How do i get pictures off my phone

You can use Google Photos to save space on your device when you delete photos that are safely backed up. Before you use this feature, you must ensure that you've already backed up your photos properly. Learn how to back up photos.

Photos and videos that are fewer than 30 days old may be retained on your device. They’ll still be backed up in your Google Photos library.

Important: Before you delete your photos, make sure that they're backed up. Learn how to back up photos.

Free up space on your Android device

Important: This feature deletes photos from your device.

1. On your Android phone or tablet, open the Google Photos app
   
   .
2. Sign in to your Google Account.
3. Tap your account profile photo or initial
   
   Free up space.
4. You'll see how much space will be freed up. To delete all the items from your phone, tap Free up.
5. To see your photos and videos, go to photos.google.com or open the Google Photos app
   
   .

For backed-up photos and videos, use Photos’ storage management tool to surface items that you might want to delete, like blurry photos, screenshots, and large videos. Learn how to manage your storage.

What happens when you remove photos & videos from your phone

If you remove copies of photos and videos on your Android device, they're now deleted but, you still can:

• See your photos and videos, including the ones you just removed, in the Google Photos app and photos.google.com.
• Edit, share, delete, and manage anything in your Google Photos library.

You won't be able to see photos and videos you removed if:

• You use your mobile device's built-in gallery.
• You're offline.
• You're not signed in to the Google Photos app
  
  .

Recover deleted photos

Important: These steps may vary depending on your device. For more help, contact your device manufacturer.

If you deleted an item and want it back, check your trash to check if it’s there.

1. On your Android phone or tablet, open the photo gallery app.
2. At the bottom, tap the Menu
   
   .
3. Tap Trash.

4. Select the photo or photos that you want to recover.

5. At the bottom, tap Restore. The photo or photos will be back in your phone’s gallery app.

If the item isn't in your trash, it may be permanently deleted.

Can’t find the photo or video?

If a deleted photo or video isn't in your Google Photos or Gallery trash, you can’t restore it. You won't be able to restore a photo if:

• You moved it to trash more than 60 days ago.
• You moved it to trash, then emptied your trash.
• You moved it to trash more than 30 days ago on an Android 11 and up device, and it wasn’t backed up.
• You permanently deleted it from your trash.
• You permanently deleted it from your device’s Gallery app, without backing it up first.

To find and recover photos easily, turn on back up & sync. Learn how to back up photos.

Important: If your Google Photos account is inactive for 2 years or you're over your storage limit, your content may be impacted. Learn more about your Google Storage.

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Your old cell phone may contain a lot of important pictures you wish to save. Just because a cell phone is inactive does not mean its data is lost. In fact, your pictures may even be salvageable from a broken phone. You can upload pictures from your phone to your computer using an SD card, USB connection or Bluetooth. Then, you can email those pictures from your computer.

SD Cards

Many phones save user data such as pictures on a microSD card, a small, removable memory card. In order to access your phone's microSD card, you may have to open up your phone. Some phone models feature a microSD slot on the side, whereas others hold the card near the phone battery. Once you have taken out the microSD card, you must use an adapter to connect it to your computer. Some computers have an SD card slot, but this will not accept microSD cards. You must use an adapter that changes the size of the microSD card to one that your computer will accept. If you do not have this adapter or if your computer does not have an SD card slot, use a USB adapter. A microSD USB adapter connects to your computer's USB port and reads the contents of the microSD card that has been connected.

USB Connection

Many phones feature the ability to mount as an external drive on a computer through a USB connection. Because it is also possible to power many phones through USB power, some phone power adapters also function as USB cables. If you have a power cable of this nature, detach the power adapter portion of the cable. Then, plug the cord into your computer's USB port and connect your phone to the other end of the cable. If your phone can mount as an external drive, it will appear on your computer screen as such. Open the folder that stores your pictures and save the desired pictures to your computer.

Bluetooth

Bluetooth networks are short range data networks that enable different devices to communicate with each other. If your cell phone has Bluetooth functionality, you may be able to send pictures to your computer even if the phone is inactive. You can pair a Bluetooth cell phone with any Bluetooth-compatible computer. If your computer does not have built-in Bluetooth capability, you can use a USB Bluetooth adapter. Once the devices have been paired, you can upload your pictures to your computer.

Wireless Connections

When you do not have a cell phone contract, the hardware of your device is still functional. If you have an inactive smartphone, it probably still functions as an Internet-capable device. While you may not be able to make calls or use a data network, you can use its wireless Internet capability. In this case, connect your phone to a wireless Internet connection and send your desired pictures as email attachments. This will allow you to bypass using a computer entirely.

References

Writer Bio

Serm Murmson is a writer, thinker, musician and many other things. He has a bachelor's degree in anthropology from the University of Chicago. His concerns include such things as categories, language, descriptions, representation, criticism and labor. He has been writing professionally since 2008.