How to Turn Off HEIC on iPhone (Shoot JPG Instead)

Updated October 15, 2026 · 3 min read

Tired of HEIC files? You can make your iPhone save photos as JPG with one setting — or keep the space-saving HEIC format on your phone and have it hand JPGs to your computer automatically. Here’s how to do both, plus the equivalent on Samsung and other Android phones.

Option 1: Make the iPhone shoot JPG

  1. Open Settings.
  2. Tap Camera.
  3. Tap Formats.
  4. Choose Most Compatible.

From now on, new photos are saved as JPEG and new videos as H.264. That’s it.

Heads-up: This doesn’t change photos you’ve already taken. To turn existing HEIC photos into JPGs, use the HEIC to JPG converter — it runs in Safari on your iPhone and can save the results straight back to Photos.

What you give up with Most Compatible

  • Storage. JPG photos are roughly twice the size of HEIC. If your iPhone or iCloud is nearly full, you’ll feel it.
  • Some camera features. Certain modes need High Efficiency, for example 4K video at 60 fps, some slow-motion and Cinematic modes, spatial video and 48-megapixel HEIF capture on supported models.
  • Image efficiency. At the same file size, HEIC holds more detail. For a full comparison see HEIC vs JPEG.

Option 2: Keep HEIC, but transfer JPGs to your computer

This is the best of both worlds for many people: small HEIC files on the phone, JPGs on the PC.

  1. Open Settings → Photos (on newer iOS versions: Settings → Apps → Photos).
  2. Scroll to Transfer to Mac or PC.
  3. Select Automatic.

When you import photos over a USB cable, your iPhone converts them to JPG on the fly. (Choose Keep Originals if you ever want the original HEIC files.) Note that this only applies to cable transfers — AirDrop, iCloud downloads and the Files app still deliver HEIC.

Option 3: Keep HEIC and convert only what you share

If you share a few photos a week, don’t change anything: just convert the ones you need with the HEIC to JPG converter. On iPhone you can use the Files app’s Convert Image quick action or a browser tool — all the options are in How to convert HEIC to JPG on iPhone.

How to turn off HEIC on Samsung

Many Galaxy phones can save photos as HEIF to save space. To switch back to JPEG:

  1. Open the Camera app.
  2. Tap the settings gear.
  3. Find High efficiency pictures (under Advanced picture options or Picture formats, depending on your One UI version).
  4. Turn it off.

New photos will be saved as JPG. Existing HEIF photos stay as they are — see How to convert HEIC to JPG on Android to convert them.

How to turn off HEIC on other Android phones

Phones from other manufacturers (Google Pixel, Xiaomi, OnePlus, Oppo and others) handle this differently, and many save JPEG by default. If yours produces HEIF files, look in the Camera app settings for an option named HEIF, High efficiency or Picture format and set it to JPEG.

Why do iPhones use HEIC anyway?

Mostly to save storage while keeping quality high. If you’re curious, Why are my iPhone photos saving as HEIC? explains the reasons and why HEIC sometimes appears only after changing how you transfer photos. For the basics, read What is a HEIC file?

Frequently asked questions

Will turning off HEIC convert my existing photos?

No. The setting only affects new photos. Existing HEIC photos stay HEIC; convert them with a tool like ConvertHEICto if you need JPG copies.

Does Most Compatible lower photo quality?

Image quality is very similar, but files are about twice as large, and some features — such as 4K at 60 fps video and certain high-resolution modes — require High Efficiency.

How do I turn off HEIC on a Samsung phone?

Open the Camera app, tap the settings gear, and turn off High efficiency pictures (under Advanced picture options or Picture formats, depending on your One UI version).