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7 min fix Updated 8 Aug 2026Beginner

By , IT support technician

Quick Answer

Install HEIF Image Extensions from the Microsoft Store — it is free — then reopen the photo in Photos. If it still says You need an extension to use this file., add the paid HEVC Video Extensions.

How to Open HEIC Photos on Windows ​

Applies to: Windows 11, Windows 10, iPhone, iPad
Article Type: How-To
Last Updated: 2026-08-08

Summary ​

Photos taken on an iPhone arrive as .heic files, and Windows does not include the code to read them. The Photos app responds with You need an extension to use this file. This article covers the two Microsoft Store extensions that fix it, the routes that need no extension at all, how to convert a HEIC to JPEG, and how to stop new photos arriving in that format in the first place.

Before You Start ​

  • A PC running Windows 11 or Windows 10.
  • No admin rights required. Installing a Store extension is a normal user action — though on a managed work laptop the Microsoft Store itself is often blocked, and step 3 is your route in that case.
  • One of the two extensions costs money: HEIF Image Extensions is free, HEVC Video Extensions is $0.99 in the US Store, shown in your own currency on the listing.
  • For the iPhone steps, the phone itself — no cable needed until step 6.

Instructions ​

1. Install the Free Image Extension First ​

Add the free HEIF component from the Microsoft Store and try the photo again.

  1. Open the Microsoft Store from the Start menu.
  2. Type HEIF Image Extensions into the search box at the top of the window and press Enter.
  3. Select the result published by Microsoft Corporation. The listing page opens with a Get button — this one is free, and no price appears next to it.
  4. Select Get. The button changes to a progress bar, then to Open when the install finishes.
  5. Close the Photos app completely, reopen it, then double-click your .heic file. If the picture appears, you are finished — skip to step 5 to stop future photos arriving this way.

2. Add the Paid Video Extension If Photos Still Refuses ​

iPhone photos are compressed with HEVC, so the image extension needs its video counterpart before it can read them.

Microsoft's guidance is to install both, even when you only care about photos. If you would rather not pay, step 3 gets you to the picture for free.

  1. Check what Photos is telling you. The message You need an extension to use this file. means a piece is still missing.
  2. Return to the Microsoft Store and search for HEVC Video Extensions.
  3. Select the result published by Microsoft Corporation. The button shows a price rather than Get — it is a one-off purchase attached to your Microsoft account, not a subscription, and it carries across to your other Windows devices signed in with the same account.
  4. Select the price button and complete the purchase. The button changes to Open once the install finishes.
  5. Close and reopen Photos, then open the .heic file again. The photo opens, and .heic thumbnails start appearing in File Explorer.

3. Get to the Photo Without Installing Anything ​

Two routes that need no extension, no purchase, and no admin rights.

View it in OneDrive on the web:

  1. Open your browser and go to onedrive.com, then sign in with your work or personal Microsoft account.
  2. Drag the .heic file from File Explorer onto the My files list, or select Add new > Files upload and pick it.
  3. Select the file once it has uploaded. OneDrive previews HEIC and HEIF images in the browser and shows you the photo.
  4. OneDrive stores the file exactly as you uploaded it. It does not convert anything, so downloading it later gives you the same .heic back — this is a way to see the picture, not a way to convert it.

Have the phone send you a JPEG:

  1. On the iPhone, open the photo in the Photos app and select the share button.
  2. Send it to yourself by email or a chat app. Many devices convert HEIC to a more common format when you transfer or email a file, so the copy that lands in your inbox is usually a .jpg that Windows opens without help. Check the file extension before you open it. If the attachment still ends in .heic, your phone or the app you sent it through did not convert it — use the OneDrive route above to see the picture, or connect the phone by cable and import with the transfer setting in step 6, which converts each photo to JPEG on the way across.
  3. Save the attachment to your PC and open it as normal.

4. Convert a HEIC to JPEG with Paint ​

Turn one photo into a JPEG that every app on the machine can read.

This needs the extensions from steps 1 and 2 installed first — Paint reads images through the same Windows components the Photos app uses.

  1. In File Explorer, right-click the .heic file, choose Open with, then Paint. The photo appears on the Paint canvas.
  2. Select File in the top-left corner, then Save as, then JPEG picture. A Save As dialog opens.
  3. Choose a folder, adjust the file name if you want, and select Save.
  4. Paint writes a new .jpg alongside your original and leaves the .heic file untouched, so nothing is lost if the result disappoints you.
  5. Open the new .jpg to check it. Converting re-compresses the picture, so the JPEG is a lossy copy — keep the original until you are happy with it, and note the JPEG is usually the larger file of the two despite holding less detail.

Windows has no built-in tool for converting a whole folder at once. For a batch, use step 6 to re-import from the phone with conversion turned on rather than repeating this by hand fifty times.

5. Stop New iPhone Photos Arriving as HEIC ​

Switch the phone's camera to the older format so future shots are JPEG from the moment you take them.

  1. On the iPhone or iPad, open Settings, then Camera.
  2. Select Formats. Two options appear: High Efficiency and Most Compatible.
  3. Select Most Compatible. A tick moves to that row.
  4. New photos are saved as JPEG and new videos as H.264 from that moment on. Photos already on the phone stay as they are — this changes nothing you have already taken.
  5. Select High Efficiency whenever you want to go back. The trade-off is storage: JPEG files are roughly twice the size of HEIC for the same picture, so the camera roll fills the phone faster.

6. Set the iPhone to Convert Photos on Transfer ​

Keep shooting in High Efficiency and have the phone hand Windows a JPEG when you plug it in.

  1. On the iPhone, open Settings, then Photos. On newer releases this sits under Settings > Apps > Photos.
  2. Scroll to the Transfer to Mac or PC heading near the bottom.
  3. Select Automatic. Photos are converted to JPEG as they import to a PC.
  4. The alternative, Keep Originals, hands over the untouched .heic. Choose that one when you are archiving and want the original file rather than a re-compressed copy.
  5. Connect the phone to the PC with its cable, unlock it, and tap Allow when the phone asks whether to trust this computer. Import the photos as usual — they arrive as .jpg.

Troubleshooting ​

INFO

The two extensions do different jobs and only make sense together. HEIF Image Extensions teaches Windows the container an iPhone photo lives in; HEVC Video Extensions supplies the compression the picture inside it actually uses. Install the free one on its own and some HEIF files open while iPhone .heic files still do not.

Symptom / ErrorPotential CauseSolution
You need an extension to use this file.One or both extensions missingWork through steps 1 and 2. Install the free image extension first, and only buy the video extension if the photo still refuses to open.
The Microsoft Store will not open, or Get does nothingStore blocked by workplace policyUse step 3 to view the photo now. Then raise a ticket: "Please install HEIF Image Extensions and HEVC Video Extensions from the Microsoft Store on DEVICE-NAME. I receive .heic photos from clients and cannot open them." Your device name is in Settings > System > About.
Photos still asks for an extension after installing bothPhotos app was open during the installClose Photos from the taskbar, reopen it, and try the file again. If that changes nothing, restart the PC — the image components load when Windows starts.
The photo opens but File Explorer thumbnails stay blankThumbnail cache built before the installPress F5 in the folder to refresh. If the tiles are still grey, sign out of Windows and back in. No pictures are affected either way — the thumbnail is a preview, not the file.
Double-clicking a .heic opens the wrong appFile association points elsewhereRight-click the file, choose Open with > Choose another app, pick Photos, and tick Always use this app. How to Change Default Apps in Windows 11 covers setting this for every image type at once.
The converted JPEG looks softer than the originalJPEG conversion is lossyNothing is recoverable from the JPEG itself, so keep the .heic. For anything being printed or edited, work from the original and convert last.