OTB to SIX Converter

Turn your OTB bitmaps into SIX format — fast and online

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Any Device Works

Convert OTB to SIX from Windows, macOS, Linux, or mobile — the browser-based tool adapts to any screen size and operating system.

Batch Processing

Upload multiple OTB files at once and convert them all to SIX in a single session — ideal when you have many legacy images to migrate.

Effortless Process

Converting OTB to SIX takes just a few clicks — no technical knowledge required. Upload, choose your format, and download the result.

How to convert OTB to SIX

1

Select files from Computer, Google Drive, Dropbox, URL or by dragging it on the page.

2

Choose six or any other format you need as a result (more than 200 formats supported)

3

Let the file convert and you can download your six file right afterwards

About formats

OTB (Over-the-Air Bitmap) is a monochrome image format developed by Nokia as part of their Smart Messaging specification in 1997, designed for transmitting small graphics — operator logos, group graphics, and picture messages — to Nokia mobile phones via SMS. OTB files contain 1-bit (black and white) images at small fixed resolutions, typically 72x14 pixels for operator logos and 72x28 pixels for group graphics, encoded in a compact binary format suitable for embedding within the payload of SMS text messages. The format uses a simple structure: a header byte indicating whether the image is an operator logo or group graphic, width and height values, and the raw bitmap data where each bit represents one pixel packed eight per byte. The extremely tight format — designed to fit within a single SMS message (140 bytes maximum payload, shared with addressing overhead) — reflects the severe constraints of mobile communication in the late 1990s. Nokia's Smart Messaging system was one of the first commercial implementations of rich content delivery to mobile phones, and OTB images represented the entire visual content capability of Nokia handsets before MMS and mobile data browsing arrived. One advantage is the format's historical role as a pioneer of mobile visual messaging: OTB images were among the first graphics that ordinary consumers could send to each other's phones, predating MMS, camera phones, and smartphones by nearly a decade. The format's minimal footprint is another characteristic — entire images fit in a few dozen bytes, reflecting an era of extreme bandwidth constraints. OTB files are supported by ImageMagick, various Nokia phone management tools, and specialty mobile format utilities.
Developer: Nokia
Initial release: 1997
SIX is a file extension for SIXEL (Six Pixel) graphics data, a bitmap graphics format developed by Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) in 1983 and introduced with the LA50 dot matrix printer. SIXEL encodes images as a sequence of printable ASCII characters, where each character represents a column of six vertical pixels (a 'sixel') — the character's ASCII value minus 63 provides a 6-bit binary pattern, with each bit controlling one pixel in the vertical column. The encoding is structured as a series of sixel bands (each six pixels tall) across the image width, with control sequences for color selection (up to 256 registers with HLS or RGB specification), repeat counts (run-length encoding for efficiency), carriage return, and newline commands. SIXEL data is transmitted to the output device using DEC's standard escape sequence protocol, embedded within the text stream alongside regular character output. Originally designed for DEC's line of printers and later supported by DEC VT-series terminals (VT240, VT330, VT340), SIXEL has experienced a remarkable revival in modern terminal emulator software. One advantage is terminal-native image display: SIXEL allows images to be rendered directly within a text terminal session without requiring a graphical window system, enabling command-line tools to display graphs, photographs, and previews inline with text output. This capability has driven adoption in modern terminals like mlterm, xterm, WezTerm, and foot. SIX/SIXEL data can be generated by ImageMagick, libsixel, and chafa, and viewed in any SIXEL-capable terminal emulator.
Initial release: 1983

Frequently Asked Questions

Why convert OTB to SIX?

OTB is tied to Nokia mobile phones. Switching to SIX gives you terminal-based graphics encoding and broad support across platforms, browsers, and devices.

How do I open a SIX file?

Software that handles SIX includes xterm, mlterm, ImageMagick, libsixel tools — giving you options on every major operating system.

Does this converter work on mobile devices?

It works on any device with a web browser. Whether you are on Android, iOS, Windows, or macOS — OTB to SIX conversion is fully supported.

What exactly is the OTB format?

OTB (Over-The-Air bitmap format for early Nokia phones) originated in Nokia mobile phones. It has very limited modern application support but can be converted to modern formats on Convertio.

How long does OTB to SIX conversion take?

Most OTB to SIX conversions complete within a few seconds. The lightweight nature of OTB images means fast processing times.

Does converting OTB to SIX affect quality?

The conversion preserves the visual content of your OTB image. SIX will reproduce the same pixel data within the limits of its format capabilities.