Fix HEIC images not loading in Ubuntu 26.04 LTS

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Fix HEIC images not loading in Ubuntu 26.04 LTS

If your HEIC photos show a "Could not load image" error in Ubuntu 26.04's Image Viewer, you're not alone – it's an intentional breakage, albeit one that's easy to fix. HEIC files are a variant of HEIF which use H.265/HEVC compression. If you own an iPhone or a newer Android device, the stock camera app uses this format by default. But Ubuntu 26.04 LTS no longer preinstalls a decoder library for HEIC (though more accurately, it's tweaked dependency chains to ensure one is no longer pulled in). When you connect your smartphone to a computer running Ubuntu 26.04 LTS to [...]

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Categories: How To, News, HEIC, HEIF, loupe, Ubuntu 26.04 LTS
Source: https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2026/05/fix-heic-images-not-loading-ubuntu-26-04 May 12, 2026, 01:00 AM