Why Is My Tapo Camera Not Recording Continuously?
One of the most valuable features of many TP-Link Tapo cameras is the ability to record footage 24/7 onto a local microSD card. This ensures you have a complete record of events, not just the clips triggered by motion. However, if you've noticed gaps in your timeline or that the camera is only saving short clips, it can be a major concern.
This troubleshooting guide will walk you through the common reasons why your Tapo camera isn't recording continuously and how to fix them.
Signs That Continuous Recording Isn't Working
- When you view the playback timeline, you only see coloured bars indicating motion events, with large empty gaps in between.
- The camera is clearly online and detecting motion, but it's not saving any footage outside of those specific motion triggers.
- You have set it to record continuously, but it stops after a certain period.
- The app indicates there is "No Recording" for time periods when you know there should be.
How to Set Up and Fix 24/7 Continuous Recording
Follow these steps to ensure your camera is configured correctly and to resolve any underlying issues.
### Step 1: Check Your microSD Card
Continuous recording is only possible with a local microSD card installed in the camera. Cloud storage (Tapo Care) is for motion-triggered events only.
- Is a Card Installed? Make sure you have a microSD card physically inserted into the camera.
- Is the Card Recognised? In the Tapo app, select your camera, go to Settings (the gear icon), and tap on microSD Card. You should see the card's capacity and status here. If it says the card is unrecognised or faulty, it may need to be formatted or replaced.
- Use a High-Endurance Card: For the constant writing required by 24/7 recording, a standard microSD card will fail quickly. It is essential to use a "High-Endurance" or "Video Surveillance" card from a reputable brand.
- Format the Card: In the microSD Card settings menu, use the Format function. This will erase all data but can resolve many common file system errors that prevent recording.
### Step 2: Configure the Recording Schedule Correctly
This is the most common point of failure. You need to explicitly tell the camera to record continuously.
- In the camera's settings, go to Storage & Recording.
- Tap on Recording Schedule.
- You will see a timeline for the week. By default, it might be set to only record on motion (usually shown in orange or another colour).
- Tap Edit. Select Continuous Recording (usually shown in blue).
- Now, tap and drag across the entire timeline for every day of the week to set it all to blue.
- Make sure you Save your changes.
If the schedule is not fully set to "Continuous Recording," the camera will revert to motion detection only during the non-scheduled times.
### Step 3: Enable Loop Recording
Loop recording is a vital feature that allows the camera to automatically overwrite the oldest footage when the SD card becomes full. If this is turned off, recording will stop completely once the card's capacity is reached.
- In the Storage & Recording settings, ensure the Loop Recording toggle is switched to the On position.
### Step 4: Update Camera Firmware
Bugs in the camera's software can sometimes cause recording issues.
- Navigate to your camera's settings and look for a Firmware Update or Device Update option.
- If an update is available, install it and monitor the camera to see if the continuous recording issue is resolved.
By ensuring you have a healthy microSD card and have correctly configured both the recording schedule and loop recording, you can solve the vast majority of issues preventing your Tapo camera from recording 24/7.