How to Convert HEIC to PDF (iPhone Photos That Won't Open)
Turn iPhone HEIC photos — receipts, documents, whiteboards — into a PDF that opens anywhere. Free in the browser, no app, no sign-up, no watermark.
You photographed a stack of receipts for an expense report, or the whiteboard after a meeting, or a signed form — and now the person on the other end says "I can't open these files." That's HEIC. Since iOS 11, iPhones save photos in HEIC (High Efficiency Image Container) by default, because it stores the same quality as JPG in roughly half the space. Brilliant for your phone's storage; useless the moment the photo leaves the Apple ecosystem.
Windows is where HEIC goes to die. Out of the box, many Windows machines can't preview it, and getting native support can involve installing codec extensions from the Microsoft Store — one of which has historically cost money. Older Android devices, corporate upload portals and expense systems are similarly picky. Rather than teaching every recipient to install codecs, convert the photos once into the one format that opens literally everywhere: PDF. As a bonus, ten loose photos become one tidy, ordered document.
How to convert HEIC to PDF — step by step
Get the photos off your phone
AirDrop them to your computer, use iCloud, or email them to yourself — or just open pdfty.com/en/tools/heic-to-pdf directly in Safari on the iPhone.
Upload your HEIC files
Drag them all in at once. Free up to 20 MB total — HEIC files are small, so that's typically a few dozen photos.
Put them in order
Arrange the photos in the order the pages should appear — receipt 1, receipt 2, and so on.
Convert
Each photo becomes a PDF page. A few seconds for a typical batch.
Download one PDF
A single file that opens on any Windows PC, Android phone or ancient office computer. Your uploads are auto-deleted after 1 hour.
Three ways to solve the HEIC problem
Converting to PDF isn't the only fix — it's just the right one when the photos are documents. Here's the honest comparison:
| Approach | Best when | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Convert HEIC → PDF | Receipts, forms, whiteboards, IDs | One ordered file that opens everywhere; photos become pages, not a gallery |
| Convert HEIC → JPG | Photos that should stay photos | Opens everywhere too, but you're back to sending loose attachments |
| Change the camera setting | You hit this problem weekly | Settings → Camera → Formats → Most Compatible; future photos are JPG, but files roughly double in size |
For document-ish photos, PDF wins on a second axis too: recipients treat a PDF as a document — it prints sensibly, pages stay in order, and it attaches to expense systems that reject image uploads.
Free local alternatives
If you'd rather not upload, Apple's own ecosystem has you covered — unsurprisingly, since Apple created the problem:
On the iPhone itself. Select the photos in the Photos app, tap Share → Print, then pinch outward on the print preview and share the result as a PDF. It feels like a hidden cheat code, but it works and it's free. Alternatively, save photos to the Files app, long-press a selection and choose Create PDF.
On a Mac. Open the HEIC files in Preview, select all thumbnails, then File → Print → Save as PDF. Preview reads HEIC natively.
On Windows. This is exactly where local options get ugly: you first need HEIF image extensions from the Microsoft Store, and depending on the codec situation it may not be free. If you're on Windows, the browser route is genuinely the path of least resistance.
Receipts, whiteboards, IDs — small tips per use case
Expense receipts: photograph them flat and well-lit before anything else — a crumpled receipt shot at an angle stays crumpled in the PDF. One PDF per report, receipts in claim order, and the person approving it will never know how chaotic your wallet is.
Whiteboards: shoot straight-on if you can, and take the photo before anyone "quickly adds one thing" over your diagram. If the board photos are large, the PDF will be too; compression handles it.
ID documents: front and back as two pages of one PDF is what most verification processes expect. Remember the 1-hour auto-delete works in your favor here — nothing lingers on the server.
Practical gotchas
- Order matters more than you think. An expense report with receipts out of order triggers exactly the kind of email thread you're trying to avoid. Arrange before converting; if you notice too late, fix it with Reorder pages.
- The PDF contains photos, not text. Your receipt photos aren't searchable or copy-pasteable. If someone needs to pull amounts or dates out, run the result through OCR — here's our comparison of free OCR options.
- Big batch, big file. Photos embed at their original resolution, so 40 photos can produce a hefty PDF. Compress it afterwards, or read how to make a PDF smaller.
- Sideways photos. Phones occasionally record orientation oddly. If a page comes out rotated, Rotate fixes it after the fact.
- Already have some JPGs in the mix? Convert those with JPG to PDF — the workflow is identical, and the full JPG guide applies. Then Merge the results into one document.
Frequently asked questions
Why won't my iPhone photos open on Windows?
iPhones save photos as HEIC by default, and Windows doesn't fully support the format out of the box — it can require codec extensions from the Microsoft Store. Converting to PDF (or JPG) sidesteps the whole issue.
Can I combine many HEIC photos into one PDF?
Yes — that's the main point. Upload them together, drag them into order, and each photo becomes one page of a single PDF.
Will the photos lose quality?
The images are embedded into the PDF at high quality; for receipts, documents and whiteboards you won't see a difference. If the resulting file is too large to email, compress it afterwards.
Do I need to install an app on my iPhone?
No. The tool runs in Safari (or any browser). You can also convert from a Mac or PC after transferring the photos.
Is the PDF searchable?
Not by itself — pages are photographs. Run the PDF through OCR to add a searchable, copyable text layer on top.
What about Live Photos?
Only the still image is used — the PDF gets the photo, not the motion clip. That's what you want for documents.
What are the free limits?
20 MB per batch, 50 pages, 10 operations a day. No sign-up and no watermark; uploads are deleted after 1 hour. Pro ($9/mo) lifts the limits.
Can I go the other way — PDF to HEIC?
Yes: PDF to HEIC renders PDF pages as HEIC images, though that's a niche need — JPG or PNG output is usually the safer choice for sharing.
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