Is Your Tapo Camera Freezing?  (Easy Fixes Inside!)

We understand how worrying the Tapo camera freezing is, especially when you’re waiting for over 15 seconds just to see a few laggy frames from the live feed.

Don’t worry, you’re not alone, since this is a common problem with Tapo cameras. Luckily, there are many solutions available.

In this quick guide, we will walk you through everything you should do to get your Tapo camera back on track and into smooth streaming in no time.

9 Easy Ways to Fix When Tapo Camera Freezing!

Note: Have you tried disconnecting your Tapo camera from the outlet for 60 seconds, which will restart the system and improve the performance?

1. Ping Tapo Camera IP Address

If the Tapo camera’s live view or stored recordings, whether they are on cloud or microSD card, are freezing or taking too long to load, it’s probably a networking-related issue.

So, the first step would be to check if your camera is sending and receiving the networking packets consistently.

This will help you find out immediately whether the freezing is because of your Wi-Fi connection or due to a system-related problem with the camera. 

There are a few steps involved:

1.1 Note the Tapo Camera IP Address

The first step is to find the IP address that your network router has assigned for the camera from the Tapo application. 

• Open the app and tap on your Tapo camera.
• Press on the cogwheel-like button at the top.

• Scroll down and choose “Advanced Settings”.

• In the settings menu, press “Network Settings”.

• Note down the IP address (192.168.X.XXX).

1.2 Ping Tapo Camera IP Continuously

To ping your camera, you’ll need either a Windows PC or Mac computer connected to the Wi-Fi or an Ethernet cable to your network router. 

Windows: Open CMD (Command Prompt), and type “ping [Camera IP Address] -t”, so the command looks like this: “ping 192.168.1.108 -t”, without the brackets.

macOS: Go to Applications → Utilities → Terminal, and type “ping -c 100 [Camera IP Address]”, so the command looks like this: “ping -c 100 192.168.0.108”, without the brackets.

You will now see how your router is sending packets to your Tapo camera and how long it takes for the camera to respond.

For instance, a time of 5–10ms is considered a fast response time.

However, if you see “Request timed out”, your Tapo camera is disconnecting from Wi-Fi.

1.3 Test Your Broadband Consistency

If you are seeing a lot of “Request timed out” errors while continuously pinging, it’s unclear if the problem is with the Tapo camera or your Wi-Fi.

To check this, close and reopen the CMD or Terminal, and this time, type “ping 8.8.8.8 -t” which is Google’s DNS.

If you’re seeing “Request timed out” when you’re pinging Google’s DNS, this certainly means that the issue is in the broadband.

However, if you’re using a Wi-Fi device to perform the pings, it’s also possible that the problem comes from the Wi-Fi router connection, not the broadband.

Quick Tip: You can further justify the speed of your internet by going to speedtest.net, where below 5 Mbps is considered slow and unreliable.

2. Improve Router’s Wi-Fi Coverage

In case the connection test in the previous step is showing that networking packets requests are timing out, this generally means your camera is out of Wi-Fi coverage.

In short, your Wi-Fi link is disconnected, making your Tapo camera live feed freeze.

To resolve Wi-Fi inconsistencies, there are a few things you can do:

• Move the Wi-Fi router higher in the room.
• Straighten up your Wi-Fi router antennas.
• Relocate the router close to your camera.
• Relocate the camera closer to your router.

Tip: In the Tapo application, go to the camera settings and check the “Network Connection” and how many bars of signal strength there are.

3. Switch the Powerline Frequency

Note: Skip this step if your Tapo camera is battery-operated.

The powerline frequency is another potential factor that could be responsible whenever your Tapo camera keeps freezing.

It’s only relevant with hardwired units, where a potential mismatch between the powerline frequency and your region can cause frame-rate drops and stuttering.

You will find the powerline frequency settings in the Tapo app → camera settings → Advanced Settings → Powerline Frequency.

• North/South America – 60 Hz
• Europe/Asia/Africa – 50 Hz

Note: If you’re unsure, leave it to “Auto”.

4. Try Using a Lower Video Quality

To determine whether the Tapo camera freezing issue is performance-related, try switching to a lower video quality.

This will immediately lower the utilization of the camera’s hardware and will improve the performance, reducing the lag, freezing, and loading times.

• To select a lower video quality for the Tapo camera, open the application, go to the camera settings, and choose “Video & Display” → “Video Quality”.

We recommend choosing 1080P (FULL HD) instead of 2K (2304×1296).

If your live feed is still lagging, maybe you can even lower it to 720P to check whether this will help. 

Note: Lowering the video quality not only boosts performance but also allows your camera feed to stream smoothly with a slow internet connection.

5. Update Tapo Camera’s Firmware

A quick thing to do before proceeding further is to update your Tapo camera firmware, which is a crucial step if you’re facing freezing problems.

• To update your Tapo camera firmware, go to camera settings, tap “Firmware Update”, and press “Check for Update”.

If the camera discovers an update and starts downloading it, try not to interrupt the process until it’s ready.

When the camera is up-to-date, perform a power cycle and then test for any freezing.

6. Sign in and Out of the Tapo App

Sometimes, you may find your Tapo camera frozen because of a problem with the Tapo app, not the camera.

A quick way that has proven to work against similar issues is to sign out and in of your Tapo account.

To sign out and in of your Tapo app, follow these steps:

1. First, open the Tapo application.
2. Tap the “Me” icon on the bottom.
3. Tap “View Account” at the top.
4. Press “Log Out” at the bottom.
5. Type your password and sign in.

If your Tapo camera live feed is no longer lagging, then it was a simple bug.

If it is, however, the problem with the Tapo application could be on a deeper level.

7. Reinstall the Tapo Application

A quick and easy way to resolve issues with the Tapo application is to remove the app from your smartphone entirely and download a clean copy.

Whether you use Android or iOS, follow the steps below to reinstall the Tapo application:

• Android: Head to the “Google App Store” → “Profile” → “Manage apps and devices” → “Tapo app” → “Uninstall”
• iOS: Press and hold the Tapo app icon from the main screen, and first choose “Remove App” then “Delete App”.

When the reinstallation is over, check whether the Tapo camera is still freezing!

Warning: This will erase ALL the in-app settings to default.

8. Check and Prevent Overheating

The freezing of your Tapo camera could be due to constant overheating, especially if the device is exposed to direct sunlight during the warm summer season.

When overheating occurs, your camera will become laggy and unresponsive, whereas in severe cases, the unit will power off.

There aren’t many ways to tackle overheating, so here’s what you can do:

• Power off the Tapo camera for 15 minutes.
• Move away any potential heat conductors.
• Install a DIY shade to cover your camera.
• Clean the ventilation openings out of dust.
• Select a different place for your Tapo cam.

You can easily identify whether your Tapo camera is overheating by touching it on the sides, and if it’s unusually hot, then the freezing is because of overheating.

9. Reset the Tapo Camera to Default

If nothing helps against the Tapo camera freezing issue, it’s time for the good old factory reset.

This process will reinstall the system of your Tapo camera and will hopefully resolve potential performance problems.

Note: Factory resetting the Tapo camera WILL NOT erase your microSD or Cloud recording!

To factory reset the Tapo camera, locate the “RESET” button.

On some models, this button is on the outside; on others, it’s behind a latch that you must unscrew.

When you find the reset button, hold it for ~5–10 seconds while the camera is working, and when the LED turns red, release it. 

Note: If your Tapo camera won’t stop freezing, get in touch with Tapo customer service for additional assistance.