Everyday maintenance. Restart safely, read the alerts, find the fault.

Restart the right way

Restart one thing, not everything. If one access point or camera is acting up, restart just that one from the app:

• Network: open Devices, click the device, open the gear tab in the panel that slides out, and click Restart under Manage.
• Access: Devices, click the reader or hub, then Settings > Restart.

Restart the console only if the whole system is misbehaving:

• Settings > Control Plane > Console, scroll to Controls, then Restart.

Never press Remove on a device unless we tell you to. It sits right beside Restart, and it is not a restart. It wipes the device back to factory settings and it will need to be set up again.

What never to unplug

• The console while it is updating. A power cut mid-update can ruin it. If the lights are flashing during an update, leave it alone until it finishes.
• The recorder or any console with hard drives. Use Restart or Shut Down under Settings > Control Plane > Console > Controls instead. Pulling the plug can damage the recordings.
• The PoE switch. It powers your cameras, access points and door readers through their cables. Unplug it and they all go dark.
• The battery backup (UPS), if you have one. It is what keeps everything running through a short power cut.

If you must unplug the whole rack (a move, an electrician), call us first and we will shut it down safely.

Updates and notifications

• Leave automatic updates on. Ubiquiti recommends it, and so do we. Check under Settings > Updates: each line should show an Auto-Update time (Daily or Weekly).
• Leave Release Channel on Official. Never switch to Early Access. That is test software.
• When an update prompt says some devices will be interrupted, it means a few minutes offline while they restart. Run it when nobody needs the network.
• A “WAN offline” or internet alert means your internet connection dropped. See below.
• A drive warning on a recorder (such as “Drive at Risk of Failure”) means call us this week. Recordings are still safe for now, but the drive should be replaced before it fails.

Is it the internet, or the network?

Try these in order.

1. Look at your internet provider’s modem. Red or blinking lights usually mean the problem is theirs.
2. Open the Network app dashboard. If it shows the internet (WAN) as down while your access points are still online, the problem is outside your building. Call your provider.
3. Run a speed test: click ISP Speed Test on the Network dashboard. Compare it with the speed you pay for.
4. One device, or every device? If only one phone or laptop is struggling, it is almost always that device, not the network.

Why your rack has no printed labels

You may notice the ports in your rack are not labelled with stickers. That is on purpose. Ubiquiti’s UniFi Design app (on iPhone) has a feature called Network Ports AR: point your phone’s camera at a switch and every port is labelled on screen, with what is plugged into it, live. Stickers go out of date the first time a cable moves. This does not.