Years worth of photos disappearing from Gallery
Years worth of pictures have disappeared from both my Samsung S25+ gallery and Google Photos account with no warning.
I'm currently vacationing in China (don't know if that's relevant, but context is provided just in case. My VPN is currently working). I opened my phone today (May 10, 2026) and noticed that basically every single photo from 2018 to 2024 has disappeared from both my Samsung gallery and Google Photos. Some videos were left behind but everything else has vanished without a trace.
Backup to OneDrive is turned on for my Samsung, and my Gallery app is also synced to Google photos. I'm guessing this is where the issue lies but I have no idea where to fix it. There is nothing found in the Trash folder for either app. I've also checked my secure folder on my Samsung and looked for hidden folders to no avail.
I've also noticed other posts here with similar problems with no solutions. I haven't been able to contact support (there's an error that pops up with submission).
What else could I do? Has anyone else had this problem and found a fix? How do I recover photos that seem to have mysteriously vanished? Any advice would be gladly appreciated.