TP-Link only works with a permanent internet connection

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46425752

by roscas • 7 months ago

8 7 7 months ago

news.ycombinator.com

TP-Link Tapo C100 model only works with a permanent connection to their servers. The second you cut internet on the camera it powers off. Why would anyone put a "security" camera in their house with a forced connection to TP-Link servers? And what does it transmit? So my question is does anyone have a TP-Link camera that works without internet? TP-Link has a ton of cameras but I don't want any that connects to the internet. Thanks.

Bender• 7 months ago

I think a starting point to avoid such things even if one does not use Zoneminder would be to look at their hardware compatibility lists [1] and ask on their forums [2] to find stand-alone cameras and keep them on an isolated network using a layer-7 proxy such as HAproxy [3] to reach your management interfaces so they do not have a gateway but you can still access your devices.

The forums of all the assorted open source NVR's would also be a good place to share your findings. Zoneminder, Shinobi, Frigate, etc... I mentioned Zoneminder as they are used by a number of corporations and requiring an outbound connection to a 3rd party would be a show stopper for many of them so this topic should be a shared concern.

[1] https://wiki.zoneminder.com/Hardware_Compatibility_List#IP_C...

[2] https://forums.zoneminder.com/

[3] https://www.haproxy.org/

roscas2• 7 months ago

Thanks I will look into that.

rankiwiki• 7 months ago

This trend worries me too. Losing basic local functionality just because the internet is down feels like a step backward.

roscas2• 7 months ago

What worries me the most is that someone can see my granny naked and die or have permanent eye damage.

Or worst, my mother in law... dang...

journal• 7 months ago

it probably checks if the firmware needs to be updated.

mcsniff• 7 months ago

This is a pretty interesting claim...I have a few C110 and C200 that work just fine offline after null routing them.

You may need to enable RTSP (https://www.tp-link.com/us/support/faq/2680/) to get a feed off them directly, it works fine in Frigate and any other viewer that can consume RTSP.

I am not defending TP-Link, but it's a pretty big claim for you to say their devices don't work offline and will immediately power down, without any supporting technical evidence.

fckgw• 7 months ago

I have the same C200 camera and recently had a 24hr+ internet outage and the camera stayed on just fine. I am also using RTSP with Frigate and Scrypted.

TP-Link only works with a permanent internet connection

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