Is Your Sony Camera Showing a 'Storage Full' Error?
Receiving a "Storage Full" or "Memory Card Full" notification from your Sony security camera can be alarming. It means your camera has stopped recording new footage, leaving a potential gap in your security coverage. This issue typically arises when the local storage—usually a microSD card—is completely filled with older video clips.
Fortunately, this is a common issue that is easy to resolve. This guide will show you how to manage your camera's storage, ensure old files are automatically deleted, and get your camera recording again without interruption.
Why Does the 'Storage Full' Error Happen?
Unlike a smartphone, which will simply stop you from saving new files, a security camera is designed to record continuously. To do this, they use a feature called Loop Recording (sometimes called Overwrite).
- Loop Recording Explained: When Loop Recording is enabled, the camera continuously saves footage to the SD card. Once the card is completely full, the camera automatically deletes the oldest saved recording to create space for the newest one. This ensures the camera never stops recording due to a lack of space.
The 'Storage Full' error almost always means that this Loop Recording feature has been disabled in your camera's settings.
How to Fix the 'Storage Full' Error on Your Sony Camera
Follow these steps to clear the existing data and, more importantly, prevent the problem from happening again.
1. Enable Loop Recording / Overwrite Setting
This is the most crucial step to prevent future errors. You need to find the setting that allows the camera to overwrite old files.
- Open the mobile app associated with your Sony security camera.
- Navigate to your camera's Settings menu.
- Look for a section related to 'Storage', 'SD Card Settings', or 'Recording Settings'.
- Within this menu, find an option labelled 'Loop Recording', 'Overwrite', or 'Recycle'.
- Ensure this setting is toggled on or enabled.
Once this is enabled, your camera will manage its own storage automatically from this point forward. However, you may still need to manually clear some space for it to start recording again.
2. Manually Delete Old Footage via the App
The safest and easiest way to clear space is by using the app.
- Go to the 'Playback' or 'Album' section of your camera's app, where you can view recorded history.
- There should be an option to manage files or an edit button. This will allow you to select multiple clips.
- Select a range of old, unimportant video clips and use the 'Delete' function. Deleting just a few older files should provide enough space for the camera to resume recording, and the new Loop Recording setting will handle the rest from now on.
3. Reformat the SD Card (Use as a Last Resort)
If you want to delete everything and start fresh, reformatting the card is the quickest way. Warning: This will permanently erase all existing footage on the card, so be sure to save any important clips to your phone or computer first.
- In the camera's app, go to the 'Storage' or 'SD Card Settings' menu.
- Find and select the 'Format' option.
- Confirm that you want to erase the card. The process will take a few minutes.
After formatting, the card will be completely empty, and with Loop Recording enabled, you shouldn't encounter the 'Storage Full' error again.
4. Consider a Higher Capacity SD Card
If you find that your camera's loop recording is overwriting footage too quickly (e.g., you only have a few days of history when you'd prefer a week), it may be worth upgrading to an SD card with a larger capacity.
- Check your Sony camera's specifications for the maximum supported SD card size (e.g., 128GB, 256GB).
- Invest in a "High Endurance" microSD card, which is specifically designed to withstand the constant rewriting process of a security camera, making it more reliable over time.
By properly managing your recording settings, you can ensure your Sony camera is always ready to capture what matters most.