Photos sync - where did the files recover to? I decided to try out Google's "Photos" sync, which can be enabled under account settings. After the sync finished, I did a factory reset on the device and let it restore the photos. It apparently did - they are viewable through the Google "Photos" app.

However, I can't find the files anywhere. Originally they were split into two files: DCIM/Camera and DCIM/Test. Now, DCIM is empty and, when viewing the entire set of thumbnails, it tells me there are no "Collections".

I most certainly expected it to restore the photos in the same structure as they were originally. Not only are the two subdirectories gone, I can't even find the png files. What am I not understanding?

I did this on a Moto G, running Android 6.0
From the photos app, you can't recover onto your device. You can only view them , the restore option is a misnomer as it does not really restore to your device:

From Google help, where a similar question is answered. This thread is recent and makes it clear that there is no way one can directly restore photos using the app. Options are:


Use the Google Drive app to select and download the photos. Using a file manager, copy the photos in downloads to the directory you wish to (see Nicholas post of 11 Jun)
From the Photos app, select and download ( of course, you will need to move them using a file manager - Krissy post of Jan 01)
Use a PC to download from drive and move into desired folders or use third party apps that can facilitate downloading from the photos app