Samsung Gallery has been one of my favorite parts of using a Galaxy phone, especially because it works so seamlessly with Microsoft OneDrive.
I can keep my photos in the familiar Gallery app while OneDrive quietly handles the cloud side.
Unfortunately, that convenient setup is ending on September 30, 2026.
That means Galaxy users who depend on this integration have a decision to make, and thankfully, there are a few ways to prepare before the deadline.
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What is actually ending on September 30
Your existing photos are safe
Starting from September 30, Samsung is ending the direct sync connection between Samsung Gallery and OneDrive.
Both apps will still exist, but the integration that made the two services feel like a single photo library is disappearing.
As of now, I can open Samsung Gallery and see photos and videos stored locally alongside content synced with OneDrive without jumping between apps.
The good news is that I don’t need to panic about years of photos suddenly disappearing on September 30.
Anything already uploaded to my OneDrive account will remain there.
I will still be able to access those photos through the OneDrive app, the web, my Windows PC, and any other device connected to the same Microsoft account.
After Gallery sync ends, those cloud-only files will no longer automatically appear inside Samsung Gallery.
If I want photos or videos available locally, I’ll download the originals before the cutoff.
Because after September 30, that experience becomes more fragmented.
Samsung Gallery can remain my main app for browsing photos stored on my phone, but if I want to dig through older images that exist only in OneDrive, I will need to open the OneDrive app.
Stick with OneDrive and enable Camera backup
Ideal for Microsoft 365 subscribers
The easiest workaround is to keep using OneDrive, but switch from Samsung Gallery sync to OneDrive’s Camera backup feature.
It is not quite the same experience as before, but it does the most important job: my new photos and videos end up safely in the cloud.
Setting it up is straightforward. I open the OneDrive app, tap my profile picture, head into Settings, and select Camera backup.
From there, I can include videos in backups, make sure my media uploads over Wi-Fi only (to avoid mobile data usage in the background), and select specific device folders to upload.
I can avoid folders like screenshots and WhatsApp, so my OneDrive gallery remains clean and free of unnecessary photos.
There is also an option to organize all the media files by year and month.
The trade-off is that these backed-up photos no longer feel like a native extension of Samsung Gallery.
Still, this option makes sense to me if I am paying for Microsoft 365.
Most Microsoft 365 Personal plans include 1TB of OneDrive storage, which is more generous than the free tiers of most competing cloud services.
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Google Photos is another obvious alternative
Test the new setup before September 30
If you decide that losing the OneDrive integration is a good excuse to simplify your setup, Google Photos is the most obvious alternative.
It works well on Android, and unlike OneDrive, it is built around managing and backing up photos rather than general cloud storage.
Setting it up only takes a minute. Go to Google Photos settings, select Backup, and enable media backup for your account.
Similar to OneDrive, you have several options for customizing the experience and keeping irrelevant photos and videos out of your Google Photos library.
This option becomes even more compelling if you pay for Google’s AI services.
The current Google AI Pro plan includes 5TB of storage shared across Google Photos, Gmail, and Google Drive.
So, you have plenty of room for a large photo library without paying for a separate backup service.
Still, this does not recreate the old Samsung Gallery and OneDrive relationship.
But if you use Gmail, Drive, Gemini, and other Google services every day, moving your photo backup there feels like a natural alternative rather than a major compromise.
Keep your photos safe after September
The end of Samsung Gallery’s OneDrive integration is frustrating, but it doesn’t mean I need to rethink my entire photo backup setup.
OneDrive Camera backup can still protect every new photo I take, and Google Photos remains another solid alternative if I want a more photo-focused cloud experience.
What I will miss is the convenience of having everything appear inside Samsung Gallery without thinking about where those files live.
If you rely on this integration today, I don’t recommend waiting until September 30.