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ImageConverter

Secure server conversion

HEIC to BMP Converter

Convert an iPhone HEIC photo into a Windows BMP bitmap, for software that can open bitmaps but has never heard of HEIC. Be ready for the size: HEIC is one of the most efficient photo formats in use and BMP does no compression at all, so a 12-megapixel photo becomes about 36.6 MB.

Deleted automatically Uploads removed within 30 minutes

Drag and drop your HEIC images here

Add several at once. Each file is processed and then deleted from our server.

Up to 20 MB per file Batch ready

Step by step

How to convert HEIC to BMP in 3 steps

  1. Add your HEIC photo

    Straight from the phone is fine.

  2. Nothing to configure

  3. Download your BMP

    Download your BMP — and check your target software's size limit first if you are converting full-resolution photos.

Format comparison

HEIC vs BMP

HEIC (High Efficiency Image Container)

Lossy

The format iPhones and iPads save photos in by default, using HEVC compression to keep files small.

  • Much smaller than JPG at similar quality
  • The default on Apple devices, so no setting is needed
  • Many Windows apps, websites and upload forms cannot open it

BMP (Windows Bitmap)

Uncompressed

An early Windows format that stores pixels more or less raw, with little or no compression.

  • Read by old and embedded software that knows nothing newer
  • No compression artefacts
  • Very large files for the image size

The most efficient photo format into the least efficient

iPhones have saved photos as HEIC by default since 2017. It is built on the same compression as HEVC video and stores a photo in roughly half the space JPEG would need at similar quality — which is exactly why Apple chose it.

BMP stores three bytes for every pixel, with no compression. Its size is simply width × height × 3, whatever the photo shows. Measured on a real HEIC photograph, the BMP was almost six times larger. At full phone resolution the arithmetic is stark:

  • A 12-megapixel photo (4032 × 3024) — about 36.6 MB as BMP.
  • The same photo as HEIC — typically 1.5 to 3 MB.

A day's worth of photos converted to BMP can easily run to several gigabytes.

Why Windows software struggles with HEIC

HEIC relies on patented compression, so support was never built in everywhere by default. Windows can open HEIC only with extra extensions installed, and a great deal of older or specialised software cannot read it at all. BMP, meanwhile, has been readable by essentially every Windows program since 1985.

What changes in the photo

  • 10-bit colour becomes 8-bit. Newer iPhones can capture more than 8 bits per channel for wider tonal range. BMP stores 8, so the photo is reduced to that — standard photos look the same.
  • Metadata is not carried. Date, camera settings and location data stay in the HEIC; the bitmap holds only the image.
  • Nothing is gained in detail. HEIC is lossy, and the BMP records the decoded photo exactly, with no recovery of what compression discarded.

Quality

Quality and file size

There is no quality setting. The bitmap records the decoded photo exactly, at 8 bits per channel.

Often JPG is enough

Many people converting HEIC to BMP actually need "a photo my Windows software can open", and almost all of that software opens JPG too. HEIC to JPG gives a file roughly a sixth of the BMP's size — 60 KB against 361 KB, measured — with no visible difference in a photograph. Try it first.

Choose BMP when the software genuinely accepts nothing else, or processes raw pixels directly.

Stop the phone producing HEIC

If you regularly need photos in a compatible format, iPhones can save JPEG instead: in Settings, under Camera and Formats, choose "Most Compatible". Photos then take more space on the phone, but arrive in a format everything opens.

Location privacy

Phone photos often record where they were taken. The BMP does not carry that information, which is useful if you are passing photos on — but the original HEIC still has it. The metadata viewer shows what a photo contains, and remove EXIF data strips it.

Where HEIC to BMP comes up

  • Legacy Windows applications — older editing, inventory, ID badge or record-keeping software that imports bitmaps.
  • Industrial and lab systems processing raw pixel data from photographs.
  • Embedded displays and digital frames with simple image support.
  • Older game and modding tools using photos as textures.

Plan for the file size

Because of how large bitmaps are, check two things before a batch: the size limit of the software receiving the files, and the free space on the disk. If the software can resize on import, it may be worth reducing the photo's dimensions first — halving the width and height quarters the BMP.

Related

HEIC to JPG is the most compatible small option, and HEIC to PNG is lossless at a fraction of a BMP's size. JPG to BMP covers the same destination from a JPG.

What happens to your file

Browsers cannot decode HEIC or write BMP, so this runs on our server. Your upload is deleted the moment conversion finishes, the result is deleted as you download it, and anything abandoned is swept automatically. Photos are often personal; nothing is kept a second longer than needed.

Privacy

What happens to your file

This tool runs on our server, so it works the same on every phone and computer. Your file is uploaded, and this is exactly what happens to it:

  • Stored outside the public web root under a random name, never under your file's name.
  • Processed, with the original upload deleted immediately — whether it succeeded or failed.
  • The result sits behind a signed link that only you receive, which stops working after 20 minutes, and the file is deleted the moment you download it.
  • Anything never collected is deleted automatically within 30 minutes.
  • The image itself is never logged or kept. If a conversion fails, we record the formats involved and the error — not the file.
  • Camera metadata, including any GPS coordinates recording where a photo was taken, is removed from the result. Only the rotation needed to show the image the right way up is kept.

Questions & answers

HEIC to BMP: frequently asked questions

How big will the BMP be?

Width × height × 3 bytes, whatever the photo shows. A 12-megapixel iPhone photo (4032 × 3024) is about 36.6 MB as BMP, against typically 1.5–3 MB as HEIC. Measured on a real HEIC photo, the BMP was almost six times larger.

Why can my Windows software not open HEIC?

HEIC uses patented compression, so support was never built in everywhere. Windows needs extra extensions to open it, and much older or specialised software cannot read it at all. BMP has been readable by essentially every Windows program since 1985.

Should I convert to JPG instead?

Often, yes. Most software that opens BMP opens JPG too, and HEIC to JPG gave a file about a sixth of the BMP's size in testing, with no visible difference in a photo. Choose BMP only when nothing else is accepted.

Does the BMP lose quality?

It records the decoded photo exactly, so nothing is lost in the conversion itself. Newer iPhones' 10-bit colour is reduced to 8 bits per channel, which looks the same for standard photos. Nothing is recovered from HEIC's original compression either.

Is my photo's location kept?

No. The BMP holds only the image, not the date, camera settings or GPS location recorded in the HEIC. The original HEIC still contains them.

How do I stop my iPhone saving HEIC?

In Settings, go to Camera, then Formats, and choose "Most Compatible". The iPhone then saves JPEG, which takes more space on the phone but opens everywhere.

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