Q: What can I do if I can’t find my Tapo camera on Tapo app?

1. Check the System light of your camera and make sure it is solid green. Have a check on the DHCP client list of your router whether you can see the camera. If you cannot see it, please directly go to step 4. 2. Please kindly verify if there are any special symbols in your Tapo account password, if there is, try to remove it and make the account password simpler, then reset and add the camera from the beginning again. 3. Connect your smart phone to the same Wi-Fi network as your camera does and check whether you can see it on the Tapo app. If you can see it, that means the camera fails to connect to the cloud for unknown reasons and you cannot access it remotely. In this case, we recommend to turn off the firewall of your router and then reset & re-configure the camera. If you still cannot see it, make sure you have logged in with the correct account which you used to configure the camera. And then please go to step 4. 4. Please flip the monitor of the camera and find the Reset button. Then press and hold the Reset button for seconds till the camera says “reset successful”. 5. Check the DHCP Server of your router and make sure it is enabled. And then re-configure your camera.

Question 1

What can I do if I can’t find my Tapo camera on Tapo app?

Accepted Answer

1. Check the System light of your camera and make sure it is solid green. Have a check on the DHCP client list of your router whether you can see the camera. If you cannot see it, please directly go to step 4.

2. Please kindly verify if there are any special symbols in your Tapo account password, if there is, try to remove it and make the account password simpler, then reset and add the camera from the beginning again.

3. Connect your smart phone to the same Wi-Fi network as your camera does and check whether you can see it on the Tapo app. If you can see it, that means the camera fails to connect to the cloud for unknown reasons and you cannot access it remotely.

In this case, we recommend to turn off the firewall of your router and then reset & re-configure the camera. If you still cannot see it, make sure you have logged in with the correct account which you used to configure the camera. And then please go to step 4.

4. Please flip the monitor of the camera and find the Reset button. Then press and hold the Reset button for seconds till the camera says “reset successful”.

5. Check the DHCP Server of your router and make sure it is enabled. And then re-configure your camera.

Question 2

Where can I find detection recordings of Tapo cameras?

Accepted Answer

Note: A microSD card is needed for motion detection. Insert the microSD card and initiate it using the Tapo app.

Here we take Tapo C200 as an example.

1. Make sure the Motion Detection function is enabled. If not, go to Camera Settings > Detection & Alerts to customize current detection settings. Videos clips will be recorded when motion detected.

2. On the Live View page, tap Playback to view detection recordings if detected. Drag the time line and locate the orange sections.

Get to know more details of each function and configuration please go to Download Center to download the manual of your product.

Question 3

How to update firmware of Tapo cameras in Tapo app

Accepted Answer

Here we take Tapo C200 as an example.

1. On the home page, tap on your camera model card or tap Camera Preview > Manage to go to Live View page.

2. On the Live View page, tap the gear icon to enter the Camera Settings page.

3. Tap your camera model and you can find the Firmware Version. And you can tap to check for update or update the firmware.

Get to know more details of each function and configuration please go to Download Center to download the manual of your product.

Question 4

How to remove my Tapo smart device (smart plug, smart camera, smart bulb) when it is offline

Accepted Answer

On the home page, long tap on your model card. Then tap Remove at the bottom to remove the smart device from your TP-Link account (TP-Link ID).

Get to know more details of each function and configuration please go to Download Center to download the manual of your product.

Question 5

How to use Pan & Tilt function of Tapo cameras

Accepted Answer

Here we take Tapo C200 as an example.

1. On the home page, tap on your camera model card or tap Camera Preview > Manage to go to Live View page.

2. On the Live View page, tap Pan & Tilt to enter the control page. Tap on the Pan & Tilt to control your camera to move.

Vertical Cruise: Persistently move up and down. Tap X to stop cruising.

Horizontal Cruise: Persistently move from left to right. Tap X to stop cruising.

Pan & Tilt Settings: Tap Settings icon to set how many degrees the camera will move per tap of the Pan & Tilt.

Mark Position: Tap to mark your current position, and then you can quickly rotate your camera to the marked direction with just a tap.

Get to know more details of each function and configuration please go to Download Center to download the manual of your product.

Question 6

How to use motion detection function of my Tapo camera in Tapo app

Accepted Answer

Note: A microSD card is needed for motion detection. Insert the microSD card and initiate it using the Tapo app.

Here we take Tapo C200 as an example.

1. On the home page, tap on your camera model card or tap Camera Preview > Manage to go to Live View page.

2. On the Live View page, tap the gear icon to enter the Camera Settings page.

3. Tap Detection & Alerts to customize its current detection settings.

4. Enable Motion Detection function. You can toggle on to turn on the Notifications function if needed.

5. Customize Camera Alerts settings. Choose Alert Type (Sound/Light) and Alert Sound (Alarm/Tone), and set Alert Schedule as needed.

6. Customize Activity Zones and the camera will only detect motion in custom zones. Entire view is covered by default.

7. Adjust Motion Sensitivity (Low/Normal/High) as needed. Increased sensitivity results in more recordings and notifications.

8. After editing the detection settings for the camera, you can set the Recording Schedule on the Camera Settings page for Motion Detection as needed.

9. On the Live View page, tap Playback to view detection recordings if detected. Drag the time line and locate the orange sections.

Get to know more details of each function and configuration please go to Download Center to download the manual of your product.

Question 7

How can I view the video recordings of camera from the SD card on a computer?

Accepted Answer

Please plug the SD to your computer's SD card slot or an SD card adapter.

If you are using the SD card adapter, please insert it into a USB port on your computer.

For Windows:

Depending on the settings of your computer, a dialog box may appear. If a dialog box does not appear, open Windows File Explorer to locate and select the SD card on the left side of the window.

For MAC:

If you are using the SD card for the first time, your Mac will install the necessary driver software automatically. A device icon will appear on your Mac display. Double click the icon. You can also click “Finder” to open the Finder window and choose the icon for SD card under Devices. The contents will display in a separate window.

What if the recorded videos have no sound?

The recorded video uses G.711 as the standard for audio companding.

Some players do not support the codec such as the Windows Media Player, so the video can be played on Windows with no sound.

Please use a player that supports the G.711 codec such as the VLC on Windows. It can also be played properly on IOS.

For Android, please use the player that supports the G.711 codec as well.

What if the video recordings cannot be played?

The SD card will be divided into multiple MP4 files automatically once formatted on the Tapo app, and all of the folders will be named as xxxxxxxx_000000_tp00001.mp4, xxxxxxxx_000000_tp00002.mp4, and so on.

These MP4 files cannot be played or opened as there are no recordings in them. These files are reserved for the subsequent file to write. The actual video recordings will overwrite the files one by one.

Reserved files cannot be played:

Normally recorded videos (the prefix of the file will be replaced with the date and time):

Question 8

How to repair and format a microSD card via a third-party software

Accepted Answer

The Tapo camera or cloud camera supports microSD cards with up to 128GB capacity, which should be formatted to the FAT32 file system. Please format the SD card on the Tapo app before using it.

Users may not always be able to get the microSD card work properly on the camera due to some interference and it’s suggested to follow the microSD card basic troubleshooting in this FAQ.

Here we will show you how to test and verify the micoSD card via third-party software. We will take DiskGenius as an example, but users can also use some other similar software to test their microSD cards.

Step1

Please download the DiskGenius software on your computer.

Step2

Launch the DiskGenius software, click Disk at the top menu, and select ‘Verify Or Repair Bad Sectors(Y)’.

Step3

Select the microSD card (may show as Removable Disk) that you want to use on the Tapo camera and click ‘Start Verify’, it will scan to check if there is any bad sector.

Disk conditions are presented by blocks in different colors, for example, red block with ‘Damaged’ means bad sectors, and ‘Severe’ blocks are likely to turn to bad sectors. Repairing bad sector destroys data saved on or near bad sectors, so remember to back up the data before repairing, then click on ‘Repair’ to repair the bad sectors.

Step4

Once all the bad sectors get repaired, please select this microSD card again on DiskGenius and click on ‘Format’ from the top menu, choose FAT32 as the File System and give it a go.

Once finished this repair and format on DiskGenius, insert the microSD card back into your Tapo camera and initialize it again on the Tapo app one more time to see if it will be detected and formatted as ‘Good’ now.

Question 9

What should I do if I fail to configure the Tapo smart bulb?

Accepted Answer

The Tapo app will guide you step by step during the initial configuration, but you may not be able to get through all the steps due to some interference. This FAQ will tell you what to do if you have trouble getting through a certain step.

Case 1: When powering on the smart device

Install your smart bulb and turn on the light. Wait about five seconds. If the smart bulb doesn’t blink three times. Reset the bulb as per QIG/UG.

Case 2: Can’t find your smart device

The phone is looking for the smart device. If you are unable to get through this step, please refer to the following suggestions.

1. Move your phone closer to the smart device.

2. Force to close the Tapo app, and then open it again and try to go through the process again.

3. If the problem persists, restart the Tapo device.

Case 3: Can’t find your Wi-Fi network

If you are unable to find your home Wi-Fi network, please refer to the following suggestions.

1. The signal strength of your home Wi-Fi network is a bit weak, move the smart device closer to your router for a try.

2. Ensure your home Wi-Fi network is a 2.4GHz Wi-Fi network, the Tapo device does not support a 5GHz Wi-Fi connection.

3. If it doesn’t display the Wi-Fi name of the router automatically, please click on “RESCAN” at the upper right corner to refresh the Wi-Fi list.

4. If the router’s SSID is hidden, please choose “Other” to input SSID and password manually.

5. Reset the device as per QIG/UG and go through the process again.

Case 4: Unable to connect your smart device to the Wi-Fi network

If you are unable to get through this step, please refer to the following suggestions.

1. Ensure you have selected the correct home Wi-Fi network and have entered a correct wireless password. If the Wi-Fi network or password is incorrect, click on “Choose a Network” and select the Wi-Fi network again.

2. Make sure your smart device is within the Wi-Fi range of your router.

3. If the problem persists, try to reset the smart device as per UG/QIG, and then set it up again.

Get to know more details of each function and configuration please go to Download Center to download the manual of your product.

Question 10

What should I do if I fail to configure the Tapo Smart Plug?

Accepted Answer

The Tapo app will guide you step by step during the initial configuration, but you may not be able to get through all the steps due to some interference. This FAQ will tell you what to do if you have trouble getting through a certain step.

Case 1

The phone is looking for the smart device via Bluetooth signal, if you are unable to get through this step, you will see the following error page.

Troubleshooting tips:

1. Move your phone closer to the smart plug, and disconnect other Bluetooth devices from your phone.

2. Turn off Bluetooth on your phone, then turn it back on and click on “TRY AGAIN”.

3. Force to close the Tapo app, and then open it again and try to go through the process again.

4. If the problem persists, restart the Tapo device.

Case 2

If you are unable to find your home Wi-Fi network, please refer to the following suggestions.

Troubleshooting tips:

1. The signal strength of your home Wi-Fi network is a bit weak, move the smart device closer to your router for a try.

2. Ensure your home Wi-Fi network is a 2.4GHz Wi-Fi network, the Tapo device does not support a 5GHz Wi-Fi connection.

3. If it doesn’t display the Wi-Fi name of the router automatically, please click on “RECAN” at the upper right corner to refresh the Wi-Fi list.

4. If the router’s SSID is hidden, please choose “Other” to input SSID and password manually.

5. Reset the device as per QIG/UG and go through the process again.

Case 3

If you are unable to get through this step, you will see the following error page.

Troubleshooting tips:

1. Ensure you have selected the correct home Wi-Fi network and have entered a correct wireless password. If the Wi-Fi network or password is incorrect, click on “Choose a Network” and select the Wi-Fi network again.

2. Make sure your smart device is within the Wi-Fi range of your router.

3. Turn your phone’s or tablet’s Bluetooth off and back on.

4. If the problem persists, try to reset the smart device as per UG/QIG, and then set it up again.

All FAQ