Real-world findings from an actual disaster recovery event on a UniFi Dream Machine Pro (UDM-Pro).
After a disaster recovery event requiring a full restore of a UniFi Dream Machine Pro (UDM-Pro) from a cloud backup, I discovered significant gaps between what Ubiquiti's documentation promises and what actually gets restored. This page documents those findings for other UDM-Pro, UDM-SE, and UniFi Cloud Gateway owners.
The following were confirmed missing after restoring from a cloud backup:
None of these exclusions are documented by Ubiquiti.
The official documentation on this topic lives at Backups and Migration in UniFi. Here is the entirety of what it tells you about backup contents:
"System Config Backups include all OS, application, and device configurations."
That's it. No itemized list. No inclusions. No exclusions. No per-application breakdown. No post-restore verification checklist.
The documentation also mentions:
For a feature that is your last line of defense in a disaster recovery scenario, this level of documentation is insufficient by any industry standard.
When reaching out to support about UniFi Talk not restoring, the response was a link to Transferring Ownership of UniFi Talk. This article covers:
This article is about ownership transfer, not about backup/restore recovery. It does not address what Talk settings survive a cloud backup restore, whether phone numbers, call groups, auto-attendants, voicemail configurations, or call routing rules are preserved.
There is a separate article on Recovering and Troubleshooting UniFi Talk Installations, which states that Talk installations can only be active on a single console and recovering will transfer from any previous console. But again, no specifics on what configuration survives. In practice, nothing did.
There is no published documentation from Ubiquiti that provides:
After restoring a UDM-Pro from a cloud backup following a disaster recovery event, the following is what was observed. Your experience may differ depending on firmware version, applications in use, and specific configurations.
Note: Because Ubiquiti does not document what should or shouldn't restore, it is impossible to distinguish between "expected behavior" and "a bug." Every missing setting could be either.
For comparison, most enterprise and prosumer networking vendors provide:
| Documentation Element | Industry Standard | Ubiquiti |
|---|---|---|
| Itemized backup contents per module | Yes | No |
| Explicit exclusion list | Yes | Partial (only mentions recordings/logs) |
| Post-restore checklist | Yes | No |
| Migration compatibility matrix | Yes | No |
| Inspectable backup format | Common (plaintext config files) | No (opaque .unf binary) |
| Backup diff/comparison tools | Common | No |
| DR runbook template | Common | No |
Vendors like Fortinet (FortiGate) use a single plaintext configuration file that can be inspected, diffed, and version-controlled. Cisco Meraki stores config in the cloud by definition, so hardware replacement is seamless. pfSense and OPNsense use XML config files where every setting is visible. None of these offer UniFi's ecosystem breadth (network + cameras + access control + phones + intercoms in one box), but all of them have transparent, well-documented backup systems.
No single competitor matches UniFi's full ecosystem at its price point, which is likely why Ubiquiti faces little pressure to improve their backup documentation and tooling.
If you depend on a UniFi ecosystem for business operations:
Because Ubiquiti's help articles can change or disappear without notice, the full text of the relevant official documentation has been preserved below as of March 2026.
Source: https://help.ui.com/hc/en-us/articles/360008976393-Backups-and-Migration-in-UniFi
Captured: March 2026
UniFi simplifies backups and migration for all devices that host UniFi, including Cloud Gateways, CloudKeys, and Network Video Recorders (UNVR, ENVR). This ensures seamless transitions between devices while preserving settings and configurations.
UniFi provides both complete system backups and Network-specific backups. Most users will not need network-specific backups; they are advanced methods typically used by users with a Gen1 CloudKey, or those self-hosting the UniFi Network Server on a Windows, macOS, or Linux machine.
System Config Backups include all OS, application, and device configurations. These backups can be created and restored in Settings > Control Plane > Console. This is the most common form of backups for UniFi Cloud Gateways and CloudKeys.
The simplest way to ensure your data is backed up is to enable Automated System Backups:
If enabled, a cloud backup will be generated automatically each week and prior to each major update. Manual backups and restorations are managed in the Console's Control Plane.
Only the Cloud Gateway Owner has permissions to manage these backups, because they are saved directly to their UI Account. Visit account.ui.com/backups to view all backups associated with your account.
For users who cannot use cloud backups, a local offline backup file can be used. You can download it in Settings > Control Plane > Backups.
Restoring from a backup allows you to revert to a previously stable configuration, ensuring continuity and minimizing disruptions. This is especially useful after a system failure, misconfiguration, or when setting up a new device.
To restore from a backup:
By default, "Restore All Applications and Settings" is enabled. To perform a partial restoration, uncheck it and select the specific apps, settings and admin configurations you need. This is especially useful when restoring to a different device—such as transferring Protect settings from a UDM Pro backup to a UNVR.
System Config Backups enable easy migration of devices and settings when moving from an old UniFi Cloud Gateway or console to a new one - such as when upgrading from an older or smaller device (e.g., UniFi Dream Machine Pro) to a larger or newer one (e.g., Enterprise Fortress Gateway).
This process is the only way to transfer device management from one Cloud Gateway, CloudKey or UNVR to another—other than performing a factory reset, which is generally undesirable.
To migrate backups to a new device:
Note: If migrating to a different model Cloud Gateway, CloudKey or UNVR, the new device must be running UniFi OS 3.1 or higher.
Migrating Protect to a new UniFi Console follows the same procedure listed above. After restoring your configuration backup, all connected cameras will automatically begin recording on the new system. However, some key considerations apply:
All users with a dedicated UniFi Cloud Gateway or UniFi Console are encouraged to use the comprehensive System Config Backup. For rare cases, UniFi does offer Network-only Backups, which contain UniFi Network settings and device configurations.
These backups are generally only necessary for:
These backups are managed in Settings > Control Plane > Backups.
For users who cannot use cloud Network backups, a local offline Network backup file can be used. This method is most applicable when replacing a self-hosted UniFi Network Server or CloudKey with another local instance.
Source: https://help.ui.com/hc/en-us/articles/29486916055191-Transferring-Ownership-of-UniFi-Talk
Captured: March 2026
Easily manage your UniFi Talk subscription and billing by identifying or transferring the UniFi Talk owner role.
The UniFi Talk owner manages subscription and billing. This role is specific to UniFi Talk and is separate from the UniFi Console owner role. To identify the current UniFi Talk owner, visit Settings > System.
You can transfer ownership to another Ubiquiti account by following these steps:
Note: The transfer button will only display for an eligible new UniFi Talk owner. It will not display if you're logged in as the current UniFi Talk owner.
Captured: March 2026
Whether you're factory resetting, replacing a UniFi Console, or migrating to a new one, UniFi Talk provides a seamless recovery option to restore your subscriptions, phone numbers, and settings. This guide will walk you through the process of recovering your previous installation, managing phone number assignments, and resolving common issues such as call failures or device connection errors.
If you need to recover your UniFi Talk setup on a new or reset UniFi Console, follow these steps:
Note: UniFi Talk installations can only be active on a single UniFi Console. Recovering or migrating an installation will transfer it from any previous Console.
If you're experiencing issues with receiving calls, enabling Advanced Call Routing may resolve the problem:
Note: After enabling, restart the Talk application for the changes to take effect.
For outgoing call failures, enable Advanced Call Routing by following the same steps outlined above. If this does not resolve the issue, try the following:
If you were previously able to make or receive calls but are encountering issues after a network event, restarting the UniFi Talk application can often resolve this:
If the issue persists, contact UniFi Technical Support.
To avoid nuisance labels like "Spam" or "Scam Likely" and prevent call blocking, follow these steps:
If your Talk device displays a connection error, it is unable to communicate with the Talk application. Follow these troubleshooting steps:
No. Despite Ubiquiti claiming it includes "all OS, application, and device configurations," real-world restores show that WAN configurations, UniFi Talk, and device adoption state are not retained. There is no published list of exactly what is and isn't included.
No. After restoring from a cloud backup, WAN configurations were not retained and had to be manually reconfigured. This means if you have static IP settings, PPPoE credentials, VLAN tagging on WAN, or other ISP-specific settings, you will need to re-enter them. Have this information documented before you need it.
No. UniFi Talk and all its configurations were not retained after restoring from a cloud backup. Everything had to be rebuilt from scratch, including: third-party SIP trunk configurations, smart attendants (auto-attendants), interface designs (uploaded images and colour schemes), call groups, phone hardware assignments to numbers, phone and user assignments to groups, voicemail settings, and call routing rules. Ubiquiti's support response was to link to an article about transferring Talk ownership, which does not address backup/restore.
In this case, yes. Devices required factory resets for re-adoption rather than being automatically recognized by the restored console. Plan for physical access to all your devices (switches, access points, cameras, door locks) after a restore.
Not documented. Access door configurations, schedules, and badge assignments may or may not survive a cloud backup restore. Plan to reconfigure manually as a precaution.
Protect settings should restore according to the documentation, but recordings will not. Camera-specific settings like motion zones, privacy zones, and recording schedules may need verification after restore. Cameras may need factory reset and re-adoption.
Not documented by Ubiquiti. It is unclear whether cloud backups and local backups contain the same data, or if one is more comprehensive than the other.
No. UniFi backup files (.unf) are opaque binary files. Unlike vendors such as Fortinet or pfSense that use human-readable config files, you cannot inspect, diff, or verify the contents of a UniFi backup before you need to restore it.
No. There is no official post-restore verification guide. You are expected to discover what didn't restore on your own, during what is likely already a stressful situation.
VPN server settings (WireGuard, OpenVPN, L2TP) may or may not restore. Client enrollments may need to be re-done if certificates are regenerated during the restore process. This is not documented.
Basic firewall rules generally restore. However, rules referencing specific device IPs, device groups, or dynamic elements may break if devices receive new IP addresses or need re-adoption after the restore.
Not documented. Static routes, policy-based routing, and other advanced routing configurations should be documented separately as a precaution.
Not documented. These settings may or may not survive a restore. Verify after restoration.
Not documented. If you use UniFi Connect for displays or digital signage, document your configuration separately.
Not at the same price point. Cisco Meraki covers networking, cameras, access control, and phones but at 5-10x the cost with per-device licensing. Verkada covers cameras, access, networking, and intercoms but is cloud-dependent and expensive. No single vendor matches UniFi's breadth at its price point.
This is a commonly reported experience. The Ubiquiti Community forums are moderated by Ubiquiti and posts critical of their products or highlighting shortcomings are frequently removed. Consider using r/Ubiquiti on Reddit for unmoderated discussion.
At minimum: publish an itemized list of what each backup type includes and excludes, per application. Provide a post-restore checklist. Make backup files inspectable. Provide a migration compatibility matrix between device types. These are table-stakes documentation requirements for any backup/restore feature in any product, consumer or enterprise.
Likely yes. The backup system is shared across UniFi Cloud Gateways, so UDM-SE, UCG-Ultra, UCG-Max, and CloudKey Gen2+ users should expect similar behavior. The documentation gaps apply to all of them equally.
At minimum, after every significant change. Ideally, establish a monthly routine of screenshotting or exporting every settings page across all UniFi applications. Treat it like a fire drill — it's tedious, but you'll be glad you did it when you need it.