Easy to install and configure security camera with 4K. So far the solar panel has kept the battery at 100%. Great picture - even at night you see color. Better than my Nest cameras - specifically with the solar option and the higher resolution. No subscription for captured videos required - just insert a memory card. I attached it to a tree in the front yard so I have a view of my house when away. My nest cameras required a cable, and so they are mounted to the house pointing to the street and alerted me of every person walking their dog by my yard. I wonder if a curious critter like a squirrel could climb on the camera and dislodge it from or move it on its magnetic base. (I lost one of my Nest cameras to an angry raccoon!) But the magnet is pretty strong, and it has not happened yet. I will update the review after the next winter if that is an issue, and to report how waterproof the camera really is after a New England winter. The build quality is definitely on par with the Nests… Read more

I bought 2 of the solar 4k mags months ago. If they get just a little sun a day it’s enough to maintain the battery in the 90’s%. The cam at the end of my driveway only gets about 2 hours of morning sun, takes over a dozen vids a day, and has for the past 4 mos stayed above 95%. I was so impressed with these I thought I’d try the 2k cams out. Pic quality was not near as good, and understandably so.. but they still work great, so I kept them for use in areas I just wanted eyes on. Purchased 2 more 4ks and am loving every min of it! They are so easy to set up, and can be done so in just a few mins. The internal (with card) storage without the need of a hub is amazing. I do wish that they came in other colors other than white. I spray painted mine camo green and they look amazing! Wide angle lens is adjustable. Detects farther distances than advertised. It will pick up a car 50’+ away sometimes. I’m so happy with this purchase. Read more

When researching to upgrade my current five year old indoor and outdoor cameras, Tapo checked all the boxes … I wanted a reasonably priced wireless / wifi product that did not require a subscription service, an easy to use app, high quality clear videos, and options for extended battery life. I purchased two Tapo C460 cameras with the solar chargers and set them up next to my current five year old Arlo cameras for comparison. Set up using the Tapo app was a breeze, provided multiple detection and alarm type and detection zone options, the sun keeps the battery fully charged and the live look and video quality is better than I anticipated. So after about a 5 week comparison period I was so impressed with my Tapo experience, I upgraded my two properties with all new Tapo outdoor and indoor cameras along with several of their smart switches I used to create automation routines for lighting. Am happy I chose Tapo and looking for a continued positive user experience with Tapo products. Read more

I bought two of these solar powered cameras and one non-solar for my yard. I already had indoor Tapo cameras for my pets, so I did not need to set up the app on my phone, just add these cameras to the existing account, which made it quick and easy to set up, although the app was a little glitchy when I set up the first camera. Installation outside was quick and easy, as I just needed to screw the camera base to wood posts. Instructions are easy to follow and provide for a number of different circumstances, depending on your needs. The cameras take a few hours to fully charge before you install them, so get them charging as soon as you open the package. You will get an alert on your phone when they are fully charged, which is convenient. I set up one camera in the open where it gets plenty of sun throughout the day. The solar panel keeps that camera fully charged. I have never had to recharge it manually, although I have not had it throughout winter when there is less sun, so I expect there may be some drain on the battery, but not enough that a manual charge will be required. The second camera is in my carport so I needed to use the longer extension cord to have the solar panel separate from the camera. That is easy to set up and the cord is very long, allowing me several options. Initially I attached the solar panel under the overhang of the roof, but pointed at the sun. In the hottest part of summer, it maintained the charge at almost 100%. As the season cooled and the sun position moved, and there was less sun, I was losing power and the solar panel was not able to keep up. I eventually detached the solar panel from the post and used the long cord to position it on top of my rain barrel where it gets more consistent sun. Since doing that the solar panel has been slowly increasing the battery every day, about 2 to 4 percent a day. If your location does not allow for much sun on the solar panel, don't bother getting it. Get the camera without the solar panel and manually charge it. Light alone does not charge the panel adequately in a Canadian climate, it needs some direct sun on it. I put the camera without a solar panel in a location that does not get any sun. This location does not get much traffic so the battery should last longer. I have found that it needs manual charging far more often than the company describes, but it's easy to do. The camera attaches to the base by a strong magnet, so removing it is simple and does not require tools. I take it in the house to charge, but you probably could charge it in place with an extension cord. The extreme heat of summer drained the battery on my non-solar camera very quickly. Once the weather cooled, it has drained much slower. I am unsure if extreme cold will cause the same to happen as extreme heat, as I have not had the camera over winter, but that seems likely. The app has lots of features, like control over what you want it to detect (people, vehicles, motion and animals), if you want alerts, how sensitive you want the camera to be when detecting, motion detection light, alarm and ability to speak and hear through the app. The app also allows you to reboot the camera from the app, which is helpful when glitches happen. Updates happen automatically, and you are advised when they are installing on the app. The app is easy to use and figure out the features on your own, much better than some other brands of camera. I have a Wi-Fi extender in my house, which makes it possible to use these wireless cameras outside. You want to make sure you have strong Wi-Fi outside your home or you will need to get an extender to go wireless. I use SD micro cards for storage instead of the cloud subscription. The micro cards hold recordings for a long time before they are recorded over on an automatic loop. This is much cheaper and the only disadvantage is you cannot receive a photo of whatever triggered your camera (person, animal) with the alert on your phone. This is not a problem for me, as you just need to click the alert and it will take you to the playback of that recording within a few seconds. Pay attention to what micro SD cards are suitable for your camera, as some do not work. I bought the SanDisk 128GB High Endurance Video micro SDXC Card, model number SDSQQNR-128G-GN6IA, around $20 on sale. You will want to experiment with your settings to find what is right for you. Initially I found a person could walk past the camera quickly and it would not record. They had to be there a bit before it triggered the camera to record. I was able to fix this by adjusting the settings. It just took a bit of tweaking to get it the way I wanted it. The live view and recordings overnight are pretty good on my solar powered cameras, but not the non-solar camera. There is an option to choose, day, night or auto lighting, and on the solar cameras the auto works perfectly. I can see in the dark. On my non-solar camera it is complete darkness and if someone was there, it would be difficult to see anything through the app. I am going to install some lighting on that side of the house to hopefully improve the view after dark. I haven't contacted the company yet to see if they can suggest something through the app, or if this is just a malfunction of this particular camera. It's seems odd when it works so well on the other cameras. Overall I am very happy with my cameras. Tapo has been a great brand to use, easy to set up and great features through their user friendly app. I recommend these outdoor cameras, just be sure to consider your needs and ability to use the solar panel before spending the extra money. Read more

Easy Install and app navigation. Quality video images and functions. Read more