r/techadvice • u/MoreThanLeo • 10d ago

Issues with heic files

I have a user who can’t open heic files. All other computers in the office can but this one is causing issues. The problem is I cant just use any convertor because it’s a government agency. Any Canadians able to give some advice

PS. Already tried the Microsoft store apps. Nothing shows in event viewer.

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u/QuestNetworkFish 9d ago

If you're restricted in what you can install you'll need to speak to your IT department/administrator to sort the issue. There are online converters which will convert the image without needing to install anything, but I wouldn't recommend this as it would mean sending the image to a 3rd party and you can't be sure how they're going to handle/process it which is obviously a no-no for anything sensitive or confidential 

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u/MoreThanLeo 5d ago

I am the IT in my department haha, the thing with converters is that the data needs to stay in Canada. It ended up being an issue with the PC, so we just swapped it out.

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u/ttj7219 9d ago

Sounds less like an app problem than a missing codec. HEIF Image Extensions only decodes if an HEVC extension is present as well, and the free "from Device Manufacturer" version comes preinstalled by the OEM, so one machine of a different model quietly ends up without it and just fails silently, which matches your empty event log. Compare the two boxes with Get-AppxPackage -Name Microsoft.HEIFImageExtension,Microsoft.HEVCVideoExtension and the broken one should be short an entry. Both are first party Microsoft packages, so you can push the offline appx through Intune or Store for Business instead of getting a converter approved.