Tapo Camera Keeps Going Offline? (Simple Steps to Fix!)

We understand the security concern when your Tapo camera keeps going offline, skipping important events, and just being unreliable.

Don’t worry–this guide will help you fix this today!

We’re going to walk you through a series of troubleshooting steps that will address each and every possibility related to the Tapo camera disconnecting. 

Without further ado, let’s jump straight in!

Tapo Camera Keeps Going Offline – 9 Ultimate Ways to Fix!

Note: Have you tried restarting your Tapo camera and network router for roughly 60 seconds?

1. Test Wi-Fi’s Coverage & Speed

You should begin with something simple–testing your Wi-Fi coverage at the spot of your Tapo camera and checking whether the speed is above 5 Mbps. 

To test your camera’s coverage, grab your smartphone, connect to the Wi-Fi, and go near the location of your Tapo camera.

Then, try to surf the web and stream some videos from YouTube.

If your streaming is lagging or your phone takes ages to open webpages, well, the coverage of your Wi-Fi at the spot of your Tapo camera is weak.

To justify this, go to speedtest.net, hit the “GO” button, and check whether the download speed is above 5 Mbps. If not, the Wi-Fi is weak.

Note: To check the Wi-Fi signal strength, open the Tapo application, select your camera, and check under “Network Connection”–1 bar means weak signal.

2. Optimize your Wi-Fi’s Coverage

If your Wi-Fi signal is weak, the Tapo camera will keep going offline, but there are a few ways to amplify the signal:

• Move your router closer to the camera
• Move your camera closer to the router
• Elevate your router higher in the room
• Straighten up the Wi-Fi router antenna

Also, we recommend disconnecting ALL devices from the Wi-Fi that you don’t commonly use to relieve some bandwidth and boost the wireless performance. 

Note: You should temporarily stop downloading, uploading, or seeding!

3. Separate the Router Wi-Fi SSIDs 

So, if your network router is dual-band, the device can share two Wi-Fi networks: 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz.

However, if you have only one Wi-Fi, this means that your router is configured to combine them into one single Wi-Fi, allowing devices that support only 2.4 GHz or both to connect easily.

However, the Tapo camera only supports 2.4 GHz and features that combine your SSIDs into one often cause issues with the connection.

Disabling the option requires signing into the router.

Note: Skip this step if your router is not dual-band.

How do you sign in to your router’s GUI?

To sign into your router’s graphic interface, you should try accessing http://192.168.0.1/.

If you can’t access or see “404”, you’ll need to get your default gateway address.

You can find this address on the bottom of your router, typically imprinted on a sticker. 

• It looks like this: 192.168.0.1

Alternatively, you can find the default gateway by opening the Command Prompt (CMD) on a Windows PC that is connected to your router (Wi-Fi or Ethernet).

In the CMD, you must type “ipconfig” and hit Enter, which will reveal your IP addresses, including the default gateway IP.

The IP address then goes into the URL of a web browser on your connected PC or phone, and you should see the router’s login page.

You can sign in via admin/password or admin/admin.

Note: If you cannot sign in using the default credentials, then your access is customized by your provider, and you’ll need to contact them.

How to Separate Your Merged Wi-Fi?

Based on your router, the option that combines your Wi-Fi into one signal SSID is called either Band-Steering or Smart Connect.

The option can be found under the “Advanced Wireless” or just “Wireless” section, and it’s typically a toggle that you can enable or disable.

When you’re ready, you’ll need to reboot your router, though and manually reconnect all devices to the 2.4 GHz or 5 GHz. 

Note: Again, the Tapo camera only supports 2.4 GHz, and if your camera is blinking green and red, open the Tapo app and follow the steps to connect to the Wi-Fi.

4. Assign Tapo a Static IP Address

Sometimes, your Wi-Fi devices, including the Tapo camera, will disconnect from the Wi-Fi due to IP conflicts.

This occurs when two or more of your Wi-Fi devices are attempting to use the same IP address, especially if your router supplies them with dynamic addresses over DHCP.

The only way to fix this would be to assign your Tapo camera a static (unchanging) IP address through the router’s settings.

We’ve learned how to access the router’s GUI in the previous step, so without further ado, here’s exactly what to do:

1. First, enter the GUI of your wireless router.
2. Then, find the DHCP Reservation settings.
3. Different router brands have different names:

• TP-Link: DHCP Reservation
• Asus: LAN → DHCP Server
• Netgear: LAN Setup → Address Reservation
• Linksys: DHCP Reservation
• D-Link: Static DHCP
• Ubiquiti: Clients → Assign Fixed IP

In the “DHCP Client List,” find the Tapo camera’s MAC address.

Alternatively, open your Tapo app, tap on your camera, select “Device Info >” at the top, and note down the “MAC Address”.

Finally, in your router’s “DHCP Reservation” settings, select “Add” or “Reserve”, then name the Tapo camera, insert the MAC Address, and use an unreserved address.

Some of the options you have would be 192.168.1.201, 192.168.1.202, 192.168.1.203, and etc…

5. Adjust the 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi Channel

Sometimes, the reason why your Tapo camera shows offline could be that the channel of your 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi is overcrowded.

This primarily happens when you live in a building where there are offices, hence a lot of other routers in close proximity.

The only way to fix this is to switch your 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi channel to another one that doesn’t have traffic and other routers using it.

Once again, this happens through the router’s GUI, under the “Wireless Settings” or “Wi-Fi Settings”.

You need to find the “Channel” or “Channel Selection” drop-down under the 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi thread and simply choose a different channel to test with.

Also, make sure to set the 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi channel to 20 MHz and first try with Channel 11 since many users have recommended it.

Note: You don’t have to restart your wireless router after changing the 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi channel.

Important: Disable Wi-Fi 6 on Your 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi

Another thing to do is disable Wi-Fi 6 on your router, which can cause compatibility issues with devices such as the Tapo camera, which doesn’t fully support it yet.

Again, in the Wi-Fi router’s settings, go to “Wireless Settings” or “Wi-Fi Mode” and toggle off an option called “802.11ax.”

Note: The menus’ names and features may vary heavily per router model!

6. Disable Camera Alexa Integration

As per some users dealing with the same Tapo camera offline problem, the Alexa integration is sometimes responsible for constant disconnects.

So we recommend temporarily disconnecting your Alexa from the Tapo camera to check whether this will prevent the disconnecting problem.

To disable the Alexa integration, open the Alexa app, go to the hamburger menu (☰), tap “Skills & Games”, locate “Tapo,” and choose “Disable Skill”.

Then test whether your Tapo camera will keep going offline!

Note: If you don’t use Alexa, skip this step!

7. Check for Power Supply Problems

Simple: if your camera is not receiving a reliable power supply, it will constantly restart and keep going offline.

The only way to check whether the camera is receiving a good power supply is to use a multimeter to check the voltage from the wall outlet, but that’s too much work and effort.

An easier way would be to simply connect the Tapo camera to a different outlet and ensure that it is connected directly without third-party extenders.

Note: Avoid devices such as power dividers and extenders!

8. Automate Periodic Camera Reboots

If your Wi-Fi is weak and there is no way to optimize the connection, a quick solution would be to automate periodic power cycling (restarts).

When your Tapo camera restarts, it is forced to try to reconnect to the Wi-Fi, which may be just perfect in case the device is not reconnecting automatically. 

To do so, you’ll need a smart plug, which you can schedule to reboot every 1–2 hours, that will constantly reboot your camera and force it to reconnect to the Wi-Fi.

This will keep the camera online for the most part, but it may not be the perfect long-term solution. 

9. Implement a Wi-Fi Repeater (DIY)

If your Wi-Fi is just too weak and the coverage is not good enough at the desired spot for your Tapo camera, installing a Wi-Fi repeater is an excellent solution.

The idea here is to extend the Wi-Fi range, and this can happen in two different ways:

#1 Using a Wi-Fi Extender:

The Wi-Fi extenders are devices that plug into an outlet somewhere between your router and the Tapo camera, which serves as a Wi-Fi repeater, increasing the coverage.

The setup is very simple, as you’ll only need to download the extender’s application and set up the device quickly.

They cost around $30 and are easy to come by!

#2 Use An Android Phone:

If you have an old Android phone that you don’t use, you can turn it into a DIY extender by using a free Wi-Fi repeater application.

What you need to do is find a spot for this old phone between your router and the Tapo camera, connect to the Wi-Fi, and then deploy the Wi-Fi repeater app.

Finally, your camera connects to the Wi-Fi shared by the Android phone.

However, the limitation is that the phone must be connected to the charger at all times.

Note: If your Tapo camera keeps disconnecting no matter what you try, get in touch with Tapo customer service to explore additional solutions.