Image upload keeps failing — file format fix
Yeah, that compression issue got me a few times too. I switched to Photoshop's "Save for Web" and never had the JPEG problem again. Just don't forget about the barcode side—if your image format is off, the data parsing error might corrupt the PDF417 string format on the back end. I've had a few IDs where the barcode is dead solely because of a bad export or when checksum validation was ignored. Solid advice for sure.
I've had this exact issue before — turned out the image was saving with the wrong compression type. Make sure you're exporting as a standard RGB JPEG, not CMYK or indexed. Also, if your ID relies on barcode data, a bad upload could mess with the PDF417 string format down the line and cause a data parsing error later. Might be worth checking what software you're using to resize the image too.
Spent 45 minutes trying to upload my photo before I figured out the issue. Documenting it here because the error message from the vendor site was completely unhelpful.
I was submitting a HEIC file straight from my iPhone. The vendor site accepted the upload, showed a progress bar, and then displayed a generic "upload failed" error with no further explanation. I tried three times before looking closer at the file format requirements buried in the FAQ.
The actual requirements most vendors have
JPEG only, usually. Some accept PNG. Almost none of them handle HEIC, WEBP, or AVIF reliably even if their upload form does not actively block those formats. The form will appear to accept the file and then fail silently during server-side processing.
Maximum file size is usually between 5 and 10 MB. A modern iPhone photo in HEIC can be 4 to 8 MB but after converting to JPEG often becomes 1 to 3 MB, which is fine. The conversion itself fixes most format compatibility issues.
How to convert without losing quality
On iPhone: go to Settings, Camera, Formats, and switch to "Most Compatible." Photos taken after this change will be JPEG by default. For photos already taken in HEIC, use the free Squoosh web app — drag in the HEIC file, select JPEG as the output format, adjust quality to 85 percent, and download. The result is a standard JPEG that every vendor upload system handles correctly.
On Android, most camera apps default to JPEG already, but check your camera settings if uploads are failing.
Other common causes of upload failure
A VPN or browser extension occasionally interferes with file upload requests on some vendor sites. If format conversion does not fix the issue, try disabling your VPN temporarily for the upload step, or switch to a different browser. Incognito mode with no extensions often resolves mystery upload errors that happen in a normal browser session.
After switching to JPEG and disabling my VPN for the upload, my photo went through immediately.