I need my iPhone 17 to capture and save photos as JPEG files for work. I changed Settings → Camera → Formats to "Most Compatible" and set Photos → Transfer to Mac or PC to "Automatic," but new photos are still being saved as HEIC. I also checked that no advanced photo settings were enabled. I send quote photos from my HP laptop to Jobber, which doesn't accept HEIC, so converting every image manually is taking a lot of time. What could be overriding the JPEG setting, and how can I make sure new photos are saved or transferred as JPEGs?
2 Answers
Camera → Formats → Most Compatible should make newly captured photos use JPEG. The transfer setting only affects what happens when you copy photos to a computer; “Automatic” may convert them during transfer, while “Keep Originals” preserves HEIC. It won’t convert photos that were already taken, and images saved from another app, downloaded from iCloud, or transferred from another device may keep their original format.
Check that you’re taking the pictures directly in the built-in Camera app and that you aren’t using a special capture mode such as ProRAW or another third-party camera app. Those modes can follow separate format rules. Also verify that the laptop is importing through the normal Photos transfer process with Transfer to Mac or PC set to “Automatic,” rather than copying the original files through a different sync method. If the setting is correct and brand-new standard photos are still HEIC, restarting the phone and checking for an iOS update would be reasonable next steps.
I already selected Most Compatible, but new photos still show up as HEIC. I need them for business quotes, and Jobber won’t accept that format, so I’m trying to avoid converting each one manually.