Inspect
HEIC Health Check
Is it damaged, unsupported or not a HEIC at all? The image is test-decoded and you get a plain-language verdict with the next step.
Input
Drop HEIC, HEIF, AVIF or any image files here
or choose them from your device
HEIC, HEIF, AVIF or any image · up to 100 MB per file · processed on your device
At a glance
- Answers
- Is this file valid, damaged, unsupported or not a HEIC at all?
- Tests
- Parses the container and decodes the primary image
- Verdicts
- Eight outcomes plus a checklist of every check
- Accepts
- HEIC, HEIF, AVIF or any image
What this tool does
When a file will not open, the first thing to learn is whether the file is the problem. This page parses the container, then actually decodes the primary image, and gives a verdict with the reason and the next step. It separates the cases that look identical from the outside. The file may not be a HEIC at all (a JPEG, PNG, WebP, GIF, BMP, TIFF, PDF, MP4 or MOV, ZIP, or an empty file, each named for what it really is: "This is actually a JPEG"). It may be damaged, truncated or cut off before its metadata. It may be perfectly valid but use a codec this decoder does not handle, such as VVC. It may be too heavy for a browser tab. Or it may be healthy, in which case the trouble is the app you tried it in.
The eight outcomes are Healthy, Readable with warnings (the image decodes but part of the container or its metadata did not parse cleanly), Partially readable (the container reads and a primary image is declared, but the image data would not decode), Cannot decode (no metadata box or no decodable image item), Not a valid HEIC or HEIF file, Unsupported feature, "Valid structure, too heavy to decode here" and "AVIF container is fine; decoding not tested here". Below the verdict, "Checks performed" lists each test with a pass, warning or fail mark: container recognised, metadata box present, primary image declared, its properties, every structural warning, damaged Exif or colour profile, codec support and whether the decode succeeded. The file card shows the detected format, the primary image size and which decoder ran.
AVIF needs special handling. The decoder bundled here handles HEVC but has no AV1 decoder, so AVIF files are tested with your browser's own. Before treating a failure as damage, the tool decodes a tiny built-in reference AVIF. If the browser cannot decode that either, the verdict is the AVIF "decoding not tested" outcome, not "corrupt". This page only diagnoses. If it finds damage, Repair HEIC is the tool that attempts recovery.
How to use it
- 01
Choose the file that is misbehaving
The picker accepts HEIC, HEIF, AVIF and any other image, because a mislabelled file is exactly what you may be checking.
- 02
Let both passes finish
The file is read first, then the primary image is decoded. A large file takes longer, and HEVC decoding is limited to 60 seconds.
- 03
Read the verdict
The title, a Healthy, Check notes or Problem badge, an explanation and a suggested next step appear together. The badge reads Problem for a renamed JPEG even though that file is not damaged, and the explanation says so.
- 04
Check the file card
The format is detected from the contents, not the extension. The decoder row shows whether libheif or your browser's AV1 decoder ran, or that no decode was needed.
- 05
Go through Checks performed
Each line is marked passed, warning or failed, which shows where reading broke down: before the container, in the metadata or at the pixels.
- 06
Follow the suggested action
That may be to rename the file, convert it, get the original again, try a different browser or run the repair tool.
When to use it
A file opens nowhere
The verdict tells you whether to look for a new copy (damaged), a different program (unsupported codec), a rename (wrong extension) or nothing at all (healthy, so the other app is the problem).
After a download, transfer or restore
Interrupted copies often lose the end of a file. A truncated image data section produces Partially readable, and a file that stops before its metadata produces Cannot decode. A 0-byte placeholder gets its own verdict.
Before deleting the originals
Run the copies you intend to keep. Healthy means the container parsed and the primary image decoded here, which is a stronger statement than "it has the right extension".
Working out whether recovery is worth trying
Partially readable with a primary image declared is a reasonable candidate for the repair tool. A file that is really a JPEG needs renaming, and an empty file needs a new download, not repair.
Good to know
- 01It diagnoses and does not repair. Nothing is rewritten, and a file is never called recovered.
- 02Only the primary image is decoded. A damaged thumbnail, depth map or the other images in a burst will not fail the test, and a damaged Exif or colour profile lowers the verdict to Readable with warnings instead of failing it.
- 03Healthy means this decoder read the file. Another app can still refuse it, for example because it lacks HEVC support or is stricter about something this tool tolerates.
- 04For a file that is not a HEIC, the verdict identifies the format from the first bytes. It does not tell you whether that JPEG or PNG is itself intact.
- 05HEIC and HEIF are decoded when the primary image is HEVC. A different codec in a HEIF container, such as VVC or JPEG 2000, is reported as an unsupported feature. AVIF depends on your browser having an AV1 decoder.
- 06Very large images can be reported as too heavy to decode here. That is a limit of a browser tab, not a finding about the file.
Technical notes
Privacy and limits
Your file stays on your device
This tool runs in your browser with WebAssembly. The file is read into the tab, processed there and discarded when you close it — there is no upload and no account. You can check this yourself in your browser's network panel, and the privacy page lists what analytics does and does not receive.
Limits and checks
Up to 100 MB and 100 megapixels per file; batches of up to 50 files and 500 MB. Files are treated as untrusted input and every output is re-opened and validated before it is offered — see how we handle untrusted files.
Frequently asked questions
Related tools and reading
Last updated: . Something wrong or out of date? Tell us — corrections are recorded in the changelog.