Windows 11 and Windows 10 iPhone Photos Need HEVC or HEIC Codec - Free Fix

 I've had multiple people ask for help when it comes to viewing iPhone photos or videos on their Windows PC. The issue is that the photo and video format the iPhone uses requires an extra piece of software for the Windows computer to decode it. Sometimes your Windows PC comes with that software pre-installed so it just works right away. But other times you are left trying to track that software down. For a while, Microsoft had that software available for free in the Microsoft Store, but they've since made it more difficult to get. However, it can still be done for free as of July 2024, and I'll explain how.

First, one disclaimer. I'm providing instructions on how you can get your links to the latest version, but through a third-party website https://store.rg-adguard.net. I have NO affiliation with that site, and am not promoting it as 100% safe. However, it appears to currently generate download links directly to the microsoft.com domain, so I believe it is safe enough as of this post, but that could change at any time.

1. Go to https://store.rg-adguard.net/ to generate the download link to the most recent version of the codec.
2. On the rg-adguard.net site, change the first dropdown from URL (link) to PackageFamilyName
3. Change the last dropdown from RP to Retail
4. For the HEVC codec, enter Microsoft.HEVCVideoExtension_8wekyb3d8bbwe in the search box. For the HEIC/HEIF codec, enter Microsoft.HEIFImageExtension_8wekyb3d8bbwe in the search box
5. Click the checkmark to search
6. Do not click the links in the ads. Get to the bottom of the page. Currently there usually is an ad blocking the links you actually need. Click the down arrow in the left upper corner of that (see red circled area in screenshot below) to hide it so you can see your links at the bottom
   
   
   
7. Find the .appxbundle link and right-click it, then select Open in New Window. On the HEIC/HEIF image codec, you only want the appxbundle, not the eappxbundle
   
   
   
8. That new window should open and just be blank. If it didn't start the download automatically, refresh that link once and it should download the appxbundle file that you need
9. Once you have the appxbundle file(s) downloaded, close those browser windows
10. Open Powershell on your computer
11. For each .appxbundle you want to install, run the following in Powershell: Add-AppxPackage -Path "FullPathToFile\Fullappxbundlename". So an example command using the current HEVC codec appxbundle would be Add-AppxPackage -Path "C:\Users\admin\Downloads\Microsoft.HEVCVideoExtension_2.1.1803.0_neutral_~_8wekyb3d8bbwe.AppxBundle"

That's it. Now you should be able to view those iPhone photos or videos on your Windows PC without needing to purchase any codecs or install any third-party codecs. Make sure you run step 11 for both the HEVC and HEIC/HEIF codec files if you're planning to install both.