@Wayne-TP 

Yes whole house had power cut for about 3 hours so all bulbs and the router went down. Of course all the bulbs turned on when the power returned which is annoying in middle of night! When I opened app, they were all offline and would not seem to connect by trying to use app to turn them off. IBecasue the (on) bulbs were and remained 'offline' in the app, I had to go round house, turn each bulb off at the socket/switch, turn it on again, it then flashed 3 times, then go through the whole reconnection to the server (as if it was a new bulb that I was adding to the system) for each individual bulb.

My questions are:

(1) is there any way of setting bub not to turn on when power returns? (I guess not as it is a safety feature that bulb will come on if you turn it on and off (in case app down / phone lost etc). It is a pain tho as if a power cut at night when I am away, all the lights will turn on and remain on and, as all "offline" in my app, I can't reconnect them if not physically there!)

(NB I have tried setting the 'activity when power is restored' in the app [>Default state>When power cuts off but returns you want the Tapo device: (1) Turn on OR (2) Turn On/Off (to on if its previous s... [I can't read any more of this in the app as falls off screen but this (option (2)) is the option I tried yet light still turns on when power returns])

(2) What can I do if bulbs are on (following power restoration to them (and router) yet they remain offline in app and if I turn them off and on manually instead they flash 3 times but don't reconnect to server (has it forgotten them??) so I have to reconnect each one again like a brand new bulb

Thanks for any advice. As we are rural we get occasional power cuts time to time if bad weather blows trees against power lines etc so these bulbs might not be much use in situations where power may be lost occasionally unless there is an easy answer to the above?? Many thanks

  @RalphA 

I don't want bulbs that will turn on lighting the house up like a beacon (hence showing we are away!)  if I'm away and there is a power cut. As this happens with these bulbs, it seems smart bulbs may not be appropriate to use at home if you ever get power cuts>

I can instead use the plug in timer switches (eg Desiretech Plug-in Timer Switch, 24 Hour Segment Timer, Light Timer Plug Socket to Control Appliances Up to 3120W, Home Security Timer, Deters Burglars, Automatic On/Off, Energy-Saving (7x7x11.5 cm) : Amazon.co.uk: DIY & Tools) . With power cuts they go slowly out of time (as stop ticking during the duration of the power cut and so need resetting from time to time. However, at least they don't activate the lamp if there is a power cut

Do smart plugs have the same problem (turning things on for safety if there is a power outage / unstable current fluctuation / loss of power to router)? If so it looks like it is back to the plug in timer switches for me.. (I like turning smart bulbs on with phone /dimmer levels etc but not at expense of wondering if the whole house is lit up whenever I'm away😁)

Many thanks for advice

Kind regards, Ralph