How to convert HEIC to JPG on Windows 11
Windows 11 can usually open HEIC but still cannot save as JPG in one obvious click. These are the three methods that work, ordered by how many files you have.
Which method for how many files
| You have | Use | Needs the HEVC codec? |
|---|---|---|
| One or two photos | Paint | Yes |
| Under twenty | Photos app, Save as | Yes |
| A folder | PowerShell script above | Yes |
| Any number, no codec installed | Browser converter | No |
| Thousands, regularly | ImageMagick | No — it bundles its own decoder |
- For one photo, use Paint
Right-click the HEIC file, choose Open with → Paint, then File → Save as → JPEG picture. Paint is not glamorous but it is installed on every Windows 11 machine and it writes a clean full-resolution JPG.
- For a handful, use the Photos app
Open the image in Photos, click the ... menu and choose Save as, then pick JPG from the file type list. Photos also lets you crop and adjust before saving, which Paint does not do well.
- For a whole folder, use PowerShell
Open the folder, type
powershellin the address bar and press Enter. Paste:Get-ChildItem *.heic | ForEach-Object { $i = New-Object -ComObject Wia.ImageFile; $i.LoadFile($_.FullName); $p = New-Object -ComObject Wia.ImageProcess; $p.Filters.Add($p.FilterInfos('Convert').FilterID); $p.Filters[1].Properties('FormatID') = '{B96B3CAE-0728-11D3-9D7B-0000F81EF32E}'; $p.Filters[1].Properties('Quality') = 92; $p.Apply($i).SaveFile(($_.FullName -replace '\.heic$','.jpg')) }This requires the HEVC codec to be installed, since it uses Windows' own imaging stack.
- If none of that works, the codec is missing
Windows 11 reads the HEIF container but needs HEVC Video Extensions for the image data inside. Without it, Paint and Photos both fail. This page covers the free and paid routes to installing it, or use the browser converter, which needs no codec at all.
The power-user route: ImageMagick
If you convert images often, install ImageMagick and skip the Microsoft codec entirely — it ships its own HEIF support. After installing, open a terminal in the folder and run:
magick mogrify -format jpg -quality 92 *.heic
That converts every HEIC in the folder in place, keeping the originals. Add
-resize 2000x2000 before *.heic to cap dimensions at the same time. It
handles thousands of files in the time the Photos app takes to open one.
Getting thumbnails back in File Explorer
A folder of grey blank icons instead of photo previews is the other half of this problem. Installing the codec usually brings previews back on its own. When it does not, the culprit is Windows' cached copies of the old blank icons rather than the codec, and clearing that cache resolves it.
Windows 10 differs in one important way. Windows 10 needs both the HEIF Image Extensions and the HEVC Video Extensions, whereas Windows 11 includes HEIF support already. The Windows 10 steps are separate.
Common questions
- Can Windows 11 open HEIC files by default?
- Windows 11 includes HEIF container support, but the HEVC codec that decodes the actual image is a separate component. On many machines it arrives preinstalled by the PC manufacturer; on clean installs it usually does not.
- Is there a free way to get the HEVC codec on Windows?
- The HEVC Video Extensions listing in the Microsoft Store is paid, but manufacturers often preinstall an OEM version, and Windows sometimes offers a free 'from Device Manufacturer' variant. Installing ImageMagick or using a browser converter avoids the question entirely.
- How do I convert a whole folder of HEIC files at once?
- Either the PowerShell one-liner on this page, which uses the Windows imaging stack and needs the codec, or ImageMagick's mogrify command, which bundles its own decoder and does not.
- Does Paint reduce image quality when saving as JPEG?
- Slightly, since JPEG is lossy and Paint does not expose a quality setting — it uses a fixed high value. For a single photo the difference is not visible; for repeated round trips it accumulates.