Your missing photos or videos may not be backed up to Google Photos. Your backup settings are important to how and when Google Photos backs up your items.
Review backup settings
- Open Google Photos
.
- At the top, tap your account profile photo or initial
Photos settings
.
- Tap Back up.
- Check your settings:
- Back up: Make sure "Back up" is turned on.
- Backup account: Make sure you back up your photos and videos to the right Google Account.
- Back up device folders: If you want to find photos and videos on your Android phone from other apps or devices in your Google Photos Account, make sure you turn on your available device folders.
- When to back up: Make sure you know when Google Photos backs up your photos and videos. You can choose to back up items over mobile data.
Photos settings 
.Tip: If you use an iPhone or iPad, do not quit the Google Photos app while it’s backing up items.
For more help, ask the Google Photos Community.
Check your overall backup status
Important: If backup is on and you have enough storage, you can find the backup status at the top.
- On your device, open Google Photos
- At the top, check the backup status.
- Google Photos
- Preparing backup: Backup is starting.
- Backing up photos: Backup is in process.
- Backup complete
: Backup is done.
- Backup stopped
: Backup is currently paused.
- Google Photos
- To learn more, tap the status.
- Optional:
- Turn on mobile data: If you can’t access Wi-Fi, you can use mobile data to start backup.
- Notify me: Enable notifications to receive Photos updates about backup and other features.
- To exit, tap Close
.
: Backup is done.
.Check photo or video backup status
- On your device, open Google Photos
- Scroll to find photos you want to check.
- At the bottom right of each thumbnail, backed up photos or videos are tagged with Backed up
. Photos that aren’t backed up don’t have this icon.
- At the bottom right of each thumbnail, backed up photos or videos are tagged with Backed up