TP-Link - Tapo Outdoor Battery-Powered Wireless 2K Security Camera with Solar Panels (3-Pack) - No Monthly Fees - White

We have been using the same security cameras for several years now and either they’ve ran their course and life span or there’s been something off with them lately. Therefore, after weighing our options, we decided to delve back into the security camera market to see what the competition looked like and perhaps that would solve our problems. That’s when I came across the new TP-Link TAPO solar powered security camera kit. Having used TP-Link products before in the past including smart devices, light switches, routers, etc. I knew they were a reputable company you can trust and will be around for a while in comparison to some of those other knock off brands you’ve never heard of where you would be lucky to find customer support in the event something were to go wrong with your product(s). The cameras, solar panels and mounting hardware was very easy to install with little to no reliance on the instructions. Once you fully charge the cameras via the provided USB cable, download the Tapo application, you are ready to sync the cameras to your account and begin the installation process. The syncing process did not take very long and each camera had an update that needed to be installed. The smart device application walks you through the process using simple, easy to understand, instructions providing you pictures and video as well. It even ensures you are mounting the hardware in a good place to ensure everything you want is in view. The mounting hardware provided allows for installation of the cameras and solar panels on one bracket and the option to use the provided long USB cables to mount the solar panels in a separate area in the event the area you want to view is not in the sunlight for power and charging. The whole installation process for all three cameras and solar panels took less than an hour, not including the initial charge time for the cameras. Within the application, you can live view video and/or recordings. Speaking of the video, you’ll be amazed at the quality of the cameras which offer 2K QHD video. The cameras and software are also able to identify and differentiate between people, animals and vehicles and has color infrared night vision. They have a 150 degree super-wide field of view and you are able to set up activity zones through the app to target or ignore certain areas (think a waving tree or flag that may constantly think there is movement detected you don’t want to worry about). Another benefit to this security camera kit is the lack of a “hub” that you need to plug into your existing modem/router as they simply run directly through your existing WiFi and to the smart phone/device app. The cameras and solar panels are IP66 weatherproof so no need to worry when it rains or snows. One thing we were looking for when shopping for security cameras was the wireless ability to install them without running wires all over your home or office. Our previous security cameras had solar panels as a power source however they would still die within days even though our house has full sun most of the day. The rechargeable battery in each camera is 10000mAh (almost twice the capacity than the high-end laptop I’m currently using) which makes the battery life relatively long when going between charges or at night when the solar panels aren’t able to charge them; I’m talking days on end because I tried it both ways and was surprised to see the battery percentage barely move even when there’s high traffic and they are constantly recording. I was surprised to see the cameras charging in daylight even when the solar panels were not getting full sun. According to the specs, the cameras can last up to 300 days on a single charge and the solar panels can keep the battery fully charged with just 45 minutes of daily sunlight. The smart device application is also very easy to use and understand, is very responsive with little to no delay and has plenty of options including to set alarms if a camera senses motion, use them as two-way audio, adjust the video quality, frame rate, turn on/off night vision infrared mode, etc. During the initial set up, you have the option to sign up for a free 30-day trial of their monitoring/recording which allows you to view/cloud store up to 30 days of events anywhere from the application. However, if you’re not a fan of paying subscription fees, each camera also has local storage where you can insert your own micro-SD cards (which are not included) which could run out of storage relatively fast considering the quality of the video these take. Overall, we have been impressed thus far with our new Tapo security camera kit and will probably eventually expand this system to replace the remainder of our previous system in due time. I would recommend this security camera kit over our previous manufacturer to anyone in the market for a user-friendly, high-quality security camera kit at a reasonable price.

This is my 4th Tapo (TP Link) product so I knew I was getting a quality product. I was not dissapointd. Inside the box younhave 3 camera's, 3 solar panels, 3 multi-use mounts, 3 short cable, 3 long cables and various mounting hardware. Per instructions, I charged all 3 camera's. Took 2.5 / 3 hours per camera. I already had the Tapo app loaded so next step, I powered on a camera (hold power down 3 seconds), then in app chose the add device (big + symbol, upper right)... After a few seconds, you will need to go into youe WiFi settings and connect to the Tapo device displayed on your screen. Once connected in the app, you enter your WiFi ESSID and password. Then reconnect to your network and in a couple mintes you are up and running. Lather, rinse repeat 3 times naming each camera and creating an icon as you go. Physically mounting, you have a a couple choices... You can (as I did) mount the camera and solar panel as one piece, or if needee, you can remove the camera mount and place it seperately while using the main mount and long chords to get the solar panel where it can catch. For me, I just grabbed my handy chordless drill, 3 included screws for each plate and in less than 30 seconds each, they were mounted. Then mount the camera and solar panel, plug them in, adjust the camera to prefered angle and the solar panel where it will catch the sun and you are good to go. Once installed, you can add MIcro SD's for local storage pr pay a small fee for cloud. Each camera, you can use