Photos gone after Android update - what to do?
After updating to a new Android version, it may happen that all photos on the smartphone are gone. If you have not previously backed up your pictures, there are several other solutions to restore them. You can read what to do in the following practical tip.
Photos after Android update gone - Here's what you can do:
Before updating to a new Android version, it is advisable to save your pictures in advance. For example, you can copy your pictures to your PC or synchronize them directly in the cloud, for example with the Owncloud storage service. If you haven't done so, try it:
- In a first step, it can help to restart the smartphone. Often, the images that are believed to have disappeared appear again on their own.
- Connect your smartphone to the PC with a USB cable and search your folders for the lost pictures. If you still cannot find them, disconnect the USB connection and restart your smartphone before reconnecting to the PC.
- If you are connected to the PC, also open the mass storage mode and look for the pictures in the DCIM folder.
- If you have a Samsung device, syncing with Kies Air can also help you find lost pictures.
Retrieve missing photos via media scan on the Android smartphone
Another way to find lost photos is to manually trigger a media scan. That's how it's done:
- Open the settings and start your applications or the app manager.
- Open the "All" tab and tap on the media storage.
- Select "Clear Data". The media scan triggered by this should make the photos reappear.
Find photos on the SD card - Here's how
If you have saved your pictures on the external SD card, you can find them again with a few tricks:
- Shut down your smartphone properly and remove the SD card from the slot.
- Then switch your smartphone on again without an SD card and then shut it down again.
- Insert the SD card again and restart the device. In most cases, the images should then be found again.
- You can also connect the SD card to your PC with an appropriate adapter and check whether the photos are still on it. If this is the case, you should also be able to call it up again on your smartphone. It is best to use a file manager such as the ES file explorer.
The makeshift solution: restore deleted files on your smartphone
If your pictures are still not found after these steps, it is reasonable to assume that the update accidentally deleted them. In some cases, however, deleted data can be recovered. You can see how this works in our CHIP tutorial:
We will show you in another practical tip how you can automatically save your photos on the SD card.