PicHaven

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Answer a question or two and we'll show you the right steps.

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Setting up PicHaven

PicHaven has two parts, an app on the Windows PC and an app on the Android phone. Where are you right now?

Set up in two minutes

Start on the PC where your photos should live.

  1. On the PC, open pichaven.app and install PicHaven from the Microsoft Store.
  2. The “Set up PicHaven” assistant starts. Choose the target folder or keep the suggestion.
  3. At the “Firewall” step, click Allow and confirm the Windows prompt with Yes. Without it the phone cannot get through to the PC.
  4. At the end the PC shows a QR code. Scan it with your phone's camera. It takes you to the phone app on Google Play.
  5. Install the app, open it, tap Connect PC and scan the code on the PC again.

Done. The first backup starts by itself. It is faster on the charger.

The phone app needs its partner on the PC

Your photos end up on your PC, so PicHaven needs a small app there. It is free.

  1. Go to the PC where the photos should live and open pichaven.app in its browser.
  2. Install PicHaven from the Microsoft Store and follow the assistant. At the “Firewall” step, click Allow.
  3. At the end the PC shows a QR code. In PicHaven on the phone, tap Connect PC and scan it.

The first backup

The first time, your whole photo collection goes to the PC. With a few thousand photos and videos that can take an hour or longer. The app shows how much is left.

  • It is fastest with the phone on the charger and the PC not going to sleep.
  • If the backup is interrupted, it continues at the same spot next time. Nothing is transferred twice.
  • The first backup is always free, however large, even if it takes several attempts.

Connecting doesn't work

What happens when you scan the QR code on the PC?

The camera opens a web page

That is intended while the app is not on the phone yet: the page takes you to the installation.

If the app is already installed, open it yourself, tap Connect PC and scan the code there. That always works, even if a web page opens instead of the app, for example because the link was opened inside a messenger.

“The code has expired”

A QR code is valid for ten minutes and for one phone only. The window on the PC regularly shows a new one.

Scan the code that is on the PC right now, not a photo or screenshot of it. If the window is closed: right-click the house icon at the bottom right → Connect a new device…

“Is this the same phone?”

A phone with exactly this name is already connected to the PC. That happens, for example, with two identical phones in one family.

  • Yes, same phone, if you reinstalled the app on this phone. It keeps its folder and its backup so far.
  • No, another one, if it really is a second phone. Give it its own name, for example “Anna's Galaxy”. Its photos get their own folder on the PC.

“That was not a PicHaven code”

Scan the QR code from the PicHaven window on the PC. The app doesn't know any other QR codes.

If it says so for the right code too, the phone app is probably older than the PC app. Update PicHaven on Google Play and try again.

The scanner stays black

PicHaven is probably not allowed to use the camera.

  1. On the phone, open Settings → Apps → PicHaven → Permissions.
  2. Allow Camera.

Or scan the code with the phone's normal camera app. That connects just the same.

Windows warns during installation

The installer from the website is not digitally signed yet, so Windows shows “Windows protected your PC”.

The version from the Microsoft Store is easier: Microsoft has checked it, there is no warning, and updates come by themselves. The link is on pichaven.app.

If you still want the installer: More info → Run anyway.

“Your device isn't compatible with this version”

PicHaven needs Android 10 or newer. You can see your phone's version under Settings → About phone → Android version.

If your phone is older, the app unfortunately cannot be installed on it. You can still use the PC part with a newer phone.

No Windows PC

The PC app is currently available for Windows 10 and 11 only. We don't support Mac or Linux yet.

If you'd like PicHaven for Mac, write to [email protected]. Every message counts towards the decision.

The phone can't find the PC

Most often the PC is simply off or PicHaven isn't running there. Look at the bottom right of the PC next to the clock: is there a small house icon? Sometimes it hides behind the ^ arrow.

The PC is off or asleep

That's fine. PicHaven looks for the PC about every 15 minutes. As soon as it is on and you are signed in, the backup catches up by itself.

Only for the first large backup is it worth leaving the PC on for a while: Settings → System → Power and set sleep to Never for the time being.

Start PicHaven on the PC

  1. On the PC, open the Start menu, type “PicHaven” and start the app.
  2. The house icon appears at the bottom right. On the phone, tap Search again.

So that this happens by itself from now on: under Settings → Apps → Startup, PicHaven must be switched on.

Are phone and PC on the same network?

The phone must be on the same Wi-Fi the PC is connected to. If the PC is plugged into the router by cable, that's fine.

Not the same network are, for example, a guest Wi-Fi, a repeater with its own network name or mobile data.

Put the phone on the right Wi-Fi

  1. On the phone, open Settings → Wi-Fi and connect to your normal home Wi-Fi, not the guest network.
  2. If you have several network names at home (for example from a repeater), use the same one as the PC. The PC shows which one at the bottom right at the Wi-Fi icon.
  3. In PicHaven, tap Search again.

Some routers deliberately keep Wi-Fi devices apart. On a FRITZ!Box the setting is along the lines of “Wi-Fi devices may communicate with each other”; it must be switched on.

Does the PC let the phone through?

Open the PicHaven settings on the PC: right-click the house icon → Settings…

Is there a yellow notice at the top saying “Windows Firewall is blocking incoming connections”?

Windows Firewall is blocking

  1. Click Allow in the yellow notice.
  2. Windows asks for administrator permission. Confirm with Yes.
  3. The notice disappears. On the phone, tap Search again.

The rule applies to PicHaven only, and every connection is still checked against your phone's key.

If you don't have administrator rights (on a work PC, for example), use the version from the Microsoft Store: it brings its own firewall rule.

What else can be in the way

  • Antivirus with its own firewall (for example Norton, Kaspersky, Bitdefender, ESET): set your home network to “private” or “trusted” there, or allow PicHaven.
  • VPN on the phone or the PC: switch it off at home for a moment, or allow access to the local network in the VPN app.
  • New router or new IP address: quit PicHaven on the PC (right-click the house icon → Quit) and start it again.

Connect again

If nothing else helps, connect phone and PC once more. Nothing is lost on the PC, and photos that are already backed up are not transferred again.

  1. On the phone: ⋮ → Disconnect from PC.
  2. On the PC: right-click the house icon → Connect a new device…
  3. On the phone: Connect PC and scan the code. If the app asks “Is this the same phone?”, choose Yes.

Backups don't happen

What does the PicHaven app on the phone show?

“Waiting for home Wi-Fi”

PicHaven only backs up over Wi-Fi, never over mobile data. The phone isn't connected to any Wi-Fi right now.

Connect it to your home Wi-Fi under Settings → Wi-Fi. The backup then starts by itself.

If your phone is sharing its own internet right now (hotspot), that doesn't count as Wi-Fi.

“Connection lost”

The PC doesn't know this phone any more. Usually it was removed there under Settings → Connected devices, or a second phone with the same name took its place.

Tap Connect again and scan the QR code on the PC. Nothing is lost on the PC, the folder stays the same.

“Access to photos needed”

Without access to all photos and videos, PicHaven can't back anything up.

  1. Tap Allow access and choose Allow all. “Selected photos” isn't enough, the rest would be missing.
  2. If Android doesn't ask any more: Open settings → Permissions → Photos and videos → Always allow all.

Did the notice appear after months without you doing anything? Android removes permissions from apps you haven't opened for a long time. Under Settings → Apps → PicHaven, switch off Pause app activity if unused (on Samsung: “Remove permissions if app is unused”).

PicHaven never deletes anything, neither on the phone nor on the PC.

Green tick, but new photos are missing

Look at “Last checked” below the tick. If the date is days ago, PicHaven isn't running in the background.

  1. Tap Back up now, then the new photos go right away.
  2. So that it works by itself from now on, allow PicHaven in the background: ⋮ → Allow in background.

Let PicHaven run in the background

Many phones stop apps in the background to save battery. PicHaven then only backs up when you open the app.

  • All phones: in PicHaven, ⋮ → Allow in background and confirm.
  • Samsung: Settings → Battery → Background usage limits → add PicHaven to Never sleeping apps.
  • Xiaomi, Redmi, POCO: Settings → Apps → PicHaven → switch on Autostart and set battery saver to No restrictions.
  • Huawei, Honor: Settings → Battery → App launch → set PicHaven to Manage manually and switch everything on.
  • OnePlus, Oppo, Realme: Settings → Battery → PicHaven → Allow background activity.

Swiping the app away from the recent apps stops it completely on some brands. Just leave it open.

“Backup interrupted”

The backup was paused, for example because the Wi-Fi dropped for a moment, you tapped Cancel or Android wanted to save battery.

Nothing is lost. Tap Continue backup. It picks up exactly where it stopped.

“Update needed”

Phone and PC no longer fit together because one side is too old. The message says which.

  • Phone too old: tap Update app or open Google Play → profile picture → Manage apps & device → Updates.
  • PC too old, Microsoft Store version: open the Microsoft Store → Downloads (or Library) → Get updates.
  • PC too old, installer from the website: right-click the house icon → Check for updates.

Connection and progress are kept.

One file doesn't work

A single file couldn't be transferred three times. Usually it was being edited at that moment, or the phone itself can't read it any more (on a damaged memory card, for example). All other photos are backed up normally.

Tap Skip file. PicHaven then leaves out this one file. Open it on the phone: if it won't show there, it is probably damaged.

“They are waiting for their place at home”

The free allowance is used up. The first backup was completely free, plus 500 more files.

With a one-time unlock, PicHaven backs up without limits from now on. No subscription. Everything already on the PC stays there, and nothing is ever deleted.

PicHaven on the PC shows a sign

Hover over the house icon at the bottom right or open the settings. What does it say?

“Low disk space at the target”

Less than 5 GB is free on the drive with your photos. When it is completely full, the backup stops.

  • Free up space, for example with Settings → System → Storage → Cleanup recommendations.
  • Or choose a target folder on a larger drive in the PicHaven settings. New photos go there, the previous ones stay where they are.

The target folder isn't reachable

PicHaven can't write to the target folder right now. Usually it is on a USB drive that isn't plugged in, or on a NAS that is asleep or off.

  1. Plug in the drive or switch on the NAS.
  2. On the phone, tap Back up now.

If the folder is on a network drive with a letter (such as V:), the drive is sometimes not yet connected after signing in. Open it once in Explorer, then it works.

“… files could not be backed up”

You don't need to do anything. The files are tried again with the next backup. If one file fails three times, the phone tells you with an explanation.

“No phone connected yet”

PicHaven on the PC is running, but no phone is paired yet.

Right-click the house icon → Connect a new device… The PC shows a QR code. In PicHaven on the phone, tap Connect PC and scan it.

Where are my photos?

Your photos are on the PC in the target folder you chose during setup. The quickest way there is right-click the house icon → Open folder. The phone app shows the path under “On the PC:”.

Inside there is a folder for each phone, with years and months below:

PicHaven\Pixel 8a\2026\2026-09\

Photos from WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal and screenshots are in their own subfolders, for example Pixel 8a\WhatsApp\2026\2026-09\. On the phone everything stays as it is.

WhatsApp, Telegram, screenshots and more

By itself PicHaven backs up the camera, meaning all photos and videos you take with the phone. You can add these sources:

  • WhatsApp images and videos you received or sent
  • Telegram images and videos
  • Signal, but only media you explicitly saved in Signal
  • Screenshots
  • Other picture folders, for example imports from a digital camera or edited pictures from photo apps

Switching on: after the first backup, PicHaven asks once by itself whether sources it found should be backed up too. Later it works like this at any time:

  1. Open PicHaven and tap ⋮ at the top right.
  2. Tap Sources.
  3. Tick what should be backed up too and tap OK.

The backup starts right away and also catches up on everything already on the phone. This catch-up is free, even if your free allowance is already used up.

Where they end up on the PC: each source gets its own subfolder in your phone's folder, again with years and months:

  • Pixel 8a\WhatsApp\2026\2026-09\
  • Pixel 8a\Telegram\…
  • Pixel 8a\Signal\…
  • Pixel 8a\Screenshots\…
  • Other picture folders keep their name from the phone, for example Pixel 8a\Canon EOS\…

Camera photos are directly under Pixel 8a\2026\…. On the phone everything stays as it is, PicHaven only makes a copy.

Switching off: untick it again under ⋮ → Sources. New pictures from that source are then no longer backed up; what is already on the PC stays there.

Find a particular photo

  • By date: open the folder of the year and month, for example 2025\2025-07 for July 2025.
  • By name: type into the search box at the top right of Explorer. The file names are the same as on the phone, for example PXL_20250714 or IMG-20250714-WA0003 (the date is in the name).
  • From the phone: open the photo in the phone's gallery and look at its details. They show the file name and the date taken. That's exactly its name on the PC.

The Windows Photos app doesn't show them

The Photos app only shows folders it knows. If your target folder is somewhere other than “Pictures” (on D: or an external drive, for example), add it once:

  1. Open the Photos app.
  2. On the left, Folders → Add a folder.
  3. Choose your PicHaven target folder.

Some photos are missing

  • WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, screenshots: PicHaven only backs these up if you switch them on. Here's how: Switch on sources.
  • Google Photos “Free up space”: then the originals are no longer on the phone, only at Google. PicHaven can only back up what is on the phone. More about this.
  • Secure folder, private space or work profile: PicHaven has no access to them.
  • Deleted or moved on the PC: PicHaven remembers what it has already backed up and doesn't send it again. Restore it from the recycle bin.
  • Skipped file: see One file doesn't work.

My photos are there, but something is missing

Good, the backup works in principle. By itself PicHaven backs up only the photos and videos you take with the phone's camera. What are you missing?

Photos that are only in Google Photos now

Google Photos also shows pictures that are no longer on the phone at all. If you ever used Free up space, Google deleted the originals from the phone and kept them only in the cloud. PicHaven can only back up what is on the phone.

How to check: open the photo in Google Photos and swipe up. If the details show no folder on the device, it is probably only at Google.

You can get such photos, for example, as a download via Google Takeout and copy them into your PicHaven folder yourself.

Pictures from other apps or from downloads

  • Apps that save to the “Pictures” folder (for example Instagram, photo editing apps or imports from a digital camera): switch on the source Other picture folders. Each app gets its own subfolder with its name on the PC.
  • Downloaded pictures (the “Download” folder, from the browser or from emails, for example) are not backed up by PicHaven. They are usually copies of something that exists elsewhere already. If you want to keep such a picture, save it to the gallery or copy it into your PicHaven folder on the PC.

The date is wrong

PicHaven sorts by the date taken: a photo from July 2023 goes into 2023\2023-07, no matter when it was backed up.

Explorer, however, shows the backup day in the “Date modified” column. Better sort by Date taken (right-click the column headers → Date taken) or use the Photos app.

WhatsApp pictures carry no date taken themselves. PicHaven reads it from the file name (IMG-20230714-WA0003 = 14 July 2023).

The photos end up in OneDrive

On many Windows PCs the “Pictures” folder is inside OneDrive. Your photos would then also be uploaded to the cloud, and the free OneDrive storage (5 GB) fills up quickly. That's why PicHaven warns with a yellow notice.

  1. Right-click the house icon → Settings…
  2. At Target folder → Choose folder…, pick a folder outside OneDrive, for example C:\Users\<name>\PicHaven or an external drive.
  3. Save.

New photos then go to the new folder. You can move the previous ones there in Explorer.

Price, purchase and unlock

  • The PC app is free, so is the phone app.
  • The first backup is free, however large, plus 500 more files.
  • After that, a one-time payment unlocks unlimited backups. No subscription, no monthly costs.
  • The purchase covers all phones with the same Google account.
  • How much is still free is shown in the ⋮ menu.

“Payment pending”

With some payment methods (bank transfer or cash, for example) the confirmation takes a while. As soon as Google reports it, PicHaven unlocks by itself and backs up the waiting photos. Until then they stay safe on the phone.

The app asks for money again

The purchase belongs to the Google account you paid with.

  1. Open Google Play and tap your profile picture at the top right. Is the account you bought with active there?
  2. If not, switch the account and open PicHaven again.

If you tap unlock again with the right account, Google reports “already owned” and PicHaven unlocks without charging you again.

“Purchase not completed”

  • Update the Google Play app and sign in there.
  • In Google Play under profile picture → Payments & subscriptions, check that a payment method is set up.
  • For child accounts (Family Link), a parent has to approve the purchase.
  • Phones without Google Play (such as newer Huawei models) can't buy.

Something has changed

What's new?

A new phone

Install PicHaven on the new phone and connect it to the PC (Connect PC, scan the QR code). The purchase still applies if you use the same Google account.

  • If the new phone has a different name from the old one, it gets its own folder on the PC. Photos you carried over from the old phone are then backed up once more.
  • To continue the previous folder, first give the new phone the old one's name (Settings → About phone → Device name) and answer “Is this the same phone?” with Yes when connecting. Then only new photos are added.

A second phone

One PC can back up several phones, each into its own folder.

  1. On the PC: right-click the house icon → Connect a new device…
  2. On the second phone, install PicHaven, tap Connect PC and scan the code.

If both phones have the same name (two identical models), the app asks “Is this the same phone?”. Answer No, another one and give the second phone its own name.

The purchase covers all phones with the same Google account. A phone with a different account needs its own.

App reinstalled

Just connect the phone again (Connect PC, scan the code on the PC) and answer “Is this the same phone?” with Yes. The folder on the PC and everything already backed up stay; nothing is transferred twice. Google Play restores the purchase by itself.

Afterwards, switch on again under ⋮ → Sources what else you'd like to back up (WhatsApp and so on).

A new PC

Install PicHaven on the new PC and connect the phone again: on the phone ⋮ → Disconnect from PC, then Connect PC and scan the new code.

The new PC doesn't know the previous photos, so the whole collection comes once more. This first backup is free again.

To keep the old photos, copy the previous PicHaven folder over from the old PC, for example with an external drive.

New router or moved house

PicHaven doesn't remember a Wi-Fi name, so a new Wi-Fi is no problem as long as phone and PC are on the same one.

If the phone can't find the PC afterwards: quit PicHaven on the PC (right-click the house icon → Quit) and start it again, or restart the PC. It then announces itself with its new address.

We'll take a look

Write to us at [email protected]. It helps most if you include the log:

  • Phone: in PicHaven, ⋮ → Diagnostics → Share log and send it by email.
  • PC: right-click the house icon → Settings… → Log folder and attach the newest file.

The logs contain file names and technical details, but no photos.