WebP Won't Open? Fix It on Windows, Mac and in Old Apps

You right-clicked a photo on a website, chose Save image as, and ended up with product-shot.webp. Double-click it and Windows Photo Viewer shrugs. Photoshop CS6 says it can't parse the file. Word won't insert it. Your print shop's upload form rejects it outright.

Nothing is broken. The file is fine — your software is just older than the format. There are two ways out: teach the app to read WebP, or convert the file to JPG or PNG once and never think about it again. Here's exactly how to do both, by platform.

Why your download is a .webp at all

Most large sites now serve WebP because it's noticeably smaller than JPEG at similar quality, so pages load faster. Your browser displays it happily; Save image as simply hands you the file the server sent, extension and all. That's why downloaded images say WebP even when the page looked like an ordinary photo.

If you want the background on compression, transparency and animation support, see our guide to the WebP format. This article is about getting the file open today.

Fix: WebP file won't open on Windows

Windows 11 and fully updated Windows 10 installs open WebP in the Photos app without any extra steps. If yours doesn't, work down this list:

• Install Webp Image Extensions. Open the Microsoft Store, search for Webp Image Extensions (published by Microsoft, free), install it, then close and reopen Photos. This also restores Explorer thumbnails so your folder stops showing blank icons.
• Try Paint. Current builds of Paint open .webp directly — and File → Save as → JPEG picture turns it into a JPG in two clicks. No download needed.
• Drag the file into your browser. Chrome, Edge and Firefox all render WebP. Press Ctrl+O, pick the file, and you have a free WebP viewer you already own.
• Right-click → Open with → Choose another app if Windows keeps launching the wrong program, and tick Always use this app.

One important exception: the legacy Windows Photo Viewer (the one people re-enable through registry tweaks on Windows 10) will never open WebP. No extension fixes it. If that's your default viewer, convert the file instead.

Fix: WebP on macOS

macOS Big Sur (11) and later support WebP system-wide: Quick Look previews it with the spacebar, Finder shows thumbnails, and Preview opens it like any JPEG.

On Catalina (10.15) or older, Preview refuses the file. Open it in Safari or Chrome to look at it, and convert it if you need to edit, email or upload it. On a modern Mac, Preview doubles as a converter: open the file, then File → Export, set Format to JPEG, push quality to around 90% and save.

Apps that still refuse WebP

Even with the OS sorted, individual programs can still choke:

• Photoshop before 23.2 — native WebP arrived in Photoshop 23.2. On CS6, CC 2019 or any earlier build you need Google's WebPShop plugin, which means hunting down the right binary for your OS. Converting the file is usually faster.
• Microsoft Office — older Word, PowerPoint and Outlook builds simply won't insert a .webp. Convert to PNG if the image has transparency (logos, cut-outs) or JPG if it's a photograph.
• Upload forms and print services — CMS uploaders, job portals and photo labs often whitelist jpg, jpeg, png and gif only.
• Older Android gallery apps and smart TVs — these predate WebP and show a grey placeholder.

Convert WebP to JPG or PNG (the fix that always works)

Converting is the universal answer: a JPG opens in everything from Windows 7 to a hotel printer. The quickest route for one or two files is the browser — drop the file into our WebP to JPG converter, download product-shot.jpg, done. If you need the other direction or a different target format, the wider image converter hub covers PNG, GIF, BMP and more.

Pick JPG for photographs and PNG when the image has a transparent background — JPG will flatten transparency to white or black.

If you have a folder full of them, the command line is faster. With ImageMagick installed:

# one file, high quality
magick product-shot.webp -quality 92 product-shot.jpg

# every .webp in the current folder
magick mogrify -format jpg -quality 92 *.webp

Google's own dwebp tool (part of libwebp; brew install webp on macOS) decodes to PNG losslessly, which is ideal for logos and screenshots:

dwebp logo.webp -o logo.png

On a Mac, the built-in sips command needs nothing installed at all:

sips -s format jpeg product-shot.webp --out product-shot.jpg

Expect the file to get bigger — a 180 KB WebP commonly lands somewhere north of 300 KB as a JPEG at quality 92. That's the price of compatibility, and it's rarely a problem for a file you're emailing or printing.

How to stop downloading WebP in the first place

• Copy, don't save. Right-click the image → Copy image, then paste into Paint (Windows) or Preview (File → New from Clipboard on Mac) and save as PNG or JPG.
• Check the URL. Many sites serve the same photo as JPEG if you strip a query string like ?format=webp&w=1200 from the image address.
• Use an extension. Browser add-ons that remove image/webp from the request header make sites fall back to JPEG for your downloads.
• Screenshot it when you only need the picture, not the original resolution.

WebP files on Android and iPhone

A WebP file on Android opens fine in Google Photos, Files by Google and Chrome — the format is Google's own. Problems appear when you share it into an older app, a chat client or a document editor that only accepts JPEG. On iPhone, Photos and Files handle WebP on iOS 14 and later. On either phone, the easiest fix is the same: open the converter in your mobile browser, upload the file from your gallery and save the JPG back to your camera roll.

Pick your route in 10 seconds

• Just want to look at it? Drag it into your browser.
• Windows, blank thumbnails? Install Webp Image Extensions from the Microsoft Store.
• Mac on Big Sur or newer? It already works — reset the default app with Get Info → Open with → Change All.
• Old app, upload form or print shop? Convert to JPG (photos) or PNG (transparency).
• Dozens of files? magick mogrify -format jpg *.webp.

WebP questions people actually ask

Can I just rename .webp to .jpg?

No. Renaming changes the label, not the bytes inside. Apps read the file header, so you'll get a file is damaged or not supported error — often a more confusing one than before.

Does converting WebP to JPG lose quality?

Slightly, because you re-encode an already-compressed image. At quality 90–92 the difference is invisible on screen. Convert to PNG instead if the image is a logo, screenshot or line art.

Is there a free WebP viewer for older Windows?

Yes — your browser, plus free image tools like IrfanView (with its plugin pack), XnView MP and GIMP all read WebP and can save as JPG or PNG.

Why does Photoshop say it can't open my WebP?

Native support landed in Photoshop 23.2. On earlier versions, install Google's WebPShop plugin or convert the file first — a converted PNG keeps transparency and layered edits stay unaffected.

Can WebP be animated like a GIF?

Yes. Animated WebP exists, and converting one to JPG or PNG keeps only a single frame — export to GIF if you need the motion.