How to troubleshoot if the LED on Tapo C840 turns red

Introduction

This article provides troubleshooting when the LED light on the Tapo C840 turns red.

Troubleshooting

Scenario 1: Solid red light

The solid red light on the camera indicates that either someone is viewing the live feed or the camera is actively recording video, including detection recording and continuous recording. This is a designed feature to provide a visual cue that the camera is currently in use.

If you prefer not to see the LED light, you can disable it: navigate to the Tapo app > Tapo C840 Device Settings > turn off Status LED.

Scenario 2: Slow flashing red light

It indicates the camera has successfully connected to your Wi-Fi network but is unable to connect to the cloud.

Step 1. Try restarting the router and camera.

Step 2. Press and hold the Reset button for 5 seconds. This will reset the camera's network connection while retaining other settings. Then reconfigure the C840 and connect it to the 5 GHz Wi-Fi network.

Step 3. To determine if the issue is related to your home Wi-Fi network, we recommend performing a comparative test. Please try connecting the camera to a mobile hotspot from your phone. If the camera works correctly on the hotspot, the problem is likely in your router's settings or network environment.

Step 4. Open Tapo app > Tapo C840 Device Settings > Advanced Settings > Network Settings > enable Static IP > change DNS to 8.8.8.8 > Save the configuration.

Scenario 3: Rapid flashing red light

It indicates the camera is undergoing an upgrade or reset. Please wait for the process to complete. Do not disconnect the power supply during this time to avoid damaging the camera.