HEIC file format not uploading to Google Drive

[Evolve Artist]

Your Workflow URL

https://connect.pabbly.com/v2/app/workflow/mapping/IjU3NjcwNTZjMDYzZjA0MzI1MjZiNTUzNzUxMzMi_pc

Your Task History ID

IjU3NjUwNTY0MDYzZTA0MzU1MjZmNTUzMjUxMzU1MTY0NTQzMzBmMzIi_pc

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I authorize Pabbly Support to log in to my account and make changes to the specified workflow for troubleshooting.

Hello,

I'm getting a script error when trying to upload a file to Google Drive from an Amazon s3.
JPGs with the same workflow run fine.

File which errors is attached as a zip

Is it possible that the script which writes files to google drive needs updating to handle .heic?

 

[ArshilAhmad]

Hi @Evolve Artist,

The file you were attempting to upload appears to have expired, which is why we are unable to diagnose the exact cause of the error. Please try uploading another .heic file and share the Task History ID before the link expires so we can look into this issue.

Thanks & Regards,
Arshil Ahmad
Customer Support Associate
Pabbly.com
Rate your support

 

[Evolve Artist]

Hi @ArshilAhmad - sure.

Link to file

Task ID: IjU3NjUwNTY0MDYzZjA0MzU1MjZjNTUzNDUxM2E1MTY1NTQzOTBmMzAi_pc

 

[Evolve Artist]

Seems like the link expires - looking for a way to replicate

 

[Evolve Artist]

@ArshilAhmad
Here's a new workflow ID that just tries to post a publicly available file that won't expire:
IjU3NjUwNTY0MDYzZjA0MzU1MjZmNTUzNTUxM2I1MTYzNTQzNDBmMzIi_pc

And here's the public file we were using to test:

https://filesampleshub.com/download/image/heic/sample1.heic

**What we've tested:**
- HEIC file from AidaForm S3 URL → fails
- HEIC file from a third-party host (filesampleshub.com) → fails
- HEIC file hosted on Google Drive → succeeds
- JPG file from AidaForm S3 URL → succeeds

**Our thinking:**
It looks like the `uploadToDrive` function may handle the content type differently depending on the source URL - specifically, HEIC files seem to upload successfully when sourced from Google Drive, but not from other hosts.

Happy to provide any additional test details or logs if that would help. Thanks for looking into it!

 

[Preeti Paryani]

Hi @Evolve Artist,

Thank you for sharing the detailed test results — they’re very helpful.

Based on this, the issue appears to be a limitation with Google Apps Script when fetching HEIC files from external URLs (such as S3 or third-party hosts). While the URL itself is valid, Apps Script is unable to reliably process HEIC binary files during the fetch/upload step.

This is why:

• HEIC from external URLs → fails
• HEIC already in Google Drive → works (handled internally by Google)
• JPG from external URLs → works (fully supported format)

Recommended Workaround​

We suggest converting the HEIC file to JPG or PNG before uploading to Google Drive, as these formats are fully supported and should work without any issues.

 

[Evolve Artist]

Hi @Preeti Paryani

I hear you - I'm trying to give a convenient user experience, which apple started saving photos as heic which caused the issues.

Adding another tool into the chain to convert images adds another part that can break - and would be nice if the upload to google drive node could handle heic.

Seems like the issue/limitation is with the apps script. Is it possible to use the rest api instead so that heic can be handled? I can see heic being used more and more.

Thanks for your help!

 

[Preeti Paryani]

Hi @Evolve Artist,

Thank you for your detailed inputs.

We’ve escalated this matter to our team for further review. Kindly allow us some time, and as soon as we receive any update from their end, we’ll keep you informed.

We appreciate your patience.