this across all of these apps at once, since they all rely on the same underlying Windows imaging components rather than handling HEIC decoding separately.

Preventing the issue going forward

If HEIC photos are a recurring part of your workflow — say, you regularly receive them from family members or clients with iPhones — it's worth deciding once which approach fits your situation rather than troubleshooting it fresh every time. Installing the extensions is the more "set and forget" option if you're comfortable with a one-time setup step. Bookmarking a converter tool is the better fit if you use different computers often, or simply don't want to manage codecs on a machine you don't fully control, like a work laptop.

Convert without installing anything

For the fastest fix right now, our HEIC converter turns HEIC photos into JPG or PNG directly in your browser — no codec, no download, no waiting.