Hex to Binary Converter

How to Convert Hex to Binary?

Hexadecimal to binary conversion transforms base-16 numbers (using digits 0-9 and letters A-F) into base-2 numbers (using only 0 and 1). The conversion is done by converting each hexadecimal digit to its 4-bit binary equivalent.

Conversion steps:
1. Take each hexadecimal digit
2. Convert it to its 4-bit binary representation
3. Combine all binary digits to get the final result

Example: Convert 1A3 to binary:
1 → 0001
A → 1010
3 → 0011
Result: 000110100011 (binary)

What is a hexadecimal number?

Hexadecimal (hex) is a base-16 numeral system that uses 16 symbols: 0-9 (representing values 0-9) and A-F (representing values 10-15). It's commonly used in computing because it's more compact than binary and easier to read than long binary strings. Each hex digit represents exactly 4 binary digits.

How do I convert hex to binary manually?

To convert hex to binary manually:
1. Write down each hexadecimal digit
2. Convert each digit to its 4-bit binary equivalent using the conversion table
3. Combine all binary digits in the same order

Example for hex 2F:
2 → 0010
F → 1111
Result: 00101111 (binary)

Why is hex used in computing?

Hexadecimal is widely used in computing because:
- It's more compact than binary (4 binary digits = 1 hex digit)
- It's easier to read and write than long binary strings
- It maps perfectly to binary (no rounding errors)
- It's commonly used in memory addresses, color codes, and debugging
- It's human-readable while still being close to the machine level

What is digit grouping?

Digit grouping adds spaces between groups of digits to make large numbers more readable. For binary numbers, grouping by 4 digits (nibbles) is common because it corresponds to hexadecimal digits. For example: 11010110 becomes 1101 0110, which is easier to read and convert to hex (D6).

How do I handle negative hex numbers?

For negative hex numbers, you typically need to know the bit width (8-bit, 16-bit, 32-bit, etc.) to determine the representation:
- Two's complement: Convert to binary, then apply two's complement rules
- Sign-magnitude: The leftmost bit indicates sign
- The tool handles positive numbers; for negative numbers, you may need additional context about the number system being used.

Hex to Binary Conversion Table