Overview

This article provides the most common causes for issues related to playing or downloading a UniFi Video recording. Please check each section carefully and compare it with your setup before moving on to the next section.

NOTES & REQUIREMENTS:

This article includes a comprehensive list of causes for users to have issues downloading or playing recordings, along with their corresponding solutions. However, in deployments where external elements are involved, the list would become virtually endless. If after troubleshooting with this guide the problem still persists, please post your question in the Community. Include as much information about the deployment as possible: browser and browser version used, UniFi Video Controller version, what third party devices are involved, along with what you have already tried to fix this issue. There are thousands of users in the Community with installations using various third party equipment that will be the best source of information.

Not Using a Compatible Browser
Browser Extension Interference
Insufficient Bandwidth
Downloading Too Many Recordings at Once
Ports Not Forwarded Correctly (WAN Connection)
Cameras are not Recording
Database is Inconsistent or Corrupt
Related Articles

Not Using a Compatible Browser

UniFi Video is designed and tested to work with the stable release of Google Chrome. Although other browsers may work, reduced functionality is expected and performance may not be optimal.

Browser Extension Interference

While Google Chrome offers an impressive library of extensions, some may interfere with UniFi Video's ability to play back live video or recordings. Try opening UniFi Video in an Incognito window by going to File > New Incognito Window on the Google Chrome top bar and browsing your NVR's web interface, as this will disable most extensions for that browser session. If this resolves the problem, try disabling extensions in Chrome one by one until you identify which extension is causing the problem.

Insufficient Bandwidth

Because recordings are typically stored at high bitrate and high resolution, they may need to buffer and not play as smoothly when compared to viewing a camera Live View at a lower resolution when connecting over a low bandwidth connection.

The UniFi Video - Troubleshooting Low Bandwidth Warning article describes how low bandwidth will impact your ability to watch a video feed (or in this case a recording) based on where you are located.

Downloading Too Many Recordings at Once

The number of recordings that can be downloaded in bulk (by selecting several recordings and clicking Download All in the Recordings section of the UniFi Video Controller) is limited by the free space available in the temporary filesystem cache, which is typically a system RAMDisk. If you receive an error while trying to download many recordings simultaneously, try downloading less files at a time so that the .zip file generated does not exceed the size of your RAMDisk and fail to download.

Ports Not Forwarded Correctly (WAN Connection)

If accessing UniFi Video over the internet or across subnets using a direct connection, make sure that the required ports have been forwarded correctly on your firewall. Accessing via https://video.ui.com/ does not require any ports to be opened, but outbound ports must not be explicitly blocked. For a list of the ports used, please see UniFi Video - Ports Used.

Cameras are not Recording

If you believe there are specific recordings that are missing from the Events list, or a camera has not been recording as expected, please review the UniFi Video - Troubleshooting Cameras Not Recording.

Database is Inconsistent or Corrupt

In certain scenarios, a database that has inconsistent data may impede the NVR's ability to play back or process recordings. If all prior options have been exhausted, a database reset will restore the data and structure without losing vital configuration or prior recordings.

For specific instructions, please review the article appropriate to your NVR operating system:

UniFi Video - How to Reset a UniFi Video Installation for Linux/Hardware NVR

UniFi Video - How to Reset a UniFi Video Installation for Windows

UniFi Video - Troubleshooting Low Bandwidth Warning

UniFi Video - Ports Used

UniFi Video - Troubleshooting Cameras Not Recording

UniFi Video - How to Reset a UniFi Video Installation for Linux/Hardware NVR

UniFi Video - How to Reset a UniFi Video Installation for Windows