What is a .heic file?
High Efficiency Image Container · Image · MPEG / Apple · 2015
HEIC is the format the iPhone uses for photos by default. It stores the same picture as a JPEG at roughly half the file size, using the modern HEVC codec, which is why an iPhone photo can look sharp yet stay small.
What is a .heic file used for?
HEIC is Apple's name for a HEIF image that holds one or more pictures compressed with HEVC (H.265). Since iOS 11, iPhones save photos this way to save storage, so a typical HEIC is about half the size of the same shot as a JPEG at similar quality.
The trade off is support. Windows needs an extension from the Microsoft Store to view HEIC, and many websites and older apps do not accept it at all. That is the number one reason people convert HEIC to JPG.
A single HEIC file can also carry Live Photo frames, depth maps, bursts and image edits, which a flat JPEG cannot.
What opens a .heic file?
The .heic format opens in the following apps, grouped by operating system. If one app does not work, try another from the same list.
Windows
- Photos (with the free HEIF extension)
- Windows 11 Photos
- IrfanView + plugin
macOS
- Preview
- Photos
- Quick Look
Linux
- GIMP (with libheif)
- gThumb
- ImageMagick
Web
- Convert to JPG or PNG first for guaranteed browser support
Open a .heic file step by step
- Confirm the file really is a .heic. Drop it into the WhatFileType identifier, which reads its signature in your browser without uploading anything.
- On Windows, open it with Photos (with the free HEIF extension) or Windows 11 Photos.
- On Mac, use Preview or Photos.
- On Linux, try GIMP (with libheif) or gThumb.
- Still stuck? Convert the .heic to JPG, which opens more widely.
Why can't I open my .heic file?
Almost always because no installed app understands HEIC. Install one of the apps above, or convert the file to a format your existing software already reads. If double-clicking opens the wrong program instead of nothing at all, the file association is set to the wrong app rather than the file being broken.
The other possibility is that the file is not really a .heic at all. Drop it into the file identifier to check it by its bytes instead of its name. Nothing is uploaded.
How to convert a .heic file
You can convert a .heic file to JPG, PNG, WebP.
The free route on Windows is to install the HEIF Image Extensions from the Microsoft Store, open the file in Photos and use Save as. On a Mac, Preview does it with File then Export. Converting to JPG throws away the HEIC depth map and any Live Photo motion, and it roughly doubles the file size at the same visible quality.
Convert images free: ImageConvert
What is the .heic file signature (magic bytes)?
A .heic file starts with the hex bytes 00 00 00 18 66 74 79 70 68 65 69 63, which read as ....ftypheic in ASCII. Programs identify HEIC by those bytes, not by the filename, so a renamed file still gives itself away.
These are the documented signatures for HEIC. For a full breakdown, see the HEIC file signature page.
| Hex signature | Offset | ASCII | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 00 00 00 18 66 74 79 70 68 65 69 63 | 0 | ....ftypheic | ftyp heic |
| 66 74 79 70 68 65 69 | 4 | ftyphei | ftyp box, brand starts with 'hei' |
See the full magic-numbers reference for every format.
Frequently asked questions
What is a .heic file?
HEIC is the format the iPhone uses for photos by default. It stores the same picture as a JPEG at roughly half the file size, using the modern HEVC codec, which is why an iPhone photo can look sharp yet stay small.
Why can't I open a HEIC file on Windows?
Windows does not ship the HEVC decoder by default. Install the free HEIF Image Extensions from the Microsoft Store, or convert the file to JPG.
Does converting HEIC to JPG lose quality?
There is a small quality loss because JPEG re-compresses the image, but at high quality settings the difference is hard to see. The file will usually be larger than the HEIC.
How do I stop my iPhone saving HEIC?
In Settings, Camera, Formats, choose Most Compatible. New photos will be saved as JPEG instead of HEIC.