Recording Problems

HomeKit Secure Video should record automatically, but sometimes clips don't appear in the timeline. Here's how to diagnose and fix recording issues.

Clips Not Recording

Issue

HomeKit Secure Video is on, but clips aren't appearing in the timeline.

Prerequisites (Check These First)

1. iCloud+ subscription: Recording requires iCloud+ (50 GB, 200 GB, or 2 TB). Check in Settings › [Your Name] › iCloud
2. Home hub connected: Recording needs a home hub (Apple TV or HomePod mini). Check Home › Home Settings › Hubs & Bridges
3. Recording enabled: In Home, go to Home Settings › Cameras and toggle Recording on for each camera
4. HomeKit Secure Video enabled: Some camera types or home configurations may not support it

Causes and Solutions

Keyframe interval too long (most common)

This is the most common reason clips go missing.

1. Open Camera Bridge and click your camera
2. Click Optimize for HomeKit
3. Check the Keyframe interval setting
4. It should be 1–2 seconds; anything over 4 seconds is too long
5. If it shows a wrench icon, click Apply; if info icon, change it on the camera

Home hub is disconnected

1. Open Home › Home Settings › Hubs & Bridges
2. Check that your hub shows as "Connected" and "Up To Date"
3. Restart your home hub (unplug, wait 30 seconds, plug back in)
4. Wait 2 minutes for it to reconnect

iCloud+ subscription expired

1. Check Settings › [Your Name] › Subscriptions
2. Verify your iCloud+ is active and not expired
3. If expired, renew it to resume recording

iCloud storage full

While iCloud+ has unlimited camera recording, your iCloud storage can still fill up with other data:

1. Check Settings › [Your Name] › iCloud › Manage Storage
2. If it's full, delete old backups or files to free space
3. Recording may resume once space is available

Camera in Home but not being contacted

HomeKit needs to reach your camera to record:

1. In Home, tap the camera › (info icon)
2. Scroll to "Automation & Scenes" or status section
3. It should show the camera is responding
4. If it says "not responding," restart Camera Bridge and re-add the camera if needed

Motion not being detected

If nothing triggers a recording:

1. Check that motion detection is working (see Motion Detection)
2. Verify in Home that recording is set to "All Motion" or include people/animals
3. Test by walking in front of the camera — a clip should record

Different time zones

If your home hub and camera have different times:

1. The clips may be recorded with the wrong timestamp
2. Verify NTP (network time) is enabled on the camera
3. Check your home hub's time in Home Settings

Clips Recording Late or Incomplete

Issue

Clips appear in the timeline but start late or are cut short.

Causes and Solutions

Keyframe interval (see above)

• This is the most common cause of late or incomplete clips
• Keyframe interval of 4 seconds or less is required for reliable clips

Motion detection lag

• Some cameras take a second or two to report motion
• This is normal and can't be fixed
• Camera Bridge's built-in detection is usually faster than ONVIF

Home hub busy

• If your hub is processing video from other cameras, it may miss the start of clips
• Consider using fewer cameras or a newer home hub

Network bottleneck

• Multiple cameras recording simultaneously can saturate your network
• Check your home internet speed (needs at least 5 Mbps upload)
• Consider reducing video quality on some cameras

Clips Deleted or Disappearing

Issue

Clips were there, then disappeared from the timeline.

Causes and Solutions

10-day timeline limit

HomeKit Secure Video keeps clips in the timeline for 10 days:

1. After 10 days, clips move to archive (not visible in timeline)
2. They're still on iCloud but don't show in the main view
3. To keep clips longer, mark them as favorites (tap the heart)
4. Favorite clips don't auto-delete

Manually deleted

1. If you swiped and deleted clips, they're gone (but still in iCloud backups)
2. To recover, you may need to restore an iCloud backup

Storage issue

1. If your iCloud is full, recording stops
2. Old clips may auto-delete to make room (though this is rare)
3. Free up iCloud storage and recording will resume

Activity Zones Not Working

Issue

Clips are recording from areas you set up activity zones to ignore.

Causes and Solutions

Activity zones not saved

1. In Home, tap the camera › Edit › Activity Zones
2. Draw your zones carefully
3. Tap Done to confirm
4. Make sure they saved (navigate away and come back)

Activity zones for AI detection only

• Activity zones control HomeKit Secure Video's AI detection (people, animals, vehicles)
• They don't prevent motion clips from being recorded
• If you don't want clips from that area at all, you need to adjust motion detection settings on the camera

Zones too small

• Make sure your zones cover the entire area you want to include/exclude
• Activity outside the zones is ignored

AI Detection Not Working (People, Animals, Vehicles)

Issue

Clips show motion but don't flag people, animals, or vehicles.

Causes and Solutions

Not part of your iCloud+ plan

• AI detection requires iCloud+ 200 GB or 2 TB
• iCloud+ 50 GB doesn't include AI detection
• Upgrade your plan to enable it

Home hub too old

• AI detection requires Apple TV 4K (2nd gen or newer) or HomePod mini
• Older Apple TV models don't support it
• Upgrade your home hub

Home hub losing internet

• AI detection validates with Apple's servers
• If your home hub loses internet, detection stops
• Ensure your home hub has a stable, fast connection

AI disabled in Home Settings

1. Open Home › Home Settings › Cameras
2. Check that "Secure Video" or "Enable AI detection" is on
3. Toggle it off and on again if needed

Still Not Recording?

1. Open Camera Bridge › Diagnostics
2. Check "Home hub connected" and "Camera in Home"
3. Run Optimize for HomeKit and fix any red items
4. See Diagnostics for more details
5. If that doesn't help, see Common Issues

Recovery Steps

If clips have stopped recording completely:

1. Restart Camera Bridge: Close and reopen the app
2. Restart your home hub: Unplug for 30 seconds
3. Remove and re-add the camera to Home: Sometimes the pairing gets corrupted
4. Check internet on your home hub: Use the Home app to verify it's "Connected"
5. Run Optimize for HomeKit: Fix any red items

If none of that works, contact support with details about when clips stopped recording and what you see in Diagnostics.