Kasa Care - TPlink reconsider ? 2 years Free? - Might as well just throw cam away instead!
I hope this does not upset anyone, but I felt this need to be said.
Nest used to, and still does in most countries charge for cloud storage on a per camera basis.
As we can all understand this will stop many people from getting multiple cameras for their home.
Thankfully Google has seen the light, and is in the process of changing this, giving you the option of new plans which cover your entire home.
So you can buy more camera's without being hit with a new subscription for each one.
I was very sad to see TP Link have gone down this old route Goole did, and are changing a seperate subscription for each camera.
Having just bought two TP Link cameras, and being very impressed by the video quality. Very nice indeed. Top marks :)
And I would probably buy more, both inside and out the home, but I'm not going to bother, if I have to pay a subscription for every single one as that would work out to a crazy amount per year.
Given that 2 years is a LONG time from now, and I presume TP link would love to see people buying more camera hardware, do you think there is a chance that a complete home plan, to complete with Google/Nest's new home plan might be something that could be considered?
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I don't think so, no.
I think that as of 4th July, I personally (and everyone in my position) will be left with cameras that will have no cloud storage and be on TP-Links 'new' free service.
I can't see anything in the documentation about the length this 'new' free service lasts before some sort of subscription is required. I guess the is because its basically no service at all and just live streaming with motion alerts. It gives users 'something' for nothing rather than rendering devices useless after 2 years if no subscription is forthcoming.
The 'old' free service with up to 2 days free cloud storage dependent on camera model would have cost them something to run and for most people 2 days would be sufficient. After all if you needed the footage for evidence etc you'd download it to keep.
So I think TP-Link suddenly had a penny drop moment and realised that probably 90% of users would simply stick with the free service for the 2 years then write off the camera and upgrade to a newer model. Not a great business venture. Afterall things have moved so fast in this sector over the last few months, even since I bought mine in July 2019.
Thats my view and Im happy to be proved wrong. Personally all I want is my remaining 13 months of service with 2 days cloud for my KC200 and 1 day for my KC100s. Thats all. Although I'm happy to get a lifetime free premium just to keep quiet and go away!!! LMAO!!!
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I think if they have essentially defrauded us if our money by clearly stating a feature on the box which many people took into account when deciding which cameras to buy and then withdrawing it, they should offer refunds.
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Ok I'm confused.
On their TP Link/Kasa web site now it says this:
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Now, to me this still says we get 2 days cloud storage as out free plan (on a KC120)
What am I missing here?
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That must be local to your country (USA I'm assuming as in $) I'm in the UK.
Here is our link off the UK support site. Totally different and dated 2019.
https://www.tp-link.com/uk/support/faq/1962/
I think yours is probably more what I was expecting. Looks like you may have dodged a bullet there. At least you'll get some cloud storage.
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Thanks for the link.
I'm UK as well.
Never occured to me, there would be a UK/USA difference.
If I'm honest I never checked if that was a UK or USA page, as I said, I just presumed it would be the same change in both places.
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Just looked at your link.
Well it seems the same tro me.
2 years, but only 2 days cloud.
If you want more than 2 days history you need to pay.
Are you reading this different to me?
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There are definite differences by country. I've seen a New Zealand user who bought a camera whilst in UK but who now can't register for Kasa Care as it's not a service in New Zealand.
The UK bit does indeed read roughly the same as the US one but with 2 important differences.
1. The UK one says you only get 2 years worth of free service and was written way back in Jul 2019.
2. The US one is consistent for the new paid service prices and is from April 2020.
I hope that the UK page gets updated in the same way. I'm more than happy with 2 days footage as long as I can download as well.
maybe the UK support teams will get back time next week when they are back in work.
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@Radar1968 I suspect 2days only applies to the 120 too. My kc100/110 will probably get 12hours if I'm lucky. Such a waste.
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The UK is definitely different.
https://www.kasasmart.com/gb/kasacare
The UK free plan is basically useless and differed for the US one.
The UK terms of service also do not mention a free plan as such. They point back to the above link. They imply that you must choose a plan when you first register and the choices are free (useless) or one of 2 subscriptions.
https://www.kasasmart.com/1/legal/gb/kasacare-service-agreement
My best guess now is we are screwed. As far as I can tell anyone now buying a TP-Link camera must pay a subscription and they have canned all the historical free contracts as well to bring them in line.
They have aligned themselves with other services like Ring. I don't have a fundamental issue with this as they are a business who make money. What I do have an issue with is govong me something and then taking it away before it expired.
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Honestly 2 days is fine for me.
If someone breaks in and I get warnings, then I'll know what I want to do within 2 days.
For a outdoor camera perhaps more would be helpful as more things may happen outdoors.
I've emailed the American tech for clarification, but did not think of a UK/US difference when i did that.
Hopefulyl someone will get some UK clarification soon.
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