Microsoft silently replaced the Photos app — and removed network folder support. Why?

Hi, colleagues,

I have been testing Microsoft software since the Windows 2000 era, long before the Windows Insider Program existed. Over the years, I have seen many controversial changes in Windows, but this latest decision concerning Microsoft Photos is particularly disappointing.

Microsoft has effectively replaced a working, familiar Photos application with a new product that offers fewer capabilities — without asking users for permission.

For some time, the previous Photos application and the new Photos gallery coexisted on my Windows 11 system. Then, following an update, the previous gallery disappeared.

The replacement is Microsoft.OneDrive.Photos, version 26.198.1011.0006.

The former Microsoft.Windows.Photos package technically remains installed, but now launches a different photo viewer rather than the familiar gallery. Photos Legacy is still available, but that is not the application I am talking about.

And here is the real problem.

The new Photos gallery cannot access network folders

My photographic collection includes images stored in shared folders on my local network.

The previous Photos application allowed me to add these folders to its collection. The new application refuses to do so.

When I specify a perfectly valid UNC network path, it reports that the folder does not exist.

Except that it certainly does.

Windows File Explorer opens the folder normally. PowerShell confirms its existence:

Test-Path -LiteralPath '\\server\share\folder' -PathType Container

Result: True

So Windows recognizes the folder, the network connection works, and the folder is accessible. It is the new Photos application that fails to recognize it.

This is not some exotic requirement. SMB network shares have been a standard part of Windows for decades. Photographers and other users routinely store large image collections on NAS devices and local servers.

Why should a modern photo management application suddenly be unable to work with them?

And why should users be expected to move their existing collections to OneDrive or another cloud service simply to accommodate Microsoft's design decisions?

Four photo applications on one PC. Seriously, Microsoft?

There is another remarkable aspect of this situation.

My computer now has FOUR Microsoft applications with overlapping photo-related functionality:

OneDrive Photos — the new gallery, installed automatically without my explicit consent.

The new Photos application — another application that appears to duplicate much of OneDrive Photos' functionality.

Photo Viewer — a separate viewer and editor, whose purpose and relationship to the other applications are far from obvious.

Photos Legacy — the older application, which remains installed and functional.

Four applications. On one computer. From the same company. All dealing with photographs.

And yet, despite this astonishing proliferation of software, I can no longer perform a perfectly ordinary task that the previous Photos application handled without difficulty: adding a network folder to my photo collection.

Four applications where one used to suffice — and less functionality than before.

Is this really Microsoft's vision of a modern, streamlined Windows experience?

What makes the situation particularly frustrating is that these applications have overlapping purposes, confusing names, and no clearly explained division of responsibilities. The user is left to figure out which application does what, which one replaces which, and why previously available features have disappeared.

I would therefore like to add two more questions to Microsoft:

Why does Windows now need four separate Microsoft applications for viewing, organizing, and editing photographs?

What tangible benefit does this fragmentation offer users, particularly when it is accompanied by the loss of previously supported functionality?

I cannot see how multiplying applications while reducing their capabilities constitutes progress.

This is not simplification. It is unnecessary complexity imposed on users without their consent.

Four photo applications on one PC. Seriously, Microsoft?

There is another remarkable aspect of this situation.

My computer now has FOUR Microsoft applications with overlapping photo-related functionality:

OneDrive Photos — the new gallery, installed automatically without my explicit consent.

1. The new Photos application — another application that appears to duplicate of OneDrive Photos' functionality.

Photo Viewer — a separate viewer and editor, whose purpose and relationship to the other applications are far from obvious.

Photos Legacy — the older application, which remains installed and functional.

Four applications. On one computer. From the same company. All dealing with photographs.

And yet, despite this astonishing proliferation of software, I can no longer perform a perfectly ordinary task that the previous Photos application handled without difficulty: adding a network folder to my photo collection.

Four applications where one used to suffice — and less functionality than before.

Is this really Microsoft's vision of a modern, streamlined Windows experience?

What makes the situation particularly frustrating is that these applications have overlapping purposes, confusing names, and no clearly explained division of responsibilities. The user is left to figure out which application does what, which one replaces which, and why previously available features have disappeared.

I would therefore like to add two more questions to Microsoft:

Why does Windows now need four separate Microsoft applications for viewing, organizing, and editing photographs?

What tangible benefit does this fragmentation offer users, particularly when it is accompanied by the loss of previously supported functionality?

I cannot see how multiplying applications while reducing their capabilities constitutes progress.

This is not simplification. It is unnecessary complexity imposed on users without their consent.

An update should not mean losing functionality

What I find particularly unacceptable is the way this change was introduced.

I did not request the replacement. I was not asked for consent. I received no meaningful warning that a familiar application would disappear or that a previously supported workflow would stop working.

Instead, Microsoft silently changed the software environment on my computer.

I understand perfectly well that applications need to evolve. But evolution should not mean arbitrarily removing established capabilities.

A newer application that cannot do what its predecessor could is not an improvement. It is a regression.

Questions for Microsoft

I would appreciate clear answers from the Photos development team:

Is the lack of UNC/SMB network folder support in the new Photos gallery intentional, or is it a bug?

If it is a bug, when can users expect a fix?

If it is intentional, why was such a fundamental Windows capability removed?

Why was the previous full-featured Photos gallery replaced without offering users the option to retain it?

Will Microsoft provide a supported way to restore the previous functionality?

For reference, my system runs Windows 11 Insider Preview (Canary Channel). The current Microsoft.Windows.Photos viewer version is 2608.1401.18.0.

I am not asking Microsoft to stop developing new applications. I am asking Microsoft to respect existing workflows, preserve essential functionality, and give users meaningful control over the software installed on their computers.

Windows is an operating system, not an experimental exhibition in which familiar tools can be replaced overnight without regard for their users.

I would genuinely like to hear Microsoft's explanation for this decision.