If you used to use Samsung Cloud to store your photos, you'll have noticed by now that it has closed down. While you can still use it to store your phone settings and other things, it'll no longer back up your files.

So can you still view your photos in Samsung Cloud, and what are your options for syncing now? Let's take a look.

How Do You View or Retrieve Photos From Samsung Cloud?

Samsung Cloud was a cloud-based storage solution that allowed you to back up your files, images, settings, and other media stored on your Samsung phone or tablet. It was particularly useful if you wanted to keep copies of your information for future use, or to transfer them between devices, or restore your information in the event of a factory reset of your device.

However, Samsung announced that it would be shutting down its Gallery Sync, Samsung Cloud Drive, and Premium Storage features in 2021. The company urged users to switch to Microsoft's OneDrive app within a certain date (depending on their region), failing which they would end up losing their data stored on Samsung Cloud.

Now, these features have been retired. If you didn't move them out of your account in time, you cannot retrieve your photos from Samsung Cloud. But if you did sync Samsung Cloud with OneDrive, you can get your images from there, and keep it synced with the Samsung Gallery app. Let's take a look at how to do that.

How to Sync Images From Samsung to OneDrive

If you're a Samsung user, you can easily sync your photos and videos from the Samsung Gallery app to your Microsoft OneDrive cloud storage account. The process is very simple and takes just a few minutes. To set it up, you'll need to download the Microsoft OneDrive app first.

Download: Microsoft OneDrive (Free, subscription available)

Let's take a closer look at the steps in the sections below.

Connect Your Samsung Account to Microsoft OneDrive

To sync images from the Samsung Gallery app to OneDrive, the first thing you'll need to do is connect your Samsung account to Microsoft OneDrive. Your images will then be uploaded automatically to the OneDrive camera roll and can be viewed at any time.

  1. On your device, launch the Microsoft OneDrive app, and make sure you're logged in with your Samsung account.
  2. Once you've installed the OneDrive app, it will prompt you to sync your Samsung Gallery app with OneDrive, along with suggestions to sync with other Microsoft apps.
  3. Tap Get Started.
  4. Once done, you'll need to connect your Samsung and Microsoft accounts. Tap Connect.
  5. Enter your Microsoft account credentials and follow the on-screen instructions.
  6. Read the terms and conditions, and tap Accept.
  7. Alternatively, you can visit the Samsung Gallery app and head over to Settings in the bottom menu. Toggle on Sync with OneDrive.

Turn On Camera Uploads

This feature lets you automatically share and sync photos on your Samsung devices to the Microsoft OneDrive app. However, the availability of the feature depends on your device model and carrier. To automatically sync your Gallery to OneDrive, follow the steps listed below:

  1. Once the confirmation screen appears, tap Next.
  2. Tap See My Photos in the pop-up window.
  3. You'll be directed to the home screen, and prompted to turn on Camera upload. Select Turn On. Your images will start to sync automatically.
  4. In certain cases (or devices), if your images haven't started syncing already, you can tap Me (the profile icon) in the bottom right corner of the OneDrive app, and head to the Settings section. Make sure to toggle on Camera upload.
  5. To upload videos automatically, toggle on the slider button for Include videos as well.
  6. Once you've turned on automatic syncing, you should see a section titled Samsung photos. Tap Gallery sync, and make sure the slider button is toggled on.
  7. To choose the albums you wish to upload, tap Albums to sync.

To access and edit images on your SD card in the OneDrive app, you'll need to back them up first. Here's how to do this:

  1. Tap your profile icon and select Samsung photos > SD Card back up.
  2. Toggle on Back up SD card photos and videos, and make sure to enable the slider button for Include videos.
  3. Scroll to the top, and tap Back up now.
  4. Choose the other folders you wish to back up to OneDrive.

You can turn off the feature at any time by toggling off Gallery sync and SD card back up in the Settings section of the OneDrive app. Keep in mind that any images deleted from the OneDrive app will also be deleted from your native Samsung Gallery app.

It's always a good idea to save a backup of your data to your PC or external devices. You can use other cloud storage services such as Google Drive, or even use Samsung Smart Switch to back up your data.

You can access and view images stored on your Samsung phone or tablet within the OneDrive app in the Photos (Camera Roll) album. Here's how:

  1. On your device, sign in to the linked Microsoft OneDrive app, and tap Photos in the bottom menu.
  2. In the default view, you can see the images synced to your OneDrive account.
  3. There are other categories—albums/favorites, AI-generated tags, and devices. You can filter your searches using these options.
  4. Scroll down and tap on the Filters dropdown menu in the right corner, and select Samsung Gallery folder.
  5. You can now view all images synced from the Gallery app. Alternatively, go to Me > Settings > Samsung photos > Gallery sync > Synced items.

How to Retrieve Synced Photos From Microsoft OneDrive

Microsoft OneDrive is a cloud-based storage solution for photos, documents, and files. You can access your OneDrive content by logging into your linked account on a desktop or mobile device. Let's take a look at the various ways you can retrieve your stored files.

  • You can retrieve your synced gallery images by going to Files > Pictures > Samsung Gallery in the OneDrive app.
  • To view image files and folders stored on your SD card, go to Files > Pictures > SD Card.
  • To share or download images from the OneDrive app, select the individual images, and tap the Share or Download button to save them on your device.
  • You can save a copy of the folders for offline use. To do this, click on the image/folder, and enable the slider for Make available offline.
  • To restore images that have been accidentally deleted, navigate to your profile and select Recycle bin. Tap on the three-dot menu icon that appears next to the image(s) you wish to restore, and select Restore from the dropdown options.

OneDrive Replaces Samsung Cloud

It's a shame that you can no longer use Samsung Cloud to store or view your photos, but OneDrive is a good replacement and is worth using if you aren't already. It's a good way to back up your photos (and other files) and it integrates well with the Samsung Gallery app, which makes it easy to start using.