OneDrive to Google Photos: Moving Photo Folders After Gallery Sync Ended

Samsung Gallery's OneDrive sync ended on September 30, 2026. How to move OneDrive photo folders to Google Photos: limits, albums, storage and two ways to copy.

Introduction

Google Photos is a photo library, not a folder store: it sorts pictures by capture date, finds them by search, and shares them with a link. OneDrive keeps the same pictures as files in folders, usually under Pictures. That was enough while a phone kept the two in step. For Galaxy owners it stopped on September 30, 2026, when Samsung Gallery's Sync with OneDrive was discontinued. Nothing was deleted, so years of phone photos now sit in OneDrive while new ones go somewhere else.

Neither Microsoft nor Google has a button that sends OneDrive photos to Google Photos. A move also has three questions to answer first: which files Google Photos refuses, whether your folders should become albums or go straight into the library, and how much Google storage the copy will use. This guide answers those, then covers a server-side copy with CloudsLinker and the download-and-import route in a browser.

The Short Answer
If You Are Here Because Gallery Sync Ended
Question 1: What Will Google Photos Refuse?
Question 2: Albums or the Main Library?
Question 3: How Much Storage Will It Use?
Method 1: Copy Photo Folders Server-Side With CloudsLinker
Method 2: Download From OneDrive, Then Google's Uploader
Reading the Result in Google Photos
Frequently Asked Questions

The Short Answer

There is no official transfer between the two. For one or two folders, download them from onedrive.com and use Import photos at photos.google.com (Method 2). For a whole Pictures tree, copy it server-side with CloudsLinker (Method 1), which can turn each folder into an album.

Before either one, check three things: Google Photos takes photos up to 200 MB and videos up to 10 GB, it has no folders, and everything you add counts against the storage you share with Gmail and Drive.

If You Are Here Because Gallery Sync Ended

On Galaxy phones, the Gallery app used to keep its pictures in OneDrive. Samsung's support page states that "Gallery Sync with Microsoft OneDrive was discontinued on the 30th of September 2026", that the link between the Samsung and Microsoft accounts was removed, and that nothing was deleted: photos and videos stored through the sync remain in OneDrive (Samsung support).

Three consequences follow for a move to Google Photos:

The old photos are files in OneDrive now. Open onedrive.com and look under Pictures. Users commonly report a Samsung Gallery folder there, with DCIM and Camera inside; the path varies by device, so sort by date if you can't find it.
Your phone may no longer hold them. Pictures that were only kept in the cloud can't be backed up by the Google Photos app on the phone, because that app backs up what is on the device. They have to be copied out of OneDrive.
New photos need their own backup. Samsung points to the OneDrive app's Camera backup; turning on backup in the Google Photos app is the alternative if Google Photos is where the old ones are going.

The rest of this guide applies to any OneDrive photo folder, whether it came from a Galaxy phone, from the OneDrive app's Camera Roll upload, or from a PC's Pictures folder.

Question 1: What Will Google Photos Refuse?

OneDrive stores any kind of file, so a picture folder can hold things a photo library doesn't take. The limits below decide what arrives.

File	OneDrive accepts	Google Photos accepts	Who should care
Photo size	Any file up to 250 GB	Up to 200 MB or 200 megapixels	Large scans, stitched panoramas, layered TIFFs
Video	Any file up to 250 GB	Up to 10 GB	Long 4K or 8K recordings
RAW	Stored as ordinary files	"Most RAW files", within the 200 MB limit	Camera owners; test a sample first
Very small images	No minimum	Must be larger than 256 x 256	Icons, stickers and thumbnails saved from apps
Documents in picture folders	Yes	No: photos and videos only	PDFs, receipts and zip files saved next to photos

Sources: Google Photos help, Google Photos upload guide and Microsoft's OneDrive download limits. Files over these limits aren't resized. They fail to upload, so leave them in OneDrive or send them to a folder-based store such as Google Drive.

Question 2: Albums or the Main Library?

Google Photos has no folders, so a tree such as Pictures/Camera Roll/2024 can't arrive as it is. In CloudsLinker, a Google Photos connection shows two places that can receive files, and the choice decides what happens to your structure:

	Target `album`	Target `upload`
Result	One album per source folder, and the photos appear in the library as well	Photos in the main library only, with no albums
Folder `Camera Roll` ticked directly	Album `Camera Roll`	No album; filenames only
Parent folder `Pictures` ticked	Album `Pictures/Camera Roll`, one per subfolder	No album; filenames only
Item limit	20,000 per album	No item limit
Fits	Trips, events and scans you filed in named folders	A phone camera roll you'll find through search and the timeline

A phone's camera folder is usually one long list, and a long-used one can pass 20,000 items, so upload suits it better than an album. Named folders are the opposite case. Running two tasks, one for each kind, is fine. One restriction comes from Google: apps can only add to albums they created themselves (Google's album rules), so an existing album in your Google Photos can't be chosen as a target.

Question 3: How Much Storage Will It Use?

Start from the OneDrive side: on onedrive.com, select the Pictures folder and open Details to see its size. A free Microsoft account holds 5 GB, Microsoft 365 Basic 100 GB and Microsoft 365 Personal 1 TB, so a paid OneDrive library can be far larger than Google's free 15 GB, which is shared with Gmail and Drive. Listed Google One plans include 100 GB at $1.99 a month and 2 TB at $9.99, and prices vary by country (Google One plans, OneDrive plans).

The route changes what the copy costs. Files sent through Google's API, which is how CloudsLinker writes, are stored at original quality and count in full (Google API limits). Google's own uploader follows your backup quality setting instead, so Storage saver can reduce size at the cost of quality (backup quality help). If the library is close to your plan's size, copy one folder first and watch the storage figure in your Google account before sending the rest.

Method 1: Copy Photo Folders Server-Side With CloudsLinker

CloudsLinker reads the folders through Microsoft's API and uploads each file to Google Photos through Google's API, so OneDrive's 10 GB-per-zip download limit never comes into it and nothing lands on your disk. Uploading to Google Photos goes file by file and is slower than a copy between two folder-based clouds; a library of tens of thousands of photos can run for a day or more.

Step 1: Connect OneDrive and Google Photos

Sign in at app.cloudslinker.com and click Add Cloud.
Choose OneDrive for a personal Microsoft account (a work or school account uses OneDrive for Business), click Add Now OneDrive and sign in on Microsoft's page.

CloudsLinker Add Cloud page with the Connect Your OneDrive dialog open, showing the Add Now OneDrive button that opens Microsoft's sign-in page

Go back to Add Cloud, search for google photos and choose New Google Photos.
Click Connect to New Google Photos and approve on Google's own consent page.

CloudsLinker dialog for connecting New Google Photos, with the button that opens Google's consent page

Step 2: Tick Photo Folders and Choose album or upload

Open Transfer. In Source, expand OneDrive, then Pictures.
Tick the photo folders themselves, such as Camera Roll and Samsung Gallery, rather than Pictures, if you want short album titles.
In Target, clicking Google Photos itself doesn't work: Create transfer stays disabled and a note explains where files can go.

CloudsLinker Create transfer task page with the OneDrive folders Camera Roll and Samsung Gallery ticked under Pictures and the Google Photos root selected as the target, a note saying Google Photos can only receive files in upload, your main library with no item limit, or in an album under album with up to 20,000 items per album, and the Create transfer button disabled

Expand Google Photos and select album or upload, according to Question 2. With album selected, each ticked folder that holds photos becomes its own album.

CloudsLinker Create transfer task page with the OneDrive folders Camera Roll and Samsung Gallery ticked under Pictures, album selected under Google Photos as the target, Copy checked and Create transfer enabled

Step 3: Filter Out Files Google Would Refuse

If Question 1 flagged anything, turn on Files filter in the options.
Include only photo and video extensions such as jpg, heic, png and mp4, or exclude pdf and zip; a maximum size in MB keeps out videos Google won't take.
Leave the mode on Copy. Move deletes each file from OneDrive after it is copied, which removes your fallback before you have checked the result.

A filter keeps the task's result easy to read, because every remaining failure then needs a look.

Step 4: Run the Copy and Compare Each Folder

Click Create transfer.
Open Task. Task monitor shows files and bytes done and the speed, and the task continues after you close the browser.
When it ends, open Google Photos and compare the item counts of your largest albums with the OneDrive folders.

CloudsLinker Task monitor with a running copy from OneDrive Pictures folders to Google Photos album at 38 percent, showing files and gigabytes completed and the speed

A free CloudsLinker account includes 10 GB of transfer a month, which is enough to test one folder; a larger library stops when the allowance runs out, so check your plan first.

Method 2: Download From OneDrive, Then Google's Uploader

This suits a few folders, and it's the only route where Storage saver can apply. Everything passes through your computer, so you need disk space for each download and enough upload bandwidth.

Step 1: Download the Folders From onedrive.com

Sign in at onedrive.com and open My files → Pictures.
Select a folder, open its ⋯ menu and choose Download.
Extract the zip into a folder with the same name.

OneDrive website My files list with one folder selected and its context menu open, the Download entry outlined in red, and Download also shown in the top toolbar

Microsoft limits these downloads to 10 GB per zip file and 20 GB overall, and to 10,000 files (Microsoft support), so download a large camera folder year by year. If the OneDrive app already syncs Pictures to a PC or Mac, skip the download and use that local folder.

Step 2: Import Into Google Photos

Open photos.google.com and click the + button.
To keep a folder together, choose Album first and name it after the folder.
Choose Import photos, select the extracted files and add them to that album.

Google Photos + menu with a Create section listing Album, Collage, Highlight video, Animation and Share with a partner, and an Add photos section listing Import photos, Back up folders and From other places

Step 3: For a Synced Pictures Folder, Back Up the Folder

In the same + menu choose Back up folders.
Pick the local Pictures folder and click Allow.
Keep the Google Photos tab open until the backup finishes.

Folder backup needs a Chromium browser such as Chrome or Edge, and it only runs while the Google Photos tab stays open (Google help). It adds photos to the library without recreating folders as albums. Older guides suggest Drive for desktop, but Google ended its Google Photos backup on August 10, 2026.

Reading the Result in Google Photos

What you see	Likely reason	What to do
Task ends as PartialSuccess	Some files failed, or a limit stopped the task; the status alone doesn't say which	Compare completed files with the folder's count, and look for documents and oversized videos
An album is smaller than its OneDrive folder	Non-media files, files over the limits, or more than 20,000 items for one album	Leave those files in OneDrive; split the folder or use `upload`
Album titles with slashes	A parent folder such as Pictures was ticked, so the title includes the path	Rename in Google Photos, or tick the photo folders directly next time
Screenshots or scans dated today	The file has no capture date inside it	Edit the date in Google Photos
The same photo twice in the library	The phone's Google Photos backup already uploaded it, or it sat in two OneDrive folders	Check a few before deleting, and copy each folder only once
Storage warning from Google	API uploads count at original quality against the shared quota	Upgrade the plan or copy fewer folders; see Question 3

Keep the OneDrive copies until the counts match. OneDrive albums, share links and the Personal Vault lock belong to OneDrive and don't move with the files; share again from Google Photos where you need to.

Watch: Copy OneDrive Photo Folders Into Google Photos Albums

A narrated 2:40 walkthrough of Method 1: connecting OneDrive on Microsoft's own sign-in page and New Google Photos on Google's, opening Pictures and ticking two photo folders, the note that Google Photos' top level can't receive files, choosing album so each folder becomes its own album, keeping Copy selected and following the server-side copy to the end.

Frequently Asked Questions

No. Microsoft's import tool only brings files into OneDrive, and Google Photos has no importer for OneDrive. The routes that work are downloading from onedrive.com and using Import photos or Back up folders at photos.google.com, or a cloud-to-cloud copy with a service that connects to both accounts.

Yes. Samsung states that Gallery's Sync with OneDrive was discontinued on September 30, 2026, that nothing was deleted, and that photos and videos stored through the sync remain in OneDrive. Look under Pictures in OneDrive; users commonly report a Samsung Gallery folder there with DCIM and Camera inside, but the exact path varies by device.

They do if you target album in CloudsLinker. Each source folder that holds photos becomes an album. If you tick Camera Roll itself, the album is called Camera Roll. If you tick its parent, Pictures, the album title includes the path, such as Pictures/Camera Roll. Targeting upload creates no albums at all.

Google Photos stores photos and videos only, with limits of 200 MB or 200 megapixels per photo and 10 GB per video, and items must be larger than 256 x 256 pixels. OneDrive holds any file type up to 250 GB. So PDFs and documents in a picture folder, videos over 10 GB and tiny thumbnails or icons are refused. Google says it supports most RAW files, not all.

No. Google lets an app add items only to albums that the same app created, so an album you made in Google Photos can't be a target. CloudsLinker creates new albums instead, and adding to an album it created earlier works. Each album holds up to 20,000 items; a bigger folder should go to upload, which has no item limit.

It isn't compressed. Google's documentation says media uploaded through its API is stored at original quality and counts toward the account's storage, which is shared with Gmail and Drive. The free allowance is 15 GB. Storage saver doesn't apply to this route; it applies to Google's own Import photos and folder backup, which follow your backup quality setting.

Google Photos sorts by capture date. Photos taken with a phone or camera carry that date inside the file, and a copy doesn't re-encode the file, so they appear where they were taken. Screenshots received from chat apps, scans and edited exports often carry no capture date and can appear under a different date, so check a few of those.

Both use OAuth. You sign in on Microsoft's page for OneDrive and on Google's page for Google Photos, and CloudsLinker receives an access grant rather than either password. A personal Microsoft account uses the OneDrive tile; a work or school account uses OneDrive for Business. You can remove the grants later from your Microsoft and Google account settings.

Conclusion

Phone photos and videos from OneDrive almost always fit Google Photos; the files to look for are videos over 10 GB, very large scans, and documents that happen to sit in picture folders. For one or two folders, download them from onedrive.com and use Import photos at photos.google.com. For a whole Pictures tree, CloudsLinker copies it from its own servers: target album to keep folders apart as albums, or upload to add everything to the main library. Keep the OneDrive copies until the counts match.

Related: OneDrive connection notes, Google Photos, OneDrive to Google Drive for documents, and Google Takeout to another cloud for the opposite direction.

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