The great thing about the unified Google apps is that you can use one Google account to connect a variety of services like include Google Photos and Google Drive. Ideally, you can sync each photo you store on Google Drive and your phone’s storage, but you can get problems with Google Photos not syncing with Google Drive as photos will fail to appear.
Here are a few workarounds below that’ll help you restore your photos to syncing with Google Drive again.
How to fix Google Photos not syncing with Google Drive
Check your internet connection
Connectivity issues sometimes cause Google Photos not to sync with Google Drive. You can check whether this is the cause by doing this:
- Open Google Photos
- Tap Assistant card, if you get a message that says there’s no connection or the process is waiting for WiFi, then the problem is the connection
If you have loads of data on your cellular connection, you can enable sync with Mobile Data but it can be expensive and slow when used regularly. You can wait for the WiFi connection to be stable or try:
- Disabling Bluetooth
- Restarting your router and your phone
- Forgetting the network and re-establish a WiFi connection
- Wiping cache partition in Recovery settings
- Resetting the network settings and as a last resort, resetting your device to factory settings
Clear app cache and data
Sometimes, Google Photos not syncing with Google Drive may be related to an issue with the app. With the frequent changes that come with app updates, it’s likely that something in its settings may fail and block the sync process between the two Google services.
To clear app cache and data:
- Open Settings>Apps
- Go to Google Photos and Google Drive apps
- Tap Storage
- Now tap Clear data
- Restart your device and try syncing. Enter your Google sign in details again to access the Google apps
Update Google Photos app
If Google Photos not syncing with Google Drive issue persists, and you get the same error, you can update the app. This is especially necessary if you upgraded the OS and it brought issues with it. The update provides the latest version of the app and can clear up some problems. To update, do this:
- Open Google Play Store and tap the Menu
- Open My apps & Games
- Tap Check for updates and install any updates for Google Photos or Google Drive
Enable “Show Google Drive photos and videos in your Photos Library” setting
You’ll need to enable this option if you have to see the photos you’ve backed up on Google Drive in Google Photos library. By default, this setting is disabled so go to Settings to enable it. To enable it, do this:
- Open Google Photos app and tap Menu
- Go to Settings and toggle Show Google Drive photos and videos in your Photos Library setting on
- Wait up to 24 hours for the photos to sync
Elsie is a tech writer with 8+ years professional experience. For Tech News Watch, she brings rich experience contributing to topics such as Windows, MacOS, Android, and iOS among others. In her spare time, she loves checking out the latest tech trends, gadgets, and news, listening to music and cars.
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