Convert HEIC to JPG for Android: 3 Free Methods (No Upload)

An iPhone friend sends you photos; your Android phone shows grey thumbnails or refuses to open them. The photos are HEIC — Apple's efficient-but-incompatible format. Here are three free ways to convert them to JPG, ranked by convenience.

Method 1: Browser conversion, no upload (recommended)

The fastest path needs no app and no account:

1. Open a local browser converter. FileOnTap converts HEIC to JPG entirely on your device — files never leave your phone.
2. Select the HEIC photos and drop them in. Batch-convert a whole album at once.
3. Download the JPGs. They open everywhere: Gallery, WhatsApp, Google Photos, office PCs.

This is the method I recommend for photos other people sent you, because you're not pushing someone else's pictures to a server to do it.

Method 2: Ask the sender to share as JPG

On the iPhone: Settings → Camera → Formats → "Most Compatible". Future photos save as JPEG. For photos already taken, the sender can open the image, tap Share → and the iPhone often converts to JPG when AirDropping to non-Apple devices. Works, but requires the other person's cooperation — not great for old albums.

Method 3: A desktop converter app

If you have dozens of gigabytes of old HEIC files, a desktop batch tool (XnConvert on Windows, for example) can chew through folders unattended. Downside: installation, learning curve, and on a work machine, maybe not allowed.

Method comparison

Method	Uploads files?	Needs the sender's help?	Batch-friendly?
Browser local conversion	No	No	Yes
Sender shares as JPG	No	Yes	No (future photos only)
Desktop app	No	No	Yes, but needs a PC

Troubleshooting: "I converted, but it still won't open"

• Gallery still shows grey thumbnails: the file may have converted fine but the thumbnail cache is stale. Open the file directly, or clear the Gallery cache.
• WhatsApp re-compresses everything: WhatsApp downsizes images regardless of format. For full-quality delivery, send the JPGs as a document (attach as file, not as photo) instead.
• Google Photos shows "couldn't load": re-upload after conversion, not before — the original HEIC upload is the problem, not the JPG.
• File names lost their dates: some converters rename outputs. Rename the JPGs to match the originals (or keep both in one folder) before you delete anything.

Receiving HEIC in bulk

If an iPhone user regularly sends you albums — family photos, event shots — the one-time fix is worth the two-minute conversation: have them switch Settings → Camera → Formats to "Most Compatible". For the historical backlog, Method 1 handles hundreds of files in one browser session.

Quick quality notes

• JPG is a good universal target; HEIC→JPG conversion keeps visually identical quality for photos.
• Don't convert back and forth between formats repeatedly — each JPEG encode loses a little. Convert once, keep the JPG.
• If the photos are screenshots or graphics with text, PNG preserves sharp edges better than JPG — FileOnTap also offers a HEIC to PNG conversion page for that.

Disclosure: I'm the developer of FileOnTap.