TP-Link Tapo D225 Video Doorbell Camera Review

Joining TP-Link’s Tapo family of smart home devices, the $99.99 D225 is a versatile video doorbell that can be powered by an internal rechargeable battery or hardwired using your existing doorbell wiring. It offers sharp 2K video with local or cloud storage options, supports Alexa and Google Assistant voice commands, and works with scores of third-party devices using IFTTT applets. With more features than the 2K version of the second-generation Arlo Video Doorbell for $30 less, the TP-Link Tapo D225 is an excellent value and our new Editors’ Choice winner for affordable video doorbells.

Design and Features: Big and Capable

At 5.9 by 1.9 by 1.5 inches (HWD), the D225 is bulkier than the Arlo Video Doorbell (5.2 by 1.8 by 1.2 inches). It has a white IP66 water-resistant housing with a black face that holds the camera assembly, a doorbell button with an LED ring, a microphone, a PIR (passive infrared) motion sensor, and two infrared LEDs for black-and-white night vision. The LED ring serves as a spotlight that will provide color night vision when activated and also acts as a status indicator that blinks red and green during startup, glows solid amber when connected to Wi-Fi, glows solid white when connected to the cloud, and blinks white during firmware updates.

The doorbell comes with an oval plug-in chime box measuring 2.8 by 1.8 by 1.7 inches, two mounting plates and assorted mounting hardware, adhesive mounting pads, extension cables for hardwiring, and a quick start guide.

(Credit: John R. Delaney)

There’s a speaker on the bottom of the doorbell enclosure, and around the back are two terminals for optional hardwiring. With a hardwired installation, you never have to worry about charging the internal battery, which is rated to last up to eight months between charges, and you can configure the camera to record 24/7 video. Also on the back are power, Sync/Reset, and Anti-Theft buttons. When the Anti-Theft option is enabled, a 98dB siren will sound if the doorbell is removed from its mounting plate.

A USB port for charging and a microSD card slot for local video storage sit behind a rubber cover on the back. The slot will accommodate SD cards with up to 512GB of storage, but you’ll have to supply your own, as there isn’t one included. Native local video storage support is a nice option many video doorbells omit, including the Arlo Video Doorbell and all Ring models.

If you prefer to have video stored in the cloud, you can subscribe to a Tapo Care Premium plan. For $3.49 per month or $34.99 per year, you get 30 days of video history for a single camera, rich notifications, and Smart Sort photo tagging. The two-camera plan will cost you $6.99 per year or $69.99 per year, the three-camera plan goes for $10.49 per month or $104.99 per year, and the ten-camera plan is $11.99 per month or $119.99 per year.

The camera captures 2K video at 20fps, has a 180-degree head-to-toe field of view, and 16x digital zoom. For comparison, the 2K version of the second-gen Arlo Video Doorbell also has a 180-degree field of view, but it maxes out at 12x digital zoom, lacks color night vision support, and costs $30 more than the D225 at $129.99.

The Tapo features intelligent motion alerts for people, pets, vehicles, and package deliveries, and will capture up to four seconds of activity before a triggered event. The doorbell has a built-in 2.4GHz Wi-Fi radio and supports Alexa and Google voice commands and video streaming. It works with numerous third-party smart home devices via IFTTT applets but doesn’t support Apple HomeKit.

The D225 uses the same TP-Link Tapo mobile app (available for Android and iOS) as other devices from the brand, including the Tapo Wire-Free MagCam and the SolarCam C402 outdoor security cameras. Tap the doorbell panel on the app’s home screen to open a live stream that can be viewed in full-screen mode by turning your phone sideways. Directly below the video are buttons for taking a snapshot, manually recording a video, muting the sound, and making a two-way voice call to the camera without having to press and hold the Talk button.

The bottom half of the screen contains the aforementioned Talk (microphone) button, which lets you send an audio message to the camera. Other buttons in this section let you enable motion tagging (which draws a blue box around moving objects), privacy mode (which disables audio and video streaming and recording), and the spotlight. There’s also a Quick Response button that lets you choose a prerecorded message that will play when the doorbell button is pressed. At the very bottom of the screen is a Playback & Download button that takes you to a menu where you can view a list of video thumbnails stored in the cloud and on the microSD card.

(Credit: TP-Link/PCMag)

When you tap the gear icon in the upper-right corner, you’re taken to a Settings screen where you can enable motion detection, configure intelligent motion alerts, create detection zones, set up local recording, and change the video quality. Other settings allow you to adjust the spotlight brightness, configure Wi-Fi, set up Smart Actions to have the doorbell work with other Tapo devices, and update the firmware.

Installation and Performance: Simple Setup, Sharp Views

The D225 is very easy to install and pair with the app. I charged the battery overnight, opened the app, and tapped the plus icon in the upper right corner of the home screen. I tapped Add Device, selected the D225 from the doorbell list, and pressed the power button for around three seconds. When the LED started blinking red and green, I followed the instructions to connect to the doorbell using my phone’s Wi-Fi settings. I entered my Wi-Fi credentials and it was connected to my network and to my Alexa account in seconds. I gave the doorbell a name and assigned it an icon to complete the pairing process, then installed it near my front door using the included mounting hardware.

The D225 provided sharp 2K video in testing. The colors appeared vibrant and well-saturated, and the wide-angle lens provided a full view of my doorstep and the surrounding area. Black-and-white night vision was crisp and showed good detail, but color night vision lacked the vibrancy you get during the day.

Motion alerts arrived quickly and were accurately identified. The doorbell had no trouble streaming video to an Amazon Echo Show smart display and my Alexa routine to have a doorbell press turn an AiDot Linkind bulb red worked every time.

Verdict: A Versatile Value for Doorstep Surveillance

If you’ve been looking for a wireless smart doorbell that delivers sharp 2K video for less than $100, the TP-Link Tapo D225 Video Doorbell is our top pick. In addition to its affordable price and good video quality, it can store event-triggered video locally on a microSD card, or you can subscribe to a Tapo Care Premium plan to store video in the cloud. Support for Alexa, Google, and IFTTT applets makes it one of the more versatile smart doorbells around, though we wish it offered support for Apple HomeKit as well. Even so, the TP-Link Tapo D225 Video Doorbell is a strong deal for the money and our latest Editors’ Choice winner for the category.

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About John R. Delaney

Contributing Editor

I’ve been working with computers for ages, starting with a multi-year stint in purchasing for a major IBM reseller in New York City before eventually landing at PCMag (back when it was still in print as PC Magazine). I spent more than 14 years on staff, most recently as the director of operations for PC Labs, before hitting the freelance circuit as a contributing editor. 

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