Why does one computer in my office open HEIC files and mine doesn't?

Almost always because that machine's manufacturer preinstalled the free 'HEVC Video Extensions from Device Manufacturer' package, which OEMs can license in bulk. Your machine shipped without it, and Windows itself does not include an HEVC decoder. Nothing is different about the photos.

Can I install the HEIC codec without admin rights?

Microsoft Store packages install per user and normally do not require local admin, so if your organization has not blocked the Store you can install HEIF Image Extensions yourself. The HEVC half costs $0.99 and is tied to the Microsoft account you buy it with, which is why IT departments dislike it as a fleet solution.

What should I ask IT for, exactly?

Ask for HEIF Image Extensions (Store ID 9PMMSR1CGPWG) and an HEVC decoder to be deployed to the affected machines, and mention that Intune's 'Microsoft Store app (new)' app type can push both without anyone visiting the Store. If HEVC licensing is the blocker, ask instead for a converter that ships its own decoder.

Is there a way to open HEIC on a locked-down PC with no new software at all?

Yes, by changing the files rather than the PC. JPG needs no codec on any Windows version, so converting the photos before they reach the locked-down machine, or having the sender's iPhone capture JPG via Settings > Camera > Formats > Most Compatible, removes the problem without an IT ticket.

Does Microsoft Store for Business still work for this?

No. Microsoft Store for Business and Store for Education were retired in 2023, so the old offline-licensed appx download route is gone. Current deployment goes through Intune's Microsoft Store app (new) type, which is backed by winget, or through whatever software distribution tool your organization already uses.

HEIC Won't Open on Your Work PC (and IT Won't Let You Install Anything)

The photos open fine on your phone. They open fine on your colleague’s identical-looking laptop. On yours, Windows Photos says it doesn’t support the file format, File Explorer shows blank thumbnails, and the corporate image viewer refuses them outright. Meanwhile you can’t install anything, because the machine is managed.

This is one of the few HEIC problems that has nothing to do with your files and everything to do with how Microsoft licenses a video codec.

Why one PC works and the next one doesn’t

HEIC photos live in a HEIF container and are compressed with HEVC (H.265), which is patent-encumbered. Microsoft does not ship an HEVC decoder with Windows. Two separate pieces have to be present:

HEIF Image Extensions (Store ID 9PMMSR1CGPWG): free, handles the container. Present on most Windows 11 images, often missing on Windows 10.
An HEVC decoder: this is the one that varies. It exists as two different Store listings.
- HEVC Video Extensions (9NMZLZ57R3T7), $0.99, bought per Microsoft account.
- HEVC Video Extensions from Device Manufacturer (9N4WGH0Z6VHQ), free, but only installable on hardware whose manufacturer licensed it.

That second listing is the entire explanation for the machine down the hall. Dell, HP, and Lenovo commonly preload it on business lines; some models and some corporate images don’t get it. Same Windows build, same domain, same photos, different answer.

Diagnose it in one command

Run this in PowerShell on the machine that works and the machine that doesn’t. No admin rights needed, nothing is installed or changed:

Get-AppxPackage -Name Microsoft.HEIFImageExtension, Microsoft.HEVCVideoExtension |
  Select-Object Name, Version, PackageFullName

Both Store listings install a package whose name begins with Microsoft.HEVCVideoExtension, so the one command covers either route.

Two rows on the good PC, one or zero on yours: confirmed. It’s the codec, not your files, not your profile, not the photos.
Two rows on both machines and HEIC still fails: the codecs are fine and something else is refusing the files, usually the application rather than Windows. Plenty of corporate software (older document systems, upload forms, scanning and DMS clients) rejects HEIC by extension no matter what Windows can decode.

That second case matters more than people expect. Installing codecs only teaches Windows to display HEIC. It does not make your expense system, your case management tool, or an internal web form accept a .heic upload.

What you can do today without an IT ticket

Fix the files instead of the PC. JPG has needed no codec on any Windows version for 25 years, and it’s accepted by essentially every corporate system that takes images at all. That makes conversion the only fix that also solves the “our software rejects .heic” half of the problem.

Change what the camera produces. If the photos come from a phone you or a colleague controls: Settings > Camera > Formats > Most Compatible. Every new photo is JPG from then on. Free, instant, no software, and it permanently stops the problem recurring. It does not touch photos already taken.
Convert the backlog somewhere you do have rights. A home PC, a personal laptop, or any machine where you can install a free tool. The free HEIC Batch Converter (disclosure: made by the author of this site) ships its own HEIC decoder, so it converts whole folders even on systems where Photos shows the unsupported-format error, and it keeps your subfolder structure. Copy the JPGs back to the work machine.
Try installing it on the work machine anyway. Store apps install per user and usually don’t need local admin. If your organization hasn’t blocked the Store outright, this takes a minute. If the Store is blocked, you’ll know within seconds and nothing is harmed by trying.

What to ask IT for, in their language

If you want it fixed properly for everyone, a vague “HEIC doesn’t work” ticket will go nowhere. This is the version that gets actioned:

Machines A and B have Microsoft.HEVCVideoExtension installed, machines C and D do not, which is why iPhone photos open on some laptops and not others. Requesting deployment of HEIF Image Extensions (9PMMSR1CGPWG) plus an HEVC decoder to the affected group.

Useful things for them to know:

Store for Business is gone. It was retired in 2023, so the old offline-licensed .appx download plus Add-AppxProvisionedPackage route no longer has a supported source. Anyone remembering that workflow will hit a dead end.
Intune’s “Microsoft Store app (new)” app type is the current path. It’s backed by winget and installs Store packages to assigned groups without a user ever opening the Store.
The licensing gotcha is real. The free HEVC package is OEM-locked and the $0.99 one attaches to an individual Microsoft account, which is exactly the kind of per-user purchase that fleet deployment handles badly. This is usually the point where IT decides codecs aren’t worth it.
The alternative costs nothing to license. A converter that carries its own decoder has no HEVC entitlement to distribute per user, and it also fixes the internal-software-rejects-heic problem that codecs can’t touch. Our app is a Store MSIX and can be assigned the same way.

Why conversion usually wins in a managed environment

Problem	Codecs fix it	Converting fixes it
Photos app / Explorer thumbnails	✓	✓
Internal web form rejects `.heic` upload	✗	✓
Old corporate viewer or DMS client	✗	✓
Files sent on to a client or regulator	✗	✓
Per-user HEVC licensing to manage	✗	✓ (nothing to license)
Archive stays readable in 10 years	✗	✓

Codecs are the right answer when people need to view iPhone photos on their own desktop and nothing else. As soon as the photos have to move through other systems, converting once at the point of import is less work than teaching every downstream system about HEVC.

For the consumer version of this problem on a machine you control, see why HEIC files won’t open on Windows. If you need the step-by-step conversion walkthrough, see how to convert HEIC to JPG on Windows 11.

Bottom line

Run the Get-AppxPackage command on a working PC and a broken one. That single comparison ends the guesswork.
If you can’t install anything, fix the files: Most Compatible on the phone for new photos, batch conversion for the backlog.
If you’re raising a ticket, name the packages and mention Intune’s Microsoft Store app (new) type. And mention that a converter avoids the HEVC licensing question entirely, because that’s the objection you’ll get back.