factory reset - Google Photos

[fabrizio]

factory reset Pixel 5 coz it was getting way slow.
restore went fine except that photos can't be found in any particular folder, but do appear in the Google Photos app.
Is it possible to move them to the folder structure of Android File Transfer?
Or do I have to copy them to a folder(s) by hand from a hard back up and then delete from the Photos app?
Then point Photos app to the folder(s)?

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! You would have to manually download photos from your Google Photos cloud library if you want them stored locally on the phone. This can obviously take a long time and a lot of data, depending on how much you have stored in the cloud. If you really want to do this, you can use Google Takeout: https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/3024190?hl=en. But I would recommend relying on the cloud for your overall storage, and just downloading individual photos as needed.

 

[fabrizio]

thanks B. Actually been here a long time but under another email that I no longer have access to.
I'll look at TakeOut. I did back them up locally as well as GooCloud and iDrive.
Is what is on my phone after restore alias linked to cloud?
I can't find where they exist as far as a folder on the P5. Either with AFT or CX File.

 

[B. Diddy]

Locally saved documents, photos, and similar files won't be restored -- that's why it's recommended to sync these with Google Drive/Google Photos (or use some other kind of backup solution). If they've been synced with Google's cloud, then you'll always have access to them after the phone is restored (or from any other device that's logged into your Google account).

Also, be aware that if you downloaded the photos using Google Takeout and then restored them to your phone, it's possible Google Photos might not realize these are already backed up to your cloud, and therefore try to back them up again (if you have auto-backup turned on in Google Photos).

 

[fabrizio]

dl'd from my local b.u. and Photos tried to b.u. again.
Is there a folder on the phone that restored photos go or are they actually in the cloud?

 

[B. Diddy]

I'm not sure about the exact mechanism that Google Photos uses to identify downloaded photos from a backup, but I can tell you that when you download photos from your Google Photos cloud, it goes to the folder /DCIM/Restored

 

[fabrizio]

nope, not there. That's where I dragged my local photos back up to. Very weird not to be able to find them.

 

[B. Diddy]

To be clear, that folder is where photos that are downloaded directly from Google Photos (in the app) go. Is that what you did? You mentioned dragging local photos there, so I want to make sure we're on the same page.

 

[fabrizio]

I signed into the the goo cloud and all the photos, etc went there.
I factory reset.
Re-registed the phone with the same gmail and 99% of all came back to the phone.
The photos did not end up in DCIM/restored. Dunno where they are. But they do appear on the phone.

There were some other photos that I wanted on the phone that were not part of the goo cloud that I hand delivered to the DCIM folder, after the restore was complete.
I'd like to know where goo put the restored, just because. Haven't been able to find them.

Perhaps it's just the way the updated Photos app works now.
I had resisted updating Photos and goo Messages coz each time they updated in the past, something was amiss.
More so Messages as I was in the "beta" group for that & Gmail.

 

[B. Diddy]

When you see the 99% of photos that came back, they're almost certainly not physically on the phone -- you're seeing the synced image from the cloud. Go to Google Photos and select any photo, then tap the 3-dot button at the upper right. If you see an option for "Download", then it's only in the cloud. If you see an option for "Delete from Device", then it's physically saved to the device as well.

 

[fabrizio]

ah-ha! thanks very! there's the info I didn't know.

At some point in the last couple days, I de-clouded everything, as all the Photos appear to be available to "delete from device". Which is fine.
Except for Goog Docs, as I use that cross platform as a replacement for Evernote.
I'll save the goo Drive/cloud for when needed as I have physical b.u. as well as iDrive b.u. for everything.
The Photos update that I got when I factory reset has changed the organization, and it threw me off a bit.

Now if I could just get back the pre AOS 13 version of Sleep Timer, I'd be more or less set.
Apparently, the googsters required removing the BT & WiFi toggle feature of this app.

Been trying to work on a "Home Routine" to replace this loss, but I'm very new at Routines.

 

[bob60]

I bought my Pixel 9a yesterday and love it. I transferred everything over from my 6a and all is good except for the photos. When I open google photos everything is how it was before, eg photos, folders, screenshots etc. But when I try to link in a photo say to someone I’m replying to on Facebook, when I click on the add photo all of my photos are jumbled and a big mess. I really want everything as it was before. What have I done wrong and is there an easy way to fix this? I still have my old phone with everything still on there.