ImageTools

Make your iPhone shoot JPG instead of HEIC

Open Settings › Camera › Formats and tap Most Compatible. From then on your iPhone captures photos as JPG and video as H.264 instead of HEIC/HEVC. It only affects new photos — the .heic files you already have stay as they are, and you can convert those to JPG here.

This is the one setting that stops HEIC at the source. "Most Compatible" tells the camera to save the universally-readable JPG/H.264 instead of the space-saving HEIC/HEVC. The cost is storage: JPGs are larger, so your photos will take more room on the phone and in iCloud. For most people that trade is worth never hitting a "can't open this file" wall again.

The setting is the same on iPad (Settings › Camera › Formats). If you don't see a Formats option, your device is older than the iPhone 7 / the HEIC era and is already shooting JPG.

On your iPhone or iPad:

  1. 1.Open the Settings app

    Tap the grey Settings gear icon on your home screen.

  2. 2.Tap Camera

    Scroll down and tap Camera.

    Settings›Camera

  3. 3.Tap Formats

    At the top, tap Formats.

    Settings›Camera›Formats

  4. 4.Choose Most Compatible

    Under *Camera Capture*, select Most Compatible. New photos now save as JPG. To go back to space-saving HEIC later, choose High Efficiency instead.

    Settings›Camera›Formats›Most Compatible

Convert HEIC in your browserDrop your .heic files and get JPG, PNG, or PDF — converted on your own device, nothing uploaded.

Last verified June 13, 2026.

Frequently asked questions

Does Most Compatible convert my existing HEIC photos?
No. The setting only changes how new photos are saved. Your existing .heic files are not touched. To turn those into JPGs, convert them here — the originals stay intact.
What's the downside of switching to JPG?
JPGs are larger than HEIC, so your photos and videos use more storage on the phone and in iCloud. You also lose HEIC's deeper colour, though that rarely matters for everyday photos.
I don't see a Formats option in Camera settings — why?
Formats only appears on devices that support HEIC capture (iPhone 7 and later on iOS 11+). If it's missing, your device already saves JPGs by default, so there's nothing to change.

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