# Make iPhone shoot JPG > Switch your iPhone camera from HEIC to JPG with Settings, Camera, Formats, Most Compatible. Plus the transfer setting, storage cost and features you may lose. URL: https://ihateheic.com/iphone-camera-settings-heic-to-jpg Updated: 2026-10-04 Two settings on your iPhone decide whether you ever see a HEIC file. Here's exactly where they are, what each one does, and what you trade away by switching. ## The quick fix On your iPhone, go to **Settings → Camera → Formats** and tap **Most Compatible**. Every new photo will be a JPG. Photos you've already taken stay HEIC; for those, use the converter on this page, which runs in Safari and can save the JPGs straight back to your Photos library. ## The two settings that matter Your iPhone has two separate HEIC switches, and they solve different problems. | Setting | Where | What it changes | | --- | --- | --- | | **Formats** | Settings → Camera → Formats | The format your camera saves new photos and videos in | | **Transfer to Mac or PC** | Settings → Photos | What format photos are converted to when copied to a computer by cable | You might only need the second one. Read both before deciding. ## Setting 1: Camera Formats This decides what the camera actually saves. 1. Open the **Settings** app. 2. Scroll down and tap **Camera**. 3. Tap **Formats**. 4. Under **Camera Capture**, choose: - **High Efficiency** to save photos as HEIC and videos as HEVC (the default). - **Most Compatible** to save photos as JPG and videos as H.264. 5. Leave Settings. The change applies immediately to new photos. To check it worked, take a photo, open it in Photos and swipe up (or tap the **ⓘ** button). Recent iOS versions show the format in the info panel. ## Setting 2: Transfer to Mac or PC This one doesn't touch your camera at all. It controls what happens when you plug your iPhone into a computer and import photos. 1. Open **Settings**. 2. Tap **Photos**. 3. Scroll to the bottom, to **Transfer to Mac or PC**. 4. Choose: - **Automatic** to convert photos and videos to compatible formats (such as JPG) during the transfer. - **Keep Originals** to copy the HEIC files exactly as they are. **Automatic** is the right choice if you regularly import to a Windows PC. Your phone keeps the space-saving HEIC files, and your PC receives JPGs. It doesn't affect AirDrop, iCloud, or cloud storage apps, which may still deliver HEIC. ## The trade-offs of Most Compatible Switching to JPG makes life simpler in one way and costs you in others. ### Storage This is the big one. A HEIC is typically about half the size of a JPG of the same quality. Switching to JPG means each new photo takes roughly twice the space, and video recorded as H.264 is larger than HEVC too. If your phone or iCloud plan is already nearly full, you'll feel this. ### Camera features On some iPhone models, certain features are only available with **High Efficiency**. Depending on your model and iOS version, these may include: - **48 MP photos** in HEIF Max on Pro models with a 48 MP camera. - **4K video at 60 fps** and some high frame rate slow-motion modes. - Some advanced video and capture modes on newer models. Apple adjusts these with each release, so check your own Camera settings. If an option disappears or greys out after switching, that's the reason. **ProRAW**, where available, saves DNG files and is a separate setting from HEIC versus JPG. ### Quality For normal viewing, you won't see a difference. HEIC is more efficient, but the iPhone's JPGs are saved at good quality. ### Live Photos and Portrait mode These generally still work in Most Compatible mode. The extra data is stored in a different way, for example as a separate video file for a Live Photo's motion, but you can keep using both features. ## Your existing photos stay HEIC Changing the camera format is not retroactive. Every photo you took before switching is still HEIC. If you need JPG versions of older photos: 1. Open the converter on this page in Safari on your iPhone. 2. Tap the drop zone and choose **Photo Library**. 3. Select the photos you want. You can pick many at once. 4. Wait for the conversion. Phones process one or two photos at a time. 5. Tap **Save** to send the JPGs to your Photos library through the Share sheet, or download them as a ZIP. Very large photos, such as 48 MP shots, may be scaled to about 16 MP on iPhone because Safari limits how big an image a web page can process. If you need full resolution, convert those on a computer. For a big backlog, the [batch HEIC converter](https://ihateheic.com/batch-heic-converter) on a laptop is quicker. ## Which setup should you choose? ### Keep High Efficiency, set transfer to Automatic Best for most people. You keep small files and every camera feature, and cable imports to a PC arrive as JPG. Convert the occasional photo you need to upload or email. ### Switch to Most Compatible Best if you constantly send photos straight from your phone to places that reject HEIC, and you have storage to spare. Everything just works, at the cost of space and possibly a feature or two. ### Leave everything alone Best if you're entirely in Apple's world. Macs, iPads and other iPhones read HEIC natively, and iOS converts automatically for many sharing actions. ## Why HEIC is the default in the first place Apple switched to HEIC in iOS 11 in 2017 mainly to save storage while keeping quality high. Our guide on [why iPhone uses HEIC](https://ihateheic.com/why-does-iphone-use-heic) explains the reasoning, and the [HEIC vs JPG](https://ihateheic.com/heic-vs-jpg) comparison shows what each format does better. ## FAQ ### How do I make my iPhone take JPG instead of HEIC? Open Settings, tap Camera, tap Formats and choose Most Compatible. New photos will be saved as JPG and new videos as H.264. ### Will changing the format convert my existing photos? No. The setting only affects photos you take from now on. Existing photos stay HEIC, so convert those separately if you need JPG copies. ### Does Most Compatible use more storage? Yes. JPG files are typically about twice the size of equivalent HEIC files, and H.264 video is larger than HEVC too. Expect your photo library to grow faster. ### What does Transfer to Mac or PC Automatic do? With Automatic selected under Settings, Photos, the iPhone converts photos and videos to compatible formats like JPG when you import them to a computer over a cable. Your originals on the phone stay HEIC. ### Do I lose any camera features with Most Compatible? On some models, yes. Features such as 48 MP HEIF Max photos, some high frame rate 4K video modes and certain advanced video features may require High Efficiency. What's affected depends on your iPhone and iOS version. ### Is JPG lower quality than HEIC on iPhone? For everyday viewing you won't notice a difference. HEIC is more efficient, so it reaches the same quality in a smaller file, and it can store extras like depth data more neatly.