TP-Link Tapo 2K QHD Outdoor Wireless Security Camera System, Up to 180 Day Battery, Color Night Vision w/Starlight Sensor, Motion/Person/Pet/Vehicle Detection, Works w/Alexa &Google Home(Tapo C420S2)

We have 2 of these, they just work. I've been really impressed with many TP-Link products, we have their Kasa smart switches/plugs that have never faild, TP-Link wifi that just works. These cameras are the same, they work and they work well. We have one that's hardwired to power, one that has the add-on solar panel. The app to control them is pretty good, actually quite good compared to most of the lame apps out there. The image resolution is great. You have a choice of online (for a fee) storage, or local storage. We use local storage, no way I want some server somewhere, somewhere recording video. Like their Kasa smart widgets, it can work just fine on your local net. But, still, who knows what it does when you're not looking. :) Highly recommended.

Updated with edit on 6/1/25 after 1 year of use.The Tapo CS-420 is quite unique amongst wireless security cameras in that it uses sub-1GHz frequency instead of the standard wi-fi 2.4GHz or 5GHz. For the same transmission power, a lower frequency signal reaches further. So sub-1G has a huge edge over standard wi-fi when it comes to transmission range. However, Sub-1G is more susceptible to interference from household appliances.I located the 2 Tapo cameras 550 feet from my house, through thick masonry wall, signal-killing windowpanes, and moderately dense forestry. The transmission has been reasonably robust, on par with (perhaps even better than) my other wi-fi cameras (Eufy, Tapo & Feit). I never thought that was possible without either ethernet or wireless booster, let alone at this price point and ease of installation.The included hub connects to your home router in standard 2.4Ghz wi-fi (or optionally with ethernet cable) on 1 end, and sub-1G Tapo devices on the other. The range of the hub to the camera tested out to be easily 400 feet in clear line of sight. I placed the hub 180 ft from my house where my router coverage is still strong. That gives me the 550 feet of range I need for the cameras. Latency to both hub & camera is excellent. Ringing the hub bell with phone app is instantaneous as if hardwired.A word on the disagreement in the reviews on battery life. When asleep, the camera draws very little power, as only the PIR motion sensor and the sub-G radio are running. It consumes considerably more power when waken by motion to record or by request to stream (both actions send video to hub), especially if the 2 LED lights are turned on for night vision. If you accidentally leave the app in streaming mode, then the battery can run out of juice in no time. So make sure to quit out of live stream mode or close the app properly after viewing. You can also view the playbacks via the hub instead of the cameras to avoid triggering live stream. Tapo's claim of 180 days battery life is over optimistic. Your mileage will likely be much lower. According to the app, I have on average about 30 Event Detections and 15 minutes Time of Use a day. LED night vision is off. After 25 days, the battery is at 55% level.The hub draws very little power, between 1 to 2 watts. I used solar to power it (you need regulated 9V source) until a fallen tree broke my solar panel and controls. Now I have to swap batteries weekly.The cameras have stood up against the elements for a year now.I wish the lens is longer instead of so wide-angle (but that's common with cameras at this price point). Afterall, it is easy to deploy 2 cameras to cover a wide area, but you can't stack 2 cameras to get a closer look.I hope Tapo will keep making Sub-1G devices for they serve an important niche.

TP-Link Tapo 2K QHD Outdoor Wireless Security CamI got these for a number of reasons, but primarily as a test alternative to the Blink units I have. For the features and price these Tapos were the right choice for me over the Arlo, Eufy and a couple others in the same category. In a nut shell, these are (mostly) light years ahead of the Blink cams. More on that below ...I don't really need or use our cams for security. I use them mostly to capture the wildlife in the area, keep track of our outdoor cats, and to let me know when mail arrives or a package delivery. I have no desire what-so-ever to get trapped into a required subscription. I just need/want local free storage. That alone will narrow the options for any cam, much less a battery + WifI cam.Good video quality, responsive app (though not most intuitive), great batt life, easy to setup. The lenses did fog up initially, but they don't seem to do that anymore.Video quality: really good. pretty clear, even at a distance and when zooming in. Even at night IR mode. Significantly better than the Blink. Plus, I can operate these Tapos at highest quality with super long batt life, unlike the BlinkRain has a pretty big impact on visibility - would love to see them make a rain hood for these. I tried making one on my own with only low success - didn't block the rain enough and kinda tough to attach and still be effective without it getting into the cam's filed of view. Oddly, the Blinks are slightly better in this category. Odd since the lens exposure is basically the same.Night view and IR range is pretty good, and clear. Effectively 25', though best at <15'. A better and clearer than the Blink. These have an 'intelligent' mode that will turn on the LEDs and go full color at night when motion is detected, but this is a bit inconsistent in triggering, sometimes it will trigger on/off in the middle of a recording. I prefer the full IR-only for night.Motion detection and object detection. This is only so-so. I'm not sure yet if I can say this is better or not than the Blink. They both have their short comings. The Tapo has more detection options, though the results can be hilarious - detecting deer and turkey as a 'person', or our cats as 'packages' ;P Honestly doesn't bother me, though, as long as it is detecting and identifying it as something other than just motion. Does a petty good job of detecting just motion, without identifying it as an object or person - e.g., it may trigger motion detection on trees waving, bugs, spiders, shadows, and it will detect motion like that without mistakenly calling it a person or pet.Battery life is great! The batts are rechargeable and will go 0-100 in about 3 hours. So far they seem to last several months on a single charge with pretty high usage and full quality video etc. The Blinks are absolutely miserable in this category. The Blinks won't last more than a month even on lowest settings and very light traffic! Blinks say they require the Everyready Lithium only, so at that rate you will literally spend hundreds of dollars per year on batteries for the Blink cams. Despite what they say, there are some rechargeable Lithiums that will work with them (with caveats). Enough about the Blink - these Tapos have rechargeable batts that are super easy to access, fast to recharge and run for months even under heavy use.Storage: PLENTY of storage locally. Slight win for the Tapo here, but the Blink was more than sufficient for me as well.Would love to have HomeKit integration. However, not really feasible with a batt cam. HomeKit is just not set up for that.App: Easy to set up and use. Live streaming connects very quickly. Plenty of local storage available for clips. No subscription is required, but it will constantly nag you. My only real nit-pick is that it would be nice to have a single view where you can list and see all clips from all cams. In this app you need to go to each individual cam to see the clips stored for that cam only. The Blink does have this full clip directory, with filters. However, Blink live streaming is miserable if it even works at all.Hub connection range: Tapo wins hands down here as well. The Blinks are really sensitive to line-of-sight placement of the hubs and WiFi, and can get super finicky over about 25'-30'. These Tapos connect right up to their hubs regardless of line-of-sight. I have some that connect through redwoods, around a mountain side and they have no issue even connecting to a hub under my house about 150'-200' away.Would I get these again? Definitely. Though I will always research to see what new things may have come along. These Tapos are my new benchmark, though.