How to check and improve the network connection stability of Tapo&Kasa smart devices

Due to a variety of user installation environments and network topologies, your smart devices may have some connection problems under certain conditions, such as a delay in live view, slow loading, unstable network, and other problems.

This FAQ will guide you through checking and improving the stability of the connection between your smart devices and your phone on your local network for better performance.

Part 1. Check the signal strength of the TP-Link smart device.

For Tapo&Kasa Cameras:

Check the signal strength of a camera on the Tapo APP

If your camera is connected wirelessly to a Wi-Fi network, you are able to check the received signal strength of the camera. It’s a value that is useful to check if the camera is receiving a strong signal from the access point or router.

You can go to Camera’s Device Settings page on the Tapo app, and go to Network Connection to tap the Wi-Fi icon to see the accurate RSSI (Signal Strength) value.

Please refer to the following description to check if the camera is receiving a strong signal.

More than -50 RSSI is a strong signal;

-50 to -70 RSSI is Good to Average;

Less than -70 RSSI is relatively poor, relocate the camera or router to get a stronger signal.

For other smart devices (such as smart plugs, bulbs, etc.)

Go to the Device Settings page of a smart device on the Tapo app, tap Device Info, and tap the Wi-Fi icon to see the RSSI (signal strength) value.

Part 2. Check the delay between a smart device and a phone on the local network.

Due to different network topologies and wireless interference, we still need to check the actual delay between the smart device and the phone via the Ping command if there is a connection issue (such as slow loading, unstable issue, etc.).

Here we use the APP “Network Analyzer” as an example.

Step 1:

Install the test APP “Network Analyzer” on your phone.

For Android:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.techet.netanalyzerlite.an

For iOS:

https://apps.apple.com/app/network-analyzer/id562315041

Step 2:

Check the IP address of the smart device you want to test on the Tapo APP. (You can find the IP address of the smart device on the device’s Device Settings>Device Info page.)

Step 3:

Open the “Network Analyzer” APP, go to Tools -> Ping, and input the IP address of the camera, then tap on “Start”.

Step 4:

Check the test results:

1. If your test results show that many data packages are lost, it means your network is not stable.
2. If the data package delay is over 100ms, accessing to your device can be relatively slow.

Part 3. How to improve the network connection stability.

Here are some tips for you to optimize your network, you may test the stability again after the optimization.

1. Select a new location for your smart device, move the device closer to the access point or the router
2. Update the firmware of the smart device and router to the latest one.
3. Keep the smart device away from microwave ovens and other interference sources (refrigerators, ovens, Bluetooth devices, etc.)
4. Change the wireless settings on the router for the 2.4Ghz, you may change the 2.4G channel width to 20MHZ and fix the wireless channel to 11
5. Contact the support of your router to optimize your network stability based on your network topology.