This article details how to access the UniFi Protect application and outlines its key features.
For assistance with setting up UniFi Protect, see UniFi Protect - Getting started.
- Navigate the Protect web application
- Navigate the Protect mobile app
- Common uses of Protect
- View camera streams and download recordings
- Manage cameras and other devices
- Create detection and privacy zones
- Customize alerts and notifications
- Add other users to your UniFi OS Console and Protect
- Update Protect
- Back up and restore UniFi Protect data
- Frequently asked questions
Navigate the Protect web application
You can access UniFi Protect anywhere by going to unifi.ui.com and signing in with your Ubiquiti SSO account.
If you'd like to connect to Protect directly without going through unifi.ui.com:
- Make sure your computer and UniFi OS Console are on the same network.
- Type your console's IP address into a web browser. You can use Ubiquiti's WiFiman mobile app to find your console's IP address.
After logging in, click the Protect icon in your console’s listing to launch the application.
Protect is organized as follows:
| Label | Section | Description |
| A | Dashboard |
Overview of key information about your Protect system, including recent detections, storage utilization, and user access. |
| B | UniFi Devices |
Manage settings for all of your Protect cameras and other devices. |
| C | Live View |
View real-time camera streams in a single or multi-grid view. |
| D | Events |
See all smart and motion detections generated by your cameras. |
| E | Timelapse |
Scroll through the recording history of your cameras. |
| F | Roles |
Configure Protect user privileges. |
| G | Activity |
List of alerts about important Protect device activities |
| H | Settings |
Configure all of your Protect settings. |
| I | List of UniFi OS Consoles |
Switch between your consoles and sites. |
| J | Application Switcher |
Switch between UniFi applications installed on one console. |
| K | Account Settings |
Change your UI SSO account details. |
Navigate the Protect mobile app
The UniFi Protect mobile app can be download on the App Store and the Google Play Store.
After logging in, select which UniFi OS Console you would like to access Protect through.
The Protect mobile app is organized as follows:
| Label | Section | Description |
| A | Account Settings |
Change your UI SSO account details. |
| B | List of UniFi OS Consoles |
Switch between your consoles and sites. |
| C | Cameras |
View your camera streams and details. |
| D | Events |
See all smart and motion detections generated by your cameras. |
| E | Activity |
List of alerts about important Protect device activities. |
| F | Settings |
Configure all of your Protect application settings. For full settings, use the web browser. |
| G | Menu Sidebar |
List of alerts for important activities on your network. |
| H | Actions |
Hide or show the button for adding new Protect devices. |
| I | Connection Type |
See your UniFi OS connection type (i.e., remote access, direct) |
| J | Recent Detections |
See recent smart detections and click to view each event in the capturing camera’s stream. |
| K | View Camera Stream |
Open the live stream and timelapse for a camera, download recordings and snapshots, and change camera settings. |
Common uses of UniFi Protect
View camera streams and download recordings
With Protect, you can:
- View real-time camera streams and recorded footage.
- Download recordings and screenshots.
- Review motion and smart detection events.
- View up to 16 live camera streams in a grid-view interface (web application only).
For more information about managing camera video, see UniFi Protect - View camera streams and manage recordings.
Manage cameras and other devices
With Protect, you can also:
- Name your cameras and security devices.
- View device details such as firmware version and uptime.
- Adjust image quality settings such as contrast, brightness, hue, and more.
- Adjust recording settings such as scheduling and image quality
- Adjust hardware settings such as disabling camera microphones.
- Reboot or unmanage devices.
For more information about the different Protect device settings, see UniFi Protect - Manage devices.
Create detection and privacy zones
UniFi Protect lets you configure camera-specific motion detection zones. There are three different types of zone settings you can use:
- Motion Zones, which tell the camera to recognize motion in specific areas and trigger certain actions when it does (e.g., record footage and create motion events to review later, etc.).
- Private Zones, which let you specify the areas in your camera feed that are recorded.
- Smart Detection Zones (G4 cameras only), which let you designate areas in your feed where only specific motion is detected, such as a person's movement.
For more information about using camera zones, see UniFi Protect - Manage motion detection and privacy zones.
Customize alerts and notifications
UniFi Protect lets you configure push and email notifications via Settings > My Alerts in both the web application and mobile app. To receive push notifications make sure to also enable notifications for the Protect mobile app within your mobile's settings.
You can enable notifications for the following events:
- Devices connections and disconnections
- New update availability
- Motion detections
- Smart detections
- Location-based activity alerts (i.e., when users enter or leave your UniFi OS Console’s geofence, or “site”)
You can also set a variety of notification frequencies.
- Always
- Never
- When I am away
- When all users are away
- Custom schedule
For more information about location-based activity alerts, see UniFi Protect - Manage location-based activity alerts.
Add other users to your UniFi OS Console and Protect
For a step-by-step guide on how to add other users to Protect, see UniFi - Manage users and user roles.
Update Protect
To update the Protect application (currently possible only via the web browser):
-
- Access the UniFi OS settings via unifi.ui.com and go to Settings > Updates.
- Click Check for Update and click Update if there is a new version available.
Back up and restore Protect data
You can enable, disable, and manage Protect backups containing the following data:
- Your Protect system configuration settings
- User-related settings, such as alerts
- Settings for all adopted Protect devices
- Live View layouts
Note: Backup files do not contain recorded footage.
To access your backups, go to Settings > General > Backups in your Protect web application.
To download or restore a daily backup (if enabled):
- Under Backups, select View All Backups.
- Locate and download the backup you need, or select Restore.
To create a new backup:
- Under Backups, select Create Backup of Current System.
- Select View All Backups.
- Locate and download the backup you need, or select Restore.
To import a previously downloaded backup file:
- Under Backups, select Import Backup File.
- Select the file and upload it.
- View and restore the uploaded file under View All Backups.
Frequently asked questions
How can I add more storage to my UniFi OS Console?
You can install additional hard drives in your console, or replace existing ones, at any time. To read more on how to do so safely, see UniFi - Hard drive compatibility and management.
You can also enhance your storage capacity by decreasing the image quality of your cameras or disabling their microphones in the Protect settings.
What happens to my recordings when I restart or factory-reset my UniFi OS Console?
Restarting your console will not affect your recordings.
If you factory-reset your console, its installed hard drives will be reformatted and their data will be erased.
To preserve your footage during a factory reset, remove the console’s hard drives before performing it then reinstall them after you complete the initial setup.
For more information, see UniFi - Hard drive compatibility and management.
Related articles
UniFi Protect - Adopt devices
UniFi Protect - Manage devices
UniFi Protect - View camera streams and manage recordings
UniFi Protect - Manage motion detection and privacy zones
UniFi Protect - Manage location-based activity alerts
UniFi - Manage users and user roles