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How to Change HEIC to JPG on Android and Samsung: 7 Free Ways

By the heicjpg.online editorial team · Updated September 30, 2026 · 11 min read

Changing a HEIC photo to JPG on an Android phone

A friend with an iPhone sends you a few photos, you open them on your Android phone, and something is off. The gallery shows a gray square, WhatsApp will not attach the file, or your bank app rejects it as an "unsupported image". The file ends in .heic, and that is the whole problem. HEIC is the compressed photo format iPhones have used by default since 2017 (here is what a HEIC file actually is), and a surprising number of Android apps, websites and older phones still cannot read it.

This guide shows you how to change HEIC to JPG on Android in every way that actually works, ranked from the fastest to the most involved. The first method needs nothing installed and works on any Android phone with a browser. The others are good backups for specific situations: Samsung owners, people who already live in Google Photos, and anyone who wants to stop the problem at its source.

Quick answer

The quickest way to change HEIC to JPG on Android is to open heicjpg.online in Chrome or Samsung Internet, tap the upload area, pick your HEIC photos, and download the JPGs. Conversion starts automatically, nothing gets installed, there is no account and no cost. Up to 60 photos per batch, full resolution, EXIF kept, and a single ZIP for the whole set.

Samsung Galaxy? Jump to the Samsung Gallery steps (the conversion switch now hides in Gallery Labs) or stop your camera from saving HEIC.

Why iPhone photos land on your Android as HEIC

Since iOS 11, every iPhone from the iPhone 7 onward shoots in High Efficiency format by default. The still images are saved as HEIC, which packs the same photo into roughly half the size of a JPG. Apple is generous about converting these files when they leave the phone through Messages, WhatsApp or Instagram, which is why most people never notice. But the moment a photo travels as a real file, through Google Drive, a shared album link, a cable, an email attachment sent at actual size or a messaging app in "document" mode, the HEIC arrives untouched on your Android phone.

If you want the full story behind that iPhone setting, read why your photos are HEIC instead of JPG. For the rest of this article, the only thing that matters is that you have a .heic file on an Android device and you need a .jpg.

Can Android open HEIC files at all?

Sometimes, and that "sometimes" is exactly why the question is confusing. Android has supported HEIF images at the operating system level since Android 9 (2018). In practice, three things need to line up before a HEIC photo shows up on your screen:

Android 9 or newer. Older versions have no idea what the format is.
A hardware HEVC decoder. HEIC pictures are compressed with the HEVC video codec, and Android relies on the phone's chipset to decode it. Almost every phone sold since 2019 has one; cheap or older models sometimes do not.
An app that bothers to use it. Google Photos, Samsung Gallery and most modern gallery apps display HEIC. Chrome does not render it as a web image, many upload forms refuse it, and plenty of smaller apps simply show a broken thumbnail.

So even when your phone can display a HEIC, that does not mean the file will work everywhere you need it. Being able to see a photo and being able to use it are two different things, and the second one is what JPG guarantees. If you only want to view a file rather than convert it, our guide on how to open HEIC files on any device covers that side, and you can also view HEIC without converting in a free viewer.

Did you know?

Many Samsung Galaxy phones can shoot HEIC themselves. If the "High efficiency pictures" option is on in the camera settings, your own photos can come out as .heic even though nobody with an iPhone was involved. There is a section at the end of this guide on turning that off.

How we ranked the 7 methods

Every method below produces a real JPG that opens anywhere. What separates them is how much of your time and storage they eat. Each one was scored on five points:

Nothing to install: can you do it with what is already on the phone?
Free without a catch: no premium tiers, no watermarks, no account.
Batch conversion: can you handle 15 vacation photos in one go, or is it one picture at a time?
Full quality: does the JPG keep the original resolution and metadata?
Works on any Android: or only on a specific brand, a specific Android version or a phone with an HEVC decoder?

The ranking at a glance

#	Method	Install needed	Batch	Full quality	Works on any Android
1	heicjpg.online in the browser	No	Yes, up to 60 per batch	Yes, EXIF kept	Yes, any phone with a browser
2	Google Photos, edit and save a copy	Usually preinstalled	No, one photo at a time	Yes	Needs HEIC display support
3	Samsung Gallery share setting	No (Samsung only)	Yes	Yes	Samsung Galaxy only
4	Snapseed export	Yes, free app	No	Yes	Needs HEIC display support
5	Converter apps from Google Play	Yes	Usually	Depends on the app	Mostly
6	Fix it at the sender's iPhone	No	Yes, for future photos	Yes	Yes
7	Go through a computer	No	Yes	Yes	Yes, but needs a PC or Mac

Here is the same comparison as a scorecard, so you can see at a glance where each method falls short:

Method 6 scores well but only helps with future photos, not the HEIC files you already have.

1. heicjpg.online: change HEIC to JPG in your browser Best overall

heicjpg.online, nothing to install, converts automatically

This is the method to try first, because it removes every obstacle the other ones have. You do not install anything, you do not create an account, you do not need a Samsung phone, and it does not matter whether your Android can decode HEIC, because the decoding happens on the server. Open the page, pick your photos, and the conversion has already started by the time the upload finishes. Each JPG keeps the full original resolution at quality 92 with EXIF data and orientation preserved. Up to 60 photos go in one batch and come back as a single ZIP, and the download links stay alive for 30 days, so you can grab the same files on your laptop later.

Zero installs, zero signups, zero cost
Conversion starts by itself on upload
Works on any Android, even without HEVC support
Batch of 60, one ZIP, links valid 30 days
No ads, no trackers, no cookies
Needs an internet connection

Step by step on Android

Open Chrome, Samsung Internet, Firefox or any other browser and go to heicjpg.online.
Tap the big upload area. Android opens its file picker. Choose the HEIC photos from Downloads, Google Drive, WhatsApp media or wherever they landed. You can select several at once.
Wait a second or two. There is no convert button to find; each photo is converted the moment it arrives.
Tap Download under a single photo, or Download all (ZIP) for the whole batch. The JPGs land in your Downloads folder and show up in Google Photos and your gallery right away.

Full disclosure

heicjpg.online is our own tool, so read the #1 spot with that in mind. The best way to check whether the ranking is fair is to try it: the whole test takes about ten seconds and costs nothing. The remaining six methods are honest alternatives, including the ones that need no website at all.

Tip for WhatsApp and Telegram

If a HEIC arrived in a chat app as a file, long press it and choose Save or Download first, so it sits in your Downloads folder. Then pick it from there in the converter. Some chat apps keep received files in a private folder that the file picker does not show.

2. Google Photos: edit the HEIC and save a copy as JPG

Google Photos, the trick most people already have on their phone

Google Photos can display HEIC on any phone that supports the format, and it has a quiet side effect that is perfect for our purposes: when you edit a photo and save it as a copy, the copy is written as a JPG. Open the HEIC in Google Photos, tap Edit, make any tiny change (nudge the brightness by one step, or open Crop and tap Done), then tap Save and choose Save copy. A new JPG appears next to the original. It is free, needs no download, and keeps the resolution. The catch is that it only works one photo at a time, and only if your phone can decode HEIC in the first place. If Google Photos shows a gray thumbnail instead of the picture, this method is out, and you are back to method 1.

Already installed on most Android phones
Full resolution, free, no account beyond Google
One photo at a time
Requires HEIC display support on the phone
You have to make an edit, even a fake one

3. Samsung Gallery: convert HEIC to JPG when sharing

Samsung Gallery, the option built into Galaxy phones

Samsung is the one Android maker that has taken HEIC seriously, mostly because its own cameras can shoot the format. Gallery can convert HEIC to JPG as it shares, but on recent One UI versions the switch is no longer in the normal Gallery settings. It sits in Gallery Labs, a hidden menu you unlock once:

Open Gallery, tap the three lines at the bottom right and tap Settings.
Scroll to the bottom, open About Gallery and tap the version number repeatedly (often around ten times) until a message says Gallery Labs is enabled.
Go back to Settings; Gallery Labs now appears at the bottom (restart Gallery if it does not). Open it and switch on Convert HEIF images when sharing.
Select one or several photos in Gallery, tap Share and send them to a chat, Google Drive, email or another app. They leave the phone as JPG.

If the switch is missing on your model, use method 1 or the convert Samsung HEIF photos to JPG page, which takes the same files in the browser. The limitation of the Gallery route: it only works on Samsung, and only for files you share from Gallery, not for a HEIC sitting in a Downloads folder that Gallery does not index.

No extra app on Galaxy phones
Batch conversion by sharing several photos at once
Samsung phones only
Converts only when sharing; the original stays HEIC

4. Snapseed: open the HEIC and export a JPG

Snapseed, a free photo editor that saves everything as JPG

Snapseed is Google's free photo editor, and it can turn a single HEIC into a JPG. Version 4.0, with a completely redesigned interface, reached Android in May 2026, so older guides with the Open button and the settings menu no longer match. In the new version, tap Add photo on the home screen, pick the HEIC in the system file picker, skip the editing if you like, then open the Export tab at the bottom and save a copy. The copy is written as a JPG, and the export options let you resize it or choose which metadata to keep. Like Google Photos, it depends on the phone being able to decode HEIC, and it is built around one picture at a time.

Free, no ads, no account
Export options for size and metadata
One image at a time
Needs an install and HEIC display support

5. Dedicated HEIC to JPG converter apps from Google Play

Converter apps, useful offline, but choose carefully

Search Google Play for "HEIC to JPG" and you will find dozens of apps. Some are perfectly good and work offline, which makes them the right choice if you convert HEIC files every week or have no data connection. Most, however, are wrappers around the same open source decoder, padded with full screen ads, "pro" unlocks and permission requests that have nothing to do with converting a picture. Before installing one, check that it works without an account, that it only asks for access to your photos, that it lets you set the output quality, and that recent reviews do not mention watermarks or crashes on large batches. Because the quality of these apps changes with every update, we do not recommend a specific one.

Works offline once installed
Usually supports batches
Ads, upsells and permissions vary wildly
Takes storage space for a task you may need twice a year

6. Fix it at the source: ask the iPhone owner to send JPG

One setting on the sender's iPhone ends the problem for good

If the same person keeps sending you HEIC files, converting them every time is the wrong fix. On their iPhone, Settings › Camera › Formats › Most Compatible makes the camera save JPG from then on; our guide to HEIC to JPG on the sender's iPhone has the exact taps. Existing photos stay HEIC, but everything new arrives ready to use. If they prefer to keep shooting HEIC for the storage savings, the sharing method matters instead: Messages, WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram convert to JPG automatically, while Google Drive, iCloud links, Dropbox and file transfers keep the original HEIC. Simply asking them to send photos through a chat app instead of a Drive folder often solves it without touching any setting.

Solves the problem permanently for future photos
Nothing to do on the Android side
Does nothing for the HEIC files you already have
Depends on someone else changing a setting

7. Go through a computer

Windows or Mac, for hundreds of files at once

For a huge folder of HEIC photos, a computer is still the most comfortable place to do the job. Copy the files over with a cable or through Google Drive, then follow our guide on converting HEIC to JPG on Windows 11 and 10, which covers batch routes for whole folders, including ImageMagick for thousands of files. On a Mac, Preview and the Finder's Quick Actions do the same thing. It is last on the list only because it requires a second device; if you are already sitting at a laptop, it moves right up the ranking. And of course, heicjpg.online works the same way in a desktop browser: 60 photos per batch, one ZIP. Our batch guide shows how to convert dozens of HEIC photos in one ZIP on any device.

Best for very large batches
Free tools for Windows 11 and macOS
Needs a computer and a transfer step

Stop your own Samsung phone from saving HEIC

If the HEIC files on your Android were taken with your own camera, you almost certainly own a Samsung Galaxy with the high efficiency format switched on. Open the Camera app, tap the settings gear, open Advanced picture options (called Picture formats or Save options on some older One UI versions), and turn off High efficiency pictures. From that moment the camera saves standard JPG. Photos you already took stay HEIC, so run those through method 1 or share them through Gallery with the conversion switch on.

Does changing HEIC to JPG on Android lose quality?

A little, in theory; nothing you will notice, in practice. HEIC and JPG are both lossy formats. Converting means decoding the HEIC and encoding a JPG, which adds one round of JPG compression. At a high quality setting (heicjpg.online uses 92 out of 100), the difference is invisible on a phone screen and on a normal print. The resolution stays exactly the same, and a good converter carries the EXIF data across, so the date, camera model and location survive. What does change is the file size: expect the JPG to be roughly twice as large as the HEIC, because that size saving is the entire point of HEIC. If you want the numbers, our HEIC vs JPG comparison puts the two formats side by side.

Keep the originals

Converting never deletes the HEIC. If storage is tight, keep the HEIC in Google Drive or Google Photos as your archive copy and use the JPG for everything that needs to open everywhere.

Frequently asked questions

Can I change HEIC to JPG on Android without installing an app?

Yes. Open heicjpg.online in any Android browser, pick the HEIC photos, and download the JPGs. Nothing is installed, no account is needed and the conversion is free. On Samsung phones the Gallery app can also convert HEIF to JPEG when sharing (the switch sits in the hidden Gallery Labs menu), and Google Photos saves an edited copy as JPG.

Why won't my Android phone open HEIC files?

Android has supported HEIC since version 9, but only on phones with a hardware HEVC decoder and only in apps that use it. Older or very cheap phones lack the decoder, and many apps, upload forms and Chrome itself do not display HEIC even on new phones. Converting the file to JPG removes the dependency entirely.

Can I just rename the .heic file to .jpg?

No. The extension is only a label. The image data inside is still HEVC compressed, so a renamed file either shows as broken or gets rejected by the app you are trying to use. The photo must be decoded and saved again as a real JPG.

How do I convert many HEIC files to JPG at once on Android?

Select up to 60 photos at a time in heicjpg.online and download them as one ZIP; repeat for the next 60. On a Samsung phone, turn on Convert HEIF images when sharing in Gallery Labs, then select several photos in Gallery and share them. Google Photos and Snapseed are built around one image at a time, so they are not suited to batches.

Does converting HEIC to JPG on Android reduce photo quality?

There is one round of JPG compression, which at a high quality setting is not visible in a normal photo. The resolution stays the same and a good converter keeps the EXIF metadata. The JPG file will be about twice the size of the HEIC.

What happens to my photos when I use heicjpg.online?

Files are converted on the server, stored under unguessable links so you can download them for 30 days, and then deleted automatically. There is no account, no ads, no tracking cookies, and the photos are never viewed, shared or used to train anything.

How do I stop my Samsung phone from taking HEIC photos?

Open the Camera app, go to Settings, then Advanced picture options, and switch off High efficiency pictures. The camera then saves JPG. Photos taken earlier stay HEIC and need converting.

Change HEIC to JPG on your Android now

Open the converter in your phone's browser, pick your photos, and the JPGs are ready in seconds. Free, full resolution, no app, no account.

Convert HEIC to JPG now