HEIC Won’t Open in Photoshop

Photoshop support for HEIC depends on the operating system, codec support, Photoshop version, and how the photo was encoded. The result is frustrating: the same iPhone photo may open on one computer and fail on another.

Convert the HEIC file to JPG below, then open the JPG in Photoshop. The conversion happens in your browser. Your photo is not uploaded.

HEIC photos from iPhones and iPads embed GPS coordinates, camera details, and timestamps. DropFormat strips all metadata during conversion. Your output file contains only pixel data.

Why Photoshop rejects some HEIC files

HEIC is a container, not one single image layout. iPhones and some Android phones use HEVC-compressed HEIC, and desktop apps often rely on OS-level codecs to decode it. If the codec is missing or the app cannot use it, Photoshop has no pixels to edit.

JPG is the practical interchange format. Photoshop, Lightroom, upload forms, print services, and older workflows all understand it without an extra extension.

Should I use JPG or PNG for Photoshop?

Use JPG for normal photos, quick edits, email, and uploads. It keeps file size reasonable and is compatible everywhere.

Use HEIC to PNG if you need a lossless intermediate for heavier editing. PNG files are larger, but they avoid another lossy compression pass before you start working.

Keep the original

Converting to JPG creates a separate copy. Keep the original HEIC file if it is your archive photo, especially if you may need metadata or maximum quality later.