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How to stop your iPhone saving photos as HEIC

One setting makes your iPhone save new photos as JPG. Here’s where it is, what changes, and what to do with the HEIC photos you already have.

The short answer: open Settings → Camera → Formats and choose Most Compatible. From then on, the iPhone saves photos as JPG and videos as H.264, which open on any computer, phone or website.

Step by step

  1. Open the Settings app.
  2. Tap Camera, then Formats.
  3. Under Camera Capture, choose Most Compatible instead of High Efficiency.

The change applies straight away to new photos and videos. Photos you already took stay HEIC.

What you give up

Storage. HEIC compresses photos better than JPG, so the same photo takes more space as a JPG. If your iPhone or iCloud is nearly full, that adds up.

Some video modes. Recording 4K video at 60 frames per second and 1080p slow motion at 240 frames per second needs High Efficiency. With Most Compatible, those modes aren’t available.

A middle way: keep HEIC, get JPGs on your computer

In Settings → Photos, scroll to Transfer to Mac or PC and choose Automatic. Photos stay compact HEIC on the phone, and when you copy them to a computer with a cable, the iPhone converts them to JPG. (Keep Originals copies the HEIC files as they are.)

Photos you already took

Convert them with the HEIC to JPG converter: drop up to 50 photos at once, download them one by one or as a ZIP. It runs in your browser, so the photos are never uploaded. JPGs keep the date and camera details, and the GPS location is removed unless you choose to keep it.

In our test, a 12-megapixel iPhone photo of 2.8 MB became a 2.6 MB JPG at Balanced quality, nearly identical to the original. See HEIC vs JPG vs PNG for the full numbers.

Opening HEIC on Windows instead

If you would rather keep HEIC, Windows 10 and 11 can open it after you install two Microsoft Store add-ons: HEIF Image Extensions and HEVC Video Extensions (a paid one). Converting to JPG avoids installing anything, on every computer you use.

Last updated October 17, 2026.

Questions

Does Most Compatible lower photo quality?

No. Photos are saved as JPG instead of HEIC at the same resolution. JPG compresses less efficiently, so the files take more space for the same detail.

Will my old photos change to JPG?

No. The setting only affects new photos and videos. Photos you already took stay HEIC; convert them with the HEIC to JPG converter.

Can I keep HEIC on the phone but get JPGs on my computer?

Yes. In Settings → Photos, under Transfer to Mac or PC, choose Automatic. When you copy photos to a computer over a cable, the iPhone converts them to JPG on the way.