Troubleshooting Yi Home Camera Missed Recordings
Your Yi Home Camera is meant to be a reliable set of eyes on your property, so discovering it has missed recording a crucial event can be incredibly frustrating. Whether you're using a microSD card for local storage or a Yi/Kami Cloud subscription, this guide will help you diagnose and fix the reasons behind missed recordings.
Most of the time, the problem lies with storage, network connectivity, or simple configuration settings within the Yi Home app. By following these steps, you can ensure your camera is capturing and saving footage reliably.
Common Causes for Missed Recordings
Let's start by understanding the likely culprits. When your Yi camera fails to record, it's usually due to one of the following:
- SD Card Issues: The microSD card may be full, corrupted, fake, or simply not compatible.
- Motion Detection Settings: The sensitivity might be set too low, or you may have a schedule set that prevents recording at certain times.
- Cloud Subscription: Your Yi/Kami Cloud subscription may have expired.
- Poor Wi-Fi Signal: An unstable connection can prevent the camera from saving footage to either the SD card or the cloud.
- Firmware Bugs: The camera's software may have a glitch that needs to be resolved with an update.
Step-by-Step Troubleshooting Guide
Work through these solutions to get your camera recording properly again.
Step 1: Check Your Storage
The first place to look is at your recording destination, whether that's a local SD card or the cloud.
For microSD Card Users:
- Verify SD Card Status: In the Yi Home app, select your camera, then go to Settings > Storage > microSD Card. Check the status. Does it show the correct capacity? Is there available space?
- Enable Loop Recording: Ensure the Loop Recording feature is toggled ON. This is very important. It allows the camera to automatically delete the oldest footage to make space for new recordings when the card is full. If this is off, the camera will simply stop recording once the card is full.
- Format the SD Card: If the card is showing errors or behaving strangely, use the Format SD Card option within the app. This will erase all existing footage, so back up any important clips first. Formatting in the app ensures the card is perfectly configured for the camera.
- Use a High-Quality Card: If formatting doesn't help, your SD card may be faulty or too slow. Replace it with a new, genuine Class 10 (or U3) microSD card from a trusted brand.
For Yi/Kami Cloud Users:
- Check Subscription Status: Log into your account on the Yi website or check within the app under Account > Manage Plan to ensure your cloud subscription is active and your payment method is current.
- Verify Cloud Service is On: In the camera's settings, ensure that the option to record to the cloud is enabled.
Step 2: Optimise Motion Detection Settings
If your storage is fine, the camera may not be triggering a recording because of its detection settings.
- Open Smart Detection Settings: In the camera's settings menu, tap on Smart Detection.
- Increase Sensitivity: Adjust the Motion Detection sensitivity slider to a higher level. If it's on 'Low', try 'Medium' or 'High'.
- Check Alert Schedule: Go to the Notifications section in settings. Make sure you don't have a schedule set that would disable alerts and recordings during the time the event was missed.
- Review Activity Zone: If you have an Activity Zone configured, ensure it covers the area where motion is occurring.
Step 3: Check Network and Power
A stable connection is essential for saving recordings.
- Check Wi-Fi Signal: In the camera's settings, go to Network to check the signal strength. If it's weak, try moving your router closer to the camera or using a Wi-Fi extender.
- Reboot the Camera: A simple power cycle can often resolve temporary glitches. Unplug the camera from its power source, wait 30 seconds, and plug it back in.
- Update Firmware: In the camera's settings, tap on Firmware. If an update is available, install it. Firmware updates often include bug fixes that can improve recording reliability.
By systematically checking your storage, detection settings, and connectivity, you can resolve the vast majority of issues causing your Yi Home Camera to miss recordings.