Tapo Universal v1.5 - Setup Guide

Custom Control Drivers LLC - control your Tapo plugs, lights, switches, power strips and H100 hub sensors from RTI, 100% local. Your processor talks to each device on your own LAN, so control is fast and keeps working even if the internet is down.

What this driver supports

One driver instance controls every device type below - add them all to a single instance (you don't re-add the driver per device):

Smart plugs (P100 / P110 / P125...) - on / off / toggle. Energy-monitoring plugs also report power, energy and runtime.

Smart bulbs & light strips (L510 / L530 / L630 / L900...) - on / off, brightness, colour temperature, hue / saturation, and one-tap colour presets.

Wall switches & dimmers (S500 / S505 / S210...) - on / off; dimmers add brightness.

Power strips (P300 / P304 / P306 / P316) - independent per-outlet on / off / toggle, plus All Outlets On / Off.

H100 / KH100 hub + its sensors - motion, contact / door, water leak, temperature / humidity, and smart buttons, each firing an RTI event on every change. Plus the hub's built-in siren.

Not (yet) supported: Tapo cameras, video doorbells, robot vacuums, and Wi-Fi routers / range extenders.

Try before you buy: the driver runs a free 2-hour trial - load it and test your own Tapo devices first. Tapo's lineup is large, so confirm your specific models on the trial before you purchase.

Want a device added? This is how we pick what's next. Tell us which Tapo product you'd like supported and we'll prioritize it by demand - email support@customcontroldrivers.com.

Before you start

Every Tapo device is already set up and working in the Tapo phone app (that's how each joins Wi-Fi and links to your account).

The RTI processor and the Tapo devices share the same network and can reach each other (no client / guest isolation between them).

You know the TP-Link account email and password the devices are linked to.

Step 1 (required) - turn on Third-Party Compatibility

Newer Tapo firmware ships with local access OFF, which blocks all third-party control until you enable it. In the Tapo app, tap Me -> Third-Party Services -> Third-Party Compatibility and turn it ON. This is account-wide - once covers every device.

Every time you ADD a Tapo device (now or later) it arrives blocked, even if the setting is already on. Go back and toggle Third-Party Compatibility OFF then ON, then run Discover Tapo Devices again - no reboot needed.

A device shows locked or won't control? Same fix: toggle OFF then ON and re-Discover. Last resort - power-cycle that one device (~10s) and re-Discover.

Step 2 - enter your TP-Link account (once)

Put the account email and password (same as your Tapo app login, case-sensitive) in the TP-Link Account fields. One account is shared by every device and is used only on your LAN, never sent to the cloud. Leave Local Port at 80, and License Key blank for the 2-hour trial.

Step 3 - discover & place your devices

Discover. Click Discover Tapo Devices in the driver panel (left side). It finds every Tapo device that has its own Wi-Fi connection and fills in a Name and IP for each. Each named device becomes its own RTI source.

Place. Drag each source into its room and bind the page template - plugs / switches / hub use Generic Two-Way Driver; bulbs / strips / dimmers use Lighting Controller. Save and download to the processor.

Give each device a fixed IP. Set a DHCP reservation in your router so a device's IP never changes (otherwise it can go Offline on a lease renewal). You can also add any device by hand - type its Name + IP into the next free slot in its category.

Hub sensors - add each one by NAME (H100)

Sensors have no IP of their own (they reach the hub over RF), so Discover can't list them and there's no slot order - you add each by name:

In Driver Settings, open the sensor's category (Contact, Motion, Water Leak, Temperature / Humidity, Smart Buttons) and type the sensor's EXACT Tapo-app name into the next open slot. That name reveals it as a source AND binds it to the physical sensor - the name is the link.

Name the slots before the hub first connects. Once it connects, each named sensor binds and reports live state. Sensors are read-only - you use their variables and events (see Automations).

Power strips & their outlets

Discover the power strip itself like any device (it has its own IP). Its outlets are children of the strip with no IP of their own - so, exactly like hub sensors, they don't auto-appear; you reveal each one by name:

In Driver Settings -> Power Strip Outlets, type each outlet's EXACT Tapo-app name into Outlet 1 Name, Outlet 2 Name, and so on. That name reveals the outlet as its own source AND binds it to that physical outlet - there is no slot order, the name is the link (same as sensors).

Each named outlet then controls independently: Power On / Off / Toggle, with its own on/off state. The strip itself has All Outlets On / All Outlets Off.

Tip: name your outlets in the Tapo app first, then type those same names here. To tell outlets apart, toggle one and watch which socket switches.

Controls & feedback

Every command's first parameter is a device picker - choose which device it targets. Bind each control's feedback to the matching variable:

On / Off / Toggle (plugs, switches, bulbs, strips, dimmers) - feedback = the device's Power variable.

Brightness (bulbs / strips / dimmers) - Set Brightness % (0-100; 0 = off). Bind a slider to Brightness %.

Colour temperature - Set Color Temperature % (0 = warmest, 100 = coolest), or Set Color Temperature (Kelvin) for an exact value. Feedback = Color Temp % / (Kelvin).

Colour - Tapo is hue / saturation; there is no RGB in the Tapo protocol, so no Red/Green/Blue controls. Use the Set Hue (0-360) and Set Saturation % sliders; brightness is separate, so moving one never disturbs another. Easiest option: Set Color Preset - one tap picks Red, Blue, Warm White, Daylight, etc.

Power-strip outlets - each outlet's own Power On / Off / Toggle; feedback = that outlet's Power variable. The strip has All Outlets On / Off.

Hub siren - Alarm On / Off; feedback = the hub's Alarm Active variable.

Energy (energy plugs) - Current Power (W) and Energy Today / This Month (Wh) update about every 30s; Refresh Energy re-reads now.

Automations (events)

Trigger macros from real-world activity. Each controllable device fires Power On / Power Off (including changes made from the Tapo app or a physical press), Came Online / Went Offline, State Changed, and Overheated. Each power-strip outlet fires its own Power On / Off.

Hub sensors are the events-first part of this driver - each fires the instant the hub reports a change, and each state reads as both text and an on/off variable:

Motion (T100): Motion Detected / Cleared.

Contact (T110): Contact Opened / Closed - doors, windows, drawers.

Water Leak (T300): Leak Detected / Dried Out.

Temperature / Humidity (T310 / T315): an update on each reading, plus Alert events when a value leaves the comfort range you set in the Tapo app.

Smart Button (S200B): Single / Double / Long Press.

Battery / connection: any sensor fires Low Battery, plus Came Online / Went Offline.

Whole-home events: Any Device Connected, All Devices Disconnected, Devices Discovered.

Troubleshooting

"Login rejected - check account email/password": the TP-Link email or password is wrong, or the device is on a different account. Re-enter both exactly (case-sensitive).

Found but locked / won't control, or a brand-new device won't connect: it's on the newer firmware scheme. Make sure Third-Party Compatibility is on, then toggle it OFF then ON and re-Discover. This is the most common cause on current Tapo hardware.

Stays Offline / Reconnect Count keeps climbing: the processor can't reach it - check the IP is current (use a DHCP reservation), the device is powered and on Wi-Fi, and there's no client isolation between it and the processor.

A hub sensor or a strip outlet isn't showing up: it comes from the hub / strip, not from Discover. Make sure the hub or strip itself is Online, then confirm you typed the sensor's / outlet's exact Tapo-app name in its category. Give it a few seconds after the parent connects.

"No IP configured": that slot has a name but no IP - type the device's IP, or run Discover.

Good to know

Devices keep their slot. Each device is pinned to its source slot by hardware address, so re-running Discover never shuffles rooms or breaks bindings. A removed device's slot is simply left empty.

Self-healing, local links. Each device keeps its own session alive and reconnects / re-authenticates on its own if it reboots or the network blips - independently of the others, with no 24-hour drop-outs and no cloud calls.

License & support

Leave License Key blank for the 2-hour trial; paste your key to license this processor (one license covers the whole driver on that processor). Support: support@customcontroldrivers.com - customcontroldrivers.com