360Eyes SD Card Guide: How to Insert and Format a Micro SD Card

To get local recording working on a 360Eyes camera: power the camera off, insert a micro SD card into the TF card slot until it clicks, power back on, then format the card from the camera's settings in the app and choose your recording mode. The app refers to the card as a TF card — TF and micro SD are the same thing. Here's what card to buy, how to insert it, and how the in-app format works.

What SD card does the 360Eye camera take?

360Eyes cameras take micro SD cards (the fingernail-sized format), not full-size SD cards. Exact limits vary by model, so check your camera's own listing, but as a general guide:

• Capacity: most 360Eyes cameras handle common consumer sizes such as 32, 64 or 128 GB; some models advertise support for larger cards. If your model's maximum is unknown, 64–128 GB from a known brand is the safe middle ground.
• Speed class: a Class 10 / U1 or better card is the sensible choice for continuous video writing. Slower cards can cause gaps or corrupted clips.
• Quality matters more than size. Security cameras write to the card around the clock, which wears cheap cards out quickly. A genuine card from a major brand — ideally one rated for surveillance/high-endurance use — outlasts a bargain card several times over.
• Avoid second-hand or no-name cards: fake-capacity cards are common and produce exactly the kind of "records for a while then stops" behavior that looks like a camera fault.

How to insert a micro SD card into a 360Eyes camera

1. Power the camera off — unplug it, or for a bulb model, turn the wall switch off. Inserting a card with power on works on some models but risks card corruption; cutting power first is the safe habit.
2. Find the TF card slot. Its position varies by model: often under a rubber flap or cover on the camera body, near the lens assembly, or on the base. On pan/tilt models you may need to gently rotate the lens housing by hand (or via the app, before powering down) to expose the slot. On bulb cameras it's typically on the bulb body — far easier to reach before the bulb is mounted.
3. Check the orientation. The slot only accepts the card one way — most slots have a small diagram showing whether the gold contacts face up or down. Never force it.
4. Push until it clicks. The slot is spring-loaded; a proper click means it's seated. To remove a card later, push it in again and it pops out.
5. Power the camera back on and wait for it to reconnect to WiFi.

360Eyes SD card format from the app

A new card often works without formatting, but formatting in the camera (not in a PC) is the most reliable way to start — and the standard fix when the app shows no card or wrong capacity.

1. Open the camera from the Devices list and go into its settings.
2. Open the TF card / Recording Settings section. You should see the card's capacity and free space; if it shows no card, see the troubleshooting table below.
3. Choose the format option and confirm. Formatting erases everything on the card — there is no undo, so export anything you need first.
4. Formatting usually takes well under a minute. When it finishes, the full capacity should show as available.

Recording settings worth checking

While you're in the Recording Settings screen, on most app versions you can choose how the camera writes to the card:

• Continuous (all-day) recording fills the card fastest but never misses anything.
• Event/motion recording saves only when motion is detected, stretching the card much further. If you pick this mode and clips are missing, the motion detection not recording guide covers the usual causes.
• Loop recording: when the card fills, 360Eyes cameras generally overwrite the oldest footage automatically — local storage is a rolling window, not an archive. Export anything important promptly.

To watch what's on the card, open playback and make sure the source toggle is set to TF rather than Cloud — the playback timeline guide walks through the date picker and source switching.

Troubleshooting: card not detected or not recording

If a freshly formatted, known-good card still isn't seen, try a different card before assuming the slot is faulty — card incompatibility is far more common than dead hardware. And if you're still setting the camera up for the first time, the first-time setup walkthrough covers everything from pairing to motion alerts.