While dealing with photos on your smartphones or PCs, you must have seen someย files ending with an.AAE extension. This is nothing new for Apple users; however, if you are trying to open it on a Windows PC, it wonโt display anything. Instead of the file, you will seeย an error message saying, โWindows cannot open this file.โ
The answer is simple if you wonder what these files are and why they donโt appear on your Windows system. However, thatโs not just all. Some workarounds will help you open these files in any other system, whether Windows or Android.
If you wish to learn more about these types of files and how to open them in systems other than Apple, we have compiled all the knowledge that would help you out.
What is an AAE file extension?
The files with an AAE extension are the edited versions of some existing photos or images edited on an Apple device. Earlier, Apple devices used to overwrite any edits made to the original photo with itself.
This resulted in the loss of the actual picture. However, with the.AAE extension they have introduced the concept of keeping a copy of the original file. It saves the actual photo or image without any changes made to it, while the edited file is saved separately in.AAE extension.
These edited images are saved in the same folder as their source file. They also have the same naming format except for the extension at the end, AAE.
Why can an AAE File Extension not be Opened in Windows or any other system?
The fact that the AAE file extension is native to Apple devices only makes it unsupportable in any system other than Apple. Whenever you try to open a file with an AAE extension in Windows, it only displays the message โWindows cannot open this file.โ
The same happens with any other OS. So, this can sometimes get quite frustrating, which is why we have mentioned a few workarounds to overcome this problem in the next section.
How to Open a File with an AAE extension?
If you are already on an Apple device, it wonโt take anything extra to open such files than the way you open any other normal photos. The problem arises when you try to open them in a different system. So, if you are on Windows or any other system and having trouble opening an AAE file extension, here is how you do it:
1. Mail the Edited images
You can mail them to yourself as soon as you finish editing your photos. This is probably the easiest way to open a file with an AAE extension without losing the edits, and you wonโt have much trouble opening them in a different OS, either.
2. Uploading on Social Media
Another simple way is to upload your edited photos to social media platforms like Facebook or Instagram. This way, you can retrieve the image anytime you wish to. However, the only problem with this method is that uploading photos to such platforms severely lowers your photo quality. This is why most users prefer the first mailing method to themselves rather than uploading it.
3. Use AirDrop
AirDrop is a feature that works flawlessly and is exclusive to iPhones and Macbooks. If you have Airdrop installed on your Android and Windows PC, you can transfer it via Airdrop. You can also use other transfer methods like Google Files, Share it, etc.
Conclusion
AAE file extension has undoubtedly made things much more reliable for users. Although it benefits Apple users, it is useless on platforms like Windows and Android. Since there is no way to open AAE files on other systems, we hope to find a solution soon. Until then, you can use these tricks to work with this extension.