How to Fix Audio Not Working on a Unifi Camera
While Unifi Protect is renowned for its video capabilities, a lack of audio on your recordings or live streams can leave you missing crucial information. Most audio issues in the Unifi ecosystem are not hardware-related but are due to software settings that are easy to fix once you know where to look.
## Step 1: Enable the Microphone in Unifi Protect
For privacy compliance, Unifi disables the microphones on its cameras by default. This is the most common reason for no audio, and the fix is simple.
- Launch Unifi Protect: Open the Unifi Protect application on your controller (e.g., Cloud Key Gen2+, UNVR, UDM Pro) or via the web portal (
unifi.ui.com). - Select Your Camera: From the camera list, click on the specific camera that is not recording audio.
- Go to Settings: Navigate to the camera's settings menu. This is often represented by a gear icon.
- Enable the Microphone: In the main settings panel (often under "General" or "Recording"), you will find a toggle switch for "Record Audio" or "Enable Microphone."
- Turn it On: Click the toggle to enable the microphone. The setting should save automatically.
- Adjust Microphone Volume: Right below the toggle, you will usually see a "Microphone Volume" slider. Make sure this is set to a reasonable level (e.g., 80-100%) and not muted.
## Step 2: Check Recording Modes and Schedules
Your camera's recording schedule can also affect whether audio is captured.
- Navigate to Recording Settings: In the same settings menu for your camera, find the "Recording" or "Recording Mode" section.
- Verify Mode: Ensure the camera is set to record "Always" or "Detections."
- Check Quality Settings: Some older versions of the software allowed for different streaming quality profiles. Go to the "Recording Quality" section and ensure the profile you are using is configured to include an audio stream. In modern versions, this is less of an issue as audio is tied to the main microphone toggle.
## Step 3: Update Firmware and Software
Running outdated software can sometimes lead to bugs or compatibility issues. Always ensure your entire Unifi system is up to date.
- Update Unifi Protect: In your controller's settings, check for any available updates for the Unifi Protect application and apply them.
- Update Camera Firmware: Unifi Protect will notify you if any of your cameras have pending firmware updates. Apply these updates to ensure the camera has the latest features and bug fixes. A firmware update can often resolve hardware-related glitches.
## Step 4: Test and Isolate the Issue
After enabling the microphone, you need to verify that it's working.
- Listen to the Live Stream: The easiest test is to go to the camera's live view and click the speaker icon to unmute the audio feed. You should be able to hear live sound from the camera's location.
- Create a Test Recording: Trigger a motion event or manually record a short clip. Play back the new recording to confirm that the audio track is present.
- Reboot the Camera: If you have enabled the microphone but still don't hear anything on the live feed, try rebooting the camera. You can do this from the camera's settings menu in Protect. This can resolve a temporary hardware or software freeze.
If, after following all these steps, you still have no audio, there is a small possibility of a hardware failure with the camera's internal microphone. However, in the vast majority of cases, the issue is simply that the microphone was disabled in the software.