Understanding the Lack of Continuous Recording on Tend Cameras
If you own a Tend Secure camera, you may have been searching for a setting to enable Continuous Video Recording (CVR), also known as 24/7 recording. It can be confusing and frustrating to discover that this feature is not available. Many users feel less secure knowing the camera only records clips when motion is triggered, fearing that crucial moments before or after an event might be missed.
This guide explains why Tend cameras operate this way and what your options are moving forward, especially given the changes in the company's operational status.
Why Tend Cameras Only Record Motion Events
The decision to make Tend cameras motion-activated recorders was a deliberate design choice rooted in the product's target market and business model.
- Focus on Simplicity and Affordability: Tend cameras were designed to be simple to install and use. Motion-based recording is less complex than 24/7 recording, requiring less powerful internal hardware and keeping the cost of the device down.
- Bandwidth and Cloud Storage Costs: Continuously uploading video footage to the cloud uses a massive amount of internet bandwidth and requires huge amounts of storage space on servers. By only uploading short clips when motion was detected, Tend was able to offer a free tier of cloud storage for a rolling 7-day period. Offering free 24/7 cloud storage would have been financially unsustainable.
- Battery Life for Wire-Free Models: For any battery-powered models, continuous recording would be impossible, as it would drain the battery in a matter of hours. The motion-only design was essential for preserving power.
It's important to understand that this is a fundamental hardware and system-level limitation. The cameras do not have the onboard processing power, firmware, or local storage (like an SD card slot in many models) to support continuous recording. No software or firmware update could enable this feature.
Can I Make My Tend Camera Record More?
While you cannot enable true 24/7 recording, you can make the camera more sensitive to its surroundings to capture more events.
- Open your Tend Secure or Tend Vision app.
- Select the camera you wish to adjust.
- Navigate to the Settings menu.
- Find the Motion Detection or Sensitivity settings.
- Increase the sensitivity level.
Be aware: Setting the sensitivity to high will result in a large number of short recording clips, potentially from minor movements like shadows, insects, or rustling leaves. This will fill up your cloud storage event list very quickly and may make it difficult to find important events.
The Path Forward: Alternative Solutions
Given that Tend Secure has ceased its primary operations and the long-term future of the cloud service is uncertain, users who require the peace of mind that comes with continuous recording should consider migrating to a new security camera system.
When looking for a replacement, be sure to search for brands that explicitly advertise the following features:
- Continuous Video Recording (CVR): This is the key term. Ensure the product description states it can record 24/7.
- SD Card Slot: The most reliable and cost-effective way to get CVR is by recording locally to a microSD card. This avoids monthly subscription fees for cloud CVR.
- Subscription-Based CVR: Many brands like Google Nest and Arlo offer 24/7 recording as part of a paid monthly subscription plan, where the footage is stored in the cloud.
While it's disappointing that your Tend camera cannot be configured for continuous recording, understanding the design limitations is the first step toward finding a solution that meets your security needs.