Photos disappeared on Pixel2 XL

[Hmehta]

We took more than a hundred pictures while on an outdoor trip for around 10 hours. We reviewed them while outside. As soon we reached back in the hotel and connected to the hotel wifi, the photos were backed up as per my settings.

However, it seems that we lost a bunch of those pictures from a time frame in between the start and the end of our trip and can't seem to find them anywhere on the phone. We definitely did not delete the pictures and they aren't in trash or in any other folders. It seems a couple of others have seen the same issue on their pixel phones and posted on Google forums but we did not see a solution to recover them.

Can someone please advise on how to recover them. It seems strange how the pics could magically disappear, seems to be some correlation between connecting to WiFi and syncing.

 

[jasonandrews25788]

check from Google photos app.

 

[Hmehta]

I just use the Photos app on the Pixel2 XL and the photos are no longer to be found

 

[GSDer]

So when you use a file manager and look in DCIM/Camera these pictures are nowhere to be found?
Did you put them in albums before syncing?

 

[Hmehta]

That's correct, I don't see in DCIM/Camera.

I have the pics sync as soon as I have WiFi, don't sorry then into folders or albums.

 

[Hmehta]

I meant to say.. Don't sort them into folders or albums

 

[GSDer]

Unfortunately I don't have any suggestions based on what you reported - if the files aren't there, and you're sure you didn't accidentally delete them, there's nothing else I can think of for you to do.

 

[B. Diddy]

Hmm, that's disturbing. You're using the stock Camera app, and not a 3rd party one, right?

 

[Hmehta]

Thanks.. Saw that this happened to a couple of others users in 2017 so was wondering if anyone would know of a solution to recover.

 

[Hmehta]

Yes, using the stock Camera and Google Photos apps.

 

[B. Diddy]

You've also looked on the Google Photos website on your computer browser, and checked Trash there as well?

 

[Hmehta]

I was able to check the browser on a computer just today. No luck with any pictures on Google Photos there or in Trash.

Other than the disappointment of losing pictures, find it strange that it could even happen at all.

 

[B. Diddy]

It's an unusual issue, for sure. I know you mentioned that some other people have reported something similar, but this is the first I've read about it on this forum. I'm afraid I don't have any other ideas. In the future, if you're taking some photos that are very important, you may just want to double check the Photos app after you take the shots to confirm that they've uploaded. It also wouldn't hurt to give Google some feedback through the Google Photos app.

 

[LeoRex]

That is highly unusual... I have yet to run into an issue with Photos losing pics like that, but that isn't too say that there isn't an issue somewhere.

The storage container for Google photos is pretty complex...

One last shot. Open Google Drive on the web and go into your settings to have your Google Photos show in Drive. Navigate the folders and see if the files are there, and just not presented to photos.

My wife has a habit of copying pictures from her computer directly into the Photos directories that there sync service creates. They don't get indexed in Photos correctly, but the files are still there.

 

[doofdaddy]

Have the same issue today. Took some pics to send to a contractor. Went to Google Photos, they weren't there. Went back out to take pics and they disappear.

Here's what happens:

• Take picture.
• It displays in that small cirlce on the bottom for about 2 seconds
• Disappears.
• No record anywhere, like it was never taken at all.
• If I take a pic, and then immediately press that small preview, sometimes it shows up.

I restarted the camera app and nothing was fixes. Rebooted the phone and I can take a picture and then it does the same thing. I can see the processing indicator and then at about 90% it just disappears. Same happens with the video.

 

[TraderGary]

Some people have opted to not have a Google account. This apparently doesn't give them access to Google photo storage. Have you possibly done that?

 

[Joltcola1234]

This sounds like some kind of bug with the camera app.

 

[Amunsters]

Did you ever find a solution to this? I just got this phone and was really upset to lose photos of our vacation in the middle of nowhere. I could find the thumbnails, but not the high quality images. I could tell they were somewhere because the photos app was making stylized images with them. One of them was titled New Year's Day 2009. My phone thinks it's Jan 1 if I turn it on where I don't have service. A lightbulb went off in my husband's head, he told me to check my photos by date and go back to 1/1/09. They were there!! An annoying problem I hope Google fixes, but I'm so happy to have my photos!

 

[MustangChris04]

Any solution to this? I have the same problem and I've lost hundreds of photos.

1. Take picture.
2. It displays in that small circle on the bottom.
3. Close camera by hitting home button.
4. Can't find photo in gallery
5. Open camera back up and can see thumbnail in that small circle on the bottom.
6. Click in circle and photo is not there in gallery.
7. Go back to camera and thumbnail still shows but then disappears.

 

[TraderGary]

If I go to Google.com on the browser on my laptop computer I see an icon with 9 small black squares just to the left of my avatar in the upper right corner.

If I click on it, I get a dialog box with a number of options, I choose "Photos".

I can now see all the pictures I've ever taken with any Android camera all the way back to my first Android camera. They are all available to me and I can download any that I want.

Does this help?