How to stop your iPhone shooting HEIC

Open Settings, tap Camera, tap Formats, and choose Most Compatible. Your iPhone will shoot JPEG from then on instead of HEIC. Photos already in your library stay HEIC — the setting only affects new ones. The cost is storage: JPEG files are roughly twice the size for the same photo. There is also a better option for most people, which is to keep shooting HEIC and set Settings, Photos, Transfer to Mac or PC to Automatic, so iOS converts to JPEG only when you move photos to a computer.

The setting, precisely

Settings, then Camera, then Formats. You will see two options. High Efficiency shoots HEIC for photos and HEVC for video. Most Compatible shoots JPEG and H.264. Choose Most Compatible.

The change applies immediately and only to photos taken from that point onward. Nothing in your existing library is converted or altered.

What it costs you

Storage, primarily. Expect roughly twice the file size per photo. On a 128 GB phone with a large library, that difference is real.

You also lose some capability that is easy to overlook. Most Compatible caps certain high-end video modes, because 4K at 60 frames per second and 1080p at 240 frames per second rely on HEVC encoding. If you shoot video in those modes, switching formats will quietly disable them.

And you give up the extra colour depth HEIC provides. That precision is what makes highlight and shadow recovery look clean when editing in the Photos app; with JPEG you have 8 bits per channel to work with instead of up to 16, and aggressive edits show banding sooner.

The option most people should use instead

The compatibility problem almost always happens at the moment you move photos off the phone, not while they are on it. So rather than degrading every photo you take, deal with it at the transfer step.

Settings, then Photos, then scroll to Transfer to Mac or PC. Set it to Automatic. iOS will convert HEIC to JPEG as photos come off over a cable, while your library stays HEIC on the device. You keep the storage saving and the editing headroom, and your PC receives files it can open.

Worth knowing how the other paths behave too. Sharing a photo through Mail or most messaging apps usually converts to JPEG automatically. AirDrop to a Mac keeps the HEIC. iCloud Photos on Windows generally delivers JPEG. It is really only direct cable transfer and a few specific apps that hand over raw HEIC.

What about photos you already have

Changing the camera format does nothing to your existing library — those photos remain HEIC. If you need JPEG copies of them, you have to convert.

For a handful of photos, sharing them to yourself by email is enough, since that path converts automatically. For a large batch, convert them properly. Everything on this site runs in your browser, so a camera roll never gets uploaded anywhere.

Frequently asked questions

Where is the setting to stop HEIC on iPhone?

Settings, then Camera, then Formats, then Most Compatible. This makes the camera shoot JPEG instead of HEIC.

Will this convert my existing photos?

No. The setting only affects photos taken afterwards. Your existing library stays in HEIC and must be converted separately if you need JPEGs.

How much more storage will JPEG use?

Roughly double per photo. HEIC achieves about the same visual quality in about half the bytes.

Does Most Compatible affect video too?

Yes. It switches video to H.264, which disables the modes that require HEVC — notably 4K at 60fps and 1080p at 240fps.

Is there a way to keep HEIC and still get JPEGs on my PC?

Yes, and it is the better option for most people. Settings, Photos, Transfer to Mac or PC, set to Automatic. iOS converts on transfer while your library stays HEIC.