Uniview Not Recording? NVR & Camera Fixes (UK Guide)

Uniview (UNV) System Not Recording? A UK Troubleshooting Guide

A Uniview NVR or DVR that isn't recording is a serious security vulnerability. Whether you're getting no recordings at all or only some cameras are failing, the issue usually lies with the hard drive, the recording schedule, or camera-specific settings. This guide will help you diagnose and fix the problem.

## Step 1: Check the Hard Drive (HDD) Status

The absolute first place to check is the health and status of your system's hard drive(s). Without a functioning HDD, the NVR/DVR has nowhere to save the footage.

1. Log in to your Uniview NVR/DVR using its local interface (connected to a monitor) or via a web browser.
2. Navigate to the main menu and find the Storage section.
3. Select Disk or HDD Management.

On this screen, you will see a list of the installed hard drives.

• Check the Status: The status for each drive should read "Normal". If it shows "Error," "Uninitialized," "Unformatted," or is completely missing, then you have found your problem.
• Is it Full? Check the capacity. If the drive is full and "Overwrite" is disabled, recording will stop. It's best practice to enable overwrite so the oldest footage is automatically replaced.
• The Solution: If the status is not "Normal," your first action should be to "Format" or "Initialize" the drive using the NVR's menu. Warning: This will erase all existing data on the drive. If formatting fails or the drive still shows an error, the hard drive itself has likely failed and needs to be replaced. Use only surveillance-grade hard drives for reliability.

## Step 2: Verify the Recording Schedule

If the hard drive is healthy, the next step is to ensure the NVR is actually instructed to record. This is done via the recording schedule.

1. In the main menu, go to Storage and then select Schedule.
2. At the top, select the camera channel you want to check.
3. You will see a grid representing the hours of the day for a full week.
4. Ensure that the time blocks are coloured in. Different colours represent different recording types:
   • Green: Continuous (24/7) recording.
   • Yellow: Event-based recording (e.g., motion detection, VCA).
   • No Colour: No recording.
5. The Fix: If the grid is blank, the NVR is not scheduled to record for that camera. Click and drag across the grid to set your desired schedule. You can copy the schedule to other cameras to save time.

## Step 3: Configure Camera and Event Settings

If your schedule is set for "Event" recording but nothing is being saved, it means the trigger events are not configured correctly.

1. Navigate to the Camera menu (sometimes called "Smart" or "Event").
2. Select Motion or the specific VCA event you want to use (e.g., Intrusion Detection).
3. Enable the Feature: For the relevant camera, ensure that Motion Detection (or the VCA event) is enabled.
4. Set the Detection Area: You must define the area of the screen where the NVR should look for motion. Use the drawing tools to mark the detection zone.
5. Check Trigger Actions: In the event settings, there is usually a "Trigger Actions" or "Linkage Action" tab. Make sure that "Record Channel" is ticked for the camera in question. If this is not checked, the event will happen, but it won't trigger a recording.

By systematically verifying that your hard drive is healthy, your recording schedule is correctly configured, and your motion or other events are set up to trigger recording, you can resolve the most common reasons for a Uniview system failing to record.