{"id":4111,"date":"2024-02-22T21:14:55","date_gmt":"2024-02-23T05:14:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/goldengrailpublishing.com\/?p=4111"},"modified":"2026-01-07T04:16:52","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T12:16:52","slug":"tp-link-tapo-video-doorbell-camera-d225-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/goldengrailpublishing.com\/?p=4111","title":{"rendered":"TP-Link Tapo Video Doorbell Camera D225 Review"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Verdict<\/h2>\n

The TP-Link Tapo Video Doorbell Camera D225 is a comprehensive upgrade over the D230S1 I reviewed earlier this year.<\/p>\n

While it keeps its predecessor\u2019s excellent, free AI features, it upgrades them with more configurable activity zones. It has a bigger battery, offering long stints between recharges, but it can also work with bell wire to provide 24\/7 recording.<\/p>\n

With a huge 180\u00b0 diagonal field of view, it\u2019s unlikely to miss anything happening outside your front door, and its 2K resolution is likely to capture all the detail you need. At this price, with no need for a subscription, it\u2019s simply a bargain.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

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\n <\/i>
\n Pros <\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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    \n
  • \n <\/i>
    \n Flexible mounting options <\/li>\n
  • \n <\/i>
    \n Mostly great video quality <\/li>\n
  • \n <\/i>
    \n Excellent, subscription-free AI features <\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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    \n <\/i>
    \n Cons <\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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      \n
    • \n <\/i>
      \n Confused by vehicles <\/li>\n
    • \n <\/i>
      \n No storage included <\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n
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      <\/div>\n<\/section>\n
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      Key Features<\/h2>\n
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        \n
      • \n
        \n <\/span><\/p>\n


        \n A smart doorbell with a huge field of view <\/span><\/p>\n


        \n The Tapo D225 doorbell can be wired or battery powered. It has 2K recording, helping it make the most of a full 180\u00b0 field of view. It works with the Tapo app and the supplied chime to let you know whenever someone\u2019s at the door <\/span>\n <\/div>\n<\/li>\n

      • \n
        \n <\/span><\/p>\n


        \n AI features with no subscription <\/span><\/p>\n


        \n This doorbell can tell you when people, cars, pets, or packages are outside, or when someone presses the bell. Unlike some smart doorbells, all its best features are subscription-free <\/span>\n <\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/section>\n

        Introduction<\/h2>\n

        TP-Link\u2019s Tapo Video Doorbell Camera D225 is a smart doorbell that comes with a plug-in chime. It\u2019s a bit different to the <\/strong>Tapo D230S1 doorbell<\/strong> we\u2019ve already reviewed, in that it doesn\u2019t need to be paired with a Tapo hub. <\/strong><\/p>\n

        Instead, recordings are stored on a MicroSD card inserted into the doorbell itself, which connects directly to your Wi-Fi network. Another key difference is that this doorbell has both a huge battery and terminals to let you wire it, giving you more flexibility.<\/p>\n

        This is quite a highly specified doorbell. Its 2K video sensor is fitted with a wide lens letting it capture almost anything happening in front of it. It can film at night using infrared or visible illumination and link up with Alexa and Google Assistant for easy monitoring and control. <\/p>\n

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        \n Advertisement <\/div>\n
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        Perhaps most significantly, the Tapo Video Doorbell Camera D225 has onboard AI to distinguish between humans, animals, vehicles and packages. And all of that\u2019s available without a subscription.<\/p>\n

        At the time of my review, there were no plans to launch the D225 in the UK. For that market, there\u2019s the TP-Link D235, which is almost identical save for slightly higher resolution recording.<\/p>\n

        <\/section>\n

        Design and Features<\/h2>\n
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        • Big and chunky<\/li>\n
        • Wired or battery powered<\/li>\n
        • Excellent app<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

          If you want a particularly stylish doorbell you\u2019ll have to look elsewhere. The Tapo Video Doorbell Camera D225 has a massive 10,000mAh battery onboard, so it\u2019s unavoidably on the big side \u2013 at least it looks reasonably smart. <\/p>\n

          TP-Link says it can last for up to eight months on a single charge, but there are also connectors for doorbell wiring. With a permanent power supply, the D225 can be set to record 24\/7.<\/p>\n

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          \"Front
          Image credit: Trusted Reviews<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

          This is an easy doorbell to install, and it\u2019s flexible, too. You can screw it to the wall or porch, or use one of two supplied adhesives if you\u2019d rather not drill holes. <\/p>\n

          It comes with a 15\u00b0 horizontal shim \u2013 useful if you have to mount it side-on to the street \u2013 and a 5\u00b0 vertical one that can help make sure you get coverage right down to ground level. I set it up facing directly out onto our drive, and had it fitted in just a few minutes.<\/p>\n

          \"Photo
          Image credit: Trusted Reviews<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

          At least, I did after I\u2019d filled the battery. There\u2019s no charger in the box, and the USB-C charge speed seemed to top out at 9 watts, which doesn\u2019t make for particularly quick refills. TP-Link says the doorbell will take six hours to top up, but it arrived more than half-charged so it was ready quicker than that.<\/p>\n

          The Tapo app couldn\u2019t detect my doorbell at first, which is unusual. After a bit of exploring I realised that my UK-based router was using channel 13, which isn\u2019t available to US-specification products \u2013 worth bearing in mind if you\u2019re considering importing one of these to Europe. After a simple Wi-Fi channel change everything worked perfectly.<\/p>\n

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          \"Android
          Image credit: Trusted Reviews<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

          At its most basic level, the Tapo D225 works like any other doorbell. You can plug the supplied chime in anywhere within your Wi-Fi range and it will sound whenever someone presses the bell \u2013 it\u2019s incredibly loud at full volume. If you already have a Tapo H100 or H200 hub, you can add that as a second chime, too.<\/p>\n

          \"Front,
          Image credit: Trusted Reviews<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

          Of course, smart doorbells can do far more than that. You can configure this one to record and notify you when it detects movement, people, pets, cars or packages. If it\u2019s wired up, it can record constantly, notifying you of events when they happen. If somebody presses the bell, you\u2019ll get a notification via the app, and can use it to quickly see what\u2019s going on and talk to a visitor. You don\u2019t need to be at home \u2013 all these functions work wherever you\u2019ve got Wi-Fi or cellular data.<\/p>\n

          You can choose to schedule event-based or (if the doorbell is wired) constant recording, for example turning it off during the day. You can\u2019t set separate schedules for different triggers, though. Similarly, you can schedule notifications so, for example, they don\u2019t disturb you at night or while you\u2019re at work. But while you can toggle the notifications for different event types on and off, you can\u2019t set different schedules for them.<\/p>\n

          The Tapo Video Doorbell Camera D225 records video on a MicroSD card, but you\u2019ll need to provide your own, up to 512GB maximum. The card\u2019s fitted in the doorbell itself, which does mean that you\u2019ll lose your recordings if the bell is stolen. There\u2019s a theft alarm feature, which sounds a siren if this happens. If you\u2019re not prepared to risk losing evidence in this way, you could sign up for Tapo Care, which stores recordings in the cloud.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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          I criticised Tapo\u2019s D230S1 doorbell for its inflexible activity filtering, but there\u2019s no such problem here. You can toggle motion, person, pet, vehicle and package detection on and off separately. By default the doorbell scans the entire image for activity, but you can create a global zone, for example restricting detection to your drive or porch, rather than the busy street beyond it. You can also set up a privacy zone, so you can avoid recording a neighbour\u2019s property.<\/p>\n

          That\u2019s a good starting point, but with this doorbell you can define separate activity zones and adjust the sensitivity of four of the five main detection types \u2013 package detection is always full-frame if it\u2019s switched on. You might want to do this if, say, you have trees on your drive that would set off motion-based alerts in the wind, but you still want the doorbell\u2019s person and vehicle recognition to cover that part of the view.<\/p>\n

          \"TP-Link
          Image credit: Trusted Reviews<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

          The Tapo Video Doorbell Camera D225 has built-in infrared and visible spotlights to ensure it gets footage at night. You can choose to use either; infrared gives you longer battery life, whereas visible spotlights allow colour filming. I preferred Doorbell Mode, which uses infrared unless the doorbell detects activity, at which point it switches to spotlights. <\/p>\n

          It\u2019s worth mentioning that the spotlight isn\u2019t bright enough to act as a deterrent \u2013 it\u2019s only there to provide enough light for certain filming. In fact, it\u2019s really just a white LED around the bell button and is barely noticeable if there\u2019s any other source of light.<\/p>\n

          Performance<\/h2>\n
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          • Very good AI and filtering performance<\/li>\n
          • Good image quality<\/li>\n
          • Fast notifications<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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            I haven\u2019t had a lot of luck with smart doorbells facing out onto my busy urban street. With lots of people and passing traffic, I\u2019ve experienced plenty of false alarms. This was particularly the case with the Tapo D230S1, which at the time of my review didn\u2019t let users set activity zones for its AI detection \u2013 I had to turn it off completely.<\/p>\n

            The Tapo Video Doorbell Camera D225 was much, much better. It took only a few minutes for me to adjust the activity zones as I wanted them. With a bit more tweaking, I was able to dial out false alarms for people, movement, pets and packages \u2013 thereafter, the doorbell seemed completely reliable for these categories throughout my testing.<\/p>\n

            Oddly, it was still confused by vehicles. Although it correctly spotted them passing on my road, it was still picking them up even when I\u2019d shrunk the activity zone and reduced the vehicle sensitivity to its lowest setting (see right-hand Android screenshot, above). At the same time, it never detected my car entering and leaving the driveway directly in front of it \u2013 possibly it was confused by the thick porch upright running down the middle of its view. I didn\u2019t particularly need the feature, and was happy to turn it off.<\/p>\n

            This doorbell does have a huge field of view \u2013 it could cover almost the entire front of my porch. One advantage to this ultra wide-angle lens is that if, like me, you have an obstacle in the middle of the view, it blocks less of it.<\/p>\n

            I was generally happy with the video quality, which captured details well enough that you could identify people, and make out nearby licence plates, but it wasn\u2019t perfect. During daylight, people calling at the door were a touch underexposed \u2013 there\u2019s no option to brighten or darken the camera\u2019s view. In the comparison below you can see the view from my north-facing porch in the afternoon (left) and early evening (right).<\/p>\n

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            At night, my porch upright was less overexposed by infrared and visible spotlighting than with other cameras and doorbells I\u2019ve tested. Visitors were beautifully captured, providing my porch light came on.<\/p>\n

            \"Man
            Image credit: Trusted Reviews<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

            Infrared exposure was generally good (left), until visitors were close enough to ring the bell, at which point the background retreated into shadows (right).<\/p>\n

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            \n \"The<\/p>\n
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            I found this doorbell\u2019s spotlight to be too weak to properly light the scene. At its default, mid-way brightness, visitors were simply too dark for crisp color footage (left). Turning it to its brightest setting helped (right), but not a great deal \u2013 the footage still wasn\u2019t brilliantly resolved.<\/p>\n

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            \n \"Photo<\/p>\n
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            You can use notifications from this doorbell to trigger other devices in the Tapo range. That\u2019s great if, for example, you want the smart bulbs in your porch light to come on for a minute when someone presses the doorbell at night. I set this up with the Tapo spotlights in my hallway, and it worked reliably. <\/p>\n

            At all times, I was impressed by notifications from the app, which seemed to happen almost instantly when the bell was pushed. The onboard AI seemed quick to recognise that a person was approaching, usually alerting me before they\u2019d even had a chance to ring the bell. This seemed to work just as reliably at night as it did during the day.<\/p>\n

            Unfortunately, there could be a price to pay for all the onboard intelligence if you\u2019re running this doorbell without wired power in a busy area. While TP-Link says the battery could last for up to eight months, its charge fell by 15% over five days in my setup, suggesting I\u2019d get only slightly more than a month between charges. I\u2019d expect to get far longer in a more rural area with fewer passersby, but in a city center I\u2019d want to wire the D225 up.<\/p>\n

            Latest deals<\/h2>\n
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            Should you buy it?<\/h2>\n
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            You should buy it if you want great features without a subscription<\/h4>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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            \nThis doorbell offers flexibility, good video quality, and reliable AI notifications without a subscription. It\u2019s a great value choice.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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            You shouldn\u2019t buy it if looks are important<\/h4>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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            \nThis is hardly an ugly doorbell, but it\u2019s not as stylish as some Nest and Ring models.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

            \n

            Final Thoughts<\/h2>\n

            This is the first surveillance device I\u2019ve tested that could handle the position of my door: set back only about five metres from a road with plenty of vehicle and foot traffic. <\/p>\n

            With others, I\u2019ve had to turn off detection features or set draconian activity zones \u2013 so much so that I usually end up mounting smart doorbells on the side of my porch, where they could miss something important.<\/p>\n

            But once I\u2019d turned vehicle recognition off, the Tapo Video Doorbell Camera D225 was up to the job. This made it far more useful as a security product, quickly capturing everything I needed to know about, without constantly bothering me every time somebody strolled past on the sidewalk. It\u2019s great that its reliable AI comes built-in, and without the need for a subscription, even if that does take a toll on battery life. It\u2019s great value overall and one of the best video doorbell options around.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

            \n

            Trusted Score<\/h2>\n
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            \n <\/i><\/i><\/i><\/i><\/i> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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            How we test<\/h2>\n
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            Unlike other sites, we test every security camera we review thoroughly over an extended period of time. We use industry standard tests to compare features properly. We\u2019ll always tell you what we find. We never, ever, accept money to review a product.<\/p>\n

            Find out more about how we test in our ethics policy.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

            \n
              \n
            • <\/i>Used as our main security camera for the review period<\/li>\n
            • <\/i>We test compatibility with the main smart systems (HomeKit, Alexa, Google Assistant, SmartThings, IFTTT and more) to see how easy each camera is to automate.<\/li>\n
            • <\/i>We take samples during the day and night to see how clear each camera’s video is.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n

              FAQs<\/h2>\n
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              Are TP-Link and Tapo the same company?<\/strong> <\/p>\n

              Tapo is a sub-brand of TP-Link, which also makes networking and Wi-Fi equipment.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

              Does Tapo work without a subscription?<\/strong> <\/p>\n

              Tapo products generally work without a subscription. Tapo\u2019s camera and doorbell products can be enhanced with an optional Tapo Care package that gives you cloud storage, but it\u2019s usually not necessary to get the best out of them.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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              Full Specs<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
              \u00a0<\/th>\nTP-Link Tapo Video Doorbell Camera D225 Review<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<\/tbody>\n
              UK RRP<\/th>\nUnavailable<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              USA RRP<\/th>\n$100 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              EU RRP<\/th>\nUnavailable<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              CA RRP<\/th>\nCA$223.75 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              AUD RRP<\/th>\nUnavailable<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              Manufacturer<\/th>\nTP-Link <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              Quiet Mark Accredited<\/th>\nNo <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              Size (Dimensions)<\/th>\n50 x 39 x 150 MM <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              Weight<\/th>\n300 G <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              ASIN<\/th>\nB0D8MKQ5RC <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              Release Date<\/th>\n2024 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              First Reviewed Date<\/th>\n12\/09\/2024 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              Model Number<\/th>\nD225 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              Resolution<\/th>\n2560 x 1440 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              Battery Length<\/th>\n8 months <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              App Control<\/th>\nYes <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              IFTTT<\/th>\nYes <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              Camera Type<\/th>\nDoorbell <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              Mounting option<\/th>\nWall <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              View Field<\/th>\n170.6 degrees<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              Recording option<\/th>\nmicroSD, cloud (optional) <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              Two-way audio<\/th>\nYes <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              Night vision<\/th>\nIR, full colour <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              Light<\/th>\nLED spotlight <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              Motion detection<\/th>\nYes <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              Activity zones<\/th>\nYes <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              Object detection<\/th>\nPeople, pets, cars, packages <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              Audio detection<\/th>\nNo <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
              Power source<\/th>\nBattery, mains <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/section>\n
              \n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

              Verdict The TP-Link Tapo Video Doorbell Camera D225 is a comprehensive upgrade over the D230S1 I reviewed earlier this year. While it keeps its predecessor\u2019s<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4114,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4111","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-camera-reviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/goldengrailpublishing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4111","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/goldengrailpublishing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/goldengrailpublishing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goldengrailpublishing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goldengrailpublishing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4111"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/goldengrailpublishing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4111\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4403,"href":"https:\/\/goldengrailpublishing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4111\/revisions\/4403"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goldengrailpublishing.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4114"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/goldengrailpublishing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4111"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goldengrailpublishing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4111"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/goldengrailpublishing.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4111"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}