This Article Applies To

All Tapo battery-powered cameras or doorbells

Description

The battery level of the Tapo battery-powered camera/doorbell drops very quick, for example, the power consumption exceeds 10% within 1-2 days.

Troubleshooting Steps

Background knowledge about battery-powered cameras

Tapo battery-powered cameras mostly stay in sleep mode to conserve energy. Battery power is consumed when the camera is awakened, starts detection and recording, or is viewed in the Tapo app. Frequent wake-ups and prolonged usage can quickly drain the battery.

1. Check the wake-up times of the camera. If the camera is waken-up too many times, such as over 200 times in a day, try to reduce camera wake-up sensitivity. 

How to adjust camera Wake-up sensitivity: enter camera's device page in the Tapo app > camera Device Settings > Detection > Wake-up Sensitivity

• Higher sensitivity: camera is more easily waken-up, more detections and recordings, and higher battery consumption.

• Lower sensitivity: Avoid unnecessary false detections, less detection and recordings, and lower battery consumption.

2. Reposition the camera to avoid facing areas that might wake up the camera easily. For example, avoid pointing the camera directly at swaying trees, busy streets, and street lamps or sunlight.

3. Set a lower resolution for recorded videos: camera Device Settings > Video & Display > Video Quality

4. Reduce the viewing distance of night vision: camera Device Settings > Video & Display > Night Mode Settings

5. Reduce frame rate (supported on certain models): camera Device Settings > Video & Display > Frame Rate

6. Reduce retrigger interval, maximum clip length, and increase record buffer: camera Device Settings > Storage & Recording > Clip Settings

◆ Why does my camera consume power quickly even when there are not many detection video clips?

The number of the detection video clips of the camera does not reflect the number of times the camera is woken up. There can be many heat sources that wake up the camera, such as sunlight, people, objects, etc., but the camera may not necessarily record clips due to the impact of camera detection settings and other configurations after it wakes up. 

Click here to learn about how the camera wakes up.

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