@Solla-topee Trust me, I'm an engineer —this is a 100% definitely a mechanical problem. It's a problem similar to paly in a steering wheel. If the camera you tested with does not exhibit this problem, then it's possible my camera is faulty and therefore I will return it to Amazon. I would like to return the camera as "faulty" so that Amazon does not re-sell it to another customer, but I am discouraged from doing that because Amazon threatens to close my account every time I have returned a "faulty" item, so I will just return it as "I don't like it" and someone else will buy it and maybe return it, until an uwitting buyer fails to notice the problem and keeps the product.

I had already tried your proposed solutions but this is a mechanical problem because I can hear the motor working but the camera misses the first 5° step when it changes pan direction. Ideally you should test more cameras. Also, it would be nice if the camera was easier to tear down for maintenance, I know other manufacturers do this too but that's no excuse. If I was able to open this camera I probably could fix it and I would not have to return it. I will not be buying this product again anyway, because I didn't like it. It's big, the motor is noisy and the motion detection areas feature doesn't work well if the camera moves. I'll stick with fixed-position cameras such as the Tapo C100 instead.

  @Solla-topee Sorry about the delay, I've been away for a few days. Here's a short video showing the problem. As you can see, the pan mechanism has a lot of left-to-right play. The tilt mechanism also has some play, but not as much, so the problem is less noticeable.

If you would like any more details let me know (though don't wait too long as I will be returning this camera because, after testing it for a week, I think fixed position cameras suit my needs better).

  @Solla-topee I will return the item to Amazon. The problem with Amazon is they coerce customers to not report product faults. In the past I have returned faulty products and they threatened to close my Amazon account because I was returning "too many" defective products, so now I just chooe another reason for my returns (for example I chose "I don't like the product"). As a result, this faulty product will be re-stocked and Amazon will continue to sell it until there is a customer who does not notice the problem. This of cousre hurts the Tapo brand because users will think all Tapo tilt-pan cameras have this problem. The same faulty camera will potentially be purchased and returned many times, and each time that happens is a negative review on Amazon. You get the idea.

About the video, you should be able to see it. I've just checked on various devices including devices where I'm not logged in to my Google account and it works:

https://youtube.com/shorts/2B002pAwQz0

  @RandyAndy I missed the 30-day Amazon returns window (ended yesterday), but Amazon customer support were nice enough to let me return it.