4 Fixes for Google Photos Unable to Save Changes Error

Quick Tips

• Modify the background data usage and battery usage settings for the Google Photos app.
• Uninstall and reinstall Google Photos. Go to Settings > Apps > Google Photos > three dots > Uninstall updates.
• You can move images from the SD card to internal storage using the Files app on your Android phone.

Basic Fixes

• Clear cache for Google Photos: Open Google Photos app info > tap on Storage and cache > Clear cache.
• Force quit and relaunch the Photos app: This will give the app a fresh start on your phone.

Fix 1: Uninstall Updates and Reinstall Google Photos

Check that the Google Photos app installed on your device is up-to-date. Some versions of the app had bugs that prevented images from being edited and saved, particularly on SD cards. Google’s new app updates should fix these bugs.

Step 1: Open Settings > Apps > Google Photos.

Step 2: Tap the three dots at the top right and select Uninstall updates.

Step 3: Close Settings and open Play Store to reinstall the Google Photos app.

Fix 2: Modify Background Battery & Data Usage

For some reason, refusing Google Photos background access to your device’s internet and battery could cause some features of the app to malfunction. We found that some users could eliminate the “Unable to save changes” error by enabling Background data usage and disabling Background restriction for Google Photos.

Enable Background Data Usage

Step 1: Open Google Photos app info > Mobile data and Wi-Fi.

Step 2: Enable Unrestricted Data Usage.

Disable Background Restriction

Open Google Photos app info > Battery > select Unrestricted.

Temporarily disabling Battery Saver could also help fix this issue. You can turn off the Android Battery Saver from the notification panel or by navigating to Settings > Battery > Battery Saver > Turn Off Now.

Fix 3: Modify Storage Location

We also discovered that this error majorly affects images stored on external storage (SD card). Luckily, there are two workarounds. First, configure the app’s storage location to your device’s internal storage. See method #5 for the second workaround.

Follow the steps below to change the Google Photos storage location.

Step 1: Open Google Photos > profile icon > Photos Settings.

Step 2: Select SD Card Access and tap on Get Started.

Step 3: Tap the hamburger menu icon and select your phone’s name/internal storage.

Step 4: Finally, tap the Allow Access to [Phone Name] button and tap Allow on the confirmation prompt.

That will give the Photos app access to your device’s internal storage and subsequently store edited photos in the said location.

Fix 4: Move Images From SD Card to Internal Storage

This is another effective troubleshooting fix for Google Photos ‘Unable to save changes’ error. Since the app won’t edit images on the SD card, moving the image(s) you want to edit from the SD card to your device’s internal storage will do the trick. Here’s how to do it.

Step 1: Launch the Files app and select the image or image folder you want to move.

Step 2: Tap the three-dotted menu icon at the top right and tap Select all.

Step 3: Tap the three-dotted menu icon again and select Move to.

Step 4: Finally, select Internal Storage and wait for the images to be moved.

Tip: Refer to our post if the Google Photos Save to Device feature is not working.