Big changes just rolled out to Google Photos. The service, which has since 2015 offered costless photo uploads, will now count every pic yous upload against your Google account storage cap. You can save photos every bit original quality or "high," just they both take up space. Unless you've even so got a first-gen Pixel. Google pledged to offer free photo backups for life on that telephone, and it's property to that. Hither's how yous tin utilize the 2016 Pixel to go along the free upload gravy railroad train running.

Step one, of form, is to brand certain you've got the necessary hardware. If you've got a circa-2016 Pixel or Pixel Xl hiding in your closet, not bad. If not, you tin snag a used device for $100 or less around the internet. It's fine if the device has seen some wear and tear—it'll all the same upload photos only fine.

While the upload limits for other phones are changing, the unlimited upload guarantee remains in place for the OG Pixels. Then, any images you snap with that old but nevertheless surprisingly capable camera will upload in original quality without eating into your storage. But you don't want to carry a five-year-erstwhile phone, right? Nosotros only need to motility photos from the phone on which they were taken over to the OG Pixel. When those pics upload, Google Photos treats them as if they were taken on the Pixel (i.e. they don't count against your cap).

You tin move files manually betwixt phones if you similar needlessly tiresome things, but setting upwards a folder sync utility ways the Pixel can just live in a drawer someplace. At that place are numerous means to sync files, but I'm using an app called Resilio Sync. There'south a similar app chosen FolderSync that lots of people use for like tasks, merely I've found Resilio to be faster and easier to set up up. You could too configure and run an FTP server on your Pixel if y'all're the DIY sort.

You tin connect your devices in Resilio by creating a share of the Camera binder on your non-Pixel, and then scanning the resulting QR code on the Pixel. I like that the client codes only piece of work for a few days unless you increase that limit yourself, and you tin restrict access to certain WiFi networks. The files will sync over to a new sub-directory on the Pixel when the phones can run into each other, but it defaults to selective sync. Plow that off, and all new files should automatically sync as they're taken. At that place are a ton of advanced options to farther customize the app, besides.

With binder synchronization set up, you can open up Google Photos on the Pixel, and information technology will ask if you want to sync the newly discovered folder. Confirm, and all those images volition get right up to the cloud for free. We've tested this with a fresh Google business relationship and can confirm photos and videos taken on a Milky way S21 Ultra are uploading from the Pixel in original quality and taking up zero space. Information technology'southward possible Google will change its listen and kill this workaround, simply we can only speculate on that.

Honestly, information technology's a lot easier to just pay Google a few bucks for more storage, just this is the simplest way to leverage the Pixel loophole: new phone to old phone to cloud. Direct app-to-app connections are always at the mercy of Android'south background app treatment, which can be aggressive on some phones. The Pixel can search for a connection incessantly because it can remain plugged in. However, you might have to give the app on your new telephone a kick every now and so so it doesn't lose background admission. That'south a small cost to pay for unlimited photo storage.

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Ryan Whitwam (7186 Manufactures Published)

Ryan is a tech/science writer, skeptic, lover of all things electronic, and Android fan. In his spare time he reads golden-age sci-fi and sleeps, just rarely at the same time. His wife tolerates him as few would. He's the author of a sci-fi novel called The Crooked City, which is available on Amazon and Google Play.

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