The FCC’s ban on TP-Link, perhaps one of the largest router manufacturers in the world, may have shaken confidence in the brand. Yet, undeniably, its products are top-notch according to many, with TP-Link products always topping the list of best router brands. Does this same level of quality extend to its other offerings, like Tapo cameras?
Although some models, like the TP-Link Tapo C200, are well-reviewed and among the best security cameras that don’t require a subscription, that doesn’t mean everything is perfect. According to online security enthusiasts, TP-Link cameras can suffer from battery issues (made worse by the fact that they are not replaceable on some models), unexplained timeline cleaning, and occasional firmware issues. Some of these experiences can be explained by the fact that unhappy customers are much more likely to vent their frustrations on the internet, as many Redditors attest that they have never had a Tapo camera fail on them.
At the same time, there is a subset of users who generally do not trust TP-Link. They point to controversies surrounding the brand, such as known vulnerabilities in certain routers. Some go so far as to claim that purchasing from the manufacturer is inherently dangerous because it is under investigation by the U.S. government. That hasn’t stopped others from praising the devices and pushing back against the notion that TP-Link devices pose a security risk by design. Regardless of your position on the issue, general distrust of the brand is arguably the biggest problem with TP-Link cameras. After all, many users won’t touch them with a ten-foot pole for this very reason, so it’s fair to highlight it as the biggest of the downsides.
What exactly are users complaining about?
Starting with the battery issues, one person reports that the internal batteries in his six Tapo TC85 cameras started failing after two years. The reason this is such a problem, according to users, is that the batteries cannot be replaced without damaging the devices. Unfortunately, there are many Reddit threads describing the same problem. One is dedicated to the rapid battery drain of C410 cameras after two months of use, while another focuses specifically on several Tapo cameras losing their charge after being integrated with Home Assistant.
Apart from that, there are some complaints about cameras going offline. In one thread, a user said that their TP-Link Tapo camera started randomly disconnecting from the app, which comments say may be happening due to a failed firmware update. For one Redditor, several cameras had a similar problem. In some cases, video recordings can disappear randomly, as happened to one Tapo C246D user, with one commenter explaining that this is a known issue with this particular model. Again, it seems that the problem is not one-off, as other threads are complaining about the same thing.
It’s worth pointing out that you can probably find similar complaints about other manufacturers. It is impossible to know if TP-Link is on the hot seat and destroying Tapo’s reputation. A Reddit user called Big-Sweet-2179 said it best: Tapo is okay, but the problem is that there are better cameras like those from Reolink that offer a higher level of quality for the same price. They also talked about the TP-Link controversy, saying that it is not a big factor in the reputation of Tapo cameras, adding that Hikvision and Dahua have faced worse allegations than TP-Link and security enthusiasts still recommend them. Ultimately, you’ll have to make your own call.
