Jan 27, 2024 • Filed to: Take Data Backup • Proven solutions
If you have been using an Android device for a while, then you might be familiar with Google Photos. The freely available service lets us back up our pictures to the Drive and even manage them easily. Though, there are times when Google Photos says the preparing backup is stuck and can’t proceed. Since there could be different reasons for this problem, I have come up with a dedicated guide to fix it. Without much ado, let’s proceed and learn how to fix the Google Photos stuck on preparing backup issue.
One of the most common reasons for Google Photos stuck on preparing backup is a bad or unstable network. Therefore, before making any drastic changes on your device, just go to its Settings > WiFi and connect to a network with a stable connection.
If you want, you can reset the connectivity on your phone with the Airplane Mode. Just go to the Control Center/Settings and enable the Airplane Mode. Afterward, wait for a while and disable the Airplane Mode, which would automatically reset its connectivity.
Are you using an old or outdated version of Google Photos on your phone? Well, this could be a major reason for Google Photos stuck on preparing backup. Thankfully, this issue can easily be fixed by updating the Google Photos app on the device.
All you need to do is launch the App Store or Play Store app on your phone and look for Google Photos. After opening the Google Photos app, just tap on the “Update” button and wait for a while as the app would be upgraded to the latest stable version.
A lot of users take the assistance of cellular data (instead of WiFi) to take a backup of their photos. Though, Google Photos could have restricted the uploading of photos on cellular data, causing the issue.
Therefore, if Google Photos says that the preparing backup is stuck, then just launch the app and go to its Settings. Now, visit the Backup & Sync settings and manually enable the uploading of Photos under the Cellular Data section.
Well, sometimes this simplest method can fix an issue like Google Photos preparing backup stuck on your device. This is because when we restart a smartphone, its power cycle resets that can automatically fix minor issues in it.
Simply long-press the Power key on your Android or iOS device. Now, on iOS devices, you need to swipe the power slider while on Android phones, you have to tap on the “Restart” button. Wait for a while as your Android phone would automatically be restarted. On the other hand, iPhone users have to long-press the Power key again to restart their device.
This is an ideal fix for resolving the Google Photos preparing backup being stuck on Android phones. If there is a lot of cache and user data being accumulated on Google Photos, then it can tamper with its processing.
Therefore, if Google Photos says the preparing backup is stuck, then simply go to your phone’s Settings > Apps/App Info and select Google Photos. From here, you can just remove its cache data or clear its storage. Afterward, launch Google Photos again and try uploading your photos.
As Google only provides 15 GB of free space for every account, it might get exhausted after a while. Thus, if there is not enough space on your Google account, then it can make the Google Photos stuck on preparing backup.
Simply launch the Google Photos app on your device and go to its Settings > Backup & Sync to check the available space on your account. If you want, you can tap on the “Buy Storage” button to upgrade your Google account.
Another smart way to fix the Google Photos preparing backup being stuck is a quick reset of your Google account. For instance, if your Google account has some issues, is blocked, or its security is compromised, then you can encounter unwanted issues with it.
At first, just launch the Google Photos app and go to its Backup/Account settings. Here, tap on your Google account and log out of the Google Photos app. Now, you can log-in to your Google account again to reset it.
These days, several Android/iOS phones come with a battery or low power mode. When it is turned on, it can automatically optimize the phone’s processing and stop certain operations (like the uploading of data to Google Photos).
You can just connect your device to a stable power source and disable its Battery Saver/Low Power mode. Android users can go to the Control Center or Settings of their phone, find the Battery Save mode, and turn it off. If you use an iPhone, then you can visit its Settings > Battery and toggle off the Low Power Mode on the device.
Lastly, the Google Photos preparing backup stuck can also happen due to a faulty or corrupt application. The easiest way to fix this is by reinstalling the Google Photos app on your device.
You can just long-tap on the Google Photos app on the home screen and uninstall it from here. If you want, you can also go to your phone’s Settings > Apps > Google Photos to uninstall it. Afterward, restart your device and go to the App/Play Store to install Google Photos on your device again.
As you can see, using Google Photos to back up your data can be tiresome, and it has several restrictions. Therefore, you can consider using Wondershare UBackit as it provides a hassle-free and smart solution to back up and restore your data.
Now when you know what to do if Google Photos says preparing backup is stuck, you can easily fix this issue. As you can see, I have included different device and app-related solutions to resolve the Google Photos preparing backup stuck issue. Though, if Google Photos is not working and you are looking for a better option, then consider trying Wondershare UBackit. A reliable application, it can be used to back up your data to any location, manage different versions, and restore it however you want.
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Amy Dennis
staff Editor