Troubleshooting When Your Tp Link Camera Won't Save to a Local SD Card
Using a microSD card for local storage is a key feature of Tp Link's Kasa and Tapo cameras, providing a backup of your recordings without needing a cloud subscription. When your camera can't save videos locally, it can be a major issue. This guide will help you diagnose and solve the common problems that prevent your camera from recording to its SD card.
The problem is almost always related to the microSD card itself—its compatibility, health, or formatting—or a simple misconfiguration in the app settings. By following these steps, you can get your local recording working again.
## Step 1: Verify Your App Settings
Before you even touch the SD card, let's make sure the camera is configured correctly in the app.
- Enable Local Recording: Open the Kasa or Tapo app and navigate to your camera's live view. Go to Settings (the gear icon). Find the menu for storage, which might be labelled "Storage & Recording" or "microSD Card Recording."
- Check the Toggle: Ensure that the main toggle for "Local Recording" or "microSD Card Recording" is turned on.
- Set a Recording Schedule (If Applicable): Some models allow you to set a schedule. Make sure you have either "Continuous Recording" or "Detection Recording" selected, and that the schedule is set for the times you want to record. If no schedule is set, it won't record.
## Step 2: Ensure SD Card Compatibility and Health
This is the most critical area for troubleshooting. An incorrect or faulty SD card will never work correctly.
### Choose the Right Card
- Type: You need a high-endurance microSD card. These are specifically designed to handle the constant rewriting that security cameras perform. Standard microSD cards will fail quickly.
- Class: The card must be Class 10 or UHS Speed Class 1 (U1) at a minimum. This information is printed on the card itself.
- Capacity: Check the maximum supported SD card size for your specific camera model on the Tp Link website. Do not use a card larger than the maximum capacity (e.g., if the max is 128GB, a 256GB card may not work).
- Authenticity: The market is flooded with counterfeit SD cards. Purchase cards from reputable brands (like SanDisk, Samsung, or Kingston) and from authorized sellers. A fake card will cause constant errors.
### Step 3: The Formatting Process
An SD card must be correctly formatted for the camera to use it.
- Initialise in the App: The best way to format the card is through the Tp Link app. Insert the card into the camera, go to the SD card settings menu mentioned in Step 1, and look for an "Initialise" or "Format" button. This will prepare the card with the correct file system for the camera.
- What to Do If In-App Formatting Fails: If the formatting process fails within the app, the card is likely incompatible, corrupted, or counterfeit. As a last resort, you can try formatting it on a computer.
- Use a microSD card adapter and insert the card into your PC or Mac.
- For cards 32GB and smaller, format it as FAT32.
- For cards 64GB and larger, format it as exFAT.
- After formatting on the computer, put it back in the camera and immediately try to format it again using the app. If it still fails, the card needs to be replaced.
## Step 4: Final Checks and Reboot
- Re-insert the Card: Power down your camera, carefully eject the microSD card, and then re-insert it, making sure it clicks into place securely. A poorly seated card won't be detected.
- Power Cycle the Camera: After ensuring the card is properly inserted and formatted, unplug the camera from power, wait 30 seconds, and plug it back in. This reboot allows the camera to freshly recognise the card and start the recording process.
If you have followed all these steps with a known-good, compatible microSD card and it still fails to record, there may be an issue with the camera's hardware. At that point, contacting Tp Link customer support is the recommended next step.