Can my SWIFI camera record to a DVR / NVR / NVW?
Answer: No
The cameras above are hub-free. A hub is a base station or recording/storage device that connects via the Internet to the cameras. In contrast, a hub-free camera operates on Wi-Fi exclusively without requiring any additional hardware to store footage. Therefore, a wireless camera cannot be added to a wired recorder. See Are all Swann cameras compatible with any Swann recorder?
However, Swann Security app allows access to both compatible wireless cameras (SWIFI) and recorders at the same time.
A hub-free (stand-alone) Wi-Fi camera is only capable of:
- Recording to its own internal or local storage (microSD card in some models) temporarily for upload to the Swann Security cloud. Downloading recordings from the cloud to your mobile phone is possible via the Swann Security app.
- External storage to a hard drive is not possible. Therefore, these cameras are not compatible with DVRs nor NVRs for recording.
- Recording when triggered by PIR and motion for all SWIFI cameras except TRACKCM, and motion only for SWIFI-TRACKCM.
- 24/7 continuous recording is not possible due to internal storage-to-cloud storage recording. See Why does my Wi-Fi Camera stop recording motion prematurely?
These features make a hub-free Wi-Fi camera suitable for users who prefer a wireless setup, easier DIY installation, less hardware, and less footage to check in low-traffic areas of view.
Accessing live view, recordings, and other settings are covered in this article: Swann Security App: Manuals and Tutorials