What is UniFi Protect?
UniFi Protect is the camera side of UniFi: PoE cameras that record locally to a gateway or NVR with its own storage, viewed in the same app as your network. There is no per-camera monthly fee, and footage stays on your property rather than in a vendor's cloud.
How it works at home
Each camera runs on one Ethernet cable that carries both power and video. A recorder — either a gateway with storage or a dedicated NVR — keeps continuous footage on a drive you own, sized by camera count and how many days you want to retain.
Alerts, person and vehicle detection, and remote viewing work through the same dashboard as the network, which is the practical appeal: one system, one login.
What to plan for
A cable to each camera position, a PoE switch with enough power budget, and drive capacity for your retention target. Camera placement and cable routing are the hard parts; the software setup is straightforward.
Best for
Understanding how UniFi cameras and recording work.
Things to consider
- One cable per camera carries power and video
- Local recording, no per-camera fee
- Drive size follows retention target
What we recommend
Decide your retention target before choosing a recorder — it matters more than camera resolution.