Troubleshooting 'No Local Storage' on Unifi Protect
The Unifi Protect system relies on a local hard disk drive (HDD) within your Cloud Key Gen2+, UDM Pro, or UNVR to store all your camera footage. When you encounter a 'No Local Storage' or 'No HDD Detected' error, your entire surveillance system is unable to record, leaving a critical gap in your security. This guide will help you diagnose and solve the most common causes of this issue.
From physical connections to drive compatibility and formatting, we'll cover the essential steps to get your system recording again.
Why Local Storage is Crucial for Unifi Protect
Unlike many other systems, Unifi Protect is designed around local storage. This gives you complete control over your data, with no mandatory cloud subscription fees. However, it also means that the health and proper configuration of your hard drive are entirely your responsibility. A failure here means a total loss of recording capability.
Step-by-Step Troubleshooting Guide
Work through these steps in order to identify and resolve the problem.
Step 1: Power Down and Re-seat the Hard Drive
Before anything else, it's important to rule out a simple physical connection issue. Drives can sometimes become unseated due to vibrations or during initial installation.
- Properly Shut Down: Use the Unifi Protect interface or the device's touchscreen (if available) to safely shut down your Cloud Key, UDM Pro, or UNVR. Do not just unplug it, as this can corrupt data.
- Disconnect Power: Once fully shut down, unplug the device from its power source.
- Access the Drive Bay: Carefully remove the hard drive from its bay. The method will vary depending on your device.
- Inspect and Re-seat: Check that there is no dust or debris in the SATA connector. Firmly but gently slide the drive back into the bay, ensuring it makes a solid connection.
- Power Up: Reconnect the power and turn the device back on. Check the Unifi Protect interface to see if the drive is now detected.
Step 2: Check Hard Drive Compatibility
Unifi Protect systems are not compatible with all hard drives. Using the wrong type of drive is a very common cause of failure.
- Use Only Surveillance-Grade Drives: You must use a hard drive specifically designed for surveillance or NAS applications. These drives (like the WD Purple or Seagate SkyHawk series) are built for the 24/7 write-intensive workload that video recording requires. Standard desktop drives will fail quickly.
- Verify on the Compatibility List: Ubiquiti maintains a list of officially tested and compatible hard drives. Before buying or installing a drive, check this list to ensure it is supported for your specific device (UNVR, UDM Pro, etc.). Using an unsupported drive is a gamble.
- Check Drive Size: Ensure the drive's capacity is within the supported range for your device.
Step 3: Formatting the Hard Drive
If a new drive is detected but not working, or if an existing drive is showing errors, it may need to be formatted by the system.
- Format via the Protect Interface: When Unifi Protect detects a new or unformatted drive, it should prompt you to format it. Follow the on-screen instructions.
- Warning: Formatting Erases Everything: Be aware that formatting will permanently erase all existing recordings on the drive. This is a destructive process, so be sure to back up any critical footage before proceeding if you can.
What If the Problem Persists?
If you have re-seated a known-compatible drive and the system still won't detect it, you may be facing one of two issues:
- The Hard Drive Has Failed: Hard drives have a limited lifespan, and the constant work in a Protect system can cause them to fail. The only solution is to replace the drive.
- The Unifi Device Has a Fault: In rare cases, the SATA port or backplane of the Unifi device itself could be faulty. The best way to test this is by trying a different, known-good, compatible hard drive. If a second good drive also isn't detected, you should contact Ubiquiti support.
By methodically checking these key areas, you can resolve the vast majority of 'No Local Storage' issues and ensure your Unifi Protect system is reliably recording.