Recording when network link goes down
I have been advised that the C520WS only tracks and records to the SD card while it is connected to a local network. Is this correct? What if the local network goes down - for example, if my camera is connected to a hotspot from my mobile phone which is deactivated when I go away from the house?
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Hi,
It's required to have a wired network or a 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi network with an internet connection to set up the camera. The camera's features are working after it's connected to the internet and configured successfully.
If your camera is already set up and has an SD card inserted, it can continue recording to the SD card even without Wi-Fi. To ensure this works, make sure you have enabled Continuous Recording or Detection Recording in the camera settings before the Wi-Fi goes offline.
Tracking and detection features (such as motion detection and event recording) will still function locally without Wi-Fi. However, the features that require an internet or Wi-Fi connection, such as accessing the camera's live feed through the Tapo app, remote control, etc., will not work anymore. You also can't view video recordings from the SD card in the Tapo app after Wi-Fi disappears, since the Tapo camera shows as offline.
Best Regards
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Hi @Solla-topee
and many thanks for your clear and helpful response! It was one of tp-link's own chat support agents who told me that because my camera is a smart camera it will not work without an active network connection. When pressed about that, the agent said he had checked with another agent and confirmed what he had said in the first place.
However if I may, I have another query. My original plan was to connect the camera to my mobile hotspot via an access point using the camera's ethernet connection. This was because with the camera going outside I wasn't sure how strong the WiFi signal would be from all parts of the house, but I could put the access point next to the window that the camera will be close to. But when I tried with a router (which I do not use for Internet access) although my phone connects to it the camera did not. However apparently my phone cannot connect to mobile data and to an access point at the same time anyway. So I decided to try with my iPad mini connected to the hotspot on my phone, but apparently that cannot connect to my mobile phone hotspot and a separate access point simultaneously either. Is there any way I could set up an access point to do what I want even if I have to purchase another device to do it or is internet access essential during set up?
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Hi,
Typically, it's required to have a 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi network with an internet connection to successfully set up the camera.
If you just want to connect your camera to your hotspot Wi-Fi, there is no need for an access point. You can enable hotspot Wi-Fi on your phone, move it close to the camera, then use another mobile device running the Tapo app, such as your iPad, to set up the camera to connect to the hotspot Wi-Fi.
How to set up the Tapo camera
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Hi again @Solla-topee
and thanks again for your helpful reply! My question is, after set up, will I be able to use the app to access the camera from my phone or iPad while they are simultaneously accessing the internet (my phone via mobile data and my iPad via the phone hotspot)?
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Hi,
If the camera is set up successfully and has an internet connection, such as connected to a home router's Wi-Fi (or connected to the router by an ethernet cable), you can access it in the Tapo app when your phone/iPad has an internet connection, no matter whether the phone/iPad is using mobile data or connected to other Wi-Fi networks.
After setting up, if the camera is connected to a Wi-Fi/wired network but has no internet connection, such as connecting to the home router via Wi-Fi or ethernet cable, but the router disconnects from the internet connection, you can only access the camera locally when your phone/iPad is connected to the same router's Wi-Fi.
After setup, if the camera disconnects from any Wi-Fi or wired network, you can't access it in the Tapo app.
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