Changing Camera Settings to Turn Off HEIC/HEIF Format

If you find that you are having issues with adding photos to reports and service tickets, check the photo file format on your mobile device.

HEIC & HEIF Photo Formats

• HEIC and HEIF are newer photo formats that were introduced to offer better file compression, while still preserving the highest image quality. 
• It's essentially the JPEG replacement, as it is able to more efficiently compress images so that they have a smaller file size with the same quality.
• However, there is a difference between HEIF and HEIC. HEIF is for storing individual images and sequences of the image. On the other hand, the HEIC file can store both image and video files.
• The problem with HEIC/HEIF is that it’s not widely compatible with other apps, devices, and web applications.
• With that, you may not be able to open a HEIC photo after moving it to your computer. While more developers are adopting HEIC every day, it’s still not as commonly accepted as the tried-and-true standard, JPG.

You can set these devices to capture media using the older formats, which are more broadly compatible with other devices and operating systems:

 

For Apple Products

1. Go to Settings > Camera.
2. Tap Formats.
3. Tap Most Compatible. This setting is available only on devices that can capture media in HEIF or HEVC format, and only when using iOS 11 or later.
4. All new photos and videos will now use JPEG or H.264 format. To return to using the space-saving HEIF and HEVC formats, choose High Efficiency.

 

For Android Products

***Due to the different variations of Android products, the general steps below may differ.

1. Open the Camera app.
2. Go to Settings > Picture Formats
3. Turn off High-Efficiency Pictures

For more tips on troubleshooting problems with your mobile device, see the article Device Optimization/Mobile App Set-Up.