Best uses
- Expand hex colors, masks, memory addresses, or byte values.
- Practice base-16 to base-2 conversion.
- Check programming examples bit by bit.
Hexadecimal To Binary Converter
16
2
Converting steps hexadecimal to binary:
How to convert a hexadecimal number to the binary number?
To convert hexadecimal to binary, replace each hexadecimal digit with its 4-bit binary equivalent. This works because 24 = 16, so one hexadecimal digit represents four binary digits.
Note: Leading zeros can be removed from the final binary result when they are not needed.
An example of hexadecimal to binary conversion:
(1B7.1A)16 = (?)2
| Hexadecimal= | 1 | B | 7 | . | 1 | A |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arrow= | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | |
| Chunk= | ______ | ______ | ______ | ______ | ______ | |
| Binary= | 0 0 0 1 | 1 0 1 1 | 0 1 1 1 | . | 0 0 0 1 | 1 0 1 0 |
Result is = (000110110111.00011010)2 or (110110111.0001101)2
When hexadecimal to binary is useful
Hexadecimal is often used as a shorter way to write binary values. You may see it in color codes, memory addresses, debugging output, checksums, and low-level programming examples. Converting it to binary makes the individual bits easier to inspect.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Do not treat letters A to F as ordinary text; they represent the values 10 to 15.
- Keep four binary digits for each hexadecimal digit while checking the work.
- Only remove leading zeros after the conversion is complete.
- For fractional hexadecimal values, convert each digit after the point into a 4-bit group as well.
Hexadecimal to binary conversion table:
| Hexadecimal | Binary |
|---|---|
| 0 | 0000 |
| 1 | 0001 |
| 2 | 0010 |
| 3 | 0011 |
| 4 | 0100 |
| 5 | 0101 |
| 6 | 0110 |
| 7 | 0111 |
| 8 | 1000 |
| 9 | 1001 |
| A | 1010 |
| B | 1011 |
| C | 1100 |
| D | 1101 |
| E | 1110 |
| F | 1111 |
Hexadecimal to binary guide
Hexadecimal to binary conversion is direct because each hex digit equals four binary bits. Replace each digit with its 4-bit value.
Quality checks
- Convert each hex digit separately.
- Keep four bits per digit, including leading zeros inside a group.
- Use A through F for decimal values 10 through 15.
Common mistakes
- Dropping leading zeros in groups such as 0001.
- Treating A to F as ordinary letters instead of values.
- Grouping into three bits, which is for octal.
Quick answers
Why does one hex digit equal four bits?
Four binary bits represent values from 0 to 15, matching one hexadecimal digit.
What is F in binary?
F is decimal 15, so it is 1111 in binary.