Quick definitions: HEIF (High Efficiency Image File Format) is the overarching standard created by the Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG). HEIC (High Efficiency Image Container) is Apple's specific implementation of that standard — it's what your iPhone or iPad saves photos as by default.

Supported File Types

When uploading photos to your auction catalog, we support the following image formats:

.jpg / .jpeg — recommended; best balance of quality and file size
.png

Photos in any other format — including HEIC and HEIF — will not upload successfully and will need to be converted first.

Why Won't My iPhone Photos Upload? (HEIC / HEIF Explained)

If you take photos with an iPhone or iPad, there's a good chance your device is saving them in Apple's HEIC format. Apple made HEIC the default camera format starting with iOS 11 because it saves storage space — but it isn't universally supported outside the Apple ecosystem, which is why these files are rejected when you try to upload them to your catalog.

The good news: this is easy to fix, either by changing one setting on your iPhone so all future photos are saved as JPEG, or by converting the HEIC photos you've already taken.

Fix It Going Forward: Set Your iPhone to Shoot JPEG

This one-time settings change tells your iPhone to capture photos as standard JPEGs — the most compatible format for catalog uploads:

Open the Settings app on your iPhone or iPad
Scroll down and tap Camera
Tap Formats
Select Most Compatible

That's it. From now on, every photo you take will be saved as a .jpg file and will upload to your catalog without any conversion needed.

Note: "Most Compatible" photos take up slightly more storage space than HEIC, but for catalog photography the compatibility is well worth it.

Tip: While you're in your camera settings, make sure Live Photos is turned off before shooting lot photos — this keeps your image files simpler and avoids extra motion data being captured with each shot.

Bonus: Automatically Convert Photos When Transferring to a Computer

If you move photos from your iPhone to a PC or Mac before uploading, there's a second setting worth checking:

Open Settings → Photos
Scroll to the bottom to Transfer to Mac or PC
Select Automatic

With this enabled, your iPhone will automatically convert HEIC photos to JPEG whenever you transfer them to a computer via cable — even if the originals were saved as HEIC.

Converting Photos You've Already Taken

Already have a batch of HEIC photos of your lots? Here are several ways to convert them in bulk.

Quick trick right on your iPhone (no app needed)

Open the Photos app and tap Select
Select the photos you want to convert
Tap the Share icon and choose Copy Photos
Open the Files app, navigate to On My iPhone, and create or open a folder
Press and hold in the folder and tap Paste

The pasted copies are automatically saved as JPEGs, which you can then upload or share.

Free desktop tools (best for large batches)

iMazing HEIC Converter (Windows & Mac) — Free drag-and-drop tool built specifically for this. Drop in an entire folder of HEIC photos and convert them all to JPEG or PNG at once. Download at imazing.com/heic
CopyTrans HEIC for Windows (Windows) — Free for personal use. Adds HEIC support to Windows and lets you right-click any HEIC file (or a whole selection) and choose "Convert to JPEG." Download at copytrans.net

Note: These are third-party tools not affiliated with HiBid; we can't provide support for them, and many free versions come with batch limits.

Free web-based converters (no installation required)

CloudConvert — Reliable bulk conversion; supports HEIC to JPG or PNG
FreeConvert — Simple bulk HEIC-to-JPG converter
Convertio — Drag-and-drop conversion with batch support

Tip: Web converters typically have file size or daily limits on their free tiers. If you regularly photograph large auctions with hundreds of lots, a free desktop tool like iMazing HEIC Converter is the better long-term option.