Numbers CONVERT Function: Units, Temperature and Storage Examples

• Introduced: The original introduction release is not established by the checked official references.
• Availability: Documented for Numbers in the Apple Functions Help 15.4 edition; no final supported-version endpoint is established.
• Scope: The help edition is not an app build number. Historical Mac, iPad, iPhone and iCloud parity remains separately unverified.
• Checked: October 14, 2026, against the official CONVERT reference. Examples were independently calculated or traced from the documented text contract; no native Numbers test was performed.

CONVERT(convert-num, from-unit, to-unit)

All three arguments are required: a numeric value, its present unit and the target unit. The official tables list the permitted codes by measurement category. Literal codes need double quotes in a formula; a cell containing a code such as kg must contain the letters without surrounding quote characters.

Codes are case-sensitive. Apple distinguishes the metric prefix M for a million from m for one-thousandth. For information units, Mi means 2^20. Do not pass unit codes through LOWER or another case-normalization step.

Selected supported codes include lbm for pound mass, g for grams, m for meters, mi for statute miles, in for inches, hr for hours, mn for minutes, C/F for Celsius/Fahrenheit, and byte for bytes. Prefixes are permitted only where Apple’s table says so. Its alternate codes, such as lb for lbm, are unit-string alternatives inside CONVERT, not separate functions.

Create UnitChecks with eight columns and thirteen rows. Put Value, From, To, Converted, Back, Round-trip difference, Expected and Difference in A1:H1. Enter A:C and G from this table; keep D:F and H for formulas.

Enter these formulas in row 2, then fill each down through row 12:

D2: =CONVERT(A2,B2,C2)
E2: =CONVERT(D2,C2,B2)
F2: =E2-A2
H2: =D2-G2

Rows 2–4 reproduce Apple’s three examples. The remaining expectations use the listed unit codes and ordinary conversion arithmetic: 12 centimeters times 0.01 meters per centimeter, two hours times 60 minutes, and the stated decimal and binary prefix multipliers. The temperature and storage models are explained below.

In exact arithmetic E returns the original A value, while F and H are zero. A native spreadsheet can show a small residual because of numerical precision or display rounding; these checks do not promise bit-for-bit reversible floating-point results. Keep enough decimal places visible before diagnosing a discrepancy.

Copy UnitChecks as ChangedDistance. Change only A5 from 2.5 to 3.75, and update its separately entered expected G5 to 3750. D5 is now expected to be 3750, E5 to be 3.75 and F5/H5 to be zero. Other rows remain unchanged. Updating the input without updating a manual expected value would correctly leave a mismatch in H5.

Celsius-to-Fahrenheit conversion includes an offset. NIST’s exact temperature relation is Fahrenheit = 1.8 × Celsius + 32. Converting a temperature difference as though it were a temperature introduces that extra 32.

Create TemperatureChanges, with eight columns and six rows. Put Start C, Finish C, Change C, Start F, Finish F, Change F, Converted change and Excess in A1:H1. Enter 20 and 30 in A2:B2, -10 and 5 in A3:B3, and 100 and 80 in A4:B4.

Enter these formulas in row 2 and fill C2:H2 through row 4:

C2: =B2-A2
D2: =CONVERT(A2,"C","F")
E2: =CONVERT(B2,"C","F")
F2: =E2-D2
G2: =CONVERT(C2,"C","F")
H2: =G2-F2

F subtracts two converted endpoints, so the offsets cancel. G deliberately answers a different question. Labeling values and differences clearly prevents a plausible-looking but incorrect report.

Create StorageUnits, with six columns and five rows. Enter 25 in A2, then these formulas:

B2: =CONVERT(A2,"Mbyte","byte")
C2: =CONVERT(A2,"Mibyte","byte")
D2: =C2-B2
E2: =C2/B2
F2: =CONVERT(B2,"byte","Mibyte")

Expected values are 25000000, 26214400, 1214400, 1.048576 and 23.84185791015625. The same numeral 25 represents different quantities under the two prefixes. E2 means the binary quantity is 4.8576% larger than the decimal quantity; it is not an extra storage fee or a measurement of usable capacity.

The NIST binary-prefix explanation distinguishes powers of two from decimal SI prefixes. Use Apple’s actual argument strings rather than guessing that a label such as MB uniquely specifies the intended quantity.

Choose units for the same physical quantity. A mass cannot be converted into a length, and changing lbm to lbf changes mass to force. A numerical answer does not verify that the original measurement was recorded correctly.

The checked Apple entry does not enumerate exact error tokens for unsupported codes, incompatible categories, empty cells or text-valued numbers. These boundary outcomes and extreme numerical magnitudes remain unverified. ISNUMBER can test whether an input is numeric; it does not validate its unit, category or measurement accuracy. Keep raw values and codes beside the conversion instead of hiding every error behind a zero.

These formulas use English function names and comma separators. In Numbers, enter = to open the formula editor, then enter the expression. The examples use uniquely named tables, one header row, zero header columns and zero footer rows unless stated otherwise. Keep input and result cells separate.