UniFi Protect Alerting You That Storage is Full?
The "Storage Full" or "Disk Full" notification on your UniFi Protect system is a critical alert that needs your attention. It means the hard drive dedicated to storing your security camera footage has reached its maximum capacity. When this happens, your system may stop recording new events, potentially leaving your property unmonitored.
Fortunately, managing your storage is a straightforward process. This guide will show you how to check your storage usage, clear out old footage, and optimise your settings to prevent the issue from happening again in the future.
## Understanding Your Storage Situation
First, it is important to see how your storage is being used and what your current retention settings are.
How to Check Storage Status
- Open your UniFi Protect dashboard.
- Navigate to the main Settings (usually a gear icon).
- Look for a section named "Storage", "Disk Management", or related to your specific console (e.g., "Cloud Key Settings").
- Here, you will see a visual representation of your hard drive's capacity, showing how much space is used and how much is free. It will also typically show your data retention policy.
Auto-Purge vs. Time-Based Retention
UniFi Protect manages storage in two primary ways:
- Default (Auto-Purge): The system will record continuously until the disk is full, at which point it will automatically delete the oldest footage to make space for the newest. This is a "first in, first out" system.
- Time-Based Purging: You can specify a maximum retention period (e.g., 30 days). The system will delete any footage older than this period, regardless of how much free space is available.
If your system has stopped recording, it is possible this setting was changed to not auto-purge. Ensure it is configured to delete the oldest recordings.
## How to Free Up Storage Space
If you need to clear space immediately, you have a few options.
1. Let the System Work Automatically
If your system is configured to auto-purge, the easiest solution is to do nothing. It will manage the storage for you. However, if you want to clear more space faster, you can proceed with the next steps.
2. Manually Delete Footage
You can manually delete specific clips or a range of footage from the timeline.
- Go to the "Detections" or "Timeline" view in UniFi Protect.
- Select the clips you no longer need. You can often filter by date, camera, or detection type.
- Find the delete option to permanently remove them. This can be a slow process if you have a lot of footage to remove.
3. Format the Hard Drive (The "Nuke" Option)
Formatting the drive is the fastest and most aggressive way to free up space. This action will permanently erase all recorded footage from your system, so be absolutely sure you have backed up any important clips before proceeding.
- Navigate back to the "Storage" or "Disk Management" settings.
- Find the option to "Format" or "Reformat Disk".
- Confirm the action. The process will take a few minutes, after which your drive will be completely empty.
## Optimising Settings to Save Space
To prevent your storage from filling up too quickly in the future, you can adjust your camera settings.
- Record on Motion Only: Instead of recording 24/7, change your cameras' recording mode to "Detections Only" or "Motion Only". This dramatically reduces the amount of data saved.
- Lower Video Quality: Navigate to the settings for an individual camera. Under "Recording Quality", you can lower the resolution (e.g., from 4K to 1080p) or reduce the frames per second (FPS). A lower FPS (like 15 or 20 instead of 30) is often sufficient for security purposes and saves considerable space.
- Upgrade Your Hard Drive: If you consistently need a long history of high-quality recordings, the simplest solution may be to upgrade the hard drive in your UNVR or Cloud Key to a larger capacity model.