TP-Link 𝗧𝗮𝗽𝗼 SolarCam C402 Kit, Outdoor Battery Camera w/Solar Panel Base, Wireless, 1080P, Free Person/Vehicle Detection, SD/Cloud Storage, Color Night Vision, No Hub Needed, Works w/Alexa

I’m a senior woman and I had this Tapo cam mounted under my eaves and set up in no time. It’s the perfect solution for being able to have a security cam where I can’t have a hardwired one, and it works just as well as my Ring and SimpliSafe cams that are hardwired.The picture quality is clear, voice is clear, it’s easy to use the app, and it connects easily to my WiFi (thanks to my TP Link Deco system which gave me coverage where I had none (or poor) where I needed to mount this camera).**BATTERY LIFE** - I installed this camera 4+ months ago and the battery is at 73% now, so I can easily believe the claim of a 6-month battery life. Where I have it there isn’t an extraordinary amount of activity like there is with my doorbell camera that goes off two dozen times a day, but it does pick up motion at least 5 or 6 times a day, so I’m really happy with the battery life. I bought a solar panel for it, but haven’t installed it yet because the battery life has been so good.I put an SD card in it, but I haven’t checked it so I can’t say much about that.You can easily set areas to detect or not detect motion, and that feature works really well.I have 3 Ring cams and a SimpliSafe doorbell camera, and this inexpensive Tapo battery cam works as well as they do. ALL of them occasionally drop their connection (so far they all reconnect on their own), so I can’t take a star away for connectivity when practically every device I have has the same random, occasional issue.We’ve had heavy rains, snow/freezing temps and I’ve had no issues at all. It is under an eave, so I can’t say how it functions when fully exposed to the elements.The light is good. It won’t light up your entire yard, but it is bright and lights up the area around it sufficiently, imo.I’d actually give it 4.5 stars if I could because it isn’t “perfect”, but I haven’t found a device that functions “5-star perfect” 100% of the time. What is “perfect” is the battery life and being able to easily mount this camera practically anywhere.I initially had trouble connecting to the camera from my phone, and the app would repeatedly say that the camera was “offline”. I was about to return it, and then I realized my phone had to be on my home WiFi to connect to it. I never used to keep my WiFi on, on my phone, but now I do and I have no problems connecting to the camera. That’s the only difference I can see between this camera and my Ring cameras. My WiFi doesn’t have to be on to connect to them, and I think there’s a setting I haven’t figured out to remedy this. I haven’t seen any other complaints about this issue, so I suspect it's ‘user error’ on my part.***Before you mount it (or any other WiFi device) I strongly recommend getting the TP-Link ‘WiFi Toolkit’ app on your phone. It allows you to walk around your house or property and see how good or bad your WiFi signal is at a particular location. This will save you a lot of time and headache when mounting or installing a device, especially one that is hardwired that you can’t check until you’ve gone through the trouble of installing it. Very handy app.Anyway, I highly recommend this Tapo battery cam. It’s easy to install, works well, has a great picture and sound, the light is good, it doesn’t send random alerts, and it’s definitely the right price.

Works very well. Battery life is it 100% almost all the time. Great for remote locations, as long as they're within Wi-Fi rangeEase of use:Simple installationNight vision:Night vision is good within rangeValue for money:Great value for the money.

Several thoughts, initially I selected TAPO 402 camera(s) because of a somewhat positive experience with TAPO extender(s) made by the same company as well as door bell camera - also same company. Mostly very happy with the purchases. The camera provides exceptional picture clarity. Installation was straight forward, the batteries were about 50% - 60% upon arrival. Manual says to let them charge for about 7 hours, mine charged in about 4.5 hours. included charger and cables worked well with NO ISSUES. Mounting the cameras was not a problem. Field of view was very good (especially the depth). I already had some experience with the app from 2 previous products. The different detection modes was EXTREMELY NICE. A MAJOR POSITIVE point was that everything can be accomplished with LOCAL (on the camera) storage by using a MICRO SD CARD (up to 512 GB).Recall and play back of the locally stored audio & video works well at home as well as away from home!All of the component cameras integrate very nicely with in the TAPO app and they play well together.You get 30 days free cloud storage with each individual camera (including the previously mentioned door bell camera -- via an included HUB for the door bell). NO SUBSCRIPTION !! :-) :-) :-)Here are I few things I wish TAPO would have done a bit better:PROVIDE LIVE PERSON to PERSON Technical support (not a fan of EMAIL or CHAT support - TOO LONG DELAY for REPLY).MORE secure mounting of cameral to stand -- Maybe some type of security bolt or lock (??), it is too easy to remove the camera from the mount.Somewhat more user friendly NAMING CONVENTIONS - within the app.IMPROVE THE INTEGRATION & FUNCTION(s) WITH ALEXA -- This was a major selling point for me.It took the better part of 3 hours on the phone with LIVE (person to person) AMAZON (technical) support to enable ALEXA to recognize the door bell camera and 2 of the other out side cameras, a major saving grace of that technical support session was that the agent was able to screen share with me through my phone, everything was thoroughly validated and secure for the screen share.MAYBE TAPO could offer this in the future -- perhaps 30 days worth from initial installation .Was eventually able to get ALEXA to announce (and show) when some was at the door.The TAPO cameras work very well with their app, ALEX (app) works very well with its show hardware!Getting BOTH platforms to play NICE with each other was a chore, BUT, in the end well worth it!Happy with all of the cameras definitely plan to purchase at least one more. I am glad that I purchased them and expect that they will last a long time.I have not been compensated in ANY way for this review

I’m giving this 4 stars because it works well overall, but there are a few drawbacks.Pros:✔ Easy to install – Setting it up was quick and hassle-free.✔ Reliable performance – It does its job well as a security camera, with clear video and good motion detection.✔ Solar panel keeps it charged – With the solar panel, I haven’t had to manually recharge the battery; it maintains good autonomy.✔ Good value for money – I bought it on sale, and for the price, the quality is solid. I just hope the materials hold up over time.Cons:❌ No ONVIF support – Unfortunately, it’s not compatible with my Hikvision DVR, which is disappointing.❌ TP-Link removed the camera account option – This limits some flexibility in managing the device.Overall, it’s a good camera for basic use, but the lack of ONVIF and account options keeps it from being perfect.