Troubleshooting Tapo Camera Shows Wrong Date and Time

This Article Applies to:
All Tapo Cameras, such as Tapo C310/C200/C210/C100 etc.
Issue Description/Phenomenon:
- Camera showing incorrect time on the Live View page or incorrect timestamp;
- Date and Time do not update on the camera;
- Time on multiple cameras is different.
Troubleshooting Suggestions:
- Be sure that camera firmware and Tapo APP version are up-to-date;
- Set the camera on the correct Time Zone (Tapo app > tap the icon at the top right corner on the Live View page > Device Settings> Device Info > Time zone);
- Turn off NVR or third-party software and Reboot the camera (Some ONVIF software may affect the time of the camera);
- Change router’s DNS to 8.8.8.8/8.8.4.4 (router’s DNS server may fail to resolve the NTP server);
- Check if the Modem / Router firewall blocked UDP port 123 (used for NTP service);
*shared by @Tamadite in this thread "a rule blocking NTP traffic for a certain IP range. Adding this device to the NTP IP whitelist solved the problem".
- Sync time on a Windows computer in the same local network, if the computer fails to get the correct time, it's more likely the NTP servers are blocked by a router/firewall.
How to sync the time on Windows 10: Search 'Time' in the Windows search bar to open the 'Date and Time' section > Internet time > Synchronize your clock' sub-section and tap the 'Sync now' button.
Note: Tapo Camera requires internet access to synchronize time from its NTP servers, if the internet is blocked on the camera or the camera only working locally could cause incorrect time.
If the camera still shows an incorrect time, feel free to leave your comment in this thread, Start a New Thread to post your issue, or send a private message(send a message to @Solla-topee, make sure you've registered or logged in with your TP-Link ID in our community first) with the format 'Forum ID 269202+ Tapo Camera Shows Wrong Date and Time' and the following information, then our support will continue to help with your case.
1. Model of the router.
2. network topology: e.g. ISP--- Archer C7 router ))) wireless ((( Tapo C200
3. Do you use any third-party software or NVR to stream the camera? If yes, what's the name or model number of the third-party software or NVR?
More Articles:
What to do if I can't control my Tapo cameras on the Tapo app?
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tapo TCB72 has the timing off by one hour. but only in the camera recordings of the app. the camera displays the correct time even when the recordings in the app are off. it will record an event 1 hour in the future. when the video is displayed the time of the recording is correct on the timestamp on the video.
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Hi,
Please confirm the following information for the reported issue.
1. What are the firmware and hardware versions of your TCB72?
2. Is the camera connected to a third-party app via RTSP/Onvif connection?
3. Would you please send me a picture showing the reported issue? Is the date & time on the camera's live feed incorrect on the Tapo app?
Best Regards
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im running the latest firmware and auto update is turned on. All my cameras are connected to an nvr through onvif. The app is up to date too. And all my connected devices have the correct time set. It's only this one camera that shows the wrong time in the recording section of the app. You can see in the image that the timestamp on the video itself
is the correct time. While in the app the recording is an hour ahead.
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Hi,
Your issue requires further analysis to identify the problem. It's recommended to reach out to our tech team for further assistance.
Best Regards
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In case it helps...
I have 2 x Tapo TC41 cams connected to a Jooan NVR via ONVIF.
The time on both TC41's would always be wrong within a few minutes of setting them to the correct time. (didnt matter what method or what timezone was set, they'd always change within a few mins). -They were wrong on the Jooan display and wrong in the Tapo app.
I have other (non tapo) ONVIF connected cams that show the correct time.
It was fairly clear the NVR was syncing the time on the camera by applying an offset (not by setting a time zone).
There's no option on the Jooan to 'not sync time' and I want all cams showing the same time anyway.
To fix it, I set the timezone on the Tapo cameras (via the Tapo app) to UTC (ie: no timezone offset)
- Within 2 minutes the NVR had applied its 'sync' time or offset and the Tapo cams were showing correct time (both on Jooan and on Tapo app).
Hope it helps.
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Hi,
I've read all the messages and tried the possible solutions but in my case the Tapo C200 cams still have a completely wrong date and time.
What makes the situation even odder is that all the cameras (two C200 and one C210) were working with the right date and time until a couple months ago, I didn't change anything in their configuration nor added anything to the network.
Some more informations about my setup:
- 2x Tapo C200 Hardware Version 3.0 - Firmware 1.4.1 = they have wrong date and time, but not the same across themselves (ie now: correct date and time is 26/07/2025 20:42: the Tapo C210 is correct while a C200 shows 04/01/2025 12:42 and the other one shows 15/12/2024 04:17) -> this makes me feel that is not related to any other device syncing its time
- I tried rebooting, changing the UTC, reconnecting to the network without the account, no changes.
- btw I use a Pi-hole DNS with rules in place to block the traffic for the ipcams BUT the NTP; Anyway even if I pause the Pi-hole and allow all the traffic for long time or completely change the ipcam dns to use Google, cloudflare, etc., nothing changes. (and remember that the C210 time is correct even with the Pi-hole blocking the traffic).
- no DVR in the network, I only use the app "IP CENTCOM" on the pc to show the rtsp stream. I have a QNAP NAS where was installed the Surveillance app but I removed it since I don't actually use it.
Please help me understanding!
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Hi,
1. Can you control the Tapo C200 when your phone is using the 4/5G mobile data rather than connected to the router's Wi-Fi?
2. Please try to enable a hotspot Wi-Fi on your phone, factory reset a Tapo C200, configure it with another phone, connect it to the hotspot Wi-Fi, and then check if it will have the correct date and time.
Best Regards
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Thank you for the answer,
I' ve finally found the problem and it didn't depend on the cams but on the router: there were some rules to block completely Internet for some IP addresses and those cams took them...
After disabling those rules the cams acquired immediately the right date and time and also found the new firmware.
I didn't noticed the message "this smart device can only be controlled locally" when opening the app on the phone, this made me understand that it was something specific about the Internet access for those cams.
Thank you!
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@PalcioPelcio Thank you for sharing your experience.
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