HEIF Image Extensions installed but not working

The two-minute fix

1. 01

   Open the Microsoft Store and search for HEVC Video Extensions

   The publisher should be Microsoft Corporation. In the US Store it cost US$0.99 on 11 October 2026; prices differ by country.

2. 02

   Install it

   If the Store shows it as already installed, go to the next section and check that both packages really are there.

3. 03

   Close and reopen the app you were using

   Microsoft's Office page says to restart Microsoft 365 after installing codecs. A Microsoft support specialist's forum reply suggests restarting the PC after installing the HEIF extension. Doing both costs a minute.

4. 04

   Double-click a HEIC

   It should open in Photos. If it does, Paint and File Explorer thumbnails should follow; for thumbnails that stay blank, see HEIC thumbnails not showing.

Why one extension is not enough

A HEIC file is a HEIF container holding an image compressed with HEVC, also called H.265. Microsoft ships a reader for each layer as a separate Store package. Its HEIF Image Extension listing says the extension lets Windows read and write HEIF files, that a video extension package must also be installed to view the images, and that the HEVC Video Extensions package is the one needed for .heic, .hif and .heif files (AVIF files use the AV1 Video Extension instead). Installing only the free one is the single most common reason people search for this.

Check what is actually installed

1. 01

   Open the installed apps list

   Windows 11: Start > Settings > Apps > Installed apps. Windows 10: Start > Settings > Apps > Apps & features.

2. 02

   Search for HEIF, then for HEVC

   You need one result for each. If the HEVC search finds nothing, that is your answer: install HEVC Video Extensions.

3. 03

   Optional: confirm with PowerShell

   Open Windows PowerShell (no admin rights needed for your own account) and run Get-AppxPackage -Name *HEIF* and then Get-AppxPackage -Name *HEVC*. Microsoft's documentation says -Name accepts wildcards. Each result shows the package name and its version, which tells you whether you have the paid or the device-manufacturer HEVC build.

If both are listed and HEIC still fails, the Store may have left one half-updated. Open the Microsoft Store and select Check for Updates, which is Microsoft's documented way to pull pending app updates, then try again before moving on.

Which apps use the extensions, and which never will

Microsoft's imaging framework, the Windows Imaging Component (WIC), is built so that any application using it gains a new image format as soon as the codec for that format is installed. That is why one pair of Store packages fixes several apps at once, and also why it cannot fix programs that do not go through Windows for their decoding.

"Paint cannot read this file"

Paint's message, as quoted in a Microsoft Q&A thread, reads 'Paint cannot read this file. This is not a valid bitmap file, or its format is not currently supported'. It is generic: that thread is about PNG, JPG, TIFF and BMP files, not HEIC, and the causes there range from damaged files to very large images. For a HEIC, though, the usual reason is the one on this page: Paint cannot get the image out because the HEVC codec is missing or broken. Fix the extensions first, then try Paint again. If Photos opens the same file and Paint still refuses it, try repairing Paint the same way as the extensions below.

Windows N editions: install the Media Feature Pack first

Microsoft's page on N editions says they include the same functions as other editions except Windows Media Player and related technologies, naming Media Foundation and several audio and video codecs, H.265 among them. The same page lists HEIF Image Extensions among the Microsoft Store add-ons for restoring media features. To see your edition, open Settings > System > About and look under Windows specifications.

1. 01

   Windows 11 N: open Optional features

   Start > Settings > Apps > Optional features, then select View features next to Add an optional feature, and choose Media Feature Pack.

2. 02

   Windows 10 N: open Add a feature

   Start > Settings > Apps > Apps and Features > Optional features > Add a feature, then find Media Feature Pack in the list.

3. 03

   Restart

   Microsoft says you will not be prompted, but a restart is required to finish the installation.

4. 04

   Then install or reinstall both extensions

   HEIF Image Extension and HEVC Video Extensions from the Store, as above.

Work or school PC: the Store is blocked

Microsoft documents a policy, 'Turn off the Store application', that organisations can set through Intune or Group Policy, after which the Store shows a blocked message. Microsoft also notes that Intune-managed devices can still be given Store apps by IT. So on a managed PC the realistic options are asking IT to deploy HEIF Image Extension and HEVC Video Extensions, or not installing anything and converting in the browser, which needs no admin rights.

Repair or reset the packages

If both packages are installed, the edition is not N and Photos still cannot show a HEIC, Microsoft's general app-repair steps are the next move: Repair first, then Reset if Repair is missing or does not help. Some apps do not offer Advanced options at all, in which case uninstall the package and reinstall it from the Store.

1. 01

   Open Installed apps

   Windows 11: Start > Settings > Apps > Installed apps. Windows 10: Start > Settings > Apps > Apps & features.

2. 02

   Find HEVC Video Extensions

   On Windows 11 select the More (…) button next to it, then Advanced options. On Windows 10 select the app, then Advanced options.

3. 03

   Select Repair

   If Repair is not available or does not help, select Reset.

4. 04

   Repeat for HEIF Image Extension, and for Photos

   Then reopen Photos and double-click a HEIC.

Be honest with yourself about how long to keep going. A Microsoft Q&A thread from 2024 to 2025 shows people with both extensions installed who still could not open HEIC, where reinstalling did not help and no staff-labelled fix appeared. If repair, reset and a reinstall have not worked, the browser route below is quicker than more troubleshooting.

When the file is the problem, not Windows

Microsoft's Office support page makes a point that applies to every app on this page: some cameras generate HEIC images that are not compatible with the HEVC codec pack, and Microsoft's suggestion is to convert them to JPEG or change the camera's format setting. Microsoft does not say which cameras or which variants. If iPhone photos open but files from one dedicated camera do not, that is the likely explanation.

If one file fails everywhere, including on the phone that made it, it may be damaged, a cloud placeholder that never downloaded, or not a HEIC at all. The health check decodes it locally and says which; the can't open HEIC guide walks through each case.

When to stop fighting it and convert

The extensions are worth having if you own the PC and want HEIC to behave like any other photo. They are not worth an afternoon. Convert instead when the Store is blocked, when the PC is an N edition you cannot change, when the files come from a camera the codec does not support, or when the goal was a JPG all along. Our converters decode HEIC with their own WebAssembly decoder, so they work with or without the extensions; files stay on your device, and the output carries no EXIF or GPS data.

What we could not confirm

• Who may install the device-manufacturer HEVC build. The listing is free and installable from the catalogue, but it does not say who it is for.
• The exact entry names in Installed apps. We give the Store listing names; Settings may word them slightly differently.
• Which camera HEIC variants fail. Microsoft says some do and names none.
• Whether Edge uses the Windows extensions for images. Can I use lists Edge as not supporting HEIC, and we found nothing from Microsoft saying otherwise.