TP-Link H100 Tapo Smart Home, White, Hub

Excellent product and works perfectly. Instructions were really easy to follow. Looks good and is not overly intrustive in the household. Sound and video quality is also really good quality.

So this is a requirement for the IoT things (yes, things things) made by TP-Link under the Tapo brand, like sensors and switches, it's not required if you just use the cameras, plugs, and lighting products.It is however very useful, it can actually like the doorbell chime for your Tapo doorbell, as well as being the central hub for your temperature sensors, smart switches, proximity sensors and even a water leak sensor allowing you to integrate those into the Tapo app and set them to perform tasks based on buttons being pressed could turn a light or plug on and off, a temperature sensor could activate a plug with a heater or fan or both etc, and it makes integration of Tapo smart home tech very easy. It even works with the Raspberry Pi smarthome distro.Also, the range is pretty decent, I've got sensors at the far reaches of my house and they work just fine.

Update 31/01/24:TP-Link have recently made some great software/firmware updates to much of the Tapo product line.Firstly some degree of local automation is now available, when an automation is created in the Tapo app it will be identified whether or not it will continue to function without an internet connection.Even better news for some, Matter compatibility is now available on the H100 Smart Hub allowing most of the sub-devices to be connected to a Matter controller. This function is still in beta however I have found it to be working well through Home Assistant (where Matter is also still in beta). For those HA users who have been using the Tapo HACS integration I strongly recommend switching to Matter as the polling lag experienced by the Tapo HACS integration does not exist using Matter and it also works entirely locally with no need to connect to TP-Link’s servers. As Matter is still rather new buttons and the water leak sensor currently aren’t supported, but I suspect this is only a matter of time.Original review:The Tapo H100 smart hub is required if you wish to use any Tapo sensors/buttons/switches as these battery powered devices communicate over a ~868MHz connection not WiFi (2.4/5GHz). It is not required if you only have Tapo WiFi plugs, bulbs, cameras etc. The H100 is cheaper (at £15) than many hubs/bridges/gateways but as you would expect from TP-Link is a quality item and easy to setup via the Tapo app.Whether this hub and associated devices will work for you will really depend on what you’re trying to achieve. Automation options in the Tapo app are somewhat limited and are certainly less customisable than other ecosystems. For instance phone notifications cannot be setup for all sub-devices; sensors yes, buttons no.For those using Alexa once the Tapo skill has been installed the sub devices connected become available as triggers which opens up far more possibilities and the capability to control devices across other ecosystems. I tested using the motion sensor (T100) and smart button (S200B) to control some Philips Hue lights and both worked fine, albeit with occasionally a little delay.For those using Home Assistant the Tapo integration currently cannot access any sub devices connected to this hub.Unlike most systems that utilise a hub/bridge/gateway, any buttons or sensors connected to the Smart Hub will entirely cease to function if the internet connection is lost. There is no good reason for this and in my opinion is a very poor decision by TP-Link, local functionality is an absolute necessity for a reliable smart home. Light switches or security sensors not functioning because of a lost internet connection is a really dumb problem to introduce.Curiously this device fails badly with two of the main advertised features; smart doorbell and burglar alarm/deterrent. At the loudest setting the doorbell chime cannot be heard through more than two closed doors in silence, let alone with any background noise. Additionally the smart button does not permit phone notifications meaning you can’t be alerted that way either (this can be achieved via Alexa). The idea of using this in conjunction with some sensors as a burglar alarm is also sadly farcical. It is not loud enough to scare off anyone plus can be easily unplugged by a burglar.It is tricky to rate the H100, if the available sub-devices and automations meet your requirements then this is a good quality and well priced device. However if you were to rate it against some of the headline advertised features it would rate quite low. I’ve been generous as I mostly wanted this as a stand alone system in conjunction with a motion sensor (T100) to notify me by phone and keep a log, which it does well enough.

Works well, easy to install. Works with Home Assistant

Why do we need it in the first place? Connects to WiFi right away. Pretty loud gong.

The Tapo Smart IoT Hub with Chime has been a fantastic addition to my smart home setup. It’s incredibly easy to set up – no wiring required, which is always a plus. I love how it seamlessly connects with all my Tapo devices, allowing me to control switches, buttons, and sensors from one central hub. The ability to connect up to 64 devices is brilliant and future-proofs my setup as I add more smart gadgets over time.The chime feature is handy, and the sound quality is decent for a small device. However, while it boasts 19 ringtones, I found a few of them a bit generic. It would be nice to have a few more unique or customisable options for different alerts.That said, it’s a reliable hub that’s simplified my smart home experience, making it an excellent choice for anyone looking to expand their Tapo ecosystem without the fuss of complex wiring.

This Tapo hub integrates well with other Tapo plugs etc. The price is remarkably low considering the quality of the device. I would recommended this seller.

This hub has worked flawlessly since I purchased it. I have 25 devices connected to it, including switches sensors and buttons. It is connected to a Deco mesh system which has come to the end of it's life. I also have a Switchbot IR hub connected to the Deco mesh. It took less than 5 minutes to change the wifi on the Switchbot to the ISP router. Not the Tapo hub though. There is no way to change the wifi without doing a factory reset. And when you do a factory reset of the hub I'll lose all my 25 connected devices. These will all have to reset and paired again to the tapo hub. There is a way to avert this. Change the ISP router SSID and password to the same as the defunct Deco mesh. And then I buy a new mesh system......oh I know.....change it's SSID and password to the defunct Deco mesh. Then change the ISP SSID and password again or it won't connect to the new mesh. Get lost tapo. Get on the phone to Switchbot and ask them how to add the simple task of changing wifi. Pathetic. If you are never, ever changing your router, mesh or ISP, bu this. Otherwise I would look elsewhere.