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Send iPhone photos to Android

Convert the iPhone photo to JPEG before USB, Drive, or email. Those paths keep HEIC, and a lot of Android galleries show a blank thumbnail. Files are deleted within 1 hour.

Two phones on a table with a USB-C cable. One screen is on, the other is face down.
USB / Drive
IMG_2048.heic
Gallery
no preview
The cable copied the file. The Android gallery still has nothing to draw if the name is IMG_2048.heic.

Why the Android phone shows a blank file

The iPhone still saves HEIC by default. Android 10 can decode it. Google Photos usually opens it. Samsung Gallery on recent One UI often does too. A cheap phone, a file-manager thumbnail, and some email apps still show nothing.

The path matters more than the Android version. If the other phone already shows the picture, you are done. If the filename ends in .heic and the thumbnail is blank, convert before the next send. Opening a file that is already there is HEIC on Android.

WhatsApp often already converted it

A gallery send from an iPhone through WhatsApp is frequently rewritten to JPEG on the way out. The Android side then opens a normal photo. Telegram and a lot of share targets do the same rewrite.

USB, a Drive link, Gmail as an attachment, Save to Files, and AirDrop to a Mac then a stick to Android keep the .heic. Those are the copies that break. WhatsApp original is a different job: the chat looked worse, not blank.

Convert the HEIC before you send

Drop the .heic on HEIC to JPG. The server decodes with libheif. You get the main photo as JPEG. The Live Photo clip stays behind. HDR becomes a standard 8-bit JPEG, which Android galleries know how to show.

Need PNG for an editor, use HEIC to PNG. If an HR portal also names a size, run Compress to 100 KB on the JPEG. Windows is a separate mess: HEIC on Windows.

  1. Open HEIC to JPG and drop the .heic. Up to 10 files, 20 MB each.
  2. Download JPEG, or a ZIP of several. Delete when you have the files.
  3. Send that JPEG. USB, Drive, and email then open on the other phone.

Then send the JPEG

Cable: unlock the iPhone, tap Trust, copy from DCIM or import in Photos. If you already copied HEIC, convert the copies you have. Do not recopy the roll hoping Android learned the codec.

Drive or email: attach the JPEG, not the .heic. Google Photos on the iPhone can upload HEIC and still hand Android a file it cannot preview in Files. Convert first when the other person is not living in Google Photos.

Stop the next batch on the iPhone

Most Compatible writes new shots as JPEG. The roll you already have stays HEIC. Storage grows. The Formats toggle, and why you often should not flip it, is iPhone JPEG.

Mail and some apps convert that one send. Files and USB do not. Convert the batch that has to leave.

  1. If you still want JPEG from the camera, see iPhone JPEG.
  2. For photos already on the roll, convert the batch in HEIC to JPG and send those files.

Questions

Why does WhatsApp open the photo and Drive does not?

WhatsApp often recompresses to JPEG on send. Drive, USB, email, and Save to Files keep the .heic. Convert that copy.

Can I AirDrop to Android?

AirDrop is Apple to Apple. Use USB, Drive, or email, and send JPEG if the other phone is Android.

Does Google Photos convert on download?

Not always. The Android app can show HEIC. Saving out, Files, and a USB copy can still hand you a .heic. Convert when the next app fails.

Does the JPEG include the Live Photo?

You get the main photo. The clip stays behind.

Can I convert on the phone?

Yes. Open the page in Chrome, drop the .heic, download the JPEG. Same limits: 10 files, 20 MB each.

Do you keep the file?

Original and result are deleted within 1 hour. You can delete them from the download screen.

HEIC to JPGiPhone photo to JPEG.