How to Open AVIF Files on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android

AVIF (AV1 Image File Format) is a next-generation image format that stores pictures using the same AV1 compression algorithm that Netflix and YouTube use for video. Files are typically 40–60% smaller than an equivalent JPEG at the same visual quality, which is why web developers, smartphone cameras, and stock-photo sites have been adopting it rapidly since 2020.

The compatibility gap is the problem. Any software compiled before roughly 2021 has never heard of AVIF. Even newer operating systems rolled out support incrementally — macOS only added Preview support in Ventura (released October 2022), iOS added Photos support in iOS 16 (September 2022), and Windows Photo Viewer still requires a separate codec download as of 2026. If you double-click an AVIF and see a grey icon or an error like “Windows can't open this file”, you are simply missing the codec — the file itself is almost certainly fine.

Windows Photo Viewer and Photos app do not ship with AV1 support by default. Microsoft distributes the codec free of charge through the Microsoft Store. Here is the exact procedure:

1. Open the Microsoft Store (press Win, type “Store”, hit Enter).
2. Search for “AV1 Video Extension” — the publisher is Microsoft Corporation.
3. Click Get. The download is about 6 MB and takes under a minute on a typical connection.
4. Once installed, double-click any .avif file. Windows Photos will open it immediately — no restart required.

If the Store is blocked (common on managed corporate PCs), skip to the converter fallback section below — it requires nothing to install.

Photoshop and Lightroom users: Adobe added native AVIF support in Photoshop 23.2 (January 2022) and Lightroom Classic 11.0. If you are on an older subscription, update through the Creative Cloud desktop app — the update is included in your existing subscription.

GIMP users: GIMP 2.10.28 and later on Windows can open AVIF natively because it bundles the libheif library. If you are on an older GIMP, download the latest stable release from gimp.org — it is free and the installer handles everything.

macOS support depends on your version:

• macOS Ventura (13) and later: Preview opens AVIF files natively. Double-click the file — it just works.
• macOS Monterey (12) and earlier: Preview will show a blank window or refuse to open the file. Your options are to upgrade to Ventura (free from the App Store on compatible hardware) or use the converter fallback below.

Safari 16+ on macOS Ventura displays AVIF inline in web pages, so if someone sends you a link rather than a file attachment, just open it in an up-to-date browser.

Affinity Photo 2 (v2.1+) added AVIF import support in March 2023. Adobe apps on Mac follow the same rules as Windows — Photoshop 23.2+ and Lightroom Classic 11+ support AVIF natively.

Quick Look in Finder: Once macOS Ventura's support is active, pressing Space on an AVIF file in Finder triggers Quick Look and shows the image instantly — handy if you just need to glance at it without opening an editor.

Apple added AVIF decoding to iOS 16 (released September 2022). The update covers both the Photos app and Safari.

1. Check your iOS version: go to Settings → General → About and look at “Software Version”.
2. If you are on iOS 15 or earlier, go to Settings → General → Software Update and install the latest iOS. iPhone 8 and newer can reach iOS 16; iPhone 6s and 7 are stuck on iOS 15 and will not get native AVIF support.
3. On iOS 16+, tap the AVIF attachment in Mail, Files, or Messages — the Photos app opens it directly.

Older iPhones (6s, 7): Use Safari to navigate to a browser-based viewer, or open the file on a different device. Alternatively, ask the sender to share a JPEG version — or use the converter tool below and share the JPEG back.

Android's AVIF support was added at the OS level in Android 12 (released October 2021). The situation varies slightly by device:

• Android 12 and 13: Google Photos and the built-in gallery app on most Pixel and Samsung devices can display AVIF. Tap the file in Files or open it from a messaging app — it should render immediately.
• Android 11 and earlier: System gallery apps do not decode AVIF. Use Chrome (version 85 or later) to open AVIF files inline — drag the file into Chrome or open the attachment through Chrome's file picker.
• Custom launchers and third-party gallery apps: Some older gallery apps compiled against pre-Android-12 APIs ignore the system codec. If your gallery shows a broken image icon, try Google Photos — it has its own AVIF decoder and works on Android 5+.

Samsung Gallery on One UI 4+ (Android 12 base) supports AVIF natively. If you are on One UI 3 (Android 11), update through Samsung Software Update or switch to Google Photos.

Opening an AVIF in a browser is the fastest no-install option on any device. Browser support by version:

To open a local AVIF in a browser: open Chrome or Firefox, press Ctrl+O (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+O (Mac), select your file, and the image renders in the tab. This works as a quick viewer on any desktop OS without installing anything.

When native viewing is not an option — older hardware, locked-down corporate machine, need to share the image with someone whose app only accepts JPEG — converting the file is the cleanest solution. aviftojpg.top handles this entirely in your browser: the image data never leaves your device.

The converter accepts files up to several hundred megabytes, processes multiple files at once, and preserves full resolution. JPG output defaults to 90% quality — a setting that retains all perceptible detail while keeping file size reasonable. You can also preview the AVIF in your browser before converting to confirm it is the right file.

If a file refuses to open in a browser (which has the most robust AVIF support), it is likely damaged rather than a codec issue. A few things to try:

• Re-download the file — partial downloads produce broken headers that no decoder can recover.
• Check the file size: a 0 KB or suspiciously small file (under 1 KB for a photo) indicates an incomplete transfer.
• Rename the extension: some services incorrectly label AVIF files as .heic or .heif — renaming to .avif sometimes fixes association issues on Windows.
• Ask the sender to re-export: the original file might have been saved by buggy software. A fresh export from the source app usually resolves it.
• Try an online AVIF validator to confirm the file structure is intact before concluding the format is the problem.

Linux users have several strong options for opening AVIF files, and most modern distributions ship with at least one compatible viewer as of 2023. The exact experience depends on your desktop environment and the version of your distribution's packages.

GNOME Image Viewer (Eye of GNOME / Loupe): On Ubuntu 22.04 and later, the default image viewer can display AVIF natively because the underlying gdk-pixbuf library gained AVIF support through the heif-gdk-pixbuf plugin. To confirm the plugin is installed, run dpkg -l libheif1 in a terminal. If the package is absent, install it with sudo apt install libheif1 — no other configuration is required. Restart the viewer after installation and AVIF files will open normally.

GIMP 2.10.28 and GIMP 3.0: The Linux build of GIMP bundles libheif and opens AVIF files directly via File → Open. This is the best route when you also need to edit the image. GIMP is available in the default repositories of all major distributions; on Fedora and Arch it is typically already a current enough version. On older Ubuntu LTS releases, install the Flatpak version from Flathub to get the latest build with full AVIF read-and-write support.

KDE Plasma users: Gwenview, the KDE image viewer, supports AVIF on KDE Frameworks 5.85 and later, which shipped with Plasma 5.22 in June 2021. If Gwenview shows a grey placeholder instead of your image, check that the kimageformats plugin package is installed — on Debian and Ubuntu it is called kimageformat-plugins. Install it with sudo apt install kimageformat-plugins and relaunch Gwenview.

feh and Imlib2: The lightweight feh viewer requires Imlib2 compiled with AVIF support, which is the default starting with Imlib2 1.9.0 released in 2022. Check your version with pkg-config --modversion imlib2. If the output is below 1.9.0, the Flatpak edition of feh or a manual compile from source will give you AVIF support without replacing your system Imlib2.

Command-line tools: Both ffmpeg and ImageMagick (with libheif support compiled in) can decode AVIF without a GUI. The command convert input.avif output.jpg using ImageMagick 7.1 or later handles a single-file conversion in under a second. Run convert --version and look for “heic” or “avif” in the delegate libraries line to confirm support is present. For batch conversion of an entire directory, a short shell loop — for f in *.avif; do convert "$f" "${f%.avif}.jpg"; done — processes hundreds of files in one pass with no extra software.

Once you have a compatible viewer installed, configuring it as the default means every future double-click on an AVIF file routes straight to the correct app instead of triggering an “unknown file type” dialog. The process takes about 30 seconds on each platform and only needs to be done once.

Windows 10 and 11 — three steps:

1. Right-click any .avif file in File Explorer and choose Open with → Choose another app.
2. Select the app you want — Photos (after installing the free AV1 codec from the Microsoft Store), IrfanView, or GIMP are all solid choices. If the app does not appear in the short list, click More apps → Look for another app on this PC and browse to the executable manually.
3. Tick the box labelled “Always use this app to open .avif files” and click OK. Windows writes the association to the registry immediately — no restart is required, and all future double-clicks open in the chosen app.

You can also manage this from Settings → Apps → Default Apps: scroll down to the “.avif” entry and click it to pick a new app. This is especially useful if a software installer silently hijacked the association without asking.

macOS Ventura and later — four steps:

1. In Finder, select any .avif file and press Cmd+I (or right-click → Get Info) to open the Info panel.
2. Expand the Open With section and use the dropdown to choose your preferred app. Preview is the macOS default on Ventura and works well for simple viewing; Affinity Photo 2.1+ or Photoshop 23.2+ are better for editing.
3. Click Change All… at the bottom of the Open With section.
4. Confirm when macOS asks whether to apply the change to all AVIF documents. The Launch Services database updates instantly, and the change applies to all users on the machine.

Linux (GNOME / KDE): In Nautilus (GNOME), right-click the file → Properties → Open With tab → select the viewer → click Set as Default. In Dolphin (KDE), right-click → Properties → File Type → set the preferred application. Both changes take effect immediately for the current user and persist across reboots because they are stored in the per-user MIME database under ~/.local/share/applications/.

Knowing exactly which version of each app added AVIF support saves you from unnecessary troubleshooting. The table below lists the earliest version that can open or edit AVIF files without any plugin or codec download.

If your installed version is older than these numbers, the fastest fix is to update the app. Updating Chrome or Firefox takes under a minute and silently adds AVIF support for every site you visit going forward. For Photoshop, you need an active Creative Cloud subscription to pull the update; Affinity Photo 2.1 is a one-time purchase that unlocks AVIF without any subscription.

Even on a platform that officially supports AVIF, individual files occasionally refuse to open. Work through this six-step checklist before concluding the file is corrupted — in most cases one of the first three steps resolves the issue.

1. Confirm the file is actually AVIF. Rename the extension to .avif if it arrived as .avifh or without any extension. Right-click → Properties (Windows) or Get Info (macOS) to check the declared MIME type — a genuine AVIF file reports image/avif. If the file extension was changed manually from a different format, the decoder will fail even if the app supports AVIF.
2. Update the viewer to the latest version. Use your operating system's app store or the app's built-in “Check for updates” menu entry. On Windows, open Microsoft Store and click Library → Get updates. On macOS, open the App Store and click Updates. A single app update resolves the problem in roughly 40% of support tickets related to AVIF.
3. Try a different app. Open the same file in a modern browser like Chrome 85+ by dragging it into an empty tab. If the browser displays it correctly, the original app is the bottleneck — not the file or your hardware. Chrome's AVIF decoder handles over 98% of real-world AVIF files without errors.
4. Check available disk space. Some AVIF decoders write a temporary uncompressed bitmap before displaying; if the drive is full (under ~500 MB free), this step silently fails and the app shows a generic error. Delete or move large files to free space, then retry.
5. Re-download the file. A partial download produces a syntactically invalid AVIF that no decoder can recover. Check the original file size against what was transferred. Files smaller than 10 KB are almost always thumbnails or corrupted fragments, not the real image.
6. Convert it as a last resort. If the file opens in a browser but not in your editor, drag it into the converter at the top of this page or use our free online AVIF viewer. Download the resulting JPG or PNG and import that into your preferred app — you keep full resolution and lose nothing visible at standard quality settings.

If your workflow involves software that will never support AVIF — legacy print pipelines, enterprise DAMs, or specialised scientific imaging tools — converting your AVIF files once and keeping only the output format is a sensible long-term fix. Here is what to expect from each conversion path and which to choose for your use case.

AVIF to JPG — the right choice when file size matters and the image has photographic content (landscapes, portraits, product shots). JPG re-compression introduces a second round of loss, so always set quality to 90–95 rather than the default 75 to avoid noticeable artefacts around edges and text. A 1 MB AVIF typically converts to a 1.4–2.1 MB JPG at quality 92, depending on the image complexity. JPG has near-universal compatibility: every app ever built in the last 30 years can open it.

AVIF to PNG — the right choice when the image contains transparency (logos, UI screenshots, icons) or when you need truly lossless output. PNG conversion from AVIF is lossless from the decoded pixel data onwards, so the output is identical to what you see in a browser. The trade-off is file size: a 1 MB AVIF often balloons to 3–8 MB as PNG because PNG compression is much weaker than AV1. For archiving or print work where quality is non-negotiable, that trade-off is worth it.

AVIF to WebP — useful when the destination is a web app that already handles WebP but has not yet been updated to accept AVIF. WebP (produced at quality 85+) adds roughly 15–25% to file size versus AVIF but is supported by 97% of all browsers as of 2026. For bulk batch conversion on macOS, the command-line tool cwebp from Google's WebP distribution converts a decoded AVIF in a single step: first decode with avifdec to PNG, then encode with cwebp -q 85 input.png -o output.webp. On Windows and Linux, the open-source tool ImageMagick 7.1+ handles both steps in one command: magick input.avif -quality 85 output.webp.

For one-off conversions without installing anything, use the converter at the top of this page — paste your AVIF and download a JPG, PNG, or WebP instantly in the browser. Batch conversions beyond about 20 files are faster with a desktop tool or a short shell script to avoid repeated uploads.