You can still get unlimited Google Photos storage with a $100 original Pixel

Published Nov 12, 2026, 9:00 AM EST Ismar is a Senior Author at How-To Geek. He previously worked as a writer, editor, and general manager at a content agency before joining the team in 2023. He began his writing career in 2021 after completing a BA in English Language and Literature. Beyond How-To Geek, Ismar has contributed to Red Stag Fulfillment and Authority Hacker. He has also worked on various SEO projects to help clients improve their search visibility. Ismar has been around Windows PCs since the age of three, so friends and family naturally chose him as the resident tech support. His projects often involve tinkering, such as disassembling mechanical keyboards and gaming mice to mod his beloved gear. He also enjoys pushing hardware to the max through overclocking while staying on a reasonable budget. An avid gamer, Ismar has logged thousands of hours across various genres, including first-person shooters, RPGs, racing games, and roguelites. When he is not at his desk, he is probably exploring other people’s phones to discover their quirks and features or experimenting with the latest AI tools. In his free time, Ismar enjoys spending time with his wife, working out at the gym, playing guitar and bass, cooking gourmet meals, and traveling. Above all else, he’s a proud cat owner. If you take a lot of photos on your phone, there's a good chance you also pay for cloud storage to keep them safe. After all, having all those memories automatically backed up to Google Photos or some other service is worth a few bucks a month for the peace of mind. But what if I told you there's a way to get unlimited Google Photos storage that even retains the original photo and video quality? All it takes to get it is a second-hand first-generation Pixel, which you can find on Facebook Marketplace or eBay for around $100. The first-generation Pixel came with unlimited original quality Google Photos storage, and you can get it too There'll never be another deal like this When Google released the first Pixel, the company leaned heavily into its unique position to ensure a successful launch. The phone got some exclusive software features, like extensive Google Assistant integration, but none stood out quite as much as unlimited and seemingly indefinite photo and video backups to Google Photos in Original quality. This exclusive feature also applies to the Pixel XL. The first-generation Pixel isn't even all that rare or expensive, which adds to its appeal. I did a quick search on eBay and found dozens of listings for the phone in the $100 to $200 range. For people with a large photo and video library, this could be a pretty decent investment. 100GB of Google One storage costs $1.99/month, while 200GB costs around $2.99/month. If you already have 200GB worth of images to back up, with more to come, a $100 Pixel could pay for itself in around three years. That said, if you're willing to hunt for a deal and check local listings on Facebook Marketplace and other sites, I'm sure you can find the Pixel for even cheaper. The original Pixel is 10 full years old at this point, so unless the seller is aware of this "infinite cloud storage glitch," they'll probably be willing to sell this ancient device for a few bucks. Google dropped this perk for subsequent Pixel phones, though not entirely. The Pixel 2 and Pixel 3 got unlimited Original quality storage until a deadline (which expired years ago), after which it was switched to unlimited Storage saver quality. The Pixel 3 through Pixel 5 only got unlimited Storage saver space. Storage saver is a major downgrade, as it scales down photos above 16MP to 16MP and videos above 1080p to 1080p. It also compresses the files by roughly 30% to 75% to save space while keeping the impact on visual quality relatively minimal. That said, the perk could still make one of these newer Pixels worth picking up if the price is right. Of course, the original Pixel remains by far the best choice, as it's the only one that retains unlimited Original quality backups. Google still honors this unique storage perk for all these devices, which means you could pick any of them up to take advantage of unlimited storage. There are a few quirks you should be aware of before you buy one Some things you should be aware of before buying The best part about this unlimited cloud storage perk is that it's tied to the phone, not the original owner's Google account. So, even if you buy a used Pixel today, you can take advantage of its unlimited Google Photos storage by simply logging into your own Google account on the phone. Photos uploaded from your other devices count toward your Google account's storage limit (which is 15GB for free accounts), but anything you upload from the Pixel is exempt. And you don't even have to take photos and videos with the original Pixel, which is why this hack is so exciting in the first place. Any photo or video you transfer to the Pixel can be synced to Google Photos. Let's be honest: no one would care about unlimited photo and video cloud storage if the quality were tied to a 10-year-old phone camera. As far as hardware, the main limiting factor is going to be the Pixel's internal storage, especially on the 32GB base model. You'll have to delete files from the folder every now and then to make sure it can continue uploading. Other problems you might run into with such an old device include random software issues and crashes that pause or interrupt file and cloud syncing, overheating, and battery degradation. A fresh battery or even an advanced mod to bypass it altogether could be worth the investment. People are turning these old original Pixels into dedicated Google Photos servers Taking the home server approach People are slowly catching on to this trend, and some enthusiasts have already turned the original Pixel into a dedicated photo backup server that uploads tens of gigabytes every month. One Reddit user who takes a lot of photos generates up to 100GB of media every month and keeps their Pixel permanently plugged in and sitting on top of an air purifier to keep it cool during lengthy uploads. Another Reddit user removed the swollen battery, replaced it with a DC converter, attached a copper plate for cooling, and added a USB hub to expand the phone's storage capacity for easier uploads. While bypassing the battery is a more advanced project, you could simply replace it or have someone do it for you, then keep the phone in a cool place to run as your home server. The most important part of making this setup work is automating the upload process itself. Third-party apps like Syncthing and Resilio Sync allow you to create folders that automatically synchronize between your devices. Nothing is stopping you from setting up your main phone, PC, laptop, tablet, your family's phones, and even your NAS to sync with the original Pixel and have it automatically upload photos to the cloud. The math checks out, but Google could eventually pull the plug While buying a used first-generation Pixel can be a smart investment that essentially unlocks free cloud photo and video storage, you should be aware that Google could discontinue this perk at any point. Google's Terms of Service reserve the right to change or discontinue services, although material changes generally come with reasonable advance notice and an opportunity to export your content through Google Takeout. Depending on how Google handles such a change, future uploads could lose their unlimited storage benefit, and existing photos could potentially be affected as well. I'd recommend keeping another backup of your photos rather than relying entirely on this perk.