How to Stop iPhone from Saving Photos as HEIC (And Switch Back to JPG)
Updated: January 2026
The short answer: You can force your iPhone to stop taking HEIC photos by going into your Settings > Camera > Formats and selecting “Most Compatible.” This will make all future photos save as standard JPGs.
It happens to everyone: You plug your iPhone into your computer to back up your memories, only to find thousands of files ending in .HEIC that you can’t open.
In this guide, we will show you exactly how to disable this feature so your camera works like it used to. Plus, we will show you what to do with the “stuck” HEIC photos you already have.
Method 1: Change Camera Settings (The Permanent Fix)
If you want your iPhone to permanently stop creating HEIC files and switch back to the universal JPG format, follow these simple steps:
- Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
- Scroll down and tap on Camera.
- Tap on Formats.
- Select Most Compatible.
What this does: Your camera will now save images as JPG. Note that 4K video recording (at 60fps) might be disabled, as JPG captures take up more processing power.
Method 2: Automatic Conversion on Transfer
Maybe you actually like HEIC because it saves space on your phone (read our HEIC vs JPG Comparison to see why), but you hate the compatibility issues when moving files to a PC.
You can tell your iPhone to keep photos as HEIC on the device, but automatically convert them to JPG when you transfer them to a computer.
- Go to Settings > Photos.
- Scroll to the very bottom to the “Transfer to Mac or PC” section.
- Select Automatic.
The Big Problem: What About My Old Photos?
Changing these settings only affects future photos. It does not fix the thousands of pictures already sitting in your Camera Roll.
If you have existing HEIC files that you need to view on Windows or upload to a website, you still need to convert them.
How to Fix Your Existing Library
Don’t worry, you don’t need to buy software. You can use our batch converter to fix your old albums.
Check out our guide on How to Batch Convert Unlimited Files, or simply use the tool at the top of this page.
Why is “High Efficiency” the Default?
You might be wondering why Apple makes this so difficult. It comes down to storage space.
As iPhone cameras get better (48 Megapixels and up), photo file sizes get huge. If Apple used standard JPGs, your 128GB iPhone would fill up in months. By using HEIC, they compress the images to half the size, allowing you to take twice as many photos before running out of space.
Common Questions
If I switch to “Most Compatible,” will my photos look worse?
No. The quality of JPG is excellent. The main difference is file size. You will notice your storage filling up slightly faster, but your photos will look just as sharp and colorful.
Can I change HEIC back to JPG on the iPhone itself?
Surprisingly, the iPhone “Files” app can do this one by one, but it is tedious. It is much faster to transfer them to a computer and use a bulk converter tool to do them all at once.
Why can’t I send HEIC photos to my Android friends?
When you text an HEIC photo to an Android user, it often arrives as a blurry image or a file they can’t open. Switching your camera to “Most Compatible” (JPG) usually fixes this texting issue immediately.