I have the Tapo C225 (EU) Ver: 2.0 indoor camera which I leave turned on in our living room overnight. Each morning someone from the house comes down, opens the living room door, triggers a notification on my mobile phone, hits the privacy button on the camera and then goes about their business. When I enter the living room later in the morning I unplug the camera for the day, before plugging it back in and turning off privacy mode before going to bed. I have noticed however that this seemingly simple process which I am sure many others would do, results in no videos or clips being recorded, or best case maybe 1 in 20.

I suspect I know why this happens but would appreciate some clarification on the matter from tp-link themselves if possible please. I am guessing that the camera only saves to the memory card every minute or two, and doesn't write in real time. Thus, you are able to enter a room, trigger a notification, hit the privacy button all before the camera completes its write cycle. As the privacy button basically turns the device off, I am guessing that it doesn't have the time to write the current buffer to the card before it shuts down.

Yes I have continuous recording enabled for all 24 hours of the day. 

Yes I am using the best high quality / fastest CCTV grade branded memory card.

Yes I have the latest version of both the mobile app and firmware on my device.

No I do not have a subscription and neither do I want to pay for a subscription.

My question is whether there is any setting that can help to circumvent my loss of recordings without having to pay for a subscription. As it stands, I feel that the device is not fit for purpose. At the very least, surely it should write the final buffer to the card before closing down. Is it possible I have a faulty device?

Any help will be much appreciated. Thanks.