Guides
HEIC guides & tutorials
Practical, no-fluff answers for dealing with HEIC photos on Windows, written by the developer of HEIC Batch Converter.
Move a 1 TB iCloud Photo Library to an External Drive (Before You Cancel iCloud)
A 1 TB photo library and a 256 GB Mac. The step everyone does first, turning on Download Originals, is the one step that cannot work. Here is the order that does, and why you move the library instead of exporting the photos.
Read guide →
HEIC Won't Open on Your Work PC (and IT Won't Let You Install Anything)
One office PC opens iPhone HEIC photos and the next one refuses. The difference is a codec your OEM either preinstalled or didn't. How to diagnose it in one command, what you can do without admin rights, and exactly what to ask IT for.
Read guide →
Smart TV, Fridge, or Photo Frame Says 'File Type Not Supported' for iPhone Photos
Some iPhone photos load on your smart display and others are rejected with no pattern. Even exporting them as JPEG on a Mac doesn't always help. The usual limit is 4096 pixels on the long edge, which a 24-megapixel iPhone photo already exceeds. Here's how to check, and the recipe that gets every photo accepted.
Read guide →
iPhone HEIC Photos on Linux: Crashes, Blank Thumbnails, and Finding the One Bad File
Gwenview crashes on an iPhone photo, Dolphin shows no thumbnails, and most HEIC files are fine. Why iPhone HEIC is different from other HEIC, why installing a Flatpak viewer never fixes the thumbnails, how to fix the decoder without breaking other formats, and a command that finds the exact file causing it.
Read guide →
Best Free HEIC Converters for Windows (2026)
An honest comparison of the best free ways to convert HEIC to JPG on Windows in 2026: HEIC Batch Converter, Windows Photos, CopyTrans HEIC, XnConvert, iMazing HEIC Converter, and online tools.
Read guide →
How to Convert HEIC to JPG on Windows 11 (4 Free Ways)
Four free ways to convert HEIC photos to JPG on Windows 11 and Windows 10: the Photos app, Microsoft Paint, online converters, and a free batch converter for whole folders.
Read guide →
Why Won't HEIC Files Open on Windows? Causes & Fixes
HEIC photos won't open on Windows 10 or 11? The cause is almost always missing HEIF/HEVC codecs. Here's how to fix it: install the codecs, or convert the files to JPG for free.
Read guide →
HEIC vs JPG: Quality, File Size, and Compatibility Explained
HEIC files are about half the size of JPG at the same visual quality, but JPG opens everywhere. A practical comparison of quality, size, and compatibility, and when to convert.
Read guide →