Knowledge Base Tapo H500 - Backup Your Clips with USB Backup and Network Access (Sharing)
The USB port on your H500 brings quite a few new options to backup your clips or recordings, and even the ability to access your backed-up clips across your network.
- Note: Direct storage to USB is not supported; clips and recordings must first be filtered and backed up to the USB drive from the Tapo App before they are accessible across the network
USB Access > Video Backup
This allows users to back up videos stored on the H500 to a USB storage device connected to the H500. Backups can be customized based on specific cameras, detection types, and time ranges.
- Choose the device you would like to create a backup for. These devices must be set to store their footage to the H500.
- Set a timeframe for this backup, this can range from multiple months to just a few hours
- Select the Event Types that you would like to back up to your USB device. (All event types from the H500 are listed here along with facial recognition events, not just the types of detections supported by your cameras)
USB Sharing (FTP, Time Machine, Network Neighborhood, and Media Sharing)
This enables USB storage devices connected to the H500 to be shared with other devices on the local network using various network protocols.
USB Sharing does not support sharing files stored on the H500 itself through network protocols.
Media Sharing
Media Sharing will allow other devices to access and play media files stored on the USB storage device over the network. (As the hub cannot record footage to the USB directly, this feature is limited to backed-up recordings).
Local FTP (File Transfer Protocol)
FTP (Local) allows FTP clients and users on your network to access the USB storage device via the FTP address. The FTP server can be accessed at the following address:
To access the FTP server, you will need to connect to this server with a compatible client program or configure an FTP connection on your PC for file sharing.
Time Machine
When enabling Time Machine, the USB devices connected to your HomeBase can be set as the backup disk of Time Machine on your MacOS devices.
- Choose Disk
- Storage Limit 1GB ~ 999,999 GB
General Questions
▶ Does the USB Sharing feature support remote access?
The USB Sharing feature is implemented based on various network protocols, such as FTP and Samba. If you can remotely access LAN devices (e.g., using VPN), you can also use the USB Sharing feature remotely. Note that you can't access the USB sharing devices directly through the Tapo app.
▶ Where to find the data related to the external hard disk?
Please tap H500 > Storage to check the usage of the hard disk, whether loop recording should be enabled, and how much of the overall storage the cameras are using.
By navigating to a specific camera, you can also adjust the camera’s recording schedule, turn recording on or off, view recordings, and change storage locations.
▶ Is camera video stored preferentially on the internal, external, or USB hard drive?
The video will be stored on a hard disk when it’s installed. And if the hard disk is removed, the video will be stored in the built-in storage. The videos will not be saved directly to the USB hard drive and must be manually transferred to it.
▶ What is the built-in storage capacity of Tapo H500?
Tapo H500 has 16GB eMMC built-in storage. The actual available/usable space is 12 GB, as some space is reserved for the system. This may provide some storage for recordings, but it is highly recommended to add your own hard drive to expand the hub’s potential.