What happens when you convert HEIC to TIFF
- The image is decoded and written as an uncompressed RGBA TIFF.
- Browsers other than Safari cannot read HEIC, so a decoder of about 1.3 MB is fetched when you press Convert.
- TIFF is lossless, so no further detail is lost, but it cannot restore detail the HEIC compression already removed. Expect a larger file.
How to convert HEIC to TIFF online
- Press "Choose HEIC files" and select one or more files, or drag them onto the box. You can add files of any size your device can hold in memory.
- Adjust the settings if you need to. The output is lossless, so there is no quality setting to worry about.
- Press "Convert to TIFF". Images convert in a second or two each.
- Save each TIFF with its download button. Close the tab and every trace of the files is gone from memory.
Why convert HEIC to TIFF?
HEIC files usually come from photos taken on iPhones and iPads since iOS 11. People convert them to TIFF because TIFF is the format printers, scanners and archives trust for lossless images.
In short, HEIC is good at what it was made for, and TIFF is the more practical choice when the file has to open, upload or print somewhere else. Safari on Apple devices shows HEIC; Chrome, Edge and Firefox cannot, while Safari shows TIFF; Chrome, Edge and Firefox download it instead of displaying it.
How to convert HEIC to TIFF on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android
On Windows
Open this page in Chrome, Edge or Firefox, drag your HEIC files in from File Explorer, and press Convert. Each TIFF is saved to your Downloads folder. Paint can also re-save an image as TIFF with Save as, provided Windows can open the HEIC in the first place.
On a Mac
Safari, Chrome and Firefox all work. Drag the HEIC files from Finder onto the drop zone and the TIFF files land in Downloads. Preview can do single images too: open the file, choose File, then Export, and pick TIFF.
On iPhone and iPad
Open the page in Safari and tap Choose HEIC files. You can pick from Photos or from the Files app. The converted TIFF appears in Files, in the Downloads folder; to put it in your photo library, open it there, tap Share and choose Save Image. To stop the iPhone creating HEIC files in future, go to Settings, Camera, Formats and choose Most Compatible.
On Android
Open the page in Chrome, tap Choose HEIC files and pick them from Files or your gallery. The TIFF is saved to the Download folder, where any file manager can find it.
Best settings for HEIC to TIFF
The TIFF is written uncompressed with an alpha channel, four bytes per pixel, which every TIFF reader can open. A 12 megapixel image is about 48 MB. That is normal for print and archive work, where no loss is the point.
HEIC vs TIFF: the differences
| HEIC | TIFF | |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | High Efficiency Image Container | Tagged Image File Format |
| Type | image | image |
| Created by | the Moving Picture Experts Group, adopted by Apple | Aldus Corporation |
| First released | 2017 | 1986 |
| Compression | Lossy | Lossy or lossless |
| Transparency | Yes | Yes |
| Animation | No | No |
| Vector or raster | Raster | Raster |
| Colour | up to 16-bit colour | up to 32 bits per channel, including CMYK |
| In a browser | Safari on Apple devices shows it; Chrome, Edge and Firefox cannot | Safari shows it; Chrome, Edge and Firefox download it instead of displaying it |
| Common uses | photos taken on iPhones and iPads since iOS 11 | print production, scanning, archiving and medical imaging |
| MIME type | image/heic | image/tiff |
About HEIC and TIFF files
What is a HEIC file?
iPhones save photos as HEIC because it is roughly half the size of an equivalent JPG. The catch is compatibility: Windows needs an extra codec, and most upload forms and older software reject it.
What is a TIFF file?
TIFF is the format printers and archives trust because it can store uncompressed or losslessly compressed pixels, CMYK colour and several pages in one file. It is also why a single scan can run to 100 MB.
HEIC to TIFF not working? Common problems
- Colours look slightly different. Browsers convert images to the standard sRGB colour space when they decode them, so wide-gamut and CMYK images can shift a little.
- A phone photo comes out upright even though it looked sideways elsewhere. That is correct: the rotation stored in the photo is applied during conversion, so the TIFF is always the right way up.
- The HEIC will not load. Some HEIC files hold depth maps or bursts; the main image is converted. If nothing loads, try again in Safari on the iPhone itself, or set Settings, Camera, Formats to Most Compatible for future photos.
Convert HEIC to TIFF from the command line
If you work in a terminal, ImageMagick converts HEIC to TIFF in one line:
magick input.heic output.tiffTo convert every HEIC in a folder at once, use magick mogrify -format tiff *.heic. Your ImageMagick build needs HEIC support (libheif), which the official installers include. The converter on this page does the same job without installing anything.
HEIC to TIFF converter FAQ
Will I lose quality converting HEIC to TIFF?
No further quality is lost, because TIFF is written losslessly. Detail the HEIC compression already removed does not come back.
Why is the TIFF a different size from the HEIC?
The TIFF is usually larger, because it stores every pixel without compression losses, while the HEIC was compressed lossily.
Are my HEIC files uploaded anywhere?
No. The conversion runs inside this browser tab using your browser's own image decoder, so your files stay on your device. You can disconnect from the internet after the page has loaded and it still works.
Can I convert several HEIC files to TIFF at once?
Yes. Select or drop as many files as you like; they are converted one after another and each gets its own download button.
How do I open a TIFF file?
Safari shows TIFF; Chrome, Edge and Firefox download it instead of displaying it. TIFF is common for print production, scanning, archiving and medical imaging.
Is this HEIC to TIFF converter free?
Yes. There is no sign-up, no watermark and no limit on how many files you convert. The site is paid for by advertising, and because conversions run on your device there is no server cost per file.
Can I convert HEIC to TIFF on my phone?
Yes. The converter works in Safari on iPhone and iPad and in Chrome on Android. Converted files are saved to the Downloads folder.