Installing the extension allows Windows to read the container, but if your iPhone recorded the photo in "High Efficiency" mode, it likely used a compression codec called HEVC . To see the actual image inside the container, you may also need the HEVC Video Extensions .
| Feature | Microsoft Extensions (Paid) | CopyTrans (Free) | XnView MP (Free) | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | $0.99 | Free | Free | | Explorer Thumbnails | Yes | Yes | No (Internal viewing only) | | Opens in Photos App | Yes | Yes | No (Own app) | | Conversion Tools | Limited | Yes (Right-click) | Yes (Batch supported) | | Ease of Use | High | High | Medium | heic image viewer windows 11
: You can open an HEIC file in Paint and use "Save As" to export it as a JPEG. Installing the extension allows Windows to read the
If you only need to view occasionally: