Forum Discussion
OneDrive changing dates
I have an S24 ultra with pictures dating back to 2001 till the current day. I have thousands of family photos that I was able to gather and organize, and wanted them to be synced with OneDrive so I can access them on my PC and my phone. I decided to get OneDrive to be able to upload ALL of my gallery to OneDrive however, I noticed that around 80% of everything getting uploaded has its dates changed to the time it was uploaded, while a handful remains accurate. I made sure it wasn't the way I was viewing the folder and files, and checked the properties/info of the files and saw that all the dates and data were changed. Is there any way to fix this or prevent this from happening?
4 Replies
This happens because the OneDrive mobile app preserves file modified date, not the original photo taken date (EXIF metadata), during upload. Many gallery apps show the EXIF date, but OneDrive defaults to the upload/modified timestamp. The original capture date is usually still in the photo’s EXIF metadata, but OneDrive doesn’t expose it in file properties. There’s no setting to change this behavior—your options are to use the OneDrive “Camera Upload” feature (which usually preserves taken date better), or upload via PC sync/Photos app so EXIF dates are respected. If dates are already wrong, you’d need a tool to reset file system dates from EXIF data after upload.
I just discovered that my photo "timeline" now goes back to 1900 - Dates are all out of sorts. Obviously, I could NOT have uploaded any photo in 1900?? Please can someone give me advice? Thanks!
I had the same issue but I've found a way around it.
I have switched off OneDrive's camera backup and instead use the android app "OneSync" (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ttxapps.onesyncv2&hl=en-US) - it allows you to sync between your android phone/tablet and OneDrive, selecting any folder you choose and can sync bothways or upload/download only!
If any photos are then in the wrong date order on OneDrive, you can use "Photo Exif Editor" android app (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.xnano.android.photoexifeditor&hl=en-US) to correct the "Captured time" to the date taken or add the correct date if it is missing, making sure that you tick the box "Set the last modified date to the captured date"
OneDrive Mobile App is not ideal for keeping metadata intact — especially when it uploads in bulk.
When you upload photos to OneDrive from your phone — especially in bulk — OneDrive sometimes replaces the original “Date Taken” with the “Date Modified” or Upload Date.
This happens because:
OneDrive Mobile App (especially Android) doesn’t always preserve metadata on upload.
File system date (Created / Modified) is not always the same as the EXIF metadata (the real "Date Taken").
Depending on how the files are uploaded (manually, camera roll sync, or drag-and-drop), OneDrive may use the date of upload instead of the embedded metadata.
DO NOT use "Camera Upload" via OneDrive for your existing photo archive.
Instead:
Install the OneDrive desktop app on your PC or Mac.
Connect your phone via USB or use an SD card adapter.
Copy the photos manually into a local folder that’s synced with OneDrive (like Pictures > Family Archive).
That way, Windows will preserve the original EXIF “Date Taken”.
This avoids OneDrive Mobile stripping dates or modifying metadata during upload.
If You Still Want to Use Mobile Upload.
Try using the Google Photos app to back up the originals (it preserves date metadata better), then sync from Google Photos to PC, and upload that set to OneDrive from desktop.
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Hope this will help you.
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