How to Convert HEIC to JPG on Windows 10
If you’ve ever AirDropped or emailed an iPhone photo to your Windows 10 PC and watched it refuse to open, you’ve met the HEIC format. Windows 10 doesn’t support it out of the box the way Windows 11 sometimes does, so a double-click often gets you a blank Photos window or a “can’t open this file” error. I’ve converted thousands of these on a Windows 10 machine while testing tools for SnapHEIC, and below I’ll walk through every route that actually works in 2026 — starting with the fastest one that needs zero installation.
The fastest route: a browser converter (no install, no upload)
The quickest fix on Windows 10 is to skip Windows’ built-in tooling entirely and use a browser-based converter. There’s no codec to buy, no app to install, and nothing to update. Here’s exactly what I do:
- Open any modern browser (Chrome, Edge, Firefox — all preinstalled or one click away on Windows 10).
- Go to the HEIC to JPG converter.
- Drag your
.heicfiles onto the page, or click to browse and select them. - The conversion happens instantly, on your own machine. Download the JPGs.
Why I recommend this first: with SnapHEIC the conversion runs 100% in your browser. Your photos are never uploaded to a server — they’re decoded locally using WebAssembly, so the work happens on your PC even though it’s a website. That also means it’s unlimited and free, with no sign-up, and it strips EXIF/GPS metadata so you’re not accidentally sharing the location where the photo was taken. If you’re skeptical about “online” converters and privacy, that’s a fair instinct — I wrote up exactly how the in-browser processing works and whether converting HEIC online is safe.
This route works the same on Windows 10, Windows 11, a Mac, or a Chromebook, which is why it’s my default recommendation for anyone who doesn’t want to mess with system settings.
Option 2: The Photos app + HEIF Image Extensions
Windows 10 can open and convert HEIC natively, but only after you install Microsoft’s codec. By default it isn’t there, which is the root cause of most “won’t open” complaints.
Step 1 — Install the HEIF Image Extensions
- Open the Microsoft Store.
- Search for HEIF Image Extensions and install it (it’s free).
- You may also be prompted for HEVC Video Extensions — this paid add-on (around $0.99) is for video and isn’t strictly required just to view photos, though some HEIC files that use HEVC compression need it to display. The free HEIF extension covers the most common cases.
After installing, restart the Photos app. Your .heic files should now show thumbnails in File Explorer and open in Photos.
Step 2 — Convert with “Save as”
- Double-click a
.heicfile so it opens in the Photos app. - Click the … (See more) menu in the top-right.
- Choose Save as.
- In the save dialog, change the file type to JPG and click Save.
That gets you a JPG, but it’s a one-file-at-a-time process — there’s no built-in batch “convert all” button in the Windows 10 Photos app. For a folder full of vacation photos, that gets tedious fast, which is the main reason I still reach for the browser method when volume matters.
Option 3: Microsoft Paint (a quick one-off)
If you only have a single image and you’ve already installed the HEIF extension, classic Paint is a handy fallback:
- Right-click the
.heicfile, choose Open with > Paint. - Go to File > Save as > JPEG picture.
- Pick a destination and save.
Paint won’t batch convert either, but it’s reliable for a quick one-off when Photos is being stubborn.
Which method should you use?
Here’s how the three approaches compare based on my testing:
| Method | Install needed | Batch convert | Cost | Privacy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Browser converter (SnapHEIC) | None | Yes, many at once | Free, unlimited | Files stay on your PC |
| Photos app + HEIF extensions | Yes (Store codec) | No (one at a time) | Free (HEVC video add-on ~$0.99) | Local |
| Paint | Yes (HEIF extension) | No | Free | Local |
For one or two photos with the codec already installed, Photos or Paint is fine. For a batch, or on a locked-down work PC where you can’t install Store apps, the browser route wins every time.
How Windows 10 differs from Windows 11
People often assume the steps are identical across versions — they’re close, but not the same:
- Codec availability: Newer Windows 11 builds frequently ship with HEIF support already enabled, so HEIC files open without any extra install. On Windows 10 you almost always have to add the HEIF Image Extensions yourself.
- Photos app interface: The Windows 11 Photos app was redesigned and its menus (and the “Save as” location) look different from the Windows 10 version, though the conversion concept is the same. If you’re on the newer OS, I cover it in the Windows 11 HEIC guide.
- Right-click options: Some Windows 11 setups and third-party tools add a context-menu convert option; Windows 10’s right-click menu doesn’t offer HEIC conversion natively.
The browser converter sidesteps all of these differences, which is part of why I lead with it.
A few practical tips
- Want PNG, PDF, or WebP instead of JPG? The same in-browser tool handles HEIC to PNG for transparency, HEIC to PDF for documents, and HEIC to WebP for smaller web files.
- Just need to see the photo, not convert it? A quick HEIC viewer opens it without changing anything.
- Tired of dealing with HEIC at all? You can stop your iPhone from saving HEIC and have it shoot JPG directly — handy if your whole workflow lives on Windows.
- Curious why your photos are HEIC in the first place? Here’s a plain-English explainer on what a HEIC file actually is.
- Getting a specific error instead of your photo? My guide to why a HEIC file won’t open on Windows decodes the exact Photos and codec error messages.
Bottom line: on Windows 10, installing the HEIF extension and using Photos works for the occasional file, but for speed, batch jobs, and zero setup, a privacy-first browser converter is the route I reach for almost every time.