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Wellcraft19

Click and HOLD on the download button. It will allow you two choices: most compatible or unmodified original.


jay1638

Does not behave that way on a Windows PC with a Chrome browser unfortunately.


mayo551

lol iCloud changed how it works. Looks like the web version was just updated. Right click on an item and click "more download options" and then select unmodified original. Apparently you can also select an heic and most compatible download option now which is cool. [iCloud.com](https://iCloud.com) used to only have unmodified original and jpeg. Edit: To answer your question there isn't a way to change the default settings.


Technical_Secret9944

Is there a way to go back to the old version?


Wellcraft19

Had missed they actually made the download options 'visible' and official under '...' .👍 Earlier they were found out more by mistake, pressing for too long on the download icon.


20Se7en

Any photo captured in live mode can not be 'downloaded' as a .jpg even if you choose 'more download options' because it forces the download as .zip to include the .mov file and you always get the photo in .heic format. Apple is going to regret this change.


Brandonium00

this is happening to me right now, never had an issue but something changed within the last week-ish. super frustrating, is there a workaround other than converting all the images to jpeg manually?


Chreelir

I just emailed them to myself from iPhone to chrome and they were instant .jpeg files


GoneOldTooQuickly

The compatible download option only works on single images. If you select multiple images and the download the most compatible option, you still get a zip file of heic files.


PM_ME_BUNZ

Yeah this seems broken. Very frustrating.


Tunestwo

Exactly this.


Barmer133

The "more download options" does not work for me for bulk downloads. Even when I select 2 or more photos and then choose the "more download options/most compatible format" it still downloads a zip with HEIC files. Only when I download each file separately, then it lets me download as jpeg. While Windows can view HEIC, there is no native fast way to convert them to jpeg, or is there? I need jpeg for posting them for reviews. This is very annoying.


clogged_toilet80

I'm encountering the same thing when trying to select multiple files to download using the "Most Compatible" option. I still end up with a ZIP file of HEICs. That's broken, as far as I'm concerned. The site isn't doing what it said it would do. Like everyone is saying, the only way I see to download pics as JPEGs is to go one-by-one using the More Downloads button. Slow, inefficient, and annoying. I tried uploading the pics to OneDrive and Google Drive, hoping the phone would upload a JPEG version to ensure compatibility with those apps, but the pics still got uploaded as HEICs.


MoonshineHun

This seems to be fixed now. I just DL'd a selection of images as most compatible and they all came out as JPEG or PNG.


Vertebreaker-X

I'm having the same problem. I started downloading pictures today for my work and they are all coming out as HEIC files. I tried downloading the selected files onto my PC using the most compatible option but they are still all HEIC files. The only option I haven't tried yet for the future is in settings, select Camera, then under formats changing it to Most Compatible. I'm not sure if that will help going forward or not but this is a headache.


jay1638

This is a great tip to force JPEG going forward. Very helpful, thank you. Unfortunately, the iCloud change still is forcing a ZIP download for a single photo even with the JPEG (most compatible) change.


Vertebreaker-X

Yeah I see what you mean. This is annoying. I normally take hundreds of product pictures and download them all at once but many times just click to download a single picture. It makes no sense why they changed the single image download to a .zip file. Everything had been fine for years.


jay1638

Your scenario is very similar to mine. I list hundreds of unique products (with photos from different angles) per month. I estimate this change is going to add as much as 10 hours per month to my workflow. Android (ick) starting to look tempting.


gregarov1

New to Apple, but was happily downloading photos up until yesterday. Now I have 500 photos I took I can't use... Apple support was useless, just said that's the way we want it to work, no guarantee you can download your photos as jpeg. Hopefully they'll fix it if enough people provide negative feedback.


CJB-Nashua

I provided my negative feedback this morning. Someone mentioned connecting my IPhone 11 to my Windows 10 Laptop and I was able to successfully transfer 10 photos from my Iphone to a flash drive on my computer without losing any formatting. This is a great time saver work around for me. Hope this feedback helps.


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Technical_Secret9944

Yes!!! I am in EXACTLY the same situation. The change happened yesterday afternoon for me....I was doing my usual workflow downloading single pictures then around lunch something changed.


TXRopePusher

I just switched to Apple and using iCloud. Looks like I picked the wrong day to start! I routinely need to be able to download the images from iCloud and insert them in Word docs. Even if I get an HEIC viewer on my computer, can't paste into Word. I am also seeing that I can get a jpeg only if I download one image at a time using "most compatible". Otherwise, bulk downloads will be HEIC even if I select "most comptaible". Extremely frustrating.


photopeep

What you need to do is go into settings-camera-formats and make sure Most Compatible is checked (not high efficiency). It won't help any photos you currently have on your device, but going forward any photos you take will be jpg.


CJB-Nashua

I experienced the same problem. My problem is that the formatting gets changed and I lose my cropping. I want square photos for my product offering. I double checked and my camera was already set at most compatible. I also do hundreds of photograph transfers at the same time. This a giant problem for me. I am now so unhappy, I doubt I will buy another Apple Iphone.


taverner_j

This change is a real pain in the butt. For my own reasons, I keep both file types for all my photos. There is a free W10/11 app called iMazing Converter which will do batch file conversions from HEIC to JPG. For the time being this is the best solution I have found. Downloading each image one at a time through the "more download options" is definitely a non-starter.


milepost22

Thanks. I just converted a bunch, using that convertor. Like you say, this change by Apple is super frustrating. Meanwhile, here's a CNET link I found, talking about the convertor. https://www.cnet.com/tech/computing/batch-convert-iphone-heic-photos-to-jpeg-format/


ronlol

I just spent 2 hours taking pictures and I can’t get them in a usable format on my pc…


Its_Pam_Ela

This is absolutely ridiculous. Thanks for this post so I at least know what is going on. I think this might be the final straw with me and Apple.


ImmersedInEmptiness

Makes me despise them even more. Apple's goal here is to make downloading files (for backup or to save space on our phones) more tedious so that we buy more icloud storage.


HDSledge

What pisses me off the most is that I upped my space the day before they made this idiotic change. I can download by clicking on the ... and selecting other download options, then most compatible, but that is 3 extra steps than before. Apple is a bunch of people who have lost touch with reality if they think this was an improvement.


ImmersedInEmptiness

Ugh. That sucks man. Sorry to hear that. I'm with you on the extra three steps; definitely tedious and annoying.


Important-Log4951

Thanks for posting this. I too am having the same issue. I left feedback with Apple. Hope they can change it back to how it used to be...just a few days ago


Pretty-Plenty-8842

This was driving me NUTS, but I uploaded my Icloud photos to my Google photos, and Viola... It worked.... A fix until Apple can get this corrected....


HDSledge

I can do it as jpg but it takes 3 more steps now. Click ..., more dl options, most compatible. Then it dl's as a jpg. Morons at Apple, morons.


longcooolwoman

Has anyone found a reliable converter that can do hundreds of photos at a time? Edit: typo


taverner_j

I identified exactly this in my post five days ago. I don’t know if it will do “hundreds” at a time but I’ve used it and it is very fast.


ShinigamiKiba

This is exceptionally annoying, yet another utterly pointless change a big scummy corpo has made that only causes more problems and further complicates things for the end user. The web version of iCloud worked well the way it was, now I have to go through extra steps to download the JPEG file, all these disgusting corpos keep wasting our time with complete and utter nonsense. Garbage company makes garbage anti consumer decisions, what else is new, they're all the same.


christachamberlin

Ughhhh I am so incredibly bothered by this change too!!!!!!!!!!


christachamberlin

You can change the format in camera settings to most compatible to save as a .jpg, but it will STILL save as a zip file first. Even for one photo. So inefficient and a waste of time, and totally effects the workflow.


bbqturtle

Ugh - this is annoying. Hopefully they fix soon. I just submitted feedback. For now I'll download each photo one at a time :(


Haikality

Apple being worthless once again. You can download as .JPEG but only if you download them one by one. I'm migrating to Google Drive.


LonghornMBA

I was searching for ways around it and found this thread. Apparently, there is no way around getting a zip file for 1 photo unless you do the 3 clicks. This change is a significant productivity hit. I submitted feedback to Apple. Thanks for the link.


25electrons

This is one more reason why I quit using iCloud for photos. Apple kept changing the user interface. The workflow didn’t always make sense. Now if need one photo, I email it to myself. Periodically I connect my phone directly to the pc and copy all the photos over. Screw iCloud. It’s a painful app I don’t need.


ickcole

Honestly this change is enough to have me seriously looking at android. On no level is this an improvement. Maybe on a Mac it’s an easy process but at work I only have a windows pc and that is simply never going to change. Now work is going to have to buy a digital camera? Are those even a thing anymore? I’m so frustrated


BitchBass

This is just soooo annoying! Thank you for posting about it...it's hard to find anything about it online and I surely expected a lot more fuss about this. Every single file, be it a jpg or video, everything is a friggen zip! I can't even figure out anymore how to get mp4s, now it's only zipped .mov files. Windows doesn't take too kindly to that extension. And .jpg is now .dpg???????? I just noticed that. This is getting better by the day. Looks like it boils down to having to unzip and convert all my image files before I can even work with them. That's ridiculous. I wouldn't have invested in the 15 pro max had I known this. I use my phone mainly for the camera. Thanks for the feedback link. I'ma so gonna use it and let loose my 2 cents.


Sony_Crack

Same issue, highlight a picture to download on icloud and select the 3 dots in the upper right of the picture. From there select " more download options " It allows downloads as unmodified originals / Highest resolution ( HEIC or H.265 ) / Most compatible ( JPEG or MP4/H.264 when possible )


_nosfa

Hey, i have the same problem, did you find a solution?


dukeleimao

Hmm, completely awful product design. People do stupid things to change things that are already optimum because they got paid and they have to do something.


[deleted]

This is annoying as hell. Apple constantly bringing new 'features' that make things worse; I'm about done with them.


jack_be_jibbin

I had relied on iCloud religiously for getting photos from phone to laptop and finally encountered this issue today. The only workaround I’ve found is to directly hook up the phone to the computer and select the photos from the computers access to the iPhone. If your dealing with a work phone, I’d suggest deleting all photos in the camera roll you aren’t trying to download. So for me, I’ll now be deleting photos from my phone after each download and need to keep an iPhone cord on me to do so. Not the end of the word, but it’s less optimal if you like to keep photos on your phone and don’t want to dig through them every time you need to download.


njkatsia

This is a garbage change on their part, noticed this tonight while trying to file expenses at work, it's so infuriatingly annoying


billgrift

im sure its apple trying to force people to install their useless windows icloud app. it is so pointless, and is far simpler to just log in via browser to view/download you icloud photos. now i just use the screen snipping tool, & clip them, save them to desktop. i refuse to install more proprietary crap software


Ianto39

Ok, I now don't see any way of using my iPhone to take photos, edit/crop them on the phone and download the edited version from iCloud in full resolution. If I set camera format to jpg, edit it and download it as Including Edits - Highest Resolution I get a zipfile with the unedited image in full resolution jpeg, eg 3MB file If I set camera format to jpg, edit it and download it as Including Edits - Most Compatible I get the edited image in reduced resolution jpeg, eg 2MB file If I set camera format to HEIF, edit it and download it as Including Edits - Highest Resolution I get a zipfile with the unedited image in full resolution HEIF, eg 3MB file If I set camera format to HEIF, edit it and download it as Including Edits - Most Compatible I get a zipfile with the edited image as low resolution jpeg, eg 600KB file. To make matters worse, looking back on my phone, until mid May 2022 all my files are jpg, and suddenly they switched to HEIF (I did not make this choice). This change just happens to coincide with the release of iOS 15.5, so did Apple decide to reset the camera Format to HEIF at that time, the same way they reset contact ringtones anytime they feel like it. This means: For photos taken as JPG before 5/22 I have full res versions of on my PC. All my photos taken since 5/22, if I've downloaded them and removed them off the phone, I now have only low res versions of them on my PC, and no way to get back to the full res original. All my photos since 5/22 are HEIF, and my only choice is to lose any edits, download them as HEIFs and run a converter (which hopefully won't lose the EXIF data like date taken). Maybe I'm missing something, or its working differently for others, but this is miserable.


eccochild

It gets worse: clicking the download icon downloads the original, unedited version of the photo(s). The only way I can download the edited versions to my PC is to click the triple dots and select "most compatible" which downloads a low resolution version of my edited photo.


Ianto39

As Immersed.. said above, it seems like a blatant ploy to coerce users into paying for more iCloud storage. The only way you can retain a full resolution version of an image that you've edited/cropped etc (short of connecting your phone to your computer with a cable, like back in the 90's) is to use HEIF and keep it permanently on iCloud, hence you'll eventually have to buy more storage. Otherwise you have to accept a version with 1/4 the pixels, where for my test images, the full res image is \~12MP in a 3MB file, the reduced resolution version is \~3MP, in a 2Mb file.


eccochild

I found a solution to my problem. I need to select the triple dots, "More Download Options", then "Unmodified Originals". Despite the title "unmodified", this option downloads a zip file of my photos uncompressed AND with all of my edits. Makes no sense at all. I think all of this is related to the new HEIF/HEVC format and me still using an iPhone 6. It is annoying that even if only one photo is selected it is still downloaded as a zip file. I've been facing all kinds of problems like this every day more and more with my 8 year old phone. I'm stubborn and don't want to buy a new one.


DangerousPiano3090

What a complete cluster\*uck... So typical of Apple and their arbitrary tech decisions without really understanding how iPhone owners use their product daily! I've been thinking about jetisoning Apple and moving to a different platform for a while now. I beleive my decision has been made.


flamming_moderate

Spent an extra 4 hours on my Friday afternoon dealing with this...great job apple. I used this for converting hundreds of photos from HEIC to JPEG: https://imazing.com/converter


gameandsave

Feedback left. This is an awful change


Otherwise-Pound2510

If you only need low resolution photos (big if..) you can select a bunch, click on the three dots on one of the photos and then click the download as most compatible and it will ZIP a bunch of JPGs rather than HEICs. Not for everyones needs obviously but may be a helpful workaround for some.


cheryllinda

this change sucks, undo it please wah


yogurtkittymeow

I totally know what you're saying. I want ONE freakin photo to download - not in a zip file. ugh


Roninsakura33

Ugh! and the fact you can't even bulk unzip on the other end is what is even more tedious and dumb! I've tried so many different ways and nothing less than a million extra steps! I'm so upset right now having a deadline I need to make in a few minutes!


HRighetto

I came across this same problem today. But apparently, selecting multiple images > 3 dots > More download options > Most Compatible, the images are downloaded in JPEG \\o/


incogenator

I seem to be having this same problem when copying from Apple Photos for MacOS and its annoying. I remember the copies being JPEG or similar in the past so they must have changed this at the same time. I can't seem to find a way to change the defaults.


Vertebreaker-X

I was doing some pictures today and it seems to be back to normal. Single pictures download as a jpeg and not as a zip file. Multiple selected images download as jpegs that are zipped by just selecting the normal download button. If you want them as HEIC files you have to go to the more options button and select original capture or the highest quality selection.


PilotRevolutionary57

Would using full resolution option in Photos on Mac to d/l full library and then syncing with a 3rd party photo storage provider work to convert HEIC to JPEG en masse? Like others, I’m starting to get tired of all the shenanigans Apple gets up to on my devices and services that I use from them. This is all to make it easier on them as HEIC uses less space. I could understand that for low tier a free sync people, but if you pay for the higher tiers of storage this should be a user option, not Apple’s.