Getting Started with UniFi Protect

UniFi Protect is a highly-scalable, AI-powered camera surveillance system. It seamlessly integrates the privacy of on-premise video storage with the convenience of remote management—all without any licensing fees. It is just one of many software applications in UniFi's end-to-end IT management platform. Learn more about UniFi here.

Requirements

To set up UniFi Protect, you’ll need the following components:

• A UniFi Console that supports the UniFi Protect application.
• UniFi Protect Cameras (or ONVIF-compatible third-party cameras; learn more about third-party cameras integration.
• Power-over-Ethernet (PoE) switches to power your cameras.

Setting Up Your UniFi Protect System

Follow these steps to get your UniFi Protect system up and running:

1. Prepare Your UniFi Console: Ensure that your UniFi Console is set up and running UniFi Protect. To view installed UniFi applications, click the settings icon on the left navigation bar, then select Control Plane. Refer to How to Set Up UniFi for more details.
2. Connect Your Cameras: Plug each camera into a PoE switch to power them and provide network connectivity.
   1. Note: If you are using a CloudKey or NVR and have multiple VLANs on your network, ensure the cameras are on the same VLAN as that CloudKey or NVR.
3. Adopt Your Cameras: Add cameras to UniFi Protect using one of these methods:
   1. Mobile App
      1. Download the UniFi Protect Mobile App (iOS / Android).
      2. Log in with your UI Account.
      3. Follow the prompts to adopt your cameras, or navigate to the Devices page for manual adoption. See Device Adoption for troubleshooting.
   2. Site Manager
      1. Go to unifi.ui.com and log in with your UI Account.
      2. Select your UniFi Console, click the Protect icon, and open the Devices tab.
      3. Click "Adopt" to add your cameras. See Device Adoption for help if needed.

Take Advantage of UniFi Protect

Check out some of our articles below to get the most out of your UniFi Protect deployment:

1. Streamline operations with AI-Powered Detections.
2. Create custom alerts and webhook integrations with Alarm Manager.
3. Export clips or archive footage for long-term retention.
4. Infinitely scale with centralized video playback across multiple UniFi Consoles with Vantage Point.
5. Expand RAID storage size on NVRs for optimal retention and redundancy.
6. Use two-way audio to communicate through your UniFi Protect cameras.
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