Unifi No 24/7 Recording? Here’s How to Fix It Now
One of the most critical features of the Unifi Protect system is its ability to record video footage 24/7, ensuring you have a complete record of all activity. When you discover that your system is not recording continuously—leaving gaps in your timeline—it can be a major security concern. This issue is often caused by a simple misconfiguration but can sometimes point to more complex storage or network problems.
This guide will walk you through the essential checks and troubleshooting steps to diagnose why your Unifi cameras are not recording 24/7 and how to restore this vital function.
Common Symptoms of Recording Failure
You can tell you have a 24/7 recording problem if you observe any of the following:
- Gaps in Timeline: Your camera's recording timeline in Unifi Protect shows blank spaces where there is no recorded footage.
- Motion Events Only: The system only saves clips when motion is detected, rather than recording everything.
- Recording Stops Unexpectedly: The camera records continuously for a while but then stops for no apparent reason.
- Storage Not Utilised: Your NVR's hard drive has plenty of free space, but the system isn't writing new footage to it.
- "Camera Not Recording" Notifications: You receive alerts from the system indicating a recording failure.
How to Solve Unifi 24/7 Recording Issues
Follow these steps in order, starting with the most common and simple solutions.
1. Verify Camera Recording Mode
The most frequent cause of this issue is an incorrect setting for the individual camera.
- Open your Unifi Protect controller.
- Go to the Devices section and select the camera in question.
- In the camera's settings panel, find the Recording tab.
- Under Recording Mode, ensure the selection is set to Always. If it is set to "Detections Only" or "Never," the camera will not record 24/7.
- Important: You must do this for each camera that you want to record continuously.
2. Check Storage and Hard Drive Health
If the recording settings are correct, the next place to look is your storage device (e.g., Cloud Key Gen2+, UNVR, or NVR).
- Check Storage Capacity: In the Unifi Protect settings, go to the Storage or System section. Check the status of your hard drive. Is it full? Is it recognised by the system?
- Hard Drive Health: Unifi Protect monitors the health of the hard drive. If it reports errors or a "Failing" status, the drive may be unable to write new data and will need to be replaced.
- Auto-Pruning: Ensure that the system is configured to automatically delete the oldest footage when the drive gets full. If this is turned off and the drive is full, all recording will stop.
3. Examine Network Stability
A camera must have a stable, continuous connection to the NVR to send its video stream for recording.
- Check Camera Uptime: In the device list, check the uptime of the camera. If it has rebooted or disconnected recently, this will cause a gap in the recording.
- For Wired Cameras: Inspect the Ethernet cable for damage. Try a different port on your PoE switch. A faulty cable or port can cause the camera to lose connection intermittently.
- For Wireless Cameras: Check the camera's Wi-Fi signal strength in the controller. A weak or unstable signal will lead to dropped frames and recording gaps. Move the camera or the Wi-Fi access point to improve the signal.
4. Review Recording Schedules
Unifi Protect allows you to create schedules that can change the recording mode automatically.
- In the main Unifi Protect settings, look for a Schedules or Recording Schedules section.
- Check if you have any active schedules that might be switching the camera's recording mode from "Always" to "Detections Only" or "Never" at certain times of the day or on certain days.
- Disable any unwanted schedules to ensure the "Always" record setting remains active.
5. Update Software and Firmware
Ensure all components of your system are up to date.
- Unifi Protect Application: Update your controller to the latest version.
- Camera Firmware: Apply any pending firmware updates to your cameras. Bug fixes in new releases can often solve persistent recording problems.
By methodically checking these five areas, you can identify the reason your Unifi system isn't recording 24/7 and take the necessary steps to ensure your property is always monitored.