Does the Tapo MagCam Battery Actually Last 300 Days?

[@sx20Ramar]

I just got the Tapo C425. Looking at live feeds around 10 times a day, I go through around 12% of battery A DAY! 😮 If you want to watch alot of live video, you need a wired camera. Easy to charge, though.

[@ramzisunilabdullah696]

The camera detected my wife as a pet 😅

[@Dani-zg7fr]

My tapo c325wb cam sometimes detects cats and chickens as persons, my tapo c520ws sometimes detects my couch as a person, and my tapo c225 sometimes detects my wife and my kids as pets 😂

[@Danny-nc3co]

How well does it integrate with Google Home?

[@TechWithBrett]

It is able to show the camera pretty quickly on my Nest Hub. There is no option to view the Camera in the Google Home app.

[@HenryAcevedo]

They integrate very basic to Google home, you can stream to Google Nest, but nothing else. ALEXA AND SMARTHINGS have better integration, you can customize using motion detection of the cameras, I do have a tapo doorbell that I set to stream doorbell video to Google Nest when doorbell is pressed.

[@ninan8593]

Great video. Convinced me to get 2. But I can’t for the life of me figure out how to “black out” my neighbors front yard. Could you advise? I’ve been playing around with the zones, but can’t seem to find the right setting.

[@Hdic2018]

What size SD card do you have on the front camera? The camera's weakest point seems to be in the night mode, right?

[@carlw]

Great video, tx. I was going to use two of these guys on the corner of my house, one pointing along one wall, another pointing into the backyard but they will be very close to one another. Have you ever tried using the solar panel to maintain charge to two cameras using a 'Y' USB connector? It apparently takes 30 minutes of sun a day to keep one charged. Therefore it should require maybe an hr to maintain two cameras?

[@TechWithBrett]

I haven't tried that. I'm not sure if it will work because the output from the solar panel wouldn't be enough to give the camera enough charge.

[@carlw]

​@@TechWithBrettThat's what I thought too but their info says 30min to charge in sun. So with two, at half charge one hour for both. I did a search and the company doesn't recommend it likely because they want you to buy one panel per light. Electronically, there's no reason why it wouldn't work just like a partly cloudy day also wouldn't provide maximum charge. Same thing.

[@Digitalfiendscom]

I wonder if the camera pointing at your exterior steps has poor night vision due to the glare of the IR lights reflecting off the big wall to the left of the camera. I think if you aligned that camera so that the wall was barely visible in the image, the IR would work better. Great review though. I just discovered Tapo cams and picked up a couple of different ones (love the C130 doorbell so far). I like the flexibility of the C425 but miss the ability to record 24/7. The FOV is great though, much better than the C420. I had a few issues with wifi connectivity on the C425 even with it only being about 20ft from my router….not sure why as the cheap FOOAD I had before had no issues. I’m really impressed with Tapo’s app…really slick to use compared to some of the others I’ve tried.

[@HenryAcevedo]

They have like 3 or 4 version of battery cameras, can you do a comparison video of video quality

[@ByronUK]

If you can plug a solar panel into it, can you run the usb cable into a mains plug and have it plugged in charging constantly ?

[@TechWithBrett]

Yes you can keep it plugged in. Just not sure about it getting wet like that.

[@Paddyk_ie]

Only got my mag cam. I have it on balanced. I have it in stalled for a couple of days and it's at 88% already. Don't see it lasting any where near 300 days. Very good camera otherwise.

[@ValdanoPG]

It probably won't last a month haha. Neither of mine do.

[@sx20Ramar]

@@ValdanoPG For me, looking at live video drains battery real fast. Mine lasts about a week to around 20%, then recharge time.

[@RJMEL24]

Can I put the solar panel in my front window where I get full sunlight at least 1/2 the day or will glass affect the solar panel functionality?

[@TechWithBrett]

I actually have some smart shades that have solar panels inside the windows and they are working great so I think it would work as long as the sun is directly hitting it.

[@lenseofanomad]

I just bought the TAPO C425 with solar panel, wondering how to view it on a computer browser. quality is good

[@johncaban4310]

Just ordered 2 for the outside and a wired one for the inside. Will be replacing my Wyze cameras

[@ShadyfoxUK]

Does home assistant support these cameras?

[@linsan888]

Can the camera record 24/7 continuous or only when the camera detect a motion?

[@TechWithBrett]

Only when motion is detected.

[@joecapasso3741]

It's amazing that none of the reviews or the tapo website cover this, they just lead you to believe that it would do 24/7 with the solar panel, but IT DOES NOT. You need the AC powered C325WB to do that.

[@linsan888]

@@joecapasso3741 Thanks for your suggestion. I will take a look of that.

[@ValdanoPG]

​​@@joecapasso3741Yup, I bought 2 thinking I could record 24/7 at least with it connected to a solar panel... But nope

[@MattRobloxYT1]

How long is charging?

[@TechWithBrett]

I've been charging for 1 hour and it went from 20 to 45%. So maybe just a couple of hours.

[@monkeyhaters9258]

Just got one of these cameras 2 days ago it took 8 hours to charge it to 60% and that was it.! Other than that the camera works great Better than reolink Which I've had nothing but problems with..!!🤦‍♂️

[@ahtlon6995]

Battery loos 10% charge on 3 days with only recording at evening never had a alarm because it was installed at a place no one comes, so do the math, you have to charge it every month, went back to reseller. No more battery for me. Got me a tapo 325cw much better and also cheaper.

[@pestandlawnginja]

🎉🎉🎉 I need these

[@Thomcat-dk]

All the links say it is the C425 not the TC85?

[@ValdanoPG]

Waste of money as a security camera. Batteries last less than a month on both my cameras, and the detection range absolutely sucks. Seems to be a widespread issue of these cameras not detecting beyond 10 feet. Just check their forums. Unless you absolutely need this type of camera, don't buy it. My $27 Tapo C120 smokes this in every regard except fps. Mag cam goes up to 30 but I think C120 maxed out at 20. Because the cameras don't record 24/7, YOU WILL miss a second or 2 before the camera starts to record motion (i guess the sensor needs to confirm if it's a true activity or false alarm before recording). Sad but true story, the straw that broke the camels back for me was seeing some goats on top of my car. Camera did not start recording until they were in the yard and on the bonnet, so to this day I don't know which of my neighbor's yard they came from.

[@600tian5]

I have 6 of those. In short, they do NOT last 300 days. It's pure marketing. But they do last a few months per charge if you don't use them in high traffic locations.

[@ayaansiddiqui541]

can you do Echo spot next

[@Ghostrider-ul7xn]

What's the WiFi range?

[@googlehas]

@Tech With Bret. Hi., Google pixel 8 pro? 2024 ? Google Nest

[@muhammadfahmi7159]

I currently using it indoors and the battery last 2 to 3 months.

[@TechWithBrett]

If that it not long enough for you definitely check your settings. You can do things like lowering the event recording time, pre buffer and much more. If you have a lot of traffic in the room that could also deplete the battery more.

[@EOTE_TX]

Ok, based on your review I thought the camera was possibly a good one. Ordered it from Amazon and after installing, I fount out it does NOT support RSTP for 3rd party apps. Constantly looking at your cellphone to view the camera is not a good option. Sending it back.

[@AlexRocks24-7]

Wow 👌

[@valorien1]

Micro USB in 2024. Epic fail.

[@shakey2311]

Its 2024. Yet ip cam are still using micro usb. 🤦‍♂️😪

[@kevingarfield2094]

Can you review something like the Ubiquiti G5 Pro... You always review something that's Chinese, Wireless and easily hackable 🙄

[@TechWithBrett]

Thanks for the feedback. I'll add it to the list.

[@ironcladpatriot5829]

The majority of goods in the United States originate from China.

[@jcm9698]

Ubiquiti cameras are manufactured in China, no difference....

[@XXPYR0XX]

a battery only has so many charge cycles so why are you lying about youll never have to go out there the batterys will ware out. and there is other factors too like tempature baterys do not like extreme heat or cold. any time they get too hot or cold it lowers the life span lithium ion bateries. also wifi camers are joke. wired cameras are the best anybody can capture your camera signals with a cheap device and watch you when ever they want. not to mention the company itself is probably selling the data it colleects about you. a hard wired system not connected to the internet is the safest way. if you reall do care about your safety. like for real your cameras are probably connected to some Chinese server for cloud storage. its really dumb how people buy these garbage products and guess what if the company gos out of buisness your product will stop working. because in todays world you dont own what you buy.

[@Digitalfiendscom]

While I agree that these types of cameras shouldn’t be used for commercial use or where you need 24/7 recording, I think they are fine for the average home owner. No security camera, wifi or wired, will stop a determined criminal from committing a crime - but they do act as deterrents for casual mischief, crimes of opportunity (e.g. garage door left open, etc), or for monitoring properties, pets, etc. To my understanding, these cameras use encrypted streams which is why they aren’t RTSP compatible *unless you enable it* (which leads to unsecured transmissions). So the average criminal is not viewing your camera streams. Many of these Tapo cameras (although not this one) support wired connections (but not PoE…that’s only for the “pro” Vigi line of cameras). The cloud storage critique is fair and I wouldn’t enable TapoCare on any indoor cameras, just outdoor ones. With that said you can just use local MicroSD recording if you’re concerned about where the data is going. TP Link has been around since the late 90s, so they are a relatively stable business.