How to Open and Convert Unreadable AVIF Images into PNG
Turn an AVIF picture that will not open into a PNG that editors and office programs accept.
AVIF is a next generation image format derived from the AV1 video codec. While it compresses very well, many desktop apps, graphic suites, and email tools cannot open or preview AVIF files yet.
Fixing the cannot open file error
When you download a graphic from a modern website and your computer shows an unrecognizable file icon, converting the image to PNG solves it. PNG has been supported by practically all image software for decades.
Converting AVIF to PNG in seconds
- Select your .avif files.
- Drop them into the AVIF to PNG converter.
- Press Convert to PNG.
- Download your fully decoded, transparent PNG graphics.
The conversion runs in your browser, so the picture is not uploaded.
Worked example: an AVIF picture for a school report
A student saves a diagram from a science website for a report written in a word processor. The file is named diagram.avif and the Insert Picture dialog does not even list it.
- Check the licence or the terms of the website, and note the source for the list of references.
- Open the AVIF to PNG tool in an up to date browser and choose the file.
- Convert and download diagram.png.
- Insert the PNG into the report. If the document becomes very heavy because the PNG is large, convert the PNG to JPG for photos. For a diagram with text and lines, keep the PNG, since it stays sharper.
Other ways to get a usable file
- Try saving again. Some sites serve JPG or PNG when you open the image in a new tab or use a download button, if they offer one.
- Take the original from the owner. For a company logo or a press photo, the media page usually provides standard formats.
- Update your software. Newer versions of many viewers and editors open AVIF directly, sometimes after installing a free extension from the maker of the system.
Common mistakes
- Renaming the file to .png or .jpg. The content stays AVIF and most programs will refuse it.
- Taking a screenshot of the picture. You capture it at screen size and lose any transparent background.
- Mixing up AVIF and HEIC. Photos from an iPhone that end in .heic are a different format and need a different conversion.
- Trying on a very old browser and concluding that the file is broken.
Troubleshooting
- The message says the file could not be opened: update the browser, or try another browser on the same device.
- The picture looks pale or flat: it may have been a high dynamic range image. Standard PNG cannot hold that range. An editor that supports it is needed for an exact result.
- Only one frame was saved: the AVIF was an animation.
When not to convert
If the picture is going onto your own website, AVIF is already an efficient format for that and converting to PNG would make the page heavier. Convert only for editing, documents and programs that cannot read it.