Ubuntu 26.04 LTS no longer ships the libheif-plugin-libde265 decoder by default, causing HEIC images (common on iPhones and newer Android devices) to fail to open with a 'Could not load image' error. The likely reason is H.265/HEVC licensing restrictions. The fix is straightforward: install the missing decoder manually via `sudo apt-get install libheif-plugin-libde265`, then log out and back in.
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How to fix the error and open HEIC images again146 Impressions