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

Good product. Solar keeps camera at 100% charge. Clear pictures and easy app to navigate.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5 Stars The Tapo SolarCam 1080p Security Camera has been a great addition to our home security setup. Installation was simple, and being wireless made it much easier to place exactly where we needed it without worrying about running power cords. The solar charging feature works well and keeps the camera running without needing constant battery changes or manual charging. The video quality is clear enough for everyday monitoring, and I can easily view the feed from my phone through the app. It gives me peace of mind knowing I can check in anytime, and the motion alerts are helpful without being overly sensitive. Overall, it’s a convenient, low-maintenance security camera that works well for outdoor use.

tried to pick up animals that come into the yard, not very successful so far, people detection works ok. I wish there was an option for longer and continuous recording, not just 60 seconds max.

I purchased two of these cameras on the same date. After installing them both and monitoring their performance, I saw some clear discrepancies between them. In reviewing the camera settings, I noticed that one has a Hardware Version of 2.6 while the other has Version 1.26. I have observed that model 1.26 experiences *much* faster battery drain than model 2.6. For example, after two partly cloudy days in a row with no rain, the battery on 1.26 dropped to 80%. Model 2.6 has not once dipped below 99% (and that’s with the camera’s light turned on overnight). I’m a bit frustrated that it seems like I was shipped an older model (1.26) which clearly has deficiencies compared to 2.6. I feel I’ve done everything I can to optimize the performance of the camera and yet still the battery drain is extreme. Based on my experience, it seems they’re shipping older models alongside newer ones, with the older models having clear performance problems. I find this inexcusable and am deeply disappointed by this experience. If old stock isn’t performant, then eat the cost and recycle the materials, but don’t sell it to customers. Very dishonest. Update: I messaged Tapo Support a month ago asking about this issue and have not even received so much as an acknowledgment. Complete radio silence. I remain frustrated and completely disappointed by this experience. Update 2: Two months after messaging support, still no reply. Model 1.26 is still draining battery like crazy and model 2.6 is still doing well. I remain convinced that the older models are fundamentally flawed products that should have been removed from storefronts. Update 3: Another reason to absolutely loathe model 1.26: every time there’s a disruption in my wifi signal, the camera goes offline…and STAYS offline. It will NEVER (and I mean never) reconnect. I need to unplug my router for at least 5 minutes and then plug it back in. Only then will the camera reconnect and resume its normal (though still substandard) function. Words do not do justice to the fury I feel about this piece of garbage. Update 4 (edit): After a brief power disruption, the model 1.26 camera went offline and stayed offline (model 2.6 reconnected without any issue). For several hours (and multiple reboots of my router), model 1.26 refused to reconnect, so I climbed on a ladder and took it down to bring it inside. I performed factory reset after factory reset and watched it fail to connect to my WiFi every single time. (This took over an hour.) After doing a good deal of research online and consulting our AI overlords, it seemed highly likely that the older 1.26 model is no longer compatible with more modern routers (of which I recently installed). The AI’s recommendation? Buy an older model router and tether it to my new router. Then try to pair the older Tapo camera to it. Because I’m a complete maniac who refuses to be bested by a piece of plastic, I ordered a new (old) router. Long story short, the Tapo camera paired easily with the new (old) router. This, by no means, turns my 1-star rating review around. I did this to further prove my point. These crooks are shipping cameras so old that they won’t actually pair with new routers. This is indefensible and shouldn’t be permitted. While I’ve reinstalled my camera (battery drain is still horrendous, by the way), I’m still very unhappy. I highly recommend that everyone avoid buying this model of camera and ensure you spend a little more money on a newer variant. You don’t want to go through what I’ve gone through. Update 5: Well, it finally happened. Thieves stole some valuable items from the front of my home. For whatever reason, the camera stopped recording overnight (from about 7pm to 5am. For about 10 hours, it simply stopped working. There was no power or internet disruption that I'm aware of. It simply didn’t record. (I live in a busy city - there's always a few people walking on the sidewalk triggering the camera to record.) During this 10 hour window is when the thieves stole from me. The items stolen were in plain view of the camera. It *always* records people walking in this spot. The camera was working perfectly before and after the crime was committed. I’m going to replace these worthless cameras as soon as possible. And when I do, I will destroy these pieces of garbage so that they spend eternity in a landfill, where they belong. DO NOT BUY THESE CAMERAS.

Awesome product- I do not need to re-charge it because the sun keeps this fully charged. When its cloudy, the battery kicks in and that will re-charge on it's own the next time it is sunny. If you so wish, you can detach the camera and charge it with a USB-C (included) cable on your own as well but I have not needed to. The solar panel can be moved as well, it does not need to be hooked right above the camera as it is shown (I left it like that since my camera is in a sunny enough location). The panel comes with a cord that is like 4 feet long that can hook to the camera along with a separate base to move it into a sunnier location if your camera is not in an area that gets enough sun (like hooked to a tree). Includes everything you need to hook it to a wall etc.- screws and wall anchors, along with a handy sticker that you can put on the wall to use as your drill hole guide so you are not having to hold it up and draw holes/drill. As to the camera video/photos- very good. I have no issue with that, even at night. It comes with several features like an alarm if you want to turn on to scare intruders, a light that you can manually turn on at night, and a manual microphone to speak into it from your app/phone. You can also set the detection area in case you do not want certain areas to set it off in its range (which the range is VERY good as well), and also set it to alert your phone for only certain things like pets or people or cars only etc. Pretty much if you want to customize it, you can. Setup was very easy with the Tapo app, and it works well with Alexa/Google. Anyone can do it- even if you do not know much about apps on the phone. Price was good as well for what you get in my opinion. If you want a cheaper option, beware of the quality of the picture you get and also the battery life. JUST as good as the RING that I also own, and it is cheaper! It comes with a 30 day free TAPO cloud subscription similar to the ring one, but I never needed it. I have it save to a SD card since it includes a slot for that (which you have to purchase the card on your own- but they are cheap these days). Hope that helps! Well worth it if you do not want the RING cost but still want the RING quality.