Turn HEIC files into BMP
This makes a BMP out of the HEIC you already have. BMP stores a picture as plain rows of pixels with nothing squeezed out, which makes it easy for old Windows software and simple devices to read. The practical difference is that the result opens anywhere, which HEIC files do not. Your file never leaves your computer.
How to convert HEIC to BMP
- 1 Drop your HEIC .heic or .heif file onto the page, or click to browse for it.
- 2 Check the options. Nothing is thrown away on the way to BMP, so there is no quality dial to set.
- 3 Convert. The work happens on your own machine, so how long it takes depends on your computer and the file.
- 4 Download the BMP, or add more files and do the whole set in one go.
Why convert HEIC to BMP
- A HEIC will not open in a browser, so anything going onto a web page, into a document or into a message has to become a BMP first.
- You want a copy that will not get any worse each time you edit and save it, and BMP gives you that.
- Nothing is squeezed, so there is nothing to go wrong and nothing to unpack.
- Simple enough that almost any program can read it.
- Embedded devices and firmware that cannot afford a decoder.
HEIC compared with BMP
How the two formats differ on the things that decide whether a conversion is worth making.
| Property | HEIC | BMP |
|---|---|---|
| File extension | .heic | .bmp |
| Compression | Lossy | Uncompressed |
| Animation | Yes | No |
| Colour depth | Up to 10 bits per channel | 1, 4, 8, 16, 24 or 32 bits per pixel |
| Typical file size | Smaller | Largest |
| Browser support | Some browsers | All current browsers |
| Introduced | 2015 | 1986 |
| Developed by | MPEG / Apple | Microsoft |
| Standard | Open | Proprietary |
Quality and what changes
BMP stores every pixel exactly, but it can only preserve what the HEIC already contained. The compression artefacts baked into the source are preserved perfectly along with everything else, so the picture does not improve, it just stops degrading. Expect the file to grow substantially, often several times over, because HEIC was discarding data that BMP now has to write out in full.
- HEIC files can be read here but not created, so conversions run one way only.
- Only the first frame of an animated HEIC is kept.
- HEIC files with a depth map or Live Photo data keep only the main still image.
- One BMP limitation to keep in mind: barely any support for colour management or file details.
Questions about HEIC to BMP
What happens to an animated HEIC?
BMP holds a single image, so only one frame survives, normally the first. If you need the motion, convert to a format that keeps it such as MP4, WebM or WebP rather than to BMP.
Does converting HEIC to BMP improve the quality?
No. BMP preserves what it is given perfectly, including the compression artefacts already present in the HEIC. It stops further loss from happening, which is worth doing before editing, but it cannot recover detail that was discarded.
Why is my BMP bigger than the HEIC?
Because HEIC was discarding data and BMP is not. A lossless format has to write out every pixel it is handed, artefacts included, so growing several times over is normal and does not mean anything went wrong.
Is my HEIC file uploaded anywhere?
No. The whole thing runs inside the browser tab you already have open. Your HEIC is read straight from your own disk, converted on your machine and handed back as a BMP. Nothing is sent anywhere, nothing is stored and there is no account.
Is there a file size limit?
There is no server-side limit because no server sees the file. The real ceiling is your device memory, since the input and the output both have to fit in the tab. A few hundred megabytes is usually fine on a desktop machine and considerably less on a phone.
Can I convert several HEIC files at once?
Yes. Add as many as you like and they are processed one after another, then offered as separate BMP downloads or as a single ZIP. Speed depends on your own processor rather than on a queue.
Does the converter work offline?
Yes, after the page has loaded once. The engine is cached by the browser, so you can disconnect, reload and keep converting. That falls out of doing the work locally rather than being a separate mode you switch on.