HEIC to JPG: Why iPhone Document Photos Will Not Upload

An iPhone photo will not upload when the phone saved it in Apple's HEIC format and the form accepts only JPG, PNG or PDF. To get from HEIC to JPG, either set the camera to Most Compatible before you take the picture, or export a JPG copy of the photo you already have.

What is a HEIC file and why does an iPhone make one?

A HEIC file is a photo stored in HEIF, the High Efficiency Image File Format. Apple says the format compresses better than JPEG, so photos take less storage at the same visual quality, and that capturing in it is the recommended setting on iPhones and iPads that support it.

The details come from Apple's support page on using HEIF or HEVC media on Apple devices. It says iOS 11 and macOS High Sierra "introduced support for these new, industry-standard media formats", and it names HEIF for photos and HEVC for video. Its reason for the change is one sentence:

HEIF and HEVC offer better compression than JPEG and H.264, so they use less storage space on your devices and iCloud Photos, while preserving the same visual quality.

The same page lists the devices that capture in the format, starting with "iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus or later". So a client with an iPhone on that list may be sending you HEIC pictures without knowing the word.

HEIC, HEIF and the name on the file

HEIF is the name of the format. The files an iPhone writes in that format carry the extension .heic, which is why the same thing goes by two names. Apple's page uses HEIF throughout; Microsoft's help pages use both. When a person says "HEIC file", they mean a HEIF photo from an Apple device.

Why it matters for a document photo

Nothing is wrong with the picture. A HEIC photo of a lease page holds the same page as a JPG would. The trouble is only that some software cannot open the container. Upload forms, court portals, older document systems and Windows programs may each have their own list of accepted types. Schema Law, for example, takes PDF, PNG and JPEG files of up to 20 MB, as the how it works section of the homepage says, and HEIC is not on that list. The fix is a JPG or PNG copy, and the earlier in the chain you make it, the fewer people have to think about it.

Export a JPG copy and keep the HEIC photograph of the lease as well. They show the same page, and you want both if the image becomes documentary evidence. Give them one shared name so authentication can match the pair, and write the export date into the chain of custody note.

Setting the iPhone camera to Most Compatible for document photos

Open Settings, tap Camera, tap Formats, then tap Most Compatible. Apple's page states the effect: "All new photos and videos will now use JPEG or H.264 format." The change applies to pictures taken from then on. Photos already in the library stay as they are.

Apple presents this as a step back for the sake of other systems. Its words are that "capturing in HEIF and HEVC format is recommended", but that the older formats "are more broadly compatible with other devices and operating systems". It adds that the setting "is available only on iPhone and iPad devices that can capture media in HEIF or HEVC format", so on a very old device the menu will not be there, and that device was saving JPEG already.

Who should change the setting

• A paralegal who photographs documents for upload every week. Change it and leave it. The storage cost falls on a work phone and the saved steps add up.
• A client about to photograph a stack of records. Ask them to change it before they start, and tell them how to change it back. The route back is the same menu: choose High Efficiency.
• A client sending two or three pictures once. Leave their settings alone. Convert at your end, or ask them to send by a route that converts for them.

An instruction you can paste into a client email

Before you take the pictures, please open Settings on your iPhone, tap Camera, tap Formats, and choose Most Compatible. This makes the phone save ordinary JPG pictures that our systems can open. When you have sent everything, you can go back to the same screen and choose High Efficiency again.

Microsoft's help page on uploading HEIF and HEVC photos to OneDrive repeats the same route and adds a caution: "Some iOS devices no longer have the option to save images as Most Compatible." Apple's page does not say that. If the client reports that the choice is missing, do not argue with their phone; use one of the conversion routes instead.

When does an iPhone convert HEIC to JPG by itself?

Apple documents two occasions: sharing by a method such as AirDrop, Messages or email when the receiving device does not support the format, and importing over USB into Photos, Image Capture or a PC. In both cases Apple says the media "might" be converted, so you cannot count on it.

On sharing

Apple's page separates iCloud Photos from everything else. Through iCloud Photos, "the media is preserved in its original format, resolution, and frame rate." For other methods the sentence is:

If sharing this media using other methods, such as AirDrop, Messages, or email, and the receiving device doesn't support the newer media formats, the media might automatically be shared in a more compatible format, such as JPEG or H.264.

Read that closely. The conversion depends on the receiving device, and Apple promises nothing firmer than "might". Two photos from the same client can therefore arrive in different formats if they came by different routes.

The Options button on the share sheet

The iPhone also lets the sender decide. Apple's guide to sharing photos and videos on iPhone says that after you open a photo and tap the share button, you can tap Options and adjust the file format:

Tap Automatic for the best file format for the destination, tap Current to prevent a file format conversion, or tap Most Compatible and files may convert to JPEG or MOV.

For a document photo going to a law firm, Most Compatible is the choice that aims at a JPG. Note the "may" in Apple's sentence, and check what arrives.

On import by cable

For a cable transfer, Apple's HEIF page says: "When you import HEIF or HEVC media from an attached iPhone or iPad into Photos, Image Capture, or a PC, the media might be converted to JPEG or H.264." A setting controls it. If you do not want the conversion, Apple's instruction is to "open Settings, tap Apps, tap Photos, then scroll down and tap Keep Originals." Turn that around for the opposite goal: if photos copied over a cable keep arriving as HEIC, look at that same screen on the phone.

What each route does, per Apple

A format change is not the only thing that can happen to a picture in transit. Some channels also shrink it, which matters more for small print than the container does. The post on how to send photos without losing quality compares the channels on that point.

Converting HEIC photos you already have to JPG

Export a copy in JPG or PNG from a program that can open HEIC. Apple documents an export in Preview on the iPhone and in Photos or Preview on a Mac. On Windows, Microsoft documents two extensions that let its Photos app open the files. Whatever the route, keep the HEIC original.

On the iPhone

Apple's iPhone User Guide describes exporting or compressing PDFs and images in Preview on iPhone. You open the image in the Preview app, tap the control next to the filename, tap Export, and select a file format; JPEG and PNG are both on Apple's list. For JPEG there is a Size slider: "Drag the slider left for a smaller file size or right for higher quality." For a page of text, drag it to the right. The guide is written for the current iOS; if your phone has no Preview app, use the share sheet's Options button with Most Compatible and send the photo to yourself.

On a Mac

Apple's HEIF page gives the short version: "If you open an HEIF image in Photos or Preview on your Mac, choose File > Export, then choose a format such as JPEG or PNG before saving." The Preview User Guide page on converting image file types on a Mac adds a way to do a batch: "To convert more than one image file at a time, open the files in one window, select them in that window's sidebar", then export. That is the route for a client folder of forty pictures.

On Windows

Microsoft's help page on the Photos app message about a file type it cannot view covers Windows. Its first fix is a pair of extensions from the Microsoft Store that let the Photos app open HEIF files. The page does not describe saving a JPG copy from Photos, so if you need a JPG file and not only a view of the picture, have the sender resend it or use one of the Apple exports.

JPG or PNG?

Either is accepted by tools that take the common image types. JPG gives a smaller file. PNG keeps every pixel of the decoded picture and gives a larger one. For a sharp photo of a printed page, a JPG at high quality is enough. If the print is small or faint, choose PNG so the conversion adds no compression of its own.

Check the copy

1. Open the JPG and zoom to the smallest print on the page. It should look as it does in the original.
2. Compare pixel dimensions with the original. An export that halves them has thrown away detail.
3. Name the copy so its origin is clear, for example Hollis lease p3 (from HEIC).jpg.
4. File the HEIC original beside it. The original is what the client sent; the JPG is your working copy.

The original also carries details the picture does not show, such as when and where it was taken, and a conversion may or may not keep them. The post on what metadata is in a photo explains what to look for.

Why does renaming a .heic file to .jpg not work?

Renaming changes the label and leaves the contents alone. A HEIC file and a JPG file store the picture in different ways, and software that opens the file reads the contents. A program that cannot decode HEIC still cannot decode it under a new name.

Think of a deposition transcript in a folder labelled "Invoices". The label tells a person where to look, and it does nothing to the pages. A file extension works the same way for a computer: it suggests which program to try, and the bytes inside decide what happens next.

Renaming produces one of three results, none of them useful:

• The program refuses the file with a message about an unsupported or damaged image.
• The program opens it anyway, because it happens to read HEIC and looks past the extension. Nothing was converted. The next program in the chain may refuse it.
• An upload form accepts the name and the service rejects the file afterwards. A form that filters by extension lets page3.jpg through; a service that inspects the contents then finds a HEIC picture. Schema Law decides a file's type from its contents, so a renamed HEIC is turned away like any other.

A renamed file is also a small hazard in a matter folder. Someone later sees .jpg, cannot open it, and concludes the file is corrupt. If you find one, rename it back to .heic and convert it properly.

A real conversion decodes the picture and writes it out again in the new format. That is what Export does in the programs Apple and Microsoft document. HEIC is one of several image types that need this treatment before OCR; the post on getting text from image files covers TIFF, HEIC and other image files that need converting first.

Receiving HEIC files from a client on a Windows computer

Try opening one first. If the Windows Photos app says it needs an extension, Microsoft documents three fixes: install its HEIF and HEVC extensions, have the sender transfer or email the photos again so the phone converts them, or view the files through OneDrive.

What Microsoft says you will see

Microsoft's Photos help page says that with HEIF files "you might see a message in the Photos app that says 'You need an extension to use this file.'" Its first fix is two items from the Microsoft Store, HEIF Image Extensions and HEVC Video Extensions, with this note: "You'll need both, even if you only plan on using photos and not videos." Read the Store listings for current terms. In a firm, installing Store items may need your IT administrator.

The no-install fixes

The second fix on the same page puts the work back on the phone: "Many devices will automatically convert HEIC photos and HEVC videos to a more common format when transferring or emailing the files." Microsoft suggests plugging the phone into the PC and moving the files over, or emailing the files from the phone, and notes that the phone's camera and photo settings may need changing for this to work. That matches Apple's "might" on the sending side.

The third fix points to OneDrive. Here Microsoft's two pages describe it differently. The Photos page heads the option "Use OneDrive to automatically convert your photo files". The OneDrive page it links to says OneDrive for iOS "uploads High Efficiency Image File Format (HEIF) photos in their original format, instead of uploading them as JPG", and adds: "You can view your HEIF and HEVC files in the OneDrive website in any browser." So the OneDrive page promises viewing, and says that to open downloaded files on Windows "you may need to install a codec." Test it on one file before you build a routine around it.

A worked example

A client, Dana Whitcombe, emails eleven photos of a handwritten rent ledger. Nine arrive as .jpg and two as .heic, because she sent the last two through a shared cloud folder that kept the originals. The paralegal does this:

1. Saves all eleven files, untouched, to a "Received" subfolder with the date.
2. Opens one HEIC file. Photos reports that it needs an extension.
3. Rather than wait for IT, replies to the client asking her to resend those two pictures from the Photos app with Options set to Most Compatible.
4. When the JPGs arrive, checks that they show the same two pages and that the small figures are legible at full zoom.
5. Files the JPGs with the other nine and keeps the two HEIC originals in "Received".

If the client could not resend, the next step would be a colleague's Mac and Preview's export, or the Store extensions through IT.

Avoid the random converter site

A free "heic to jpg" website is the tempting shortcut. Any such site is a third party receiving a client's document. Before any client file goes to one, read its terms the way you would for any outside service; the security section of the homepage shows the kind of commitments worth looking for. The documented routes from Apple and Microsoft do the job without the file leaving your own devices.