iPhone photos (HEIC) won’t open on Windows?

Your options

1. Keep originals, add support: install Microsoft’s HEIF Image Extensions from the Microsoft Store. Best quality, smallest files.
2. Shoot JPEG from now on: Settings › Camera › Formats › Most Compatible.
3. Convert while sending: in the iPhone photo picker, Options › Most Compatible sends JPEG copies.
4. Let the PC ask for JPEG: in RoomDisk, turn on iPhone photos as JPEG in the disk’s Settings on the Windows PC. Phones that connect then send JPEG copies automatically.

For backups, keep the originals (HEIC) if you can: converted copies lose some quality and metadata, and you can always convert later.

RoomDisk sends exactly the files iPhone hands over and checks each one, so you get originals or JPEGs, whichever you chose.

Why HEIC at all?

HEIC (High Efficiency Image Format) stores a photo at about half the size of an equivalent JPEG, keeps more colour detail and holds Live Photo and depth data. Apple made it the iPhone default in 2017. Macs, iPhones, iPads and recent Android phones open it without any extra steps; Windows needs the extension.

Videos too: HEVC

iPhone video is usually HEVC (H.265). If a clip won’t play on Windows, Microsoft’s HEVC Video Extensions add support, or a player such as VLC plays it directly.

Questions