Changing Google Photos from High Quality to Original: A Guide

Hey there! Today, I want to talk about something important that can make a big difference in how your Google Photos look and feel. I’m going to show you how to change your Google Photos from high quality to original. So let’s dive right in!

First things first, why would you want to make this change? Well, here’s the thing. When you upload your photos to Google Photos, by default, they’re compressed to a slightly lower quality to save space. Now, for everyday use, this might not make much of a difference. But if you’re a photography enthusiast or someone who values maximum quality, you might want to have your photos stored and displayed in their original, uncompressed form.

So, how do we go about making this change? It’s actually quite simple. Just follow these steps:

Step 1: Open Google Photos on your device. You can do this by opening the app on your mobile device or by visiting photos.google.com on your computer.

Step 2: Once you’re in, tap on the three horizontal lines at the top left corner of the screen. This will open the side menu.

Step 3: In the side menu, you’ll see a “Settings” option. Tap on it to enter the settings.

Step 4: Inside the settings, look for “Back up & sync” and tap on it. This is where we can make the necessary changes.

Step 5: Under “Upload size,” you’ll see two options: “High quality (free unlimited storage)” and “Original quality (limited storage).” Tap on “Original quality” to switch to the uncompressed, full-quality option.

Step 6: Once you’ve selected “Original quality,” Google Photos will let you know how much storage space you have available and how much space your photos will now occupy. Take a moment to review this information and make sure you have enough storage for your needs.

Step 7: Finally, tap on the “Confirm” button to save the changes. And that’s it!

Now, when you upload new photos to Google Photos, they will be stored and displayed in their original, high-quality form. It’s worth mentioning that this change will only affect the new photos you upload; any photos you’ve previously uploaded in high quality will remain in that format.

So there you have it! A simple guide on how to change your Google Photos from high quality to original. I hope this helps you get the most out of your Google Photos experience. Enjoy capturing and preserving your memories in their full glory!

When it comes to uploading images and videos, different files require different sizes. If I have less important images, I can compress them to make room for more important and bigger files.

Google Photos gives me the option to upload images in different sizes, depending on my needs. However, once I choose a smaller size, it can be difficult, or even impossible, to convert it back to better quality. Unless I have the original image saved on my computer, of course.

In this article, I will explain the difference between the image quality options in Google Photos and how to upgrade the quality.

The Difference in Google Photos Upload Size

When I decide to back up my images to Google Photos, I have three different size options to choose from – Express backup, Original quality, and High quality.

The Express backup is the latest option, allowing me to compress large images and use less storage. It has unlimited free storage and backs up the images quickly. It reduces the image quality to 3MP and video quality to 480p, while still keeping a near-original quality and saving space.

If I choose High quality, it requires more storage than the previous option. I can maintain the original quality of the photos and videos up to 16MP and 1080p. However, larger items will be compressed to fit this size.

If I want to keep all my images the way they are, I should pick the Original size. All the items will be stored in the same definition and resolution. This is the best option if I want to store and print banners, posters, or high-quality graphics.

How to Change Google Photos from High Quality to Original on Your PC

As I mentioned earlier, Google Photos doesn’t have an option to automatically upgrade the quality of my photos. If I want to change the quality of the images already in my library, I have to remove them and upload them again.

Before I proceed with the process, I should make sure I have the images in the original quality saved on my computer. If I don’t, I won’t be able to complete the process.

Here are the steps to follow:

1. Go to Google Photos
2. Choose ‘Original’ upload size.
3. Go to your Google Photos library.
4. Click the ‘Select’ (checkmark) icon at the top-left of the first picture.
5. Hold the ‘Shift’ key and click on a different picture to select a range. If I want to select all the pictures at once, I may have to scroll all the way down to the last picture.
6. Click the ‘Delete’ (trash can) icon at the top right.
7. Confirm the removal of the image when prompted.
   
8. Click the ‘menu’ icon (three horizontal dots) at the top-left of the screen.
9. Select the ‘Trash’ tab.
10. Select the ‘Empty Trash’ option at the top-right.
11. Restart your computer.

If the folders of the original images on my PC are synced with Google Photos, they should automatically upload in the original quality back to the Cloud.

How to Change Google Photos from High Quality to Original on Phone

If I have an Android or Apple iOS device, the process of upgrading photo quality is similar. I just need to make sure I have photos of the original quality on my device. Before I start the process, I should double-check if I have duplicates of all the backed-up photos because I’m going to delete them all from my Google Photos library.

Here are the instructions to follow:

1. Launch your Google Photos app.
2. Tap the ‘menu’ icon (three horizontal dots) on the top-left of the screen.
3. Tap your account name.
4. Select ‘Manage accounts on this device.’
   
5. Find your account among the listed accounts.
6. Select ‘Remove account.’

Now I will only see the photos that are stored locally on my device’s storage.

1. Remove all photos from the device and empty the trash (follow steps 4-7 from the previous section).
2. Go to ‘menu’ once again.
3. Select ‘Add another account.’
4. Enter my credentials.
5. Enable Backup & sync.
   
6. Tap ‘Next.’
7. Select ‘Original’ quality.
   
8. Confirm my choice.

Now all the locally stored images and videos will be uploaded again, but this time in their original quality.

Downgrading from Original to High-Quality

If for some reason I want to reduce the quality of my backed-up photos to High quality, the process is fairly easy. However, before I proceed, I should keep in mind that I will lose all the Original-quality photos. If I don’t have them saved anywhere else, it would be wise to back them up to my local storage.

Here are the steps to follow:

1. Go to the Google Photos Settings page.
2. Select the ‘Recover storage’ button.
3. Select ‘Compress’ when prompted.

This will convert all the Original quality photos to High quality and free up as much space as possible. Note: this can only be done with all the images at once. I can’t select individual images for this conversion.

Better Double than Sorry

When I’m upgrading and downgrading a large number of photos and videos, there’s always a risk of losing some items if I’m not careful. That’s why it’s important to double-check and compare my backed-up files with the ones on my local storage. It’s better to make duplicates of files before I proceed to delete everything from my Google Photos.

Have you ever lost an important photo or video because you thought it was backed up? Share your experiences in the comments section below.