TP-Link Tapo C220 Home Security Wi-Fi Camera Review

I need a home surveillance camera for my 3D printer, you need one to monitor your home. We are not the same.

Back in the day, home surveillance wasn’t really that accessible, and you’re left with either sleeping during ungodly hours at night if you’re too worried about your home security or triple checking any points of entry in your home. Nowadays, you can get one and give yourself some form of comfort and protection even when you’re away from home. TP-Link’s Tapo C220 looks to deliver a fine and affordable surveillance solution for you.

PACKAGING AND INCLUSIONS

The C220 arrives in a compact box complete with everything you need to set it up. There’s the C220 itself, a 9V power adapter, a mount base for installing it on a ceiling or wall, and a set of screw anchors. There’s also a mounting template sticker to help you know where to drill, so that comes in handy. 

DESIGN

Now, when it comes to design, TP-Link retains its standard design across the board for the C220. It’s an orb on top of a platform where it can pan horizontally. Panning vertically is through the body itself.

It’s fairly subtle and inconspicuous, so if you want to keep it hidden or away from plain sight, there’s that.

The C220 is powered by a 9V power adapter. No backup power here however, so in case power outage, your surveillance system is down. TP-Link does offer cameras with built-in batteries like the C420, but again those are more expensive compared to the C220.

Also, it’s important to note that the C220 isn’t waterproof. So you have to be mindful where to install or mount it. If you’re going to have it outside, it’s best to install it from a roof overhang to protect it from the rain. 

The microSD card slot is hidden below the lens

SETUP

Setting up the C220 is a very straightforward affair. You’ll need to download the app for Android or iOS. Once you get it mounted to a ceiling or even just placed on the wall, plug it in and keep your phone nearby. Simply follow the steps and connect it to your home or office network. 

PERFORMANCE AND FEATURES

The C220 features a 1/3-inch sensor and a lens with 4mm focal length, giving you pretty clear and wide images especially on daylight. And yeah, it’s not going to be daylight around the clock, so it does feature an 850nm IR LED Night Vision up to 30ft. Very important when you don’t want to keep your lights on a veranda or living room when you’re about to sleep. 

It can also record 2560x1440 videos at 30FPS. Do note that it’s set to change resolution automatically by default, so when latency is a problem it does drop down on resolution. You can also change the framerate from 15FPS to 30FPS, though 2K videos can only go up to 25FPS.

Here are some sample videos:

This is a daytime video, accompanied by an interface video to show AI detection.

It also features Smart AI detection, as well as motion detection and motion tracking. Motion tracking is quite accurate when following one person, but I am unable to test it out during times when multiple people are in the same frame. 

Here's a sample for that:

You can also talk through the C220, which is also a feature on other of TP-Link’s cameras. It does let you communicate with people in the frame, provided they’re nearby of course. 

Here are the tests for the speaker and alarm.

teamhex · TP-Link C220 Alarm

teamhex · TP-Link C220 Speaker Test

It’s also important to note that the C220 does not have an internal storage, so you’ll need to install a microSD card (up to 512GB) for that. TP-Link is offering a 1-month subscription of its Tapo Care plan, giving you cloud storage and video clips that can store up to 7 days for the Basic Plan and 30 days for the premium plan.

CONCLUSION

We're a gaming, hobby and computer hardware website, why are we reviewing a surveillance camera? Good question. Well, actually, I've been 3D printing more and more these past few months, and I would like a simple solution in monitoring my prints when I'm away. That, and the option to use it as intended (like a home surveillance camera) is definitely a godsend for my needs. I know there are better solutions than this, but it's the most straightforward and feature-packed offering available that doesn't cost an arm and a leg. And my 3D printer isn't up to further tinkering without me having to spend more on upgrades. And again, the flexibility to use it to monitor our balcony when I'm away is there for other uses.

Now, we'll have different use cases, and you'll likely be using this to monitor an entry point. The TP-Link C220 offers plenty of features to improve your home security - AI detection, motion tracking, higher resolution, two-way audio, and so much more. There's also Tapo Care, which comes with a free month (Basic PHP139/month, Premium PHP179/month). Now, it does have some things missing, like waterproofing and power supply redundancy, so it's best to be aware of that as well. When all is said and done, it all boils down to price. It's currently priced at Php1,690 from the official TP-Link store on Lazada.