TP-Link Tapo C100 is an affordable indoor Wi-Fi security camera that let you to monitor what is happening at your home when you are not around. It is a cheaper variant to TP-Link Tapo C200 without the pan and tilt motor but with the same Full HD 1080p camera. You can read my review of the Tapo C200 over here.
TP-Link Tapo C100 comes with a 1080p Full HD camera that is really clear at daytime or night. The camera is very easy to install using the TP-Link Tapo app. It can be placed on a flat surface or wall mounted on a ceiling.
The image is so clear thanks to the included 3 Infrared LED flood lighting that will work at night. TP-Link claims that it can support up to 30ft of illumination with the included Infrared LED lighting. There is also a small status indicator that will turn on when the camera is working. This status light can be disabled in the app.
Tapo C100 also comes with a microphone and speaker built-in. This hardware let you to use the camera as a loudspeaker or listen to what is happening at the location of the camera. The camera will use the speaker as an alarm if you use the motion detection function.
Design and Specs
| Video Resolution | 1080p 15fps (H.264) |
| Wall Mount | Yes ( 2 screws included) |
| Night Vision | IR flood light up to 30 ft |
| Audio | Microphone and Speaker |
| WiFi Specs | 802.11n 2.4Ghz up to 150Mbps |
View the full specs of Tapo C100 on TP-Link website here. The Tapo C100 comes with a 2 year one to one exchange warranty in Malaysia.
TP-Link included the mounting screws if you wish to wall-mount the Tapo camera. However, I find that using a good foam double-sided tape will do the job as fine since the camera itself is really light.
The mount of the camera is really flexible as it works in almost 360 degree thanks to the ball joint. Even if the camera is mounted upside-down, there is a image rotation feature that can be enabled in the settings.
All the recorded footage will be saved locally to the MicroSD card. The camera can support up to a 128GB MicroSD card which TP-Link claims up to 18 days of continuous recording. You can access your recorded footage and download it to your phone using the TP-Link Tapo app.
The Tapo C100 does not support cloud recording which may be a good thing for those that are concerned with privacy as the recorded footage is never stored in any server.
TP-Link Tapo app
The app used to view the Tapo C100 recorded stream is the TP-Link Tapo app available for both Android and iOS devices. We really loved how responsive is the app when using the Tapo camera in Malaysia. The image delay is very minimal and everything works really well when using TM Unifi or TIME Fibre.
The setup process for Tapo C100 is very simple by using the TP-Link Tapo app available for both Android and iOS. The app will guide you to link the camera with your home WiFi network and that can be done under 5 minutes. You can view the camera footage as long as you have Internet connection.
Live Viewing
The speed of the video stream and the latency is better than expected. There’s only a small delay even when I am viewing the camera over my phone’s 4G connection while the camera is connected to my home WiFi. The audio streaming is also much clearer than expected.
The Tapo app lets you to use the push to talk function where you can record your voice and it will be played on the speaker of the camera immediately.
TP-Link Tapo app can let you to have multi viewing up to 4 Tapo cameras. However, it does not support device sharing currently. TP-Link claims that this feature will be release in a future update.
Motion Detection
The camera can let you to setup which area you want to have motion detection enabled. When a motion is detected, the camera will send a notification to your phone. The sensitivity of the motion detection function can be selected as well.
TP-Link also added a new function where you can setup the speaker to sound an alarm automatically when motion is detected. This is a great function and you can even set a custom schedule to only enable this during night time.
Recording to MicroSD card
Tapo C100 support recording the video stream directly to the MicroSD card. You can configure the app to record consistently or only record when motion is detected. When the storage is full, the camera can automatically overwrite the oldest footage.
The scheduling function is rather comprehensive with the option to select which timing to have continuous recording. For example, it is possible to turn on continuous recording on a selected day and use motion detection for other days.
Video Playback
Playing back the recorded footage is also really simple with the timeline function on the app. The app will highlight when there is a motion detected then you can proceed to view only that particular time. It is also possible to save the recordings directly to your phone.
Closing Thoughts
I think the 2 most important aspects when buying a WiFi camera is how good is the image and how reliable is the app. Tapo C100 have a decent camera for both daytime and night, definitely more than enough for a basic surveillance. The Tapo app is really reliable and simple to operate with a great user experience. It seals the deal and make the Tapo C100 easy to recommend.
For RM129, I don’t think there’s anything that offer a similar quality of app and image clarity. Most other brands at this price point have a horrible app that’s hard to use and unreliable.
TP-Link Tapo C100
8.5
Tubi Rating
Good Stuff
- Simple to setup
- Affordable pricing
- Easy to use app
Bad Stuff
- No device sharing function
Can I fixed camera outside is it waterproof
The Tapo C100 is not water resistant.
Can you use this even your far from home?
You can view the camera footage as long as the camera is connected to a WiFi network with Internet access.
How much is the weight of C100? Could I attach to the wall via double sided adhesive tape instead of drilling the wall?
Thank you.
Yup, I use a double sided adhesive tape as well. Make sure you use the foam type which is supposed to work better.
Just bought a C100 and after the firmware update sharing the camera with other accounts works already.
Can I view the video on my PC ( and save the video on my PC Disk)
Unfortunately the Tapo app is only supported on Android and iOS devices.