Dealing with a 'Storage Full' Alert on Your Cove Security System
The Cove security system provides peace of mind through its smart monitoring and video recording capabilities. However, these valuable video clips are stored in the cloud, and your storage space is finite. If you're encountering a "storage full" notification, it means your system can no longer save new recordings until you free up space.
This guide will explain how Cove's storage works, show you how to manage and delete your video clips effectively, and provide tips to prevent your storage from filling up too quickly in the future.
## How Cove Video Storage Works
Understanding the basics of your storage is the first step to managing it.
- Cloud-Based System: Cove exclusively uses cloud storage. When your cameras detect motion, the recorded video clip is uploaded and stored on Cove's servers. There is no local storage option, such as an SD card.
- Subscription Dependent: The amount of storage you have—both in terms of the number of clips and how long they are saved—is determined by your subscription plan. Basic plans offer less storage than premium ones.
- First-In, First-Out (FIFO): When your storage reaches its limit, the system will typically begin to automatically delete the oldest recordings to make space for new ones. This means if you don't act, you could lose important historical footage.
## Step-by-Step Guide to Freeing Up Storage
If your storage is full, you'll need to manually delete old or unnecessary clips.
### 1. Access Your Video Clips
- Open the Cove app on your smartphone or tablet.
- From the main dashboard, navigate to the section that contains your video recordings. This is typically labelled 'Clips', 'Activity', or 'History'.
- You will see a list of your recorded events, usually organised by date and time.
### 2. Review and Delete Individual Clips
For targeted clearing, you can delete specific clips one by one.
- Scroll through your video history to find clips you no longer need. These could be recordings of family members arriving home, pets playing, or false alarms.
- Tap on the clip you wish to delete.
- Look for a delete icon (often a rubbish bin) or a menu (three dots) that contains the delete option.
- Confirm the deletion.
### 3. Delete Clips in Bulk
Deleting clips one by one can be time-consuming. The most efficient way to clear space is to delete in bulk.
- In your video clips list, look for a button labelled 'Edit', 'Select', or an icon that indicates selection mode.
- Once in selection mode, you can tap on multiple videos to highlight them.
- After selecting all the unnecessary clips, find and tap the 'Delete' button.
- The app will ask you to confirm the deletion of the selected items. This action is permanent and cannot be undone.
## Proactive Tips to Manage Your Cove Storage
The best strategy is to prevent your storage from becoming full in the first place.
- Optimise Camera Settings: Navigate to each camera's settings in the app.
- Lower Motion Sensitivity: A lower sensitivity setting will prevent the camera from recording minor events like swaying leaves.
- Set Activity Zones: Draw specific zones around critical areas (like your front door or garden gate) and instruct the camera to ignore motion outside of these zones.
- Schedule Regular Clean-ups: Make it a habit to review and delete old clips once a week or month. This prevents a large build-up of unnecessary footage.
- Understand Your Plan: Be aware of the storage limits of your Cove subscription. If you have many cameras or live in a high-traffic area, you may need a plan with more storage capacity. Consider upgrading if you find you are constantly hitting your limit.
By actively managing your video clips and optimising your camera settings, you can ensure your Cove system always has space to record the moments that matter most.