Tapo P400M Smart Wi-Fi Outdoor Plug review: Now with Matter

TP-Link has no shortage of smart plugs to choose from: 21 at last count, under the Tapo sub-brand alone. With the Tapo P400M, it gets its first outdoor plug that supports Matter.

Note that Tapo P400M is the model number for the product at Amazon and elsewhere; at Best Buy, it’s marketed as the Tapo TP25. TP-Link says the branding difference is due to a partnership with Best Buy that requires unique SKUs. Either way, they’re the identical product, so buy whichever model is being sold for less money. The box above should reflect current prices at several retailers.

Specs and design

To start with, the hardware looks good, more compact than most outdoor smart plugs, including TP-Link’s own winning Kasa Smart KP400. While few smart plugs are designed to impress, the all-black Tapo P400M is reasonably discreet and feels up to date, with an industrial design that evokes an automobile component.

Two three-prong outlets are available, each with its own attached rubber cover for use when the outlet is unoccupied, and each with an discrete power button on top. Each button illuminates individually when power is running to that outlet; this can be disabled altogether or set to Night Mode, which turns the LED off during times the user sets.

Christopher Null/Foundry

The hardware is attached to a short pigtail, ending in a three-prong plug with a right-angle connector. Mounting hardware is included if you want to attach the pigtail to the wall for extra security or stability. The device supports a maximum load of 1800 watts at 15 amps, or up to a ½-horsepower motor, and the weatherproofing rating of IP65 should be enough to get you through the holiday lights season and then some. Our IP code guide indicates it should be impervious to dust and able to withstand water jets from any direction (maybe not a pressure washer).

This review is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best smart plugs.

TP-Link says the Tapo P400M’s dual 2.4GHz Wi-Fi antennas deliver up to 300 feet of range in open air and 164 feet through three concrete walls. I wasn’t able to position the device quite that far away during testing (nor did I have three concrete walls handy), but I never encountered any signal strength issues from any spot around my house or yard.

Setup and installation

Christopher Null/Foundry

Since the Tapo P400M is Matter-certified, you have considerable leeway when it comes to how you set the plug up. You can scan the Matter QR code directly and walk through your ecosystem of choice, or you can use the Tapo mobile app directly. (I always test with the official app as part of the review process.) Sadly, the Tapo app is certainly in need of some TLC when it comes to setup.

If you don’t scan the Matter code, you’re asked to identify the product’s SKU, choosing from a list of smart plugs which, as I’ve already noted, includes a daunting 21 options. In an era where most gear—especially Matter gear—can be automatically identified during setup, it’s high time we jettison the “choose your product from a list” approach, which is only going to get more frustrating as that list grows in size.

Fortunately, the setup went smoothly for me after I made this selection, and I had the P400M onboarded to my Wi-Fi network in less than a minute. The product did require a firmware update of greater length than I anticipated, but this also went smoothly and finished without complication.

Day-to-day use

Christopher Null/Foundry

In regular use, the Tapo app is easy to work with and reasonably customizable (and it also works with TP-Link’s Kasa Smart brand smart home devices, so you can mix and match the two families), allowing you to rename each outlet and assign a custom icon to it, control power on demand, and set up both countdown timers and recurring schedules. You’ll need a separate schedule for both on and off operations, but these are easy to configure, so it’s not a major hardship.

Handily, your “Next Event” is displayed both on the app’s main screen and on the detail screen for each plug, so you can always see at a glance what’s coming up on your saved schedules. The detail display also includes an up-to-date display of total runtime for today, the past 7 days, and the past 30 days. Power consumption, however, is not monitored.

Naturally, you have a vast amount of flexibility in setting up multi-device automations or more complex schedules either through the Tapo app or any other Matter ecosystem. I used the device with Apple HomeKit and Amazon Alexa with no trouble whatsoever and was able to control plugs via voice and configure a variety of automations that worked with multiple brands of products simultaneously.

Should you buy the TP-Link Tapo P400M?

With a $25 MSRP, the Tapo P400M isn’t significantly more expensive than other dual-outlet outdoor plugs, most of which hover around the $15 to $20 mark. The P400M even has slightly better weatherproofing (IP64 is the more common protection offered) and, of course, support for Matter only further sweetens the deal.

Against the current field of competitors, there’s really no reason not to opt for it as a top outdoor smart plug choice.