How to batch convert HEIC to JPG on Windows

Windows 11 can open iPhone HEIC photos once two extensions from the Microsoft Store are installed, and the Photos app saves them as JPG one at a time. For a whole folder, with subfolders, one convt command converts everything and keeps the folder layout.

Updated October 29, 2026

The short version

To convert a folder and every folder inside it, install convt, open PowerShell in the folder that holds your photos folder and run:

$ & "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Programs\convt\convt.exe" iPhone --to jpg -r -o jpg

The JPGs land in a new jpg folder with the same subfolders. The HEIC files stay where they are.

Pick a method

Photos appOne photo at a timeFree app, extensions from the Store · Microsoft Q&AMicrosoft Q&A
convtFolders with subfolders, resizing, repeat jobs7-day trial, then paid · Run on HEIC filesRun on HEIC files
iPhone settingsStopping HEIC before it reaches the PCFree · Apple's guideApple's guide

Windows has no built-in way to convert a folder of HEIC photos in one go. The free route is one photo at a time; for more than a handful, use a batch tool like convt.

Let Windows open HEIC photos

From the Microsoft Store listings, checked October 29, 2026. We haven't installed them ourselves.

HEIC photos are HEVC-compressed images in a HEIF container, so Windows needs two extensions before Photos can show them:

HEIF Image Extension: Reads the HEIF container. Free.
HEVC Video Extensions: Decodes the image inside. $0.99 in the US Store. Some PCs already have the free version from the device maker.

convt doesn't need either one: it brings its own HEIC decoder, so you can skip this step if you go straight to convt.

Save one photo as JPG in Photos

From answers on Microsoft Q&A. We haven't run it on Windows.

Right-click the HEIC photo and choose Open with › Photos.
Click the … menu at the top and choose Save as.
Pick JPG as the file type, choose a folder and click Save.

That's fine for a few photos. For a camera roll's worth, it's one dialog per photo, and Photos won't walk through subfolders for you.

Batch convert whole folders with convt

Run with the released convt 0.5.0 command-line tool on HEIC files in nested folders. We ran it on Linux; the Windows build reads HEIC through the same libheif decoder, bundled in its installer.

convt is a desktop app for Windows and Mac that converts files on your computer, with a command-line tool in the same install. Local conversions never upload your photos.

Install it from the download page or GitHub releases. The installer puts convt in %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\convt for your user, so it doesn't need an administrator. The installer isn't signed yet, so Windows may warn you before it runs. It doesn't add convt to your PATH, so the commands below use its full path.

Convert a folder and its subfolders

Say your photos are in Pictures\iPhone, sorted into folders by year. Open PowerShell (right-click Start, then Terminal) and run:

$ cd $HOME\Pictures$ & "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Programs\convt\convt.exe" iPhone --to jpg -r -o jpg

Output from our Linux run

iPhone/2024/IMG_0950.heic -> jpg/2024/IMG_0950.jpg
iPhone/2024/Summer trip/IMG_1040.HEIC -> jpg/2024/Summer trip/IMG_1040.jpg
iPhone/2025/IMG_2001.HEIC -> jpg/2025/IMG_2001.jpg
iPhone/IMG_0001.HEIC -> jpg/IMG_0001.jpg
iPhone/IMG_0002.HEIC -> jpg/IMG_0002.jpg
5 converted, 0 failed

-r includes subfolders and -o jpg writes the copies into a new folder, rebuilding the same subfolders there. Leave out -o and each JPG is written next to its HEIC instead. convt converts several files at once, one per CPU core by default.

One thing to know: convt converts every file in the folder that can become a JPG, not just the HEICs. PNG screenshots in the folder get a JPG copy too. With -o those copies end up in the output folder, where you can delete them, and nothing in the original folder changes.

-q 80: Sets JPEG quality from 1 to 100. Without it, convt uses 90.
--max-size 2048: Limits the longest side to 2,048 pixels.
-j 2: Converts two files at a time, if you want to keep the PC free.

What came out of our test

Subfolders: With -r, every HEIC in 2024, 2024\Summer trip and 2025 was converted.
Output folder: -o jpg recreated the same subfolders under jpg, and left the HEICs alone.
Resolution: 4032 × 3024 in, 4032 × 3024 out. A portrait photo stayed 3024 × 4032.
File names: .HEIC and .heic both worked, and so did a folder name with a space in it.
Running it twice: The second run wrote IMG_0001 (1).jpg instead of replacing IMG_0001.jpg.
Date taken, camera, location: Not copied. convt 0.5.0 writes JPGs without EXIF data.

The last row matters for photo libraries. convt 0.5.0 doesn't copy EXIF data from HEIC to JPG, so the date taken, the camera and the GPS location are missing from the copies. Photo apps may sort the copies differently because the date taken is missing. If you need that data, keep the HEIC originals, or have the iPhone hand over JPGs in the first place (next section).

Or use the convt window

From convt's source code. We haven't clicked through it on Windows for this guide.

Open convt from the Start menu, select the HEIC photos in File Explorer (Ctrl+A selects a whole folder) and drag them onto the window, or click Choose files… and pick them there. Then choose JPEG and convert. The command above is faster for folders inside folders. convt's right-click menu in File Explorer isn't part of the Windows installer yet.

Get JPGs from the iPhone instead

From Apple's guide, Using HEIF or HEVC media on Apple devices. We haven't run it ourselves.

Two iPhone settings decide whether HEIC files reach your PC at all:

Settings › Apps › Photos: Apple says photos imported to a PC may be converted to JPEG on the way. Keep Originals turns that off, so leave it off if you want JPGs.
Settings › Camera › Formats: Most Compatible saves new photos as JPEG from then on. They take more space on the phone.

Neither setting changes photos that are already on your PC. For those, use one of the methods above.

Questions

Can I just rename .HEIC to .jpg?: No. Renaming changes the name, not the data inside, so most apps will refuse to open the file or show an error. The photo has to be decoded and saved again as JPEG.
Is there a free way to batch convert on Windows?: Not built into Windows. Photos converts one photo at a time. Free third-party tools exist, and many online converters do batches too, but most of them upload your photos to their servers.
Does converting HEIC to JPG lose quality?: A little. JPEG is a lossy format, so the photo is compressed again. The resolution stays the same, and the JPG is usually bigger than the HEIC.
Does convt upload my photos?: Not for local conversions. The app and the command-line tool convert on your PC. The app uploads a file only if you pick Cloud for a job, which is part of convt Pro. On a Mac? See HEIC to JPG on a Mac, or every format convt handles on the formats page.