The new line of Samsung devices, especially the Galaxy S20 smartphone, comes with access to Samsung’s free cloud storage solution: Samsung Cloud. Like any cloud storage service, Samsung Cloud enables you to store files from your Samsung device remotely and perform many other cloud-based functions.
When your purchase a new Samsung device, you gain access to 15GB of free cloud storage (Although Verizon devices and their customers are exempt from this free storage). Samsung cloud is well integrated into Samsung devices, and as such, you can easily back up your phone or keep any files that you deem important on the cloud. You can store virtually any file on this storage system. Data from Samsung apps such as contacts and calendars that come preloaded with the device do not count on the 15GB quota. Also, device data stored on the cloud is not counted. When data from these sources are stored on the cloud, it is called sync. When data from other sources are uploaded, it is dubbed a backup. To give you an idea, here’s the difference between the two categories of data.
Sync:
Calendar, Contacts, Samsung Internet, Samsung Keyboard, S Notes, Samsung Notes, Samsung Pass, Gallery, and Reminder.
Backup:
Calendar events, contacts on the sim card and phone, call logs, clock settings, home screen layouts, apps, settings, messages, music, voice recordings, and documents.
WhatsApp messages and photos are not included in these automatic processes, so you’ll have to manually locate and upload your WhatsApp data if you want to store them on Samsung Cloud. The service also has a 1GB file size limit. Basically, this means that any file larger than 1000 megabytes can’t be uploaded.
How to use Samsung Cloud
To save your data using this service, go to the cloud and accounts in your device settings, select Samsung Cloud and manage your data immediately. This will make Samsung automatically handle storing the data listed above. Once you’ve backed up any data, you will be able to check your cloud usage, back up your data, restore it, and sync data across multiple devices except external storage (there’s no support for microSD cards). Any Samsung device older than the Galaxy S6 does not have support for this service. Your Samsung cloud account isn’t linked to the device itself but your ID or email address. This means that you can easily access Samsung Cloud storage via a browser at www.support.samsungcloud.com. However, you won’t add files to the cloud when using a browser, as that can only be done via your phone or tablet.
Should I use Samsung Cloud?
It all boils down to this question, doesn’t it? And truth be told, the answer is probably a no. Samsung cloud has several factors weighing against it. Samsung cloud offers additional storage for special subscription plans. The service charges $0.99 monthly for 50GB and $2.99 monthly for 200GB with no special discounts given for annual subscriptions. This price tag isn’t outrageous, but it’s quite expensive compared to other providers like Google that charge $1.99 per month for the 100GB tier and $7.99 for the 1TB tier on Google Drive. Other providers give even lower prices, like iDrive Personal, which provides 5TB of storage for just over $3.50 annually. Another downside with the Samsung cloud is the space available on it. Samsung’s latest devices boast up to 1TB internal storage and can accommodate another 1TB storage via a microSD card. The 50GB that Samsung offers on the cloud won’t store even 10% of the information that can fit in these devices.
Samsung cloud’s negative features have affected its use, and now, Samsung is replacing some important Samsung Cloud services with OneDrive. As of late 2020, New Samsung users won’t register for certain Samsung Cloud functions. Since its release, Samsung cloud’s days have been numbered. This is all more evident now as Samsung has announced that Samsung Cloud will soon no longer support Gallery Sync or Drive storage for My Files users. By June 31 of 2021, the support for Gallery sync and Drive storage will officially come to an end. Once support officially ends, Samsung will delete any Gallery Sync or Drive storage data left on Samsung Cloud accounts.
The future isn’t bleak for Samsung cloud users as the company isn’t abandoning its customers without a capable cloud storage alternative. In the termination notice of the Samsung cloud, the company clarifies that Gallery Sync and Drive storage will now be supported and handled by Samsung’s partner, Microsoft OneDrive. OneDrive has better cloud storage options and is overall better than the Samsung cloud. This integration has been in the works for a little over a year before the official announcement.
Microsoft increases the OneDrive file limit to 100GB, up from 15GB.
The shutdown will be staggered in different regions
The termination of the Samsung cloud is split into three distinct phases. The first: new users will be stopped from registering for the services, and a migration tool for OneDrive will become available. After this, all migration support will end, and the remaining premium storage subscriptions will be automatically refunded. At the end of it all, Samsung will pull the plug and wipe remnant data.