Upload HEIF and HEVC photos and videos to OneDrive

OneDrive for iOS uploads High Efficiency Image File Format (HEIF) photos in their original format, instead of uploading them as JPG to OneDrive to preserve the image quality of original photos and to save storage space.

How to view HEIF and HEVC photos and videos in OneDrive

If you're using a non-Apple device (such as Android devices, PCs, or other Windows devices), you can preview HEIF and HEVC files in OneDrive and store them on your device, but you may not be able to open them without additional apps.

You can view your HEIF and HEVC files in the OneDrive website in any browser.

Change camera capture settings for HEIF and HEVC uploads to OneDrive

You may be able to update a setting on your Apple device camera to capture photos and videos in other formats.

1. On your iOS device, open Settings, then tap Camera > Format.

2. Under Camera Capture, tap Most Compatible.

   Note

   Some iOS devices no longer have the option to save images as Most Compatible.

How to open HEIF and HEVC files on Windows

You can view your HEIF and HEVC files in the OneDrive website in any browser.

To open and downloaded HEIF and HEVC files on your Windows computer, you may need to install a codec. Codecs are available from Microsoft and other third-party app developers.

Learn more

HEIF and High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) are the default file formats for photos and videos on most Apple devices running iOS 11 or later. Most Mac computers, iPhones, and iPads can open these files. You can also view these files on the OneDrive website.

To learn more about the HEIF and HEVC file format, and which Apple devices can capture media in HEIF or HEVC format, see using HEIF or HEVC media on Apple devices.