#1:Blink Outdoor - wireless, weather-resistant HD security camera, two-year battery life, motion detection, set up in minutes – 1 camera kit
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5.0 out of 5 stars Neighborhood package thief will be CAUGHT and PROSECUTED with this crazy clear video!
Reviewed in the United States on September 18, 2020
Configuration: 1 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
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We've got some bad actors in the hood, so it was time to catch them with some irrefutable evidence. Our XT2 is a little old and our Arlos are acting stupid. Saw this come out and had to give it a shot. It was time to upgrade. Plus, the specs of the possibility of TWO YEAR BATTERY LIFE is mindblowing. It's probably a lot less, but my Arlos would last a week with $10 CR123 batteries, so that had to go. Anything had to be better than those dinosaurs.
Set up was fairly easy. There is no real printed instruction manual, but those are rare today. Scanned the QR code and my smartphone popped me to their website with tons of tips, info, and even setup videos. The entire setup process is QR from the new Sync Module 2 to the camera itself. So don't make the mistake of slapping the batteries in and closing the camera unit like I did before I scanned the QR code. Whoops. Took less than 15 minutes to setup and sync. Signed up for a new Blink account so the old one won't get confused - plus there's several weeks of free cloud storage right now. Boom.
Set it up in a tree ACROSS from my house this time. When I put it over my door, my old cameras would flag every car or pedestrian close and far. All I want to see is the jerk stealing my UPS packages, so I flipped the perspective. The HD is super clean and clear, and the camera is at least 30 feet from the sync module with no problems connecting. Big plus there. And, there's a pretty powerful little speaker in this unit! I was really surprised at the volume this thing can push for such a small speaker. Now, when this alerts me to funny business, maybe I'll be able to yell at the perps. Probably not, because they'll be long gone by the time I see the notification. Still, this feature could be useful in warning your kids from doing something silly when you're not home.
The live view was disappointing, since you have to keep clicking the app to continue the live view for longer than 10-ish seconds. So you can't use this as a spying device or a baby monitor. Bummer. Also, the default recording time was like 5 seconds, probably to maximize battery life. You can't catch much in 5 seconds. I adjusted mine in the settings to about 20 seconds. I'll sacrifice battery life to catch a bad actor. Plus, there's a battery pack you can attach to this unit to increase battery life. I'll update in the future to let you know how the battery goes.
Overall, I'm impressed with the new Blink outdoor. It's gonna rain here in Florida soon, so I'll let you know how that goes as well as night shots when available.
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Len B.
5.0 out of 5 stars New and Improved Camera !
Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2020
Configuration: Add-On CameraStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
This new camera is better then the Blink xt2 ! It has been totally re-engineered. Take it from someone who owns all the different cameras Blink had to offer since day one and had to get on a waiting list to get the very first one. So, I should know what iam talking about. This new camera no longer has the push down and pull system to open the back to install batteries. It has a large screw that you simply unscrew with a included tool to open the back of the camera which is really nice. Once you open the back and install the included batteries scan the small QR code inside the camera threw the blink app it will scan to find the camera once that is done it will automatically do a firmware update. After that you are ready to install your new blink camera. Also noticed the sound is much louder and more clear then the other cameras. This is good if two people are talking in a low voice you can hear what they are saying. Has brighter clearer night vision. Nice clear voice communication with two way talk. Alot stronger wifi signal to sink module and from sink module to camera. Sharp, clear, bright, and colorful HD vision during the day. I noticed before I wrote this review that some people only gave this camera 2 or 3 stars. Like the guy who is complaining about software issues. Well if you follow the directions you would not have that problem. Let the camera finish its firmware update. Duh ! Also, if you have been a Blink customer for a while and want to add this camera to your current system. You do not have to pay for cloud storage you are grandfathered in. After you add this camera to your existing system it will actually tell you this ! The front of the camera has a all new face with a very smooth and shinny surface iam sure to help combat the weather and give it a more high tec look. Their is no longer a switch inside the camera to turn on or off the blue recording light located on the front of the camera. It's is all done threw the app which is really nice as well. They really did a good job in re-engineering this camera and listened to customer complaints about their past cameras and went threw and fixed every issue. I would definitely buy this camera again ! UPDATE : 09-25-20 After using this camera for a couple of days. And as other reviewers have noted that this camera only has a 25 foot motion trigger ! Anything further than 25 feet it will NOT record when motion is present. So if you need a camera get the Blink XT2 for the further range. This camera will only be good for specific areas like door or window that are within the 20 to 25 foot range from the camera.
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I like turtles
5.0 out of 5 stars I actually purchased the product. 1st time user of Blink.
Reviewed in the United States on September 18, 2020
Configuration: 1 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
It's super easy. Works great. Setup was simple. It works exactly as advertised. What I didn't know for sure is that the batteries are just high quality AA batteries. So when they die, you can get some rechargeable ones and just rotate them through the thing. I'm going to order a couple more. They are pretty great. *Edit-A nice person took the time to let me know it's best not to replace w/ traditional AA batteries.
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Cal
5.0 out of 5 stars So Far, So Good
Reviewed in the United States on September 19, 2020
Configuration: 1 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
So far everything is as advertised. Setup was a breeze and the image quality is great - especially when set to “best.” I really appreciate the custom activity zones that you can set, as well as the ability the turn off the led light.
In terms of improvement, the included mount is pretty basic. For better or worse the mount snaps into the back of the camera module. This makes installing it relatively easy, but also means anyone could detach it with a firm pull. I’ve noticed that there are upgraded mounts that you buy, but haven’t had a chance to fully check those out yet.
Lastly, I noticed another reviewer mentioned subscription pricing, but it’s a bit misleading. Yes, there is cloud storage that you can pay for, but there are multiple levels, including a free plan, as well as a basic plan for $3/month. Also, the paid plans don’t start until 2021. More importantly, What this camera has, that the XT2 doesn’t, is local storage. If you’re big on privacy, and don't want to store videos on the cloud, you can attach a USB drive to the blink module and save your videos there (see photo which shows the usb drive). There’s no fee for saving your videos locally - you can still get alerts and watch your video feed live for free.
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Greg Fields
5.0 out of 5 stars What an awesome wireless system...buying more!
Reviewed in the United States on September 18, 2020
Configuration: 3 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
What an awesome product...total install took 25 minutes. I put 3 camera’s up outside to monitor my summer home. One of the camera’s I places on a pole in the yard pointing at the roof so I can monitor snow fall and snow melt roof system. The app was friendly. I shared the app with my wife and she was up and running in 2 minutes with minimal effort. We are so happy with this wireless system.
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Pat Walsh
TOP 500 REVIEWER
5.0 out of 5 stars Using for almost 4 years - here are my PROs and CONs
Reviewed in the United States on December 19, 2020
Configuration: 3 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
When we first purchased cams back in 2017, we compared to Arlo and Ring before we chose Blink. Now we are up to 10 cams, covering every angle of the house. Here are my findings after using them for almost 4 years (and still buying more):
PROS:
> #1 video quality is excellent. Day time is a bit better than night, but night vision is as good as it gets with cams. POSITION of your cam matters a ton. I started out putting them way high up and quickly realized - if you actually want identifying features - they need to be lower. Otherwise... yeah you see someone walking past, but you cant ID anything, so what is the use.
> So inexpensive - so easy to integrate. Anytime we have ANYTHING we need to cover, we just order another cam and it literally takes 5 minutes to get it out of the box, batteries in, and added to existing system.. seriously - 5 minutes.
> The app is great. Very intuitive. Our first cams had very few "advanced features" every time i order new cams, they have improved their features. Now you are able to zoom all the way in to very small areas, to capture certain areas and exclude others.. For example - old cams you had to block off large sections of the capture area to avoid the cams picking up movement from trees, but now you can pinpoint one little part of a branch on a tree to exclude if its triggering the cam.
> Motion detection is very sensitive - but they have it tweaked just about right. It never misses anything, but if you setup your exclusion zones well - you can get it almost perfect. I dont have a lot of false alarms and I'm running 10 cams. We have one setup to look at the sidewak, and after much tweaking, we can actually exclude the street... but pick up both sidewalks on both sides of the street. You can setup the app to alert you or not alert you.. you can turn sound on or off on alerts. On windy days I do end up just going into the app and turning off all cams that are setup around lots of trees until the storm is over.. but thats like a few times a year.
> Super easy playback and control of cams. It's instant - you can control them in any way, very easily. If I am working on a project in the yard, I dont want my cams on for hours, running out of batteries - so I just go into the app and turn them all off. It takes seconds. Likewise - if i hear a noise at night, super easy to open the app and live view any cam so i can look all around the house and see everything happening outside, from every angle.
> Extremely easy to move around. We have had them for years - so we move them around occasionally. I even had mice in our crawlspace under the house at one point and just grabbed one of the cams off the side of the house and stuck it down there so I could catch them at night. Theres no commitment with these - no hard wiring so you can mount them anywhere and taking them on and off the mount takes 2 seconds.
> No subscription needed to store clips. thats BIG for us. We would not like blink as much if they changed that. We run a lot of cams and it just stays 100% full storage - we can still access a few weeks worth of video, it just deletes oldest. You can download/save any videos.
> Lots of mounting options. You have to buy them separately if you want anything special, but I have 3 different types of mounts - one for trees, one around porches that need to be secured so they cant be taken, and then the standard mounts for cams not at risk of being taken. There are camo skins as well - I have on in a tree that you pretty much cant see unless you know its there.
> Customer support is super decent. In the winter of 2018, one of my cams took on a green hue to the image when the temp went down to about 10 degrees outside. I emailed customer service explaining the issue and sent a screenshot and within 24 hours they asked me for the SN of the cam, and did a firmware update that fixed it. I was quite happy with that.
CONS:
> So while the batteries are awesome because the cams are so easy to move around and deal with... i blow through batteries. Fortunately, i just get 20 packs of AA's, but with 10 cams - even though Blink ~says~ batteries can last a year? it totally depends on usage. So we get LOTS of traffic on our front cams because we live in a busy area and have people walking past all day. I change out the batteries on every one of those front cams once a month. Granted - thats many hundreds of video captures and ideally, we should connect those cams to electricity somehow - that is an option with blink, but I dont mind changing batteries. On the cams in the back yard and side paths - I really can go once or twice a year changing those, except for the ones that catch a lot of foot traffic. So the battery usage is totally dependent on traffic. Personally - the cams are a big deal to me, so i dont mind it at all. Benefits totally outweigh the downsides.
> The biggest difference between Blink and some other companies is that i see other people with hardwired cams that can catch EVERYTHING in a continuous fashion, for hours. like the surveillance videos you see online where the cam just happened to catch something happening down the street...Blink doesnt work that way. it only captures immediate video clips, triggered by motion activation. It does store all videos.. you can see something weird in your yard and look back through videos to find out what happened - but it isnt 24 hours of continuous video feed.
> You can get gaps in your videos. So it can capture 1 minute of video at a time, but then it takes a small break before it starts capturing again, so if something is happening and its videotaping an event - it will record an entire minute of excellent footage - but then it takes a 5 second break before it starts recording again. that doesnt sound like a long time, and for security it's not normally an issue.. the average bad guy is in and out quickly.. but it is annoying that it takes 5 seconds to re-trigger. So.... 2 minutes of continuous video... but in the middle of that 2 minutes.. a 5 second break.
OVERALL - Super high video quality... cams you can move around super easily... a very easy app... I love blink and the upsides far outweigh any downsides. I always recommend it to people when they ask. You can cover your entire house at a super affordable price, you dont need to be rich at all.. Our 3 year old cams are still as good as our brand new ones. The peace of mind the cams bring me is priceless. I know every single thing happening everywhere, all the time outside. The affordability made it possible so that nothing can ever surprise us.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Everything works great!
Reviewed in the United States on September 19, 2020
Configuration: 1 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
We love it! Set up is easy. You just need a really good wifi connection then play around with the sensitivity level until it works for what you need.
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N8iv Angeleno
5.0 out of 5 stars Better than XT2s now that I have local storage
Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2020
Configuration: 2 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
I gave these new Blink Outdoor cams a few days to test them out, and the verdict is in. These are so much better than the XT2s. I love my XT2s but it always drove me batty that I had to download the clips through the app, one by one. But with the new local storage feature, I simply grab the USB flash drive once a day and download the clips to my laptop. This is what I’ve been waiting for. Right now, it uploads to the USB flash drive once a day but at the end of the year it will be uploaded in real time. It will also have the capability to be uploaded to the USB flash drive manually if I choose. Love that. I’m so happy that I have local storage that I can quickly upload to my laptop.
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Chris Carlson
5.0 out of 5 stars Security Cameras Without a Monthly Fee
Reviewed in the United States on May 29, 2021
Configuration: 3 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
This review is for people who want no monthly fees, no wires, have the patience to read a long review and want no worries about what it'll be like when the free cloud trial ends (I'm here to help with the no worries). The Amazon Blink battery operated cameras provide no monthly fees and no wires and they do it well. Motion detection, night vision and video quality are all you could want. I've used other DIY brands since 2018 and nothing compares unless you want to spend hours running wires to and from your homes electrical and LAN connections and spend triple the cost of these wifi battery operated units. The build and picture quality of the cameras were so good that after the first three purchased in February 2021 I bought two more in April 2021. Added Wasserstein Solar panels for external power to four of the most used cameras in April. I'll review the external power units after a while of use but after almost two months I can't complain. When looking at reviews on my initial purchase I didn't see any that covered what it was like to use the local USB no monthly fee option. Probably because Blink offers a free trial of their cloud recording storage for a few months and when it ends no one bothers to review it further. I'm here to tell you if you're like me and don't need monthly fees and have about 10 seconds more patience when looking at the stored videos you'll be satisfied saving the $3 to $10 bucks a month. If you need to record live videos and have rapid video access then $3 bucks a month is well worth it, but if you live in the burbs where life can be a bit boring at times then save your money. If you live in a high crime area or have money to burn then spend the $10 bucks a month on premium service. If you do the free USB recording option your recordings take a little longer to load and you can't delete them until the recording is done playing, that's it. Sure you can't save and record real time videos and it takes a little longer to review and delete videos when using the USB, but I can do without that. Hopefully this helps with your decision. In addition to the Wasserstein Solar external power I also purchased a Formass outlet mount for the Blink module, so far both have been great. I'll review those after using them for an extended period of time.
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Jon H
5.0 out of 5 stars Well made software easy to use. Great job amazon
Reviewed in the United States on September 18, 2020
Configuration: 5 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
Easy to setup. I think the hardest part was figuring out where to put the cameras. Everything works well and very clear. Love the two way speaker system.
Comes with batteries and you can use them indoors or outdoors. I have three indoors and three outdoors. You can have up-to ten cameras on a sync module. You can plug in a usb to store your feeds or pay for the cloud I chose to store locally via usb to each his or her own. They all come with their screws and you can either use the mount or not. My indoor ones are on top of certain things so no mount required. My outdoor ones of course needs mounting. It hasnt gotten to cool here maybe around 30 degrees and they work fine. Ive heard they can go below zero with ice and snow so should be fine.
5.0 out of 5 stars ?????????? BEEN USING BLINK 2 YEARS ????????
Reviewed in the United States on September 25, 2020
Configuration: Add-On CameraStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
..
SO I HAVE FIRST GENERATION
XT, XT2, AND NOW 1 OF THESE..
I HAVE 10 ALTOGETHER..
THIS APPEARS TO BE VERY MUCH LIKE MY X2 BUT A BETTER DESIGN..PIC QUALITY IS SLIGHTLY BETTER, AND SOME EXTRA SETTINGS..
NOW IM NOT TECH SAVVY, BUT I HAVE GOOD LUCK WITH MINE, AND AT 10, THAT CANT BE DUMB LUCK..
IT DOES TAKE GOOD WIFI, PROPER PLACEMENT, AND FOR BEST PERFORMANCE I USE WASSERSTEIN CORDS.. NO BATTERY BEATS THE CORD..PERIOD.. SOME THAT ARE FAR ARE ON THAT PLUS EXTENSION W A LOT OF ELECTRICAL TAPE..
WE REBOOT OUR WIFI ONCE A WEEK FOR ALL DEVICES SAKE..EVERYTHING IS HAPPIER..PHONES TABLETS CAMS THAT WAY..
NOW FOR NEW CUSTOMERS.. YOU CAN CHOOSE TO GET A THUMB DRIVE TO STORE YOUR CLIPS SO ITS FREE, OR FOR A SMALL FEE, ( LIKE RING ETC..) CAN GET CLOUD..
FOR PREVIOUS CUSTOMERS LIKE ME , EVEN WITH THE NEW CAM, STORAGE IS FREE... I SENT MANY EMAILS ( AND GOT A QUICK AND DETAILED RESPONSE)..
NOW, ITS MY UNDERSTANDING THAT WE HAVE FREE CLOUD, BUT!!! ITS TIED TO THE PREVIOUS MODULES... SO YOU CAN ADD A NEW CAM TO THEM ( AND ADD OLD CAMS TO THE NEW ONES BTW)..
BUT!!! THE NEW MODULE ADDED WINT HAVE THE FREE...
.. SO WHAT WE DID, WAS TOOK OUT THE SPARE TO BE SURE IT WORKED ( THEN DECIDED ITS NICE TO HAVE DOUBLE STORAGE, SO CAMS ARE SPLIT TWEEN THE 2)... AND I BOUGHT ANOTHER AS A BACKUP..
SO THE NUTSHELL IS, SO FAR, THOUGH NOT HUGELY DIFFERENT, I LIKE THE NEW CAMS... AND IF YOUR AN OLDER CUSTOMER.. GRAB ANOTHER MODULE FOR JUST IN CASE..
P.S. WE HAVE MODULE HALFWAY FROM ROUTER TO CAM, IN WINDOW AREA SO MINIMAL WALLS ETC.. AND AS FAR AS SOUND, ITS CRYSTAL CLEAR ON MY PHONE, TABLET NOT SO MUCH..
I also have found that other than good wifi and cables, having more than one makes a huge difference.. we have several now, but when we had 2 it was a big diff over 1.. we set them up one at porch, and one perpendicular view angle across driveway..
It gives you a more complete view, even for fast walkers, also having more means
That its not likely all will be in retrigger at the same time ( brief gap 10sec or more if you sert it that way)...
Weve spotted weird characters, package deliveries, found lost pets.... caught great nature clips..as well as indoor keep an eye on elderly pets..
Night vision is excellent too..will add a pic of that..
HOPE THIS HELPS ??
??????????
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Cameras
Reviewed in the United States on October 4, 2020
Configuration: 2 Camera KitStyle: with Free Blink MiniVerified Purchase
I have been using my outdoor and blink mini for about a week now. They do a great job of alerting me when there is motion. I need to figure out the privacy areas a little better for one of them as it is in a high traffic area so I don't need to be alerted every single time. But I guess that means they're working good!
I have these connected to the hub which I placed in the middle of my building. The two cameras are on each end of the building the front and back. I am very impressed with the range on these without having a wifi extender. My building front to back is about 155ft in length not to mention the signal is passing through concrete and drywalled walls.
My only con about this is the arming and disarming. I had used a system prior to this that I could set a distance up to where it would arm or disarm so if I was within that distance it would make the necessary adjustment. I have an issue and forget to arm/disarm them right away. I think if Blink added a feature like this in the future they would have me 100%! Great camera system though.
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Rich I
5.0 out of 5 stars Had to change my review... Blink made right by me!
Reviewed in the United States on October 15, 2020
Configuration: 2 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
UPDATE: Initially I gave this product a single star, and my initial review is below, but BLINK contacted me and made things right! Blink customer service tried very hard to get my cameras to work, and spent time working through each potential issue, including the possibility that the cameras were defective. They sent new cameras and that didn't work. Eventually we figured out that for some reason there is a dead spot in my WiFi and moving my cameras 6" lower than where I initially mounted them fixed the issues. Now my cameras connect and the motion detection works brilliantly. The night vision is good enough to see who is at my door. I can now check in on my home when ever I need to. BLINK is a good company and my experience with customer service was amazing! Thank you Mr. Weiss.
Initial review:
When this system works, it is amazing and surpasses my expectations. Problem is, it's not consistent. My front door camera (the most important one of the two) worked great for a day or two but since about 6pm yesterday has failed live views, and not recorded any of the activities in it's range. In-fact 16 hours later, I'm still not able to live view nor get any motion detection. It did notify me that the temperature rose above 40°, thanks camera! What good is a security camera that doesn't work when you need it too? I'm waiting to see if customer service is any help, will update as appropriate. I really want to live this but..... On a side note, the blink mini works great and has good night vision, love that little camera. To bad it's indoor only!
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Danica
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Cameras! USB Storage Saves Money!
Reviewed in the United States on June 9, 2021
Configuration: 3 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
These cameras are great! The video and sound quality are amazing & the night vision is quite impressive. We live at a rental property and couldn’t use the screws that are provided, so we went to Target and bought some outdoor adhesive velcro. It works perfectly! Plus, if you’re not interested in the monthly fee for cloud storage, you can plug a FLASH DRIVE into the sync module and the videos will show up on the app. The only con to this option is that the videos will then take longer to load in the app. We ended up ordering another 3 pack after getting these because we wanted them everywhere! We would highly recommend.
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Paul
5.0 out of 5 stars The Cameras Meet All Expectations
Reviewed in the United States on October 5, 2020
Configuration: 2 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
The clarity of the video and audio are excellent, and the cameras capture everything. Detection is almost instantaneous, and early detection only has a slight delay of approximately 15 seconds, from the moment the camera detects movement until I am notified. I am so impressed by the cameras that I ordered two more to augment the cameras I have already installed. Setup and installation was a breeze! I added a WiFi signal extender to enhance the signal to the module, and I have not lost communication with the cameras once. I added a 64GB flash drive to the module for recording the video, which is an awesome feature if you do not like paying monthly fees to store your videos in the cloud. Video capture in daylight is high-definition, and the night vision is extremely clear. Although the camera speakers could be a little louder, everyone seems to understand what I am saying when I speak to them through my smartphone.
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Ryan
5.0 out of 5 stars So far now it works really really good.
Reviewed in the United States on March 16, 2021
Configuration: 1 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
So far now it works really really good. Naturally I saw some negative reviews but figured I’d take a stab at ordering a $100 camera. Like a lot of places in America since the pandemic, my neighborhood has been seeing an increase in crime. I want to get three of these so I can have cameras watching my car my front door in my backyard. But I started with one just to make sure the stuff works. The camera came in from and boxing it I had it all set up and ready to go within about 15 minutes. It didn’t connect to my Wi-Fi the first time, so I tried it again and it worked great and has not lost connection now for about three weeks I think? The motion sensor works fantastic, in fact may be a bit too sensitive because when the sprinklers go on it notifies my camera. I actually think this is a good thing because it means nothing can escape the attention of the camera. So far things are OK, and the night vision is great and I’m getting some interesting shots of animals coming by the front door of my house at night. I like that I can adjust how long the video is, how sensitive it is, and how long to record the video. And the attachment it came with were really really easy. All I needed was a power screwdriver and I was able to mount it in the wood above my front door. I’m not sure if it would go well into stucco, but it would surface works great. So far I’m very satisfied with these, and I plan to buy two more so I can have video footage of my cars in my backyard. There of been a lot of car break-ins in my neighborhood so I’d like to see if I can catch these crooks.
[update June 2021] I've had the camera now 3 months and the "trial cloud subscription" has expired - and I'm happier!!! I bought the USB stick to plugin so now I can leave it on and record more. With the cloud there was storage limit and it was annoying - now I have 64g to store as much as I like and delete as I please. It's a bit slower than the cloud but not much. STILL HAPPY! I should get two more now.
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Michael Bienek
5.0 out of 5 stars PROs/CONs/Notes and Customer Service
Reviewed in the United States on January 20, 2022
Configuration: 3 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
PROs
* Easy to install
* Clear picture
* Easy to configure (set movement zones)
* Sound
* GREAT CUSTOMER SUPPORT
* Schedule to turn on an off
CONS
* Can't schedule individual camera on/off times
* When trial subscription runs out, the warning message implies you won't get video anymore (FALSE).
NOTES
* You DO NOT need the subscription service IF you install USB stick in the WiFi module. You will still get notifications and videos. That said, there are other benefits to subscription you may want.
* When I believed the Blink warning message and complained, their customer service sent email with link that showed their web page comparison of with and without and offered some other help. They CARE about the CUSTOMER experience!!! Who knew that still existed?
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Carole
5.0 out of 5 stars Love my blink xt2 not the new camera
Reviewed in the United States on October 12, 2020
Configuration: 1 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
I was trying to add a 4th camera to my xt2's that are currently inplace. I was told I could add this new camera but would have to pay a subscrition to use the cloud storage. Currently I don't have to pay for cloud storage but the new cameras require a subscrition. I'm sure the camera would work fine but I am not willing to pay the subscrition fee. I will be sending it back.
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Julio
5.0 out of 5 stars Easy to use and set up.
Reviewed in the United States on December 31, 2020
Configuration: 2 Camera KitStyle: with Free Blink MiniVerified Purchase
I purchased the bundle pack with 2 outdoor and a mini indoor camera. Althou they don't come with an installation manual they are pretty easy to set up. I installed the Blink App from the Play Store and it walks you through set up. And setting these up to work with my Echo Show5 was a breeze. Day time and dusk views are pretty nice and clear but night time views are not the best if there is no light source to light the area you wish to view if its not within a few feet of the cameras ir light. Overall I'm happy with both outdoor and indoor cameras and will more than likely add now in the future.
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ForeverYOUNGTop Contributor: Baking
TOP 100 REVIEWER
5.0 out of 5 stars outdoor blink
Reviewed in the United States on October 16, 2020
Configuration: Add-On CameraStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
We purchased these to put inside - which we normally wouldn't do - but we are selling remotely. Wish they would develop these in a white color (not just the "inside" version) - but we are firm Blink supporters. We have 2 full systems and as long as you have wifi connection, they work well - no monthly fees. I will say - keep in mind - each of your systems is limited to 10 cameras total.
4.0 out of 5 stars Nice camera quality & easy to set up
Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2020
Configuration: 3 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
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So, this is my first go-around with any kind of outdoor video system, so my opinion might change, but here's my thoughts today, after having this system set up for a weekend.
1) this system is extremely simple to set up.
2) It is battery operated and runs on WiFi, so you do have to have enough range to cover where your cameras will reside. I almost bought Nest (which is about 4 times the cost and the no go for me was drilling a hole through my wall to run the wire into my house.
3) That said, since these cameras are set up on an outside bracket, and the camera itself pushes on to the bracket they don't seem like the most secure camera. I live in the city. Anything that is not locked down could easily be stolen...especially if they are "just above six foot level." I found a second party bracket that should make these camera attachments be more secure. Will report if they work.
4) For people losing their minds about cloud storage not being free starting in 2021 that is false. The system comes with a sync 2 module which will allow you to store your data in your home with a USB attached storage drive. I'm going to start with a 1 tb drive and see how much data is taken up with my 3 outdoor cameras and my one indoor camera. Update: the 1 Tb drive isn't compatible with the system and it will only format a 64 gig drive or smaller. It's ok. I needed a new thing drive. Will try another with smaller storage. It must be MS-DOS (FAT), ExFAT, or FAT32 supported.
5) These do have the talk feature, so if you get an alert you can always talk to the person outside "place the package between my front and screen doors" for example.
6) I'm still learning all the settings, but, I think you can keep the system armed and turn off one camera (say in the house) when you are home.
Finally, for the upfront cost and even with the purchase of additional brackets and drives, this is still a considerably more economical version than some outside security systems. I don't necessary need all the bells and whistles just a simple security system.
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Cory
4.0 out of 5 stars Motion detection range is short (25ft), but works well inside that.
Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2020
Configuration: 2 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
*7 month update
Still on the original batteries with fairly high traffic, but I've pretty much got the rest of the house and yard covered with wyze cams.
The one advantage that blink has over wyze is that it can be used for alexa routines which turn things off if no motion is detected for a certain amount of time.
If they ever add continuous recording when wired, or key support, they could fill a bigger niche, but the wyze v3 is currently better in every way, unless you can't run wires.
The biggest reason i still havent sold these is that all cameras occasionally disconnect from WiFi and stop sending notifications, and having 2 different systems helps mitigate this risk.
*Update
I'm going ahead with 4 star at this point. After moving the cameras down off the soffits to around 10' high on the walls, they do meet the 25' range specified in the FAQs page. This ad the customer support received earns a slightly grudging 4 star. Just be aware of the limitations.
I've added a couple screenshots with red lines added to illustrate where they pick me up in a meandering walk to the entrances.
*Update
bumped to 3-star, as it's more a description ommission than a product issue*
I was contacted by customer support after writing my original review and doing a bit of research myself. Apparently the motion detection only has about a 25 ft range, so if you're like me and want to overlook a large area, these are not for you unless you get several cameras and mount them low. I wish this had been mentioned in the product details.
It should be noted that the reason the motion detection range is so short compared with wyze, is that it uses an infrared sensor for primary motion detection. This is probably more reliable for outdoor and low light, but again, would have been nice to see on the product details.
So, I'll be moving the cameras down from our 18' soffits and adding more cameras in the future. If they work significantly better lower, I'll bump the rating accordingly.
Hopefully at some point in the near future blink adds continuous recording with event clips for those of us willing to hardwire power, and with local storage provided by the new sync mod 2. This would make the motion detection range much less of an issue.
*Original 2-star review*
Motion detection leaves a lot to be desired vs wyze.
I've had this up for 2 days and get plenty of alerts for shadows and bugs, but when my wife pulls into the driveway, opens the gate, and walks 30 feet to the door before it picks up motion??
Also, it picks up my dogs every time they use the dog door, despite the zone being set to inactive. Back camera allowed me to walk around the backyard, then up 10 steps directly in front of the camera before picking motion up as I opened the screen door.
The attached photo is at max resolution and was the start of the motion clip.
At least with wyze I get constant recording to local storage, so I can review the preceding events when I get an alert like this.
Maybe the motion detection works better if closer up and not covering a large area, but this is awful.
Customer imageCustomer imageCustomer image
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Mjm
4.0 out of 5 stars Good for price. Not a good doorbell cam. Not fully functional with Echo.
Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2020
Configuration: 2 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
I purchased the two-cam kit.
Super-easy physical install.
Fairly easy setup (might be a little hard to "get" for folks who don't understand that you really need to get the Sync module going first, and that you need to do that by setting it up while it's right next to your router).
Nit-pick: The two-cam kit only needs one Sync module. I purchased two, thinking I would need one for each cam. It's not spelled out anywhere (that I noticed) that all you need is actually in the box.
Word of warning: If you DO need a separate Synch module, make sure you order the one that works with the Outdoor version of the cams. The XT2 version does not appear to work with the newest "Outdoor" models.
Request that Blink just put up a dang compatibility chart somewhere in all the marketing gobble-de-goo.
So-so: Response time to bring up the live view is too slow for this system to work as a true "doorbell cam". In fact, often the "ping" notifications are received on phone and Echo WELL after the tripping event has occurred (4 to 5 seconds).
Not very good: Night vision is, like, a C+ compared to August and TonTon and Eufy and Arlo (but Blink is nowhere near as expensive either, so there ya go).
Not very good: Audio (via the phone app) is not loud enough at the cam.
Not very good: No true desktop client. You have to run a pseudo Google app in BlueStacks.
Not good at all: No two-way voice comms over Echo? Whaaaat? That should absolutely have be there, IMO. You can access the camera view, but that's it. So....what good is it, then? Big miss, there, Blink.
Bottom line: A very inexpensive system that tells you when you have packages (after the fact) and lets you talk to people who are WAITING at your door (in a weird, halting, conversation).
Battery life is unknown at this point.
I'd buy it again, though overall, I'd give it a B-.
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J. Lobert
4.0 out of 5 stars Decent after a lot of tweaks
Reviewed in the United States on September 21, 2020
Configuration: 5 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
Update from 3 stars to 4 and here's why:
After my review went up, Haitham at Blink reached out to me. He gave me more tips on camera positioning and apologized again for the defective camera.
I've received a replacement camera as of today and it appears to be working well. They provided a prepaid shipping label to ship back the defective one, a big plus considering some companies try to make you pay to ship back their defective goods.
So why 4 and not 5 - to get the cameras working properly, I had to remount three out of the four functioning ones (despite following the rules of not mounting them directly in front of what I wanted to record) and get pretty creative about it, plus literally a couple of hours of calibration time to find the right settings for what I want. The trade off was not covering as much of my property as initially planned. I still don't believe the range is 20-25 feet.
These aren't nearly as plug and play as they might seem, but all said, I'm no longer considering returning them.
Recommendations: use outdoor mounting tape and calibrate your camera(s) before you start drilling holes in things.
Don't try to do too much on the app at once - it needs time to communicate with the cloud. I've had very little issue with the app when I take this into consideration.
Don't gripe about paying for cloud storage. Get local storage if you don't like it. That's the way the world's moving.
Someone mentioned it didn't accept above a certain gb local storage - I plugged in a 256gb Samsung thumb drive and had no issues. Whether Blink will store that much to it is yet to be determined.
Original: Bought a 5 camera system and got one defective one (not sensing motion) - An optimistic 5 stars to customer service who is replacing it after having me do normal trouble shooting items.
Now, the reason for the 3 stars - ding about a half a star for having a defective product out of the box. I didn't pay almost $400 to have to deal with that.
Ding a star and a half, because despite their "range" where you can gray out other areas, I've messed with them all throughout the day since installing them, and have repeatedly made it down my driveway to my car and back without triggering the camera and have the sensitivity up as high as it'll go. I think the motion detection range is much shorter than the view window. This is a big deal for me, as I expected them to capture anyone coming up to my vehicle.
Overall, I wanted much more out of the motion detection. The image is fine when you're within a few feet of them, it's when you're further away that it gets granier (day or night).
Not 100% positive if I'll keep them or not just yet.
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1yrloose
4.0 out of 5 stars Blink Outdoor Camera
Reviewed in the United States on October 10, 2020
Configuration: Add-On CameraStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
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I purchased this camera to add to the Blink system I purchased two weeks ago since I now find that the XT2 camera is no longer available. The only differences I can see between this camera and the XT2 camera in the two-week old system are: 1. It costs more. 2. The cloud storage requires a paid subscription starting next year.
Installation is easy and only takes a few minutes. Motion detection very far removed from the camera requires a higher sensitivity setting which results in false alerts. The picture is very clear and night vision is good. The attached clip is just a live view from the camera. No motion was detected.
10/28/2020
A quick update. After submitting my original review I was contacted by Alex in Blink Customer Service. Alex sent me a Sync2 controller to enable the local storage option and has patiently worked with me while I made the change. Since the local storage is to a flash drive through a USB port I ordered a flash drive to use. I have not received it yet, but no reason to suspect that it won't work.
The camera has good video and works well. It does have two drawbacks that I would prefer it didn't have. The first is the sensitivity setting is very touchy. Set it at a higher sensitivity to cover more distance and you get a lot of false alerts. I live in the country and have been really surprised at the number of visitors we have to our porch and deck in the night. So far we have a feral cat that is a regular, several raccoons, a groundhog and a deer. I expect the turkeys next, but they'll come in daylight. The second is the delay between the time that motion is detected and when an alert is sent out. It is only 10 or 15 seconds, but it seems like a long time when it happens. Nothing you can do about that I guess.
My last comment is that the Blink Customer Service Department is VERY responsive. I have been surprised and pleased at the service I have received from them. I should mention that they came to me first, without my asking.
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misa copia
4.0 out of 5 stars Makes a click sound when senses motion.
Reviewed in the United States on November 25, 2021
Configuration: 1 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
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At first I didn't like that there was a "Click" sound when motion was detected and recording started, but after seeing this video outside my home the next morning, I now like the fact that it's an audible click to let people know they're being recorded. This was taken at 3 a.m. and this person was heading towards our front door. The rating for recording is due to the camera having to be at an angle to pick up motion; it won't pick up motion straight ahead.
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howie
4.0 out of 5 stars Surprising decent wireless solution but with a few caveats
Reviewed in the United States on November 30, 2020
Configuration: Add-On CameraStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
Due to my answer in the QA section receiving many endorsement, i decided to give it a bit more detailed review after 2 weeks into owning the Blink setup. I came from Simplisafe, and i still do have simplisafe's alarm system, but due to their lack of outdoor camera solution, i finally decided to pull the trigger on the latest Outdoor blink and try out the Mini blink as well.
First thing's first, the new Outdoor Blink cam works mostly as advertised but the indoor Blink Mini is junk. Read more about the Mini below. But first the Outdoor (good)
Blink Outdoor:
Motion recording speed & Delay:
The Outdoor cam's trigger time is almost instant, in fact, I noticed that it even records a second before entering the frame. which tells me that it might be doing some kind of constant recording into the cam's onboard volatile memory as cache, and once motion is triggered it starts encoding the data and dumps it onto the cloud. So the trigger time is almost instant. However, note that there is a 5 second delay from what's happening Live vs what you see on your phone. so that delay is between Trigger --> Encode --> Cloud --> Decode. I"d imagine that if your Cam is connected to a wifi bridge as oppose to directly to the main router, the delay could be longer than 5 seconds. Compare to Simplisafe cam, the Live vs View delay is about the same. and the trigger time is about the same too.
Motion sensor & sensor distance.
the motion sensor distance in the Outdoor cam is less than 25 ft. despite what the feature ad would tell you. i have 4 Cams (3 outdoor setup at an angle pointing down 45 degree angle, and 1 in the garage looking pretty much straight flat at my car), 3 of the outdoor ones could pretty much trigger 15~20ft out, while the one in the garage struggles to even trigger at 15 ft. You should also take night vision into account. in NV mode, the distance is 5ft shorter. increasing the IR blast in NV will somewhat mitigate the problem but at a cost of battery drain. i tried moving the cam in garage from pointing 45 degree down to looking almost straight horizontal to improve motion sensing to a degree. So if you have trouble with the motion sensor, try that. Compare to Simplisafe's cam, the Simplicam seems to have farther motion sensing distance. But then again, Simplisafe still doesn't have an outdoor solution.
Speaker/Mic
the speaker and Mic quality is really good. it doesn't sound overly tiny like you would expect and is loud and clear. compare to Simplicam, the Blink Outdoor has better sound and mic.
Wifi Wireless
i was surprised how well the wireless works. lots of complains in the review about wireless distance, not sure if they're genuine. but my farthest cam is about 80ft away from my main router thought a living room, a dining room and a garage and garage door (just shy of the max 100ft advertised in the spec), i am still able to get above 33% wifi N signal. But i think a lot of this "might" depend on the quality of your Wifi router. i spared no expense on my home wifi. So my router is 3x3 beam forming top of the line AC router that also has a very wide 802.11 N coverage. it can reach far and carry lots of bandwidth. my advice is invest in a quality wifi router with the most bandwidth and range you can afford. Note that the cams and module only supports 802.11 N. Compare to Simplicam, the wifi signal reach is about the same, if not slightly better than the Simplicam.
AC Wireless.
part of the charm and strength about the Blink Outdoor is its battery powered wireless nature. Only time will tell how long my Cams will last. I will update this review and reflect the score once my first set of battery run out. My gut tells me it'll be less than 2 years, well less. but i'd be happy if i can get even 1 year out of those cams. Note that the advertised 2 year battery life from Amazon is based on roughly 2 mins of video footage per day per cam. One of my busiest cam facing out the front door is seeing 2~3 times that amount.
Resolution/video quality
the resolution of the cam and video compression is really good. compare to those legacy 480p outdoor cams, this was a big step up. but compare to the simplicam, i would say the image looks slightly sharper than the Simplicam. but note that true 1080p resolution is only possible with high quality video record setting, which can chew up your battery and storage. Amazon's 2 year battery life is based on medium setting, which is actually 720p. but even at the medium setting, i still find the image to be very sharp and clear. going from medium to high (1080p) setting yield "some" improvement viewing on a smart phone. you likely won't be able to find big difference viewing it on a smartphone unless you view both videos on a large monitor. oh which btw, currently there's no app available for desktop computers. you'll have to either download the footage or pull the backup off your thumb drive to view it on a dekstop.
Storage
ok, this is the most contentious and messed up part. the ad made you believe that you don't need to subscribe to cloud and able to store locally. what they don't explain to you is that local storage is only a secondary option on top of the cloud subscription. so you CANNOT, at least at the point of this review, store your recordings directly to the USB thumb drive and read off of it directly. how the Blink cam works right now is everything gets dumped to their cloud server, and when you view the footage, it reads off their cloud server. the USB thumb drive is just there to backup "from their cloud server" "once a day". there is no way for you to have the cams upload recordings directly to the thumb drive locally and view them from your phone wirelessly off the USB Thumbdrive. There're a lot of people asking about this question on forums and, like me, only found this out after the fact. It's not a deal breaker, but it just leaves a sour taste in my mouth. Why not just come out and say it. It's simply misleading. if you go to their website, and dig, and i mean really dig, you'll find that there is a way to run it without subscription. but any motion trigger or live views will not be recorded. So what's the point of local storage? it's almost like they just want to find a way to cramp that "local storage" wording into their ad to sell you the product only to find out that it's a secondary backup on top of a pay subscription.
Now onto Blink mini (junk)
Blink mini on the other hand. To put it simply is junk or an opportunity wasted. the Blink Mini has a long standing bug that plagued the camera for at least 2 years, and the dev team still hasn't released a fix. The issue with Blink Mini is that it fails to trigger motion recording coming out of night vision mode when you enter the room to turn the lights on. the dev team explained that something to do with the cam goes into freeze mode when it attempts to wake itself out of night vision to do recording. for that reason, it's pretty much trash if you intend on using the Mini as any kind of indoor security cam. I originally intended to use the Mini in my garage to monitor my prized stallion. But i literately would go into my garage and walk up to the car and no motion or recording is triggered. Dev has acknowledged this issue since late 2018 and said in 2019 forum post that firmware update is coming to fix this. it is now end of 2020, i would not count on it. The only reason i kept my Mini and ordered another Outdoor cam for the garage is so that in any case when we go on vacation, i can set the Mini up in the living room to do live view. But if you're thinking about getting the Mini for motion triggered security cam indoor, forget it. don't say i didn't warn you.
Software UI/UX
the interface for the app is easy to use and more organized than many other similar services. clips are organized with usable filters at your disposal. the motion sensing manual dead zone configuration is helpful, although likely not too useful if you're using it outdoor, since the "motion sensor" distance (not wifi distance) is well shy of advertised 25ft.
OVERALL
the new Outdoor blink has a lot going for it. If they can fix their advertisement wording, or better, let us have the option to record directly to the USB Thumb drive and be able to view the recording from our devices directly from the thumbdrive. it'll then be a True local storage solution. the only reason i ditched my Simplicam is because i really wanted to have smart Cams covering my house outdoor. Been 3+ years since Simplisafe said that they would come out with an outdoor solution. But till this day, still nothing. i just got tired of waiting. When i saw the new Blink Outdoor being advertised for Black Friday, i really wanted to give it a try. i would say the barrier to entry is minimal. the Blink hardware given the discount that amazon has been giving out, is worth the shot. Without the deep discounts, i am not so sure. They just need to improve the motion sensor distance coverage, and let us really use the USB thumb drive for storage. In a sea of smart home security market today. Amazon really needs to do more to win over customers and not only that, to keep them there. If they can combine Ring with Blink, i might just ditch my Simplisafe completely and go Ring to combine their alarm system with Blink. If they can do that, i don't mind paying the $10/month subscription. But at its current state, they still have work to do to win over customers.
i will update the review on the battery life
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GSONE
4.0 out of 5 stars WHAT YOU CAN DO WITHOUT A SUBSCRIPTION 12/2021
Reviewed in the United States on December 11, 2021
Configuration: 1 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
Okay, I searched high and low for a concise explanation of what you can and cannot do without a subscription if you bought a Blink camera and the sync module.
*Please note this pertains to my purchase of a Blink outdoor camera and mini AND the sync module in December of 2021.
WITHOUT PAYING FOR A SUBSCRIPTION:
Your camera WILL alert you to motion
Your camera WILL record the motion clips to the sync module
You CAN play the motion clips back via the app on demand, you DO NOT need to remove the USB drive and play from your computer.
There is NO lag time to view the recorded motion clips on the app (you don't have to wait for the clips to get backed up once a day as some reviews elude to)
You CANNOT start a live view session and record that video
You CANNOT enable the photo capture feature on the outdoor cams (this feature takes a still once per hour when the camera is armed)
Hope that helps!
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Long Beach Shopper
4.0 out of 5 stars REQUIRES SYNC MODULE - and those no longer exist. UPDATED
Reviewed in the United States on November 29, 2020
Configuration: Add-On CameraStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
You can't use this camera without a Blink sync module. Well, guess what. There aren't any. Anywhere. Not on Amazon, not on Blink's site (Amazon owns Blink). There's not even a product page that says "Out of stock" so basically Amazon is fleecing its customers selling these cameras that will never connect to anything.
updated June 9, 2021 - new sync modules became available and work very well. Camera is pretty good, even at night.
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Kevin O'Reilly
4.0 out of 5 stars great so far...update...
Reviewed in the United States on September 30, 2020
Configuration: 5 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
I ordered 5 of them and the picture and movie recording look great. I can hear the sound very well and can speak through them if I wanted to. The range is excellent. I have had other cameras from Ring in the past and could never get some to work outside the house. With these I was actually able to attach to a tree in the yard for our Koi Pond and an a basketball hoop so it is actually facing the house. I like that you can arm and unarm when you want and there are a lot of setting to choose from. I like the small profile making it hard to detect. I would definitely recommend this product. I did read where someone mentioned a monthly fee, but I don't see anything regarding this yet...maybe that happens if you record too many motion films or some such thing but those are easy to delete to same memory. Night vision is excellent...very bright black and white....daytime is very good color.
Update: the night vision is pretty bad. I stayed that it was great earlier, but I guess I did not wait enough. When it is dark, so is the picture....there is a little light reflected from the device so if an object is within a few feet it will show up, but if the picture is showing something about 6 or more feet. I will try to clean the camera lenses and see if that helps at all.
4.0 out of 5 stars Mount won't mount!
Reviewed in the United States on February 11, 2021
Configuration: Add-On CameraStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
The mount will not attach to the back of the camera!
What's the trick?
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Warren
4.0 out of 5 stars Not as Described
Reviewed in the United States on June 30, 2021
Configuration: 3 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
Here is what is claimed for Blink, "Store video clips and photos in the cloud with the Blink Subscription Plan and save events locally to the Blink Sync Module 2 via a USB flash drive (sold separately)."
My Blink system only saved motion activated clips to the USB drive as long as a free cloud account [I didn't sign up for] was in effect. When that cloud account expired, no more saved clips to the USB. Telephone support is never answered and email support only provides general guidance no matter how specific I try to describe that my system no longer saves clips to the USB drive.
Don't buy this system, there are many others on the market to consider.
***UPDATE 7 19 2021***
After my original review, I was contacted by Alex Weiss of The Blink Support Team. He remotely analyzed my system and sent a new usb memory stick. I truly appreciate his efforts. Once I deleted my whole system and then recreated the system all the problems appear to have disappeared. When a camera is activated by motion, a video clip is recorded to the usb and I can view the clip on my phone or ipad. All without a cloud subscription. Although the system should get 5 stars because it really is good, I gave 4 stars because of the technical difficulties and how hard it was to get some help. If you think this system does what you want, it is a good buy, just know you may have to fiddle with it to get it lined out.
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S.Williams
4.0 out of 5 stars NOT FREE: UPDATED REVIEW
Reviewed in the United States on May 20, 2021
Configuration: 3 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
UPDATE: 6/14/21: I am very happy with Blink Customer service. They quickly worked with me to correct issues. Yes, if you want full recording capabiloties you need a plan. However, because I have the old system my new cameras being the only affected, they gave me a USB memory stick for my new module. Now my motion detection when activated records. In the new photo at the top you'll see I now have a new home button alongside my internal cloud memory for videos. The only part I can't do which to me makes no difference is that I cannot save or record in a live view on the new cameras. The motion detection is great tho so I'm more than happy. I'm really greatful with Blink Customer Care Team's response and assistance.
I had prior cameras through Blink and have loved them until now. I purchased 3 new cameras. NOWHERE does it say that the cameras stop recording after a period without you PAYING a monthly/yearly fee for them. We have had them for months and were an existing customer prior to their supposed changes all of a sudden and yet our new cameras suddenly quit working. I deserve to have my money back. Paying good money for these cameras to not get suckered into another bill. They're no longer worth it. Thanks for turning into another rip off.
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Marcus W. Ferguson
4.0 out of 5 stars Great Camera system, beware of older sync modules and tech support
Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2021
Configuration: 1 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
I have used the Blink camera system for about 7 months now and I like to picture quality and ease of setting up the wireless system. Overall the Blink system is a quality product for the price. CONS: I have one issue with the system and one with the customer support of the company. The one system issue is the old sync module that came with my original system. My original sync module failed on the 20th of December, it went into the solid blue light failure (look it up online) so I contacted customer service to try to remedy the problem. After a week of executing the same generic instructions to reset the sync module. I decided to purchase the updated sync module 2 camera so I could continue using the other hardware I had with the other system. The sync 2 module instantly contacted and replace my failed sync module. When I told customer support what I had done they responded by saying "Regarding about that, we still need to troubleshoot the sync module in order for us to send you a replacement. That's why before you purchased a new set of system we ask you to do a hard reset of the sync module and after try to check on your Wi-Fi settings if the Blink network shows up." I have the week long email conversations in which I performed every troubleshooting solution the presented. I guess one week with out a security system is urgent to them. Now I am the bad customer because I want to use my warranty now that my assets are protected and I have time to continue with your long process! A quality product with failed follow through customer service.
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Mark
4.0 out of 5 stars Overall good cameras, easy setup, motion activity zones could be improved
Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2021
Configuration: Add-On CameraStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
I've had Blink cameras for years. They are easy to setup, the batteries last a very long time (even outdoors in cold Chicago winters-- I have a camera mounted on our mailbox, which got knowcked off by a snowplow and was buried in the snow for weeks. When the snow finally melted, the camera surfaced, and the batteries were still sufficiently charged for it to reconnect to the network!)
A few points, and responses to other comments:
1) I agree, the mounting bracket for these new cameras is bad. It is VERY hard to pop the conical mount onto the back of the camera. But once you get one connected, it will probably be easier to do for others. It requires a bit of finesse and wedging the mount against the camera using the rotating base; hard to describe, and takes a lot more force than it should, but once connected, it seems secure.
2) Some have mentioned that the new cameras require a yearly subscription fee. If you have an existing system that includes free cloud storage, then these new cameras will be grandfathered into the free plan (at least for now). When I connected the new camera to my system, it showed a message indicating I already have free cloud storage, and this new camera would be included in that.
3) The motion activity zones could use a bit of work. I have a camera on the side of the house which has a partial view of the street. I have tried to disable the sections of the view which would capture passing cars, but it still detects them.
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Michael Anderson
4.0 out of 5 stars 1st time security camera owner review.
Reviewed in the United States on September 25, 2020
Configuration: 2 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
Moved to a new place. Safe, but wanted a just in case.
Setup: two exterior cameras. Contemplating on two more. Have a 64gb flash in the sync (max size per info on Amazon)
Pro: easy to set up and use. App is somewhat intuitive. Plenty of accessories- purchased the siding mounts and sync module holder. No holder for current sync module, so there's a gap where the plug goes. Batteries included. Not difficult to get them running.
Cons: pricier than XT2. App will switch at times to privacy from activity on its own. Sensitivity seems to be hit or miss, but could just be my settings (though I've adjusted it and seems to be too much or not enough.
There were comments about videos only downloading to the cloud once a day - didn't find thos true. Wasn't immediate, but within a couple of minutes. Also some comments about unable to store locally during the trial - found this not to be true either. If I read just the manufacturer's description, the product works as described.
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Concerned reader
4.0 out of 5 stars Good but some things not explained
Reviewed in the United States on September 19, 2020
Configuration: 3 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
So far so good. Couple of minor hiccups like the sync module didn't want to recognize a formatted USB stick, and indicated that in order for it to format it, it would need a firmware update which it had already done. But by morning it let me format it so it resolved itself.
It wasn't clear there were the same number of unscrewing tools in the box as there are cameras but I looked more closely and found them. I also realized they are adapters for mounting camera bases horizontally which wasn't explained anywhere.
The night vision on one of the cameras looks pretty bad unless the subject is really close. I'll test the other two tonight. I checked to make sure I didn't leave any plastic film on anything but the regular daytime image looks fine so not sure what's up yet. Might lower my rating if it turns out it's not just something I did. The pic is what it looks like.
Not sure why another reviewer posted if they weren't going to buy them because of the plan's cost; from what I understand you can store things locally without paying extra but maybe there are other features they shut off if you don't pay. Guess I'll find out when the free trial runs out at the end of the year. :-)
Edit: okay the night vision is fine now. There must be something about how the infrared reflects or scatters or something in that exact spot at that exact angle. I moved the camera elsewhere and it's fine now.
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LarryAZ
4.0 out of 5 stars Ying and Yang. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly...
Reviewed in the United States on April 18, 2021
Configuration: 5 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
These demand binning comments in bullet lists:
*Good (great):
-Great value
-Easy to setup
-Excellent video/still quality even on the intermediate setting
-Excellent coverage from the sync module. It's not low frequency, just lower frequency. Still in the UHF band, but has more range than WiFi. Blink is not very forthcoming about the architecture and what this does. It sends commands to the cameras. If you are trying to cover a large area, you can add more sync modules. You have to dig round in Blink's knowledge base to figure that out.
-Cameras work great and took seconds to setup on a dispersed mesh network. They just have to be in range of a sync module.
-Cameras are sturdy-- see also "Ugly" below.
*Bad:
-Slow to start upon motion detection
-Motion detection range is pretty poor- maybe 30' on a good day. These are perfect for a townhouse, or maybe a suburban home, but a lacking for a rural setting. My garage/shop is 30m from the house and the front gate is about 200m away.
-I haven't found a way to disable the lights on the sync module. They are bright, especially at night. Probably going to employ some tape to cover them.
*Ugly:
-The mounts. Total crap. Bad design and bad QC. Some work, some don't. I destroyed 2 of 5 trying to get them to go into the hole in the back of the camera. One went on easy and other 2 more wouldn't go in, so 4 of 5 not usable. Tech support was great about sending me replacements for the two I destroyed, but ended up throwing them all away. I weigh 235# and even with my full weight on the camera and mount on a desk, I couldn't get it to go on. Mount broke, but the camera took it, no problem. There are plenty of 3d party outdoor mounts. I bought the "Amazon Choice" ones and they are great. I posted a review there.
Product idea for Blink: An outdoor motion detector than can trigger a specific camera. It would be an easy way to cover driveways and rural open ground.
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William J Fawbush
4.0 out of 5 stars Ok for alerts
Reviewed in the United States on October 13, 2020
Configuration: 2 Camera KitStyle: with Free Blink MiniVerified Purchase
Blink indoor/outdoor HD cameras work ok. Their motion sensing is unreliable, and they often have difficulty taking snapshots. The Blink app works ok, but it has some really odd behavior. If you want cameras to actually watch your property real time, IPcams with PC software and phone apps work much better.
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Mesterwitz
4.0 out of 5 stars Works as advertised
Reviewed in the United States on July 19, 2021
Configuration: 3 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
Purchased the setup with 3 cameras last February and the $100 subscription plan in May. They do a good job of monitoring our gated driveway and areas around the house, which gives us peace of mind in our very remote rural area that has unwanted trespassers now and then. The system is easy to set up and manage and batteries are lasting better than expected.
The cameras are overly sensitive to moving shadows from the trees and bushes, even when sensitivity is set lower and offending areas are blocked out. These settings are a nice feature but should work better. I got better mounts from Amazon which makes the cameras easier to mount and manipulate.
Here is the reason I deducted a star from my rating. The attached photo shows the email, which recently came as a shock, informing me the system we had working was deleted from our account. We looked over the app to see how this could have inadvertently been done on our end and couldn't find anything. Even if we had clicked on something wrong you would think we we get a warning about it. Anyway, Blink deleted our system and our cameras quit working.
I set up a new system, but going to each camera with a ladder to get the setup codes in 100 degree weather was tough on this 83-year old body. I still wonder why the system was deleted like this and if it happens again I will need to go with another product.
Blink support did finally respond with an email with instructions to have the app allow them access to our system and do some troubleshooting. Apparently they can't just get their server to reactivate what they deleted.
I did take pictures of the codes inside the cameras to use if future setups are needed. Should have done that in the first place. Other than this problem, we are very happy with the Blink system.
3.0 out of 5 stars Update on Camera Issues
Reviewed in the United States on September 18, 2020
Configuration: 2 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
Pros: 1. Quality HD picture
2. Easy to set up
3. Can arm/disarm camera to save on battery life, so if you're working in the yard, bringing in groceries etc... you're not constantly receiving notifications and using the battery life.
4. Your videos can be stored in the Cloud (for a nominal fee) or you can insert a USB into the sync module for local storage. If someone is brazen enough to steal the whole camera, you still have access to the video.
5. You can adjust the sensitivity level, so after you install the camera, you can reduce the level if you're getting too many notifications from trees, animals etc..setting off the alarm.
6. It is easy to adjust the camera (after you've installed it) if you want to change the angle for a better view.
Cons: Connectivity (update) This issue has resolved itself. For the last 4 days, I have had no issues receiving notifications or viewing videos. If you experience first day hiccups, hang in there.
2. The only way to share access to your live videos is by giving your username & password to a person. The individual then has access to change your email address, password, and delete videos. Technically, they can lock you out of your own security system. Good luck with that if you have teenagers. While you want them to see what's going on outside if they're home alone, you don't want them deleting videos of friends who might visit the house when you're not home. Deal breaker.
3. This one is not a deal breaker. The camera is small, so if you're looking to deter criminals who are opportunist, they might not even notice the camera is there. Sometimes just the visual presence of a camera will deter individuals.
I cannot speak to the longevity of the battery life, which was one of the selling points for me. I'll update later if I encounter other issues.
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JM
3.0 out of 5 stars Buyer Beware
Reviewed in the United States on June 12, 2021
Configuration: 3 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
We got this system along with a USB drive to store videos locally, because we didn't want to pay the fee. Well it turns out, regardless of what you do, whenever you buy a system, you're automatically put into a "free trial" of the cloud service. So you get used to the system operating in a particular way, and then when the trial ends, you discover a bunch of these features are not part of the normal functioning.
Comparing "cloud" functionality to local storage functionality:
1) With the cloud, you get preview images of the videos. With local only, you get no images, so you have no idea which videos are which.
2) With the cloud, you have the ability to delete multiple videos at once. With local only, you have to open each video individually, wait for them to load (with a message helpfully telling you "Hang tight, USB clips take longer to load."), then deleting them one at a time.
3) With the cloud, clicking on a notification about motion detected opens the exact video showing the motion. With local only, you go immediately into a live camera view.
4) As noted above, cloud videos load much faster.
So they essentially trick you into thinking the system works a certain way, then take away a bunch of features and encourage you to spend $100+ per year to run the system the way you've gotten used to and thought it was working already. It's pretty annoying, and I wish I'd realized all that before buying the system. Definitely look around for other options if you want to store all your videos locally.
Outside of that, the motion detection is hit and miss. It seems to either trigger a bit later than we prefer for the most part, or not at all, but then if we turn up the sensitivity, it will trigger for stuff like moving shadows. It's hard to find a sweet spot especially for the one we have watching our driveway.
The image quality is pretty excellent though, even at night. Audio is good enough for the purpose of hearing speech, as long as it's not too far away. And the speaker (if you want to converse with someone through the camera) is very good too.
All those details made me think this was the perfect system, until, again, they pulled something of a bait and switch on the features.
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Grumpy Guy
3.0 out of 5 stars Hard to tune-up
Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2020
Configuration: 1 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
We bought this camera to monitor our driveway area after vandals recently struck. Here are my pros and cons...
PROS
- Easy to configure to the home network. Took less than 10 minutes and was easy to understand.
- Easy to place. 2 year battery means no wires and (hopefully) 2 years 'till I have to go up the ladder again.
CONS
- Motion sensitivity is tough to get just right. On one night there were several hundred hits, none of which included any visible motion in the frame. Adjusting the sensitivity down meant no hits at all.
- Several mornings the camera was fogged over rendering the photo blurry at best.
- Tremendous lag on the live view making the 2 way communication virtually useless. (Most things run quite fast on our network, so I'm blaming the camera.)
- This is NOT an always on camera, it only works when activated by motions.
Overall, I feel that this would capture the behavior we were monitoring for, should it occur again. So, for the price and minimal effort involved, it is probably a winner. It is not, however, the powerful "Live View", 2 way communication, camera you may be hoping for.
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J3Ramos23
VINE VOICE
3.0 out of 5 stars Good for what I need them for
Reviewed in the United States on July 9, 2021
Configuration: 3 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
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This was very simple to install, less than 10 minutes for 3 cameras. The picture quality during the day is outstanding, super clear! The motion detection is a bit of a delay, but definitely works. (Example: if you look at my video, you will see someone knocking on my front door, BUT the camera didn’t catch him walking up to the door.)
HUGE CON: When the motion detection is activated, the camera will automatically start recording and you will receive a notification on your phone, if you click the notification and go into the app, you will see a live view BUT that live view will stop the recording. WHY?!!! Again if you see the video, it’s stops at 14 seconds, that’s because I clicked on the notification and it stopped recording.
let me clear up a lot of the bad reviews. In my opinion, This is NOT a security system type of camera. I have three entrances (front, back, side). I bought these just to see who is at the door. So instead of buying 3 door bell cameras, I decided to get 3pack blink camera. This is perfect for what I need them for.
The biggest downfall for this, MONTHLY FEE. $10 a month, $100 a year. Yes it’s not that much but why should you have to pay a monthly fee? If you add up your monthly fees with the total cost, this may not be worth it. They give you a free month subscription. I will be buying the one year subscription and see how I feel after that. In the mean time, I will be researching other (same type) cameras for either no fee, or less of a fee.
I am giving this 3 out of 5 stars because this is good for what I need them for. I knew this wasn’t a top notch home security camera, so I’m not disappointed in that. I took off one star because of the monthly fee, another star for the stopped recording. (Fix the stopped recording feature for the live view, and this will be a 4-5 star product.)
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Amazon Customer
3.0 out of 5 stars Depends on what you are trying to accomplish, this might not be for you
Reviewed in the United States on November 10, 2020
Configuration: 1 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
Pros:
- During the day, the video quality is amazing
- When it feels like working, live view is great and motion sensing
- Battery for me lasted 6 months for one camera so far (we ended up powering them with AC cables)
- Really easy to put up and setup
Cons:
- Motion sensing is hit or miss; sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't
- Night vision sucks; only close up can you make out anything
- I have how much I miss from the cameras not turning on fast enough, or at all from motion
- They go off regularly from change in sunlight
- Live view cannot be accessed when they are already recording (so a mailman comes to deliver your package and you want to live view and talk to them, good luck!)
- They often have to be reset to pick up any changes
- Speaker just sounds like you are screaming, cant make out anything the person is saying
- I had issues with ones in my barn for over 3 months, then Blink finally told me after 4 requests that the SSID of the extender needs to be the same name as your home router
Summary: If you really just want to use them to check up on things outside, without getting up from time to time; this is for you
If you are hoping to catch someone stealing, look for a different, better system
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FLZ3
3.0 out of 5 stars Customer Service Awesome, camera not so much.
Reviewed in the United States on December 8, 2020
Configuration: Add-On CameraStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
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Using seven Blink outside cameras for over a year, I ordered another.
It came as the new style camera, it would not work at all at night. ( see photo )
After a replacement Camera did the same thing, I returned both cameras and they issued me a refund.
Being a little disappointed because I really wanted another camera I wrote and posted a product review.
Within a few days I received an email from the Blink Executive Rep. He was very sorry for my inconvenience and was sending me a new Camera.
This camera , the 3rd , does not work at night either . ( see photo )
It is coupled with the same sync module as 3 older cameras and the field of view overlaps another older camera that still work’s great. (Looking at the same app. area)
Maybe a whole “ New Camera System “ would work better ?
I have too much invested in the Old Style Cameras and they work, so I’ll not buy into the new system for now.
I am curious if anyone else adding the New Style Camera to an older system are having problems?
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Dillon Higgins
3.0 out of 5 stars So far not so great...
Reviewed in the United States on November 29, 2020
Configuration: 1 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
I bought this for the exterior of my apartment which faces a busy road way which isn’t ideal for a security camera but I figured the zone detection would be a fix for that. Second I bought a knock off cam a few months ago and I replaced i with this and I’m not very impressed with it being a premium brand I expected a premium product with premium results. So let’s get into it. First, I purchased this to replace a generic brand camera I had bought a few months ago. The generic camera was rechargeable, had good picture, and I was fairly happy if I was using it just to view but it’s motion detection was garbage it could only detect things a few feet in front of it. So I bought this and the fact that it is battery powered is nice but it seems like it could be rechargeable instead of using two double A batteries! If you want it set on the best picture quality and the highest night vision you are going to be running through batteries which wouldn’t be an issue if it was rechargeable. Next, the lag is ridiculous the generic cam had about a 1-2 second lag at most this one came in at about 4-5 seconds! I don’t know how you are supposed to use the talk feature when the person was there 5 seconds ago but by the time you get the notification, open the app, and wait for it to load that’s roughly 30 seconds after the motion was detected. The motion detection is a positive it works very well and I’m pleased with it. Another positive is that it’s very customizable as far as recording time, time between events, and other sensitivity settings. However, turning these to more frequent and more sensitive settings means more power drain and buying more batteries. Picture quality during the day is great but night vision is not great. I thought the lens was dirty but no the night vision is just not very quality. I can see things fairly well like a raccoon that walked in the driveway but if it were a person at my door and I wanted to identify them while the night vision was on I’d be out of luck. It does integrate well with Alexa my echo show 5 immediately worked with it after installing the skill and accessing the camera is a breeze. Maybe I was expecting too much but when a generic brand camera beats a name brand in all but 1 category that’s not good. If the motion detection would’ve worked right on the generic even though it didn’t integrate with Alexa I would be returning the blink. However, the motion detection doesn’t work and if the camera doesn’t alert me to motion it’s practically useless. So I will be keeping the blink and hoping for improvements over time since it is a relatively new product. I will update the review/star rating if things improve or worsen.
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K. Christensen
3.0 out of 5 stars USB storage will only work for automatically recorded (motion detected) clips!
Reviewed in the United States on May 12, 2021
Configuration: 2 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
I bought these cameras believing that I would be able to store clips to the USB drive and wouldn't need a paid subscription. I thought the subscription was just for online video storage. This is not true! Since my free trial subscription ended, I have learned that the ability to record/save a video clip in live view is a "subscription-only feature". In other words, the fee is a charge not for online storage, which I can understand, but is really just extortion--you can't take videos with your own camera and save them to your own USB drive without paying Amazon for the privilege! I honestly don't know how they can get away with doing that. I will never subscribe and bow to this restriction on using my own equipment.
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David L
3.0 out of 5 stars Some good and some bad about the Blink Outdoor camera
Reviewed in the United States on January 9, 2021
Configuration: 2 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
I installed a Blink Outdoor camera at the front of the house. With the zone selection feature, I rarely have false positives. The quality of the video is good. The quality of photos is mediocre. It does work with Alexa.
I have mixed feelings about a battery-powered camera vs an a/c powered camera. Mostly, because I want to leave it on for a minute or two to watch. This camera requires "Continue?" to be pressed every few seconds.
The red light for infrared recording is frustrating. It's definitely a known visual indicator to criminals in determining when a camera picks up movement or when it doesn't. I wish it were hidden as I have the camera ON light disabled by default.
The mount is VERY cheap. It's a clip-on plastic mount connecting the camera to the base and not a screw-in mount. Meaning, your $80 camera can easily be taken or knocked down (if within reach).
The app is slightly frustrating. When someone gets into the car, the camera records 3 times (this is a setting). I am good with this. When the same person returns, another 3 times are recorded. The app is set up to require the owner to individually watch each recording (at least for a second) before marking it as watched. On a given day, I might have 30 recordings to review.
The IOS notification says "Motion detected at your car" over and over again. There is no screenshot or link to watch a clip. I have another security camera and a clip is sent with the notification.
I decided to go the USB flash drive route instead of a monthly subscription. I asked Blink Support 3 questions about the USB option:
1) How exactly does this work if one does not have a subscription?
After the trails end, clips from that device will be saved directly on the sync module 2 flash drive and you will be able to see those clips from the Blink app. That is not yet ready, and it will become available to you once the free trails end.
2) Why are videos not copied to the SD card immediately?
Once the trial ends, and if the device is not on the subscription, the clips from that device will be saved immediately on the sync module 2 flash drive. It is the way the system is designed, the only way the clips can go immediately on the sync module 2 flash drive is if the device does not have a subscription plan and that will method will start being available once the free trail ends.
3) How can I access the recordings without ejecting the SD card?
Once the free trails ends, you will be able to access the clips that they are saved on the sync module 2 flash drive from the Blink app.
-----
I sent a reply to immediately cancel the trial so I could test the USB flash drive functionality and still have a chance to return the product during the extended return window if it does not perform as expected.
Blink Support was responsive and for that, I was appreciative.
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Pete Rock
3.0 out of 5 stars Great when it works
Reviewed in the United States on May 8, 2021
Configuration: 1 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
So i’ve had these for several months but wanted to wait until my free trial ended so I could review it with both the cloud service and the local storage only.
As far as the cameras, the battery life is fantastic and the app is pretty easy to use. I do wish the app would tell you what battery life is left in a percent instead of just saying “ok”. The cameras themselves are great....when they pick up what is intended. You have to set it up so that things come through the camera’s line of sight from left to right or right to left but not straight on. I think that’s pretty dumb and makes it hard to set up in a spot if you only really have a direct head on line of sight. Mounting the camera is pretty easy so that was nice.
The picture quality is pretty good. The night vision isnt all that fantastic but its decent. There are several settings you can tweak but there are pros and cons to each of these settings. Too high and anything too close washes out, anything too dark and things far away are too dark to make out for night vision.
With the cloud subscription, the camera sorts the videos and loads them quickly. It works great!
Without the cloud subscription, its a mess. Local storage kinda works but not always. For example, i’ll get a notice that there is movement by the front door, but then the app labels it as a video from the backyard even though the front door camera footage is shown. Also, it often alerts me of movement by the backyard for example, and when I check the video, it’ll be a random video from the front door from a different day that I already deleted. It really sucks without the cloud service. I hate it. So I guess I have to pay the subscription to get the most out of my home camera system.
3.0 out of 5 stars Inexpensive and reliable for home and remote areas
Reviewed in the United States on December 7, 2021
Configuration: Add-On CameraStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
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I have installed a total of 9 Blink Cameras around my home and remote mountain cabin for the past
3 years now primarily for security and to monitor weather conditions and frequent or unexpected
visitors, day or night. They work well in temperatures from -10 to 110 degrees F. My only minor
issue is the 100 foot maximum distance to the sync module. Would like more like
150 feet. I have a combination of XT, XT2, now the 3rd gen Outdoor. I mount
them indoors too including entry ways and garages.
I would recommend the additional protection of inexpensive cover boxes for extreme weather and better mounting on most surfaces. You may need a light source for the IR camera in pitch dark conditions. Battery or solar operated driveway lights work well or motion activated lights like Mr. Beams, or you will get camera, sound, and alarm activation with a black video clip unless you have a good source of heat .
The 2 AA lithium batteries work well, but monitor each camera's field of view and sensitivity or
you will waste them looking at wind blowing tree limbs or spiders building webs across your
your lens or cover boxes. I also like the exact temperature at each camera site indoor or outdoor.
Good inexpensive camera right now. The video clip attached was taken with an older XT2 camera. I will be testing the newer add-on Gen 3 Outdoor camera which was installed just a week ago and any subscription fees associated with it. I will be using my original sync module until I understand costs associated with the newer sync 2 module that many are complaining about. Currently, all my video clips are deleted within 7 days automatically unless I download them. I don't need any cloud storage or USB storage at the camera sites.
12/21 Update. As promised, I have now field tested this new Gen 3 Outdoor camera. I've have to downgraded it to a 3 star camera on a image quality basis. I mounted it on a dark side of my mountain cabin and tried to determine it's low light and thermal IR sensitivity. Thirty minutes after sunset, only dark black videos until dawn. Still got a little sound from it. I replaced it with an older Blink XT camera from inside the cabin at the same location. All camera settings were the same. Good quality low light video images with no external light source in its field of view all night long. So I made it a permanent swap for this new Gen 3 Outdoor camera to remain indoors permanently where it is of limited value. I cannot recommend this new Gen 3 camera for Outdoor use at night if its IR sensitivity is not as good as older models. Also, I contacted Blink and was told all my cameras including this new one are grandfathered to my pre-April 2020 contract date and original sync module and therefore no subscription fees or costs for cloud storage I will never need.
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Lin
3.0 out of 5 stars Beware!
Reviewed in the United States on May 7, 2021
Configuration: 3 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
Cameras work well. Easy to install. My complaint is with the “optional” subscription program—at the cost of $100/year. What actually happens after the free 60 day trial? The cameras no longer video what is triggering the camera. If you are really quick, you can activate “live view” as soon as you hear the beep, but if you are not superhuman, forget it. I did not see this requirement to pay for the subscription service in order to view the videos when I ordered the camera system. I understood the subscription allowed the videos to be stored in the cloud for later viewing but it was not clear that the videos would no longer available at all without the subscription.
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Tom
3.0 out of 5 stars Just Okay
Reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2020
Configuration: 2 Camera KitStyle: with Free Blink MiniVerified Purchase
CONFIGURATION: 2 outdoor cameras 50 feet from SyncModule, SyncModule 20 feet from wifi extender, cameras are hard wired(no batteries)
PROS: This is a very inexpensive security system. The set-up is simple with the Blink app. I didn’t have any connection issues. The app works well.
The video quality is good.
CONS: The motion detection range is lacking. Works fine for a porch but everyone’s driveway is 30 feet long. The motion detection hardly reaches the end of the driveway. The range should be more than 30 feet.
The motion detection is lacking. It often starts the video when the motion is leaving the frame.
The night vision is just okay.
Why can’t I log into the SyncModule from my PC?
Why doesn’t the local storage overwrite oldest with newest when it is full??????
There should be a button in the app to force a local storage backup.
Blink seems really concerned about battery life. What about people with hard wired cameras. Can we get better features?
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Libby
3.0 out of 5 stars Poor motion detection is its greatest flaw
Reviewed in the United States on April 30, 2021
Configuration: 5 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
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Starting with the positives:
The picture is pretty good and we’ve had no issues with the WiFi connection, even with two of our cameras being in trees in the front and backyard. We were curious what kind of animal was digging holes in our yard, and it was so fun to be able to set out a camera (screwed down to a piece of scrap wood) and see this adorable little ground squirrel! We’ve had a great time keeping up with her and watching everything she does. The camera does a great job capturing her activities because the camera is so close to her. I love the feature to disable areas of the picture so you’re not getting notified when the same branch or leaf is blowing in the wind, or cars are driving by. Awesome feature. The battery life is also very impressive. They come with batteries and even with HEAVY use, ours are still working great. You’ll get a notification if your batteries are low and you can check the battery status for each camera in the app. You can change settings per camera, like recording length, sensitivity, re-trigger time, and other things. You can also see the temperature of each camera. I have one reading at 120° out in the sun right now with no issues. You can also deactivate individual cameras super easily, as well as deactivating all of them with just a click. I don’t need 80 videos of myself picking up dog poop, so that’s a must-have feature for me.
Now to the negative: the motion detection simply isn’t very good at any sensitivity. Our camera in the front yard views the yard, driveway, and front door. It occasionally captures the dog outside, but never the mailman or Amazon delivery person or myself or my husband leaving for work or arriving home. It doesn’t capture cars pulling in our out of the driveway. This is my absolute biggest complaint. I need the camera to capture motion at my front door and in my driveway, and unfortunately, that seems to be where they struggle the most. If you crank the sensitivity way up, it will capture the grass blowing in the breeze, but still not cars or people in front of the house. The app also has its drawbacks. I haven’t found a way to reorganize the cameras on the app’s homepage, so whatever order you set them up in is the order they appear. I set up the least important one first, so that’s a small inconvenience for me. Another thing that is maybe obvious to others but didn’t occur to me is that you can’t just live view all your cameras. If you want a current snapshot of the camera, you have to click the little button and wait for it to load an updated image. You can view the cameras live feeds individually, but after about 30 seconds, you have to click “continue?” at the bottom or it will end the live view. I assume this is a battery saving feature, but it’s kind of annoying if you’re just trying to watch something happening on your camera. Another feature I can’t find a way to disable is the hourly photos. The cameras take a photo every hour and each camera makes a little photo slideshow in your video reels. Sometimes you have to scroll back several days to find an unopened one to get rid of the notification. Again, just a minor inconvenience, but kind of annoying. Especially because it doesn’t update the video preview every hour with that hourly photo.
Overall, I’m not upset we got the cameras and I do think they work okay, but I’m on a budget here, so I want my investments to really impress me if I’m spending several hundred dollars.
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StevieB
3.0 out of 5 stars Read the Blink FAQs before purchasing to ensure this fits your needs.
Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2021
Configuration: 1 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
Things I like: set up is super easy. I have the sync module at least 25ft away from the camera with two walls between and there are no issues with connectivity. In daylight the picture quality is great. Field of view is nice and wide - one camera covers the full width of the front of my small house. The app is easy to use. Things I don't like: in the dark the picture quality varies and is not very useful because you can't tell what you are seeing unless it is right up close in front of the camera. The worst thing though is that the motion detection is terrible, and I mean really really crappy. The camera will record the entire field of view with nice clarity, but these recordings will never even happen because the motion detection does not trigger until something is right up super close to the camera. I wish I had read the Blink FAQs before buying (you should!) because it clearly states "The maximum motion detection range is approximately 20 feet for all blink cameras." For this reason this product does not work for the use I intended. If your intention is more of a doorbell or front porch only type camera this would probably be great. +3 stars because: it performs how it is stated to perform, it is quality video, it is easy to use, it is a good value for the money. -2 stars because: the range of motion detection is far too limited to be of much use, the range of motion detection should be clearly stated within the product description on the Amazon page (as of the time I am writing this it is not).
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jdub
3.0 out of 5 stars Okay but needs a few tweaks
Reviewed in the United States on April 21, 2021
Configuration: 5 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
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The camera: pretty good quality, but anytime you change the settings (add clip length, sensitivity), a note that it will decrease battery life pops up, so I imagine 2 years battery life isn’t realistic - at all. Particularly because I use it for wildlife monitoring (bluebirds, chickadees, hummingbirds, etc.). Edit: it’s been 2.5 weeks and I’m replacing the first set of five sets of batteries.
The cam has a red light that sometimes comes on even though I have it set in the app to not show the recording light. I will have to tape over this in the camera that’s inside a nest box so as not to disturb the mom or nestlings.
The thermometer may or may not be even somewhat accurate. This morning it’s 50 outside but one of the five cameras’ thermometers reads 29, and this particular thermometer is consistently off.
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The app (reviewed because you HAVE to use it with the cameras): It’s pretty good (fast, responsive, featured) but like anything, could use a few tweaks.
Doesn’t work: keep filter between sessions. It doesn’t even keep the filter during the current session when new stuff is added.
Odd: I’m glad the iOS version uses touch ID but I’m not sure why it requires me to do it twice, or not at all, even after deleting and reinstalling the app.
Wish: The ability to favorite videos and filter on favorites, the ability to filter on new, a history of camera temperatures, a trash folder, and a website interface. Also for the videos to at least keep date and time in the metadata, and possibly add as a setting to display on the video.
Strange: when I download the video to my iphone and edit it, it shows up as a black square when previewing or re-editing. This is not the case with videos taken with other devices. The video looks fine, but it’s hard - sometimes impossible - to edit (and select from in the album).
EDIT: I attached a flash drive and let the free cloud plan lapse. Going from the cloud plan to the app using USB storage is like going from a Nissan Sentra to a Ford model T, and probably by design. not only do you lose a lot of functionality,* for some strange reason the camera names are mixed up with the content of the file. for instance, I have a camera at a fountain and a camera at the feeder, and sometimes I get footage of the fountain with the name of the feeder. It also tells me that my storage is 40% full even though I delete all the clips.
* it’s super slow, there are no previews, you cannot filter, and no bulk edit.
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Chalky W.
3.0 out of 5 stars I have 5 of these things and debating on returning....
Reviewed in the United States on November 25, 2021
Configuration: 3 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
It picks up the most useless stuff, id rather have a wired system recording 24/7 and also i cant get the settings to the best for me. I have 2 facing out front one coming from the left and the right. Well itll catch the right car coming down the street then for some reason it wont flip to the left camera to catch the car going to the stop sign. The doorbell is great but annoying. none of these cameras are consistent. the only camera is on my garage but even then itll pickup motion and by the time it kicks in the car will be out of view. I have no latency at my house and the batteries, idc ill jackup all the settings to see what is happening. I need these for security. I have had about a month and seriously considering returning all 5 of them. The arlo system is great and has a solid pic and you can actually make out objects not just a big blur. As for the night, its just free game. These cameras work like garbage at night. I'm really disappointed in this system and i was going to order more too. I have wired a poker room with EZVIZ along with lorex and this lorex system is amazing. I can zoom in and tell you what sneakers the person is wearing with blink good luck! im torn on this and really disappointed amazon would put out such a product. I'm pro amazon with my home and system. Own about 10 echo devices, own 5 cameras and the door bell. just disappointed in it all....Running wired cameras is the best it gets. My wifi covers 3500 sq ft my house is 2500... So what is wrong. Let me guess i need to add a ubiquiti AP to my house...come on amazon, get a better quality product. I install cameras for a living also. I'm really let down by these. I can use an EZVIZ system from 2017 and it has better quality and i can see clearly from over 100 feet away..... SMH.. th eonly credit ill give is my garage and side door and i also like how the integrate into the echo devices... Idk what Im going to do but install takes seconds. running a wire takes a few hours for me. I'm just speaking of the BNC cables. I can switch to POE cables also but once again I need to run cables. Figured wireless would be the way to go but i really am let down by this system... #FACTS
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MH
3.0 out of 5 stars Lot of issues, Blink team does respond but overall, just not worth it.
Reviewed in the United States on March 11, 2021
Configuration: 3 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
Lots of issues with this system, now that my "free trial" is over, the system is very sluggish and I have top of the line internet. The system wasn't great when it was working, no matter what I set it to it would only record about 3-5 seconds even when the motion still occurring on frame. The resolution was decent enough for what I needed it for. I bought the three camera set because it was on sale (now I know why). The Sync module is a piece of garbage, stopped working recently after 4 months, will not connect to the internet no matter what device I use to try. I didn't have any issues with the module until a few days ago but now it will not connect. I have tried everything from resetting the device to leaving it powered off for 10 min, to completely deleting it from the software and starting over. It blinks green during attempted connection and then blinks red. Before anyone asks, Yes I made sure my wifi password was correct. I disconnected my phone and reconnected with no issues. Overall, even at a large reduction from the original price, this isn't worth it. The batteries do not last anywhere near long enough even on the most conservative setting. Don't waste your money.
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American Magyar
3.0 out of 5 stars It's just "ok." Very basic. I expected more from an "an amazon company."
Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2021
Configuration: 1 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
Purchased one camera to see if I should purchase more. Unfortunately, it's not a definite "yes." As of right now, I'm leaning toward "no." This is a very basic setup. If you live in the suburbs this will probably work since distances are shorter. If you live in the country side like I do, a "bad guy" can walk around your home, out of the 15-20 foot range and the camera will not be triggered. If they increased the motion detection range, I'd buy more...probably.
The good:
-$100 for a cam and the module. $89 for each additional camera.
-super easy to install
-adjustable activity zones that allow you to block out tree branches what would otherwise set off the motion sensor all the time.
-motion activated....usually
-cloud storage is $30 per year for one camera or $100 a year for all cameras
-phone app allows you to customize settings
The bad:
-you can't view your feed on a pc or mac
-you will need a smart phone
-night vision is not great...MAYBE police could use it to identify someone...MAYBE.
-motion sensor did not pick up vehicle within the 20 foot range during the day, BUT picked up a large dump truck on the road more than 80 feet away.
-camera did not pick me up walking toward it till I was about 6-8 feet away during the night
-lots of washout if IR in the middle
-trigger delay
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Michal Lee
3.0 out of 5 stars Bad company
Reviewed in the United States on May 27, 2021
Configuration: 3 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
The cameras are fine but the company and customer service are awful! I bought these cameras back in December 2020 and have used them with no issues. I liked the cameras and app because it allowed me to keep an eye on things and review the video footage from my phone. It gave me peace of mind that I could check on packages and other things while away from the house. The problem was that this month Blink has decided to add a storage subscription plan and force everyone to get it in order to be able to record anything or have a useful camera. It is $3 dollars per camera for just a basic plan then it goes up to $10 for the more expensive plan. This adds up if you have several cameras. If I had known they were going to force a subscription on me later I would’ve never bought these cameras. I feel like I wasted my money and I also feel cheated by them. The reason I liked the cameras was because I could use them without having to have a subscription. It is more cost-effective for me to do another service for $10-$30 a month that does actual monitoring than keep using this service that does nothing for me.
2.0 out of 5 stars Not the best
Reviewed in the United States on September 28, 2020
Configuration: Add-On CameraStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
Very inconsistent when it goes off and what it records. I have been playing around with all of the settings and not really happy with the performance so far.
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Dakota Meredith
2.0 out of 5 stars Money Grab
Reviewed in the United States on November 18, 2020
Configuration: 5 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
I purchased the 5 camera kit on prime day sale for $100 off usual price.
The Good
As far as Wireless cameras go these cameras are decent. The motion detection is fairly good as well as the night vision (all though where I have them the area is lit up and don't need night vision). Setup was also pretty straightforward put batteries in scan code let it update and mount them.
The Bad
I have had multiple problems with the Blink app not working. Iv also had several instances where it would not let me live view saying that the cameras were busy. But the worst thing I have to say about the system as a whole is the fact they want you to pay $120 a year for cloud based storage. This is unacceptable this service should be included for any Prime Members. And for that I would NOT recommend this system for anyone as there are certainly better (and cheaper in the long run) options out there.
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darylb
2.0 out of 5 stars Not a dependable security camera especially in desert climates
Reviewed in the United States on October 15, 2020
Configuration: 5 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
Based on the reviews and popularity of this item, I was expecting much more. But it is definitely not dependable as a security solution. Here are pros and cons...
Pros:
- Very easy initial setup of sync module and cameras. Just insert batteries, scan the QR code, and it's added.
- Installation is quite easy.
- Affordable as compared to other wireless cams
Cons:
- Motion detection is unreliable. I had one camera trained on the front of our vehicles. It would not detect the vehicle leaving the driveway, so no video nor notification when it moves. Also, the same camera would get activated and record but viewing the video there was absolutely nothing moving that would have triggered the recording.
- Another cam I had was near my pool equipment, and was constantly being motion-activated due to the heat from the heater. I lowered the sensitivity to overcome this, but then it was not being triggered when someone walked by it.
- The "Retrigger time" that delays when the next motion-activated recording takes place cannot be set less than 10 seconds. That's more than enough time for something to happen and gets missed in the recording. A savvy bad actor would know this, and possibly be able to avoid being recorded.
- The max length of a video is 60 seconds.
- The max temp rating is 113F which is not practical in desert climates even in the shade. Also, the highest you can set the high temp alerts is 90F.
- Common camera settings like re-trigger time, max recording length, etc. have to be set on each camera individually, not to all or a group of cams.
- The Android app is buggy. At one point, it was prompting me to do biometric authentication after each camera setting change. Also, one time there was a "Dynamic motion detection" option that showed up and did nothing when tapped. Later, when I tried to find it again, it was no where to me found. I'm guess a beta/early adopter feature that wasn't being hidden properly.
- With the provided mounting hardware, they are very easy to steal. And given the other bugs with motion detection, etc. chances are you won't get a video of the thief before they grab it and pull it down.
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Dusty
2.0 out of 5 stars Subscription Plan Needed Event for Local Storage Viewing
Reviewed in the United States on May 26, 2021
Configuration: 3 Camera KitStyle: Blink Outdoor
This product says that you can use a USB as local storage for your videos instead of the Subscription Plan; however, it does not tell you that the Blink app will NOT allow you to view videos stored on the USB unless you buy the Subscription Plan so they charge you even if you use your own equipment. The only way to see those videos is to put the USB into a computer to view them. I don't understand having to pay $100+ a year to use equipment that you've already purchased.
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Brian
2.0 out of 5 stars Buggy
Reviewed in the United States on October 18, 2020
Configuration: 1 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
I've owned this camera system for a couple weeks now. I purchased this because it's smaller in size then the Ring outdoor camera and the claim of 2 year battery life.
So far there's been 2 occasions where I've had to climb up on a ladder and reset the cameras due to them not detecting motion. I wake up in the morning, and out of the blue, these cameras decided in the middle of the night to take a dump.
I have owned Ring cameras for 18 months now and have had absolutely no issues with them.
Just this morning I've had to reset the whole system, delete it then reinstall. I shouldn't have to do this, after 2 weeks.
The next time it happens these are going back and I'm purchasing the Ring cameras. Spending a couple hours on the phone with an outsourced "tech agent" is not how I want to spend my day.
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00
2.0 out of 5 stars Cameras and echo do not work together
Reviewed in the United States on June 8, 2021
Configuration: 3 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
1. Cameras don’t work with Alexa or echo
2. USB does not have same features as paid plan
3. 8-10 second lag time for recording or seeing whether you pay or not
We have more than average distance between driveway and porch and this does not catch package deliveries so would not catch theft either.
If you are concerned about catching anyone doing anything wrong this is not that type of system.
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Marc
2.0 out of 5 stars Better off waiting for now
Reviewed in the United States on February 3, 2021
Configuration: 2 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
For the most part they work very well. Video quality is excellent. IR looks great at night. And the whole setup process was very easy. No issues connecting to wifi or the sync module 2. I do have a few concerns though.
My first issue was with the set I bought here from Amazon. Ended up having to return them because the motion detection was not working right on one of the cameras. All the settings were identical to the other camera but the malfunctioning one didn't catch a lot of motion detection that was happening. There were even a few instances where the camera tried to capture motion and sent an alert, but the saved video was just a half second clip of a mostly glitched screen.
After returning that set, I got the same 2 camera set from Best Buy and there was a new issue. This time one of the cameras ate through the included batteries in just 2 weeks time. Was doing less than average amounts of recording and only armed between 8pm and 5am. No reason the batteries should have died. Hoping it was just dead batteries, and I replaced them, but if they are dead in another 2 weeks then these cameras are going back too.
My last major concern is the cloud subscription and the local storage. The free trial of cloud storage keeps getting extended which is nice, but doesn't allow me to test how well local usb storage will work for these. I have no intention of subscribing for the cloud and I have the sync module 2 with usb but I dont see how it can possibly work without the cloud.
On blinks help forums they state that even with just usb storage, people can still view clips with the app. It also says without cloud storage that clips wont save and you can only be directed to a live view upon detecting motion. And In the app it says clips can only be backed up to usb once a day. So if I dont subscribe to the cloud to record the initial video and the usb only activates once a day to copy cloud videos, how can I possibly just use usb storage? There are no options anywhere in the app to save new recordings directly to usb or to view them from there.
Only time will tell if they sort these issues and various others, but its my recommendation to hold off on purchasing blink cameras until blink gets the issues worked out and also provides clearer statements on how this is all going to work.
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SquatchMom
2.0 out of 5 stars We must have a ghost! ??
Reviewed in the United States on June 12, 2021
Configuration: 3 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
We have what we believe to be a feral cat, but apparently it's a ghost. Every evening we put food in the bowl and almost every morning the bowl is empty, but there is NO VIDEO !
Also, I have a camera in the house trying to determine which pet is getting into trouble. While it does record, it's always after the critter has walked through the living room (across the cameras field) into the office and the video starts as they're LEAVING, completely missing what we are trying to capture.
Stops recording while there is still motion and well before the 60 seconds.
Won't allow photos or live recordings to the flash drive, only with a paid subscription.
Not worth the money!
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Pam Anne
2.0 out of 5 stars Waste of money- don’t buy!!!
Reviewed in the United States on June 5, 2021
Configuration: 2 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
When I first got these blink cameras, I was happy with them. The night vision works well, this is the only good feature of these cameras- as long as you don’t buy the protective cover, apparently it covers the infrared setting & the night vision doesn’t work at all! One of the 4 wireless cameras must be defective because I’ve already had to replace the lithium batteries 3 times in les than 6 months. Recently I have noticed that it doesn’t detect motion each time there is motion, I don’t know why these cameras have stopped picking up motion, since I haven’t changed any of my settings. 2 of the outdoor cameras will not let me see the LIVE view most of the time, I have to repeatedly exit & try to view it over & over again.
They advertised that no subscription or plan was required to view & save up to 10 second clips of video & to take photos, which was the only reason that I bought these expensive cameras- & this was true for the first 6 months - now Amazon wants to force me to buy a subscription in order to view footage of my cameras, even the 2-10 second clips that it records, which was not required when I purchased these cameras. So as of May 27, I am no longer able to view any recordings on my blink cameras! My cheaper cameras are much better than these & don’t require a subscription to view clips & photos
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Brandon
2.0 out of 5 stars There's better options
Reviewed in the United States on April 9, 2021
Configuration: 2 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
Decided to give this a try because I was in the market for outdoor cameras. To be blunt, I wasn't that impressed. For one, the night vision is to grainy to see anything. I had a animal run across my driveway and I can't tell if it was a dog or a coyote. 2nd, the motion detection is to random. Sometimes it'll be fine and other times it won't work correctly. Sometimes it's to sensitive and others its not sensitive enough. So you're constantly changing the sensitivity around. 3rd, this is the deal breaker. There's no way to access your videos until it's available the next day from blink servers if you use local storage. Never could figure out how to get the cloud subscription.
2.0 out of 5 stars Not a happy customer anymore
Reviewed in the United States on May 11, 2021
Configuration: 1 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
Not very happy with this purchase anymore. I did a lot of research and the only reason I purchased this camera was because it stated it did not need a subscription plan for all of the features and now 5 months later all of the sudden it’s telling me “30 day” trial is ending even though I’ve had it since December and wants money for a a subscription. I think that very deceptive and misleading and will probably just go find a better camera now.
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Kindle Customer
2.0 out of 5 stars Wouldn't purchase again
Reviewed in the United States on March 24, 2022
Configuration: 3 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
I understood that a subscription wasn't necessary to operate the outdoor system, but I didn't get clear advisement of the reduced functionality of the Blink app if you arent using a Blink cloud storage plan. You cannot delete multiple clips at once. You have to wait 3 times as long for clip playback. You cannot take a photo during a live view. Ridiculous. All because I'm opting for local versus subscription cloud storage. Two stars for reduced functionality and the lack of transparency in the description.
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Pictureman
2.0 out of 5 stars Not a security system, just a monitor system, a mediocre one at that
Reviewed in the United States on March 15, 2022
Configuration: 3 Camera KitStyle: with Echo Show 5 (2021)Verified Purchase
I purchased multiple Blink items overall review-
A real security system gives you at least 4 zones that can be adjusted and armed separately. It has an audible alarm, it may also have a cell phone connection. I have owned several such systems and had good service from them.
Blink has none of these qualities.
You can have "zones" but each will cost you $35 to $40 for a sync module so, 4 zones min $140 and you have nothing else. The cameras are not real motion detectors, as illumination does not set off motion detector like the blink cameras and doorbell do; hence multiple false alarms. If you use lights on timers in the room with blink cameras they false alert each time a light turns on or off. Light control is a big part of security. Blink IR is very poor by today's standards.
The Blink door bell has a sensitivity adjustment, but set to lowest setting it still alerts when a car goes down the street. It is 80' from my Blink doorbell to the edge of the road and it false alerts every time a vehicle goes in either direction.
r I have mine on battery; you can hard wire it in place of your existing doorbell). Amazingly it alerts to cars but not to Amazon delivery people right in front of it. Yes it recorded 9 cars today (I live in a Cul-de-sac or I would have smashed the doorbell by now) but not the ghost that placed my Amazon package on the porch right in front of it.
The Mini Cameras alert every time a light is turned on or off, but sometimes doesn't when I walk by.
To use local storage instead of cloud you have to have at least one Sync module and an SD card. So if you have four zones as above example you add $10 to $20 per SD for each module which adds another $40 to $80 to your cost. Now all of your "security recordings" are on 4 different devices and totally separate. Does this sound like a security problem?
The outdoor cameras are all three still in the box so I cannot tell what problems they will add. Too disappointed with Blink so far to waste time adding to my disappointment.
The Echo Dot and Echo Show which Amazon recommended to go with the blink system are also still in the box so no info on problems they might have.
I purchased all of this prior to Christmas in order to update and improve my 8 to 10 year old small security system. I do not use the Cloud for any security purpose so local storage was a must. Due to life in general, I did not have time to open and set everything up. When I finally got around to it, I became aware that the Mini's would work, but I had to purchase a Sync module to have local storage. Later found out that local only transfers videos to SD once a day and will NOT record Live View (yeah this is a security system LOL). You may notice that Blink does not tell you a lot of this in their description. For way less money I could have purchased a legitimate, real security system with 4, 6 or 8 zones and cameras with wifi and had something that I would trust and not hate. A friend suggested that I sell Blink on Craigslist. I told him the Blink system is bad: I would feel like a criminal asking money for it. It would make a good baby monitor using the Mini cameras, I guess.
Amazon refuses to stand behind the Blink system since it is past their return date. I spoke with customer service and she transferred me to someone else for assistance with the Blink and they just hung up on me when I told them it was totally unsatisfactory.
Buyer Beware. Just because Blink is owned by Amazon does not mean you will be pleased or they will stand behind it.
I bought it, I didn't use it before return date so my fault for not doing my research. Now cut my loss and go to Costco and purchase a real functional security system.
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Dan H
2.0 out of 5 stars Worth The Money?
Reviewed in the United States on October 7, 2020
Configuration: 1 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
Installation and use instructions are only available on line. it is difficult to find specific instructions on assembly and setup. I am having a very difficult time trying to adjust the camera to capture the area I want to capture. Using the app is also challenging. I mounted the camera above my garage door in order to capture vehicles stopped in front of my house, walking along the sidewalk, and coming into my front yard to steal my political signs. Its approximately 50 yards from the camera to the center of the curb in front of my house. I guess you can't expect much for $100. Best use for this camera would be to monitor a porch.
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Sharon
2.0 out of 5 stars No customer service - cameras failed
Reviewed in the United States on May 9, 2022
Configuration: Add-on Solar CameraStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
I purchased a complete blink home system 2 weeks ago. Camera & Floodlight Installation was successful and easy. But , just 2 weeks later two of the four(4) cameras stopped working.
One of the outdoor cameras has two error messages: "Thumbnail failed" and "Camera is busy". I am unable to manually take a photo or video I also cannot change settings. When I try to take a video or picture manually the symbol for connecting to the camera simply goes round and round - never stopping AND never connecting.
This is the second time this has happened. The first time I fixed it by unplugging/re-plugging Sync module. This time that doesn't work and I cannot connect to the camera.
The second camera was connected to a floodlight and started having the same problem. I deleted it from the system, then unmounted the camera and re-scanned the QR code and added it back. It worked for a few minutes. Now says "driveway is offline".
I took down the other outdoor camera and deleted/re-scanned it. It's difficult for me to climb a ladder so I am not happy at this point. It then also worked for a few minutes and then stopped with the same issues. If I try to disarm the system it says "Camera(s) failed to disarm". I think this simply means that SOME of the cameras fail. I do have 2 others that work OK.
BOTH camera settings say "Battery OK" or 100%.
I called the support number but after waiting 6 minutes the phone system asked me to leave a message. I did. Hours later I called again. 24 hours has gone by and no return call. NO SUPPORT here.
Is this supposed to be a security system or a toy?
I went online and tried to create a ticket. I tried three (3) times on 2 different computers. Each time the online system said "something went wrong". NO SUPPORT here.
Curious that a third indoor camera and fourth outdoor camera, mounted in a protected area and not exposed to the weather continue to work OK.
The failing cameras went thru 4 rain storms on consecutive days. Hey, it's Florida and these are supposed to be IP65 rated.
Like I said the setup was easy. Which is why I gave it 2 stars.
I played with the settings quite a bit, took an awful lot of video & pictures in 2 weeks. Did the batteries go bad? The APP reported they were OK.
I am really disappointed. I really liked this system at first. The camera pictures and videos were clear. For a simple security system the options & features you could select were good for me. For example if a tree branch obscured part of the view causing a lot of motion, I could remove that section from the camera view using the "ZONES" feature. I could deactivate the entire system, or just one camera.
I was so excited I bought the Solar panel and an additional outdoor camera. I did not even open that box.
I didn't bother to hook up the doorbell. I dis-mantled the entire system, boxed it up and returned it.
My suggestion is that if you only want an indoor system and you don't ever need customer service, perhaps at the right price BLINK would be OK - but not for me.
This is not a professional system and I wouldn't trust my home security with it. I estimate for 5 cameras, a door bell, a solar panel, a floodlight, a sync module and choosing to pre-pay one year of online storage, I might get buy spending $500-$600 the first year.
I worked in technology all my life, this is not a good outdoor system.
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anamazonuser23
2.0 out of 5 stars Not even good
Reviewed in the United States on January 9, 2021
Configuration: 2 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
I also reviewed the mini. Go read that if you are thinking "maybe I just need the mini"
Not what I wanted but using it anyways due to price.
Pros:
- It's wireless! I mean, you can put this sucker anywhere.
-sound is really great, you can hear everything
- Water resistant
-is a camera that hooks up to your phone app
-easy set-up
Cons (way more than pros, trust me):
-Since this is wireless, you would expect it to have own internet or able to be hooked up to something - wrong. Okay, so WiFi must be good. Nope. The distance isn't that great. I would say it's 12 feet to 16 feet (16 feet being "live view failed"/No motion detecton but you can get a glimpse for a second or two). For me, this means I can put it on my porch or back porch and expect "good" connection (it's never good, read the rest) or near my drive and get 1% connection.
-Nightmode means theres a giant light that comes on... How discreet is that? If you have it near a window, you can't see crap from the glare.
-There is no way to continously view your feed - yup, you heard me. Even if you pull it up, it always times out 20-60 in. What the actual hell right? Read the next one for even more bad news... And if you're wondering, THIS APPLIES TO THE WIRED MINIS!
-After you get timed out, you have to re-load the camera, which takes at least 10 seconds but usually 20 to 30 seconds. 8 times out of 10 this actually results in a "system is busy" error that makes the process take up to 60 seconds. I don't know about you, but if anything serious was happening, both of these features are unacceptable.
-It gets worse. You can only record the footage you see for those few seconds! That means you CANNOT record anything you can't see for yourself. You can also have it "armed" but this just results in constant warnings of movement for things like dust.
-You can't have it sent to be recorded for any set length of time or day.
To be honest, I bought two of these to be my home defense cameras.... And I'm highly dissapointed. I've actually only ever used one, which was for 2 weeks when I had my puppies outside in the exercise pen.
Like really, it is completely pointless outside of that - since there's no way to swivel the camera, it's useless for whelping room/nurseries. The fixed wide angle fisheye lens is great to monitor your house... But if you can't get a solid connection, can't view the feed continuously, there is crap detection, can't even record anything more than 60 seconds at a time... What's the point?
After this litter is gone I'm probably going to donate this to the GoodWill because it's worth $50.00 at max.
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CB
2.0 out of 5 stars Inconsistent, mediocre cameras.
Reviewed in the United States on November 16, 2021
Configuration: 2 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
First I'll preface this by stating that I'm an idiot for buying these "after" all the blink shenanigans...
If they worked well I would have no real cause to gripe. However, compared to others offerings, these are sub par. I can walk around in my shop and the damn thing won't trigger, yet will somehow trigger on the flare of a headlight or glint of a windshield through a windowfilm covered window 40 feet from it, which is another 50 from the road... What gives?
I tool around inside for an hour moving stuff, pull starting motors, pouring fluids... Not one trigger? Amazing!
Outside it will trigger on critters at night but not the mail man during the day.
On and on, settings tweaked, positions adjusted, still no joy.
Battery life is good but only if you keep the quality low enough to make it hardly worth viewing.
Oh man these piss me off.
Please don't buy anything Blink if you want more than novelty cameras.
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Rick105
2.0 out of 5 stars Cloud server requires monthly fee
Reviewed in the United States on May 11, 2021
Configuration: 3 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
I am happy enough with the cameras. However the trial cloud service just expired. I bought a USB drive to attach to the base to store the clips. When you store the clips on the cloud you can easily select multiple clips and delete them all at once. When the clips are stored on the USB device, you cannot access them unless you are in range of your wireless connection. Also, to delete the clips you must open them individually and delete them one at a time. I knew the cloud service was a trial period when I bought the cameras, I just did not realize how limited and poor the USB storage method was going to be. Everyone wants you on a subscription based service anymore, I understand that it gives them a constant revenue stream. You just cannot subscribe to everything. If you are planning on buying the Blink cameras and do not want to sign up for the cloud monthly or annual subscription, be warned, it is a pain without it.
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William
2.0 out of 5 stars Motion detection is not as good as you thought
Reviewed in the United States on July 17, 2021
Configuration: 1 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
I have this camera a few days. The image quality is good. Battery lasts 2 years, which is super, which is the first one which can claim such long time.
But what makes me very dissapointed is the motion sensor.
I installed the camera facing the street. Every day there is a USPS car passing the mailbox for 2times(my street is No Pass through). The camera can only detect one pass, either passing or going back. Even so, the camera only detects the USPS car some days, like 3 days in a week. I use this as example to tell the motion detect will miss at least half of the events. It doesn't record continuously, so If you rely on this for recording all events, it may be not what you are looking for. One reason I guesss is because of the battery saving. If you compare the power consumption, you can find that the battery can only last 2 or 3 days if the battery is used for those regular wired camera. In order to save power, I guess sacrifice must be made to reduce the sensitivity. Even I increase the sensitivity to max(which is 7 i remember), it still miss a lot of events.
If the person are very close to the camera, like 10feet, it may be able to capture all. I guess. But I didn't try.
What shall i say? very good, but is this what you are looking for? really depends on your application.
Anyway, I turn out to go to wired camera. Just need to spend some time to figure out how to do wiring outdoor.
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Rennetta
2.0 out of 5 stars Unreliable on Xfinity Xfi
Reviewed in the United States on June 14, 2021
Configuration: 3 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
I wanted to love these cameras, but they just aren't reliable. I have a camera facing each of my doors. Sometimes they capture people entering, sometimes not. One day I noticed that 3 of us had left the house together, but the camera never activated. It does capture bees flying by, though, so the sensitivity is fine. Just glitchy.
The two year battery life is a dream that probably only occurs if the camera is in a storage closet that you only enter once a year. 2 out of 3 of my cameras get about 2 months to the battery. The 3rd gets 1-2 weeks. (I'm sure my battery life would be longer if I adjusted the sensitivity, but I really want to capture people going through my door, which doesn't seem like a big request.)
Easy set up, great picture when it works. This system is wonderful in theory. It's just not reliable.
Update: Customer service contacted me after my two star review, and has been working with me to improve my system. They've been great, and are replacing the camera that is eating a set of batteries a week. Very nice.
However, one of their recommendations to stabilize things is to separate my 2.4ghz and 5ghz bands on my wifi to stabilize the Blink system, which can only use the 2.4ghz. I'm not willing to change my wifi setup for the one system. So xfi users beware, your Blink connect may not be stable.
1.0 out of 5 stars Not interested in monthly fee
Reviewed in the United States on September 18, 2020
Configuration: 1 Camera KitStyle: Blink Outdoor
Passed, not interested in paying $120 a year. Xt2's have no fees. Thus the reason why I bought them.
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Jacquelyn
1.0 out of 5 stars POS
Reviewed in the United States on September 19, 2020
Configuration: 1 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
Worst security camera i ever bought in my life. Keeps losing connection even though everything else wifi and wireless runs great. I even have a wifi extender i tried to help matters but nope. I just got this today and im boxing it up. Was difficult to get it going with setup, then to make things worse, the night vision is nothing but a big dark blur, i get no pic at all. The daylight view was pretty clear, but i needed this more at night. i uploaded the view. It is right outside my window, nothing obstructing it, so theres no reason i cant get a clear pic.
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TBD
1.0 out of 5 stars What's a kinder word for junk?
Reviewed in the United States on September 19, 2020
Configuration: 2 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
Had high hopes for this product, so the letdown is extra harsh.
Really, really poor optics for this class of home security camera. Our old Wyze cameras are way sharper.
Night vision is abyssmal. Not kind of bad, but truly muddled grey blotchiness.
The app is atrociously slow. We're running Amplifi Alien mesh wifi in a small house, so it's not the wifi connection. The cameras take about 10 seconds to activate whereas our Wyze cameras take about 3 seconds.
The fact that it will not interact and display feeds into the Ring app of our brand new Amazon Ring alarm system (Ring alarm is awesome!) is my other very major gripe.
Considering the muscle Amazon could bring to this product launch, I see it as an utter flop.
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SeanTop Contributor: Photography
TOP 500 REVIEWER
1.0 out of 5 stars 4/28/21 Monthly Payments for Simple Features Now ??
Reviewed in the United States on October 3, 2020
Configuration: 3 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
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FINAL UPDATE: What was once pretty cool and recommended is now completely useless. If you don't subscribe they take away features and the entire system no longer works right.. They want you to pay every month.. $10/month that's $120 a year.. They also want you to link your Amazon account. Make sure to read the fine print.. Blink wants your Amazon data.. I've spent over $2,000 on these cameras.. Now all of it is useless.. Short clips blurred images glitches all the time deleted clips reappear sometimes it doesn't even record no live view saves, sensors don't pick up anything audio goes out, it all turned to trash. They want to blame it on your wifi. ?? They are throttling controlling how well your cameras work.. I feel so betrayed and swindled. I've been recommending these cameras even set my parents up told friends now it's all a waste because Blink wants to be shady.. VERY DISAPPOINTING DO NOT REWARD COMPANIES LIKE THIS WITH YOUR MONEY. ????
UPDATE: 4/28/21 - 8 or so months in. I have purchased 17 of these cameras and 3 sync modules and planned on buying more also purchased many accessories. Different mounting brackets for the cameras and modules wifi extenders larger battery packs etc. They all worked great at first then slowly came the problems. I put up with the failed views the super short recordings that happened now n then the modules going offline repeatedly no its not my internet the glitches etc ... Now something about a PLUS PLAN suddenly pops up on my app. You can no longer save live clips. ?? One of the cool things was being able to watch something live then being able to save it. You cannot do that simple little thing anymore.
The cloud storage wasn't that big of a deal since you could pop in a thumbdrive to save recordings. Now they want to charge you for the ability to save live views onto your thumbdrive. It was cool and convenient the ability to view something live catch something happening which is the whole point of a camera then saving it. Now if you catch something happening live its useless because you can't save it. ?? The system has to be armed and you have to hope the sensors pick it up and even then it may not even reset. They ruined the playback on the app now. No thumbnails and if you want to delete you have to delete clips separately no select all option. This is NOT WORTH BUYING anymore. For the amount of money I spent I should be able to save a short live view. I could have purchased a nicer security system for the money I spent. I no longer recommend this system as they want to charge you a monthly fee for a simple feature a doorbell cam can do. At bare minimum they should not charge Prime Members a subscription fee. Very disappointing that they change the functionality so they can charge you for it. My original review and updates are below.
????
This is pretty close to a must have they just need to make some tweaks. ?? Picture quality is pretty good. It has a nice dynamic range. The POV is pretty good. Its plenty wide and a little fisheye. For the most part pretty clear. ??
The audio is fairly decent but you get a lot of humming and hissing. The microphone where you can talk to someone is fairly decent. You're talking about close distance about average distance of someone at your front door.
The setup is pretty easy just install the app and follow the instructions. Let it update the firmware. One tip when you get to the cameras leave the back off because you will have to scan the QR code.
So why not 5 stars since this is pretty cool? The back where you put the batteries screws on and off with a wonky tool they give you. It would be fine if it was a twist lock not an actual screw. The price is kinda steep. I needed 4 cameras. 4 sides to a house or building right? They don't have a 4 camera bundle. 3 or jump to 5. I purchased another single camera because it was only $10 more with a sync module than a add on camera.
Not much security for the camera itself. It just pops off. Anyone can steal it. The camera mount has a limited angle. Its basically made for a straight flat install. I bought separate swivel mounts so I can mount it to the underside of my roof on the side of my house and place the camera looking down the side of my house. They should upgrade the mount. You can always mount the camera higher to avoid theft but sometimes that's limited.
After awhile there's inconsistencies short clip recordings failed views no restart recordings after the pause and the longest you can record is 30 seconds and it won't fully record the full 30 secs. Audio cuts out or doesn't record at all and lots of freezes. ??
This is a pretty good simple to set up and use camera system. The night vision and motion detection are pretty decent. They should have kept the free cloud storage but i prefer the separate thumbdrive storage. Less chances of hacking being all over the interweb. Using a thumbdrive is not a problem. Maybe they should include one. There's a slight delay in the live shot. Hear something and you wanna click live view you wait a few seconds and by that time the action is gone. They need to make that faster. As for getting notifications instantly when the motion detection is triggered its not bad but there's a delay there too. And it does not recognize or connect to my 5G only to 2.4G on my wifi. ?? Like I said its pretty decent but could use some improvements and am sure they will continue to do so but for now for what I'm using it for as simple security and being able to monitor my house and yes I can be away and monitor my house from afar yeah definitely worth getting. ??
UPDATE: Its been a month and a half and the batteries are still good. I do notice not as much hissing and screeching noise. Don't know if that means battery life is going down and the mic is less powered or what but everything still works pretty good. Picked up several of the mini cams as well on sale. Great for inside and the garage. Had one on the patio but it got a little moisture slime. Didn't affect the camera though but I did move it in.
Had one hick up. It said view failed or something like that once and I couldn't get a live view. I just took a photo and it seemed to clear that up. I see a lot of people showing that in the reviews so thought that would help.
I also see a lot of reviews posting pics of bad night vision. You need to reposition your camera. You either have something below it or above it too close to the lens. For example if you have it mounted under an awning and you get a dark picture or you get a foggy looking halo ring you need to bring the camera out further so there is not much covering the top or bottom. The sides are also affected but not as much.
Move it around remember camera position is key for good night vision. Even though it's made for the outdoors you don't want it in direct sunlight where the unit will go passed the 110deg limit. That will kill battery performance and camera capabilities. Hope that helps some of you with those issues. I will update again on battery life. So far its near Thanksgiving and batteries are good. I arm it at night 100% of the time. During the day a little less. I've captured several delivery personnel a raccoon a couple of cats sun glare off my pool some dust looking particles that look like spirits flying away ?? and of course myself when I forget to disarm ?? and the battery indicator says OK. They really need a percentage indicator on that. I live view several times a day but only for a few seconds if there's nothing going on.
The cloud thing is not a big deal at all. Get a thumbdrive and you're good to go. All your clips are saved on that instead of the cloud. I love the easy sharing too. I will text my friends with a short clip I can upload straight to my YouTube channel. Its pretty cool. One thing I would like to see is a shorter break between clips. You can miss a lot in 10 seconds. And a longer recording capability than 30sec especially with motion. I know that can eat battery life but they can improve there as well.??????
UPDATE 2: I'm getting more failed to connect to cloud indications and I'm not using the cloud I'm using a thumbdrive. I'm also getting more false recordings. Nothing is happening and it will record a clip. Also a live view will pop up in the recorded clip segment. ?? Its starting to be a little fidgety but not to the point it upsets me.
UPDATE 3: One of the cameras needed a reset. Pop the batteries out then pop em back in. ?? It said failed view or not available something like that. Battery life is going on 3 months with moderate use. What's moderate use? I arm every night and 3 - 5 times a day. Take photos 2 - 3 times and watch live view 4 - 5 times a day. Each live view is for one cycle before it times out or asks to continue. Sometimes I'll watch live view for 3 - 4 times continued. Still haven't needed to replace batteries yet. ??
Update 4: Colder weather is here and another camera needed a reset where you pop the batteries out wait 30secs and pop em back in. Battery still says ok and its going on 3 and a 1/2 months. It first gave me a failed to load warning here n there and that may be a sign you may need to do a reset.
Update 5: The inconsistencies have increased greatly. The syn module continually goes offline requiring a wifi reboot. The batteries are still good and it's been 6 months. There are more freezes and jumps in recordings.
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Sam Young
1.0 out of 5 stars Not happy. Motion triggers way too late...
Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2020
Configuration: 3 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
The good:
The camera video and audio quality is very good. They are extremely easy to set up and position. Only took about 2 hours start to finish.
The bad.
They turn on and capture video so late you literally miss all the action, which makes them literally useless. Just had another delivery, garage one triggered, saw the delivery persons boot exiting the frame, the front door one cought their lower back half, and it entirely missed them walking back through my driveway. Someone could casually stroll up my driveway, to my door, and steal my packages without a single face shot...Good idea in principle, horrible execution. Not happy with the purchase.
Update:
2 more cameras were added to my system, they were added in a position to only catch movement in a 100% sideways motion view. They still trigger way to late in the initial settings to catch anything meaningful. My only remedy to catch action is to turn the motion clip up to 20-30 seconds on each camera and record even when motion stops, this is the only reliable way to catch people's faces and descriptive information, typically as they are coming back into the field of view and the camera is already turned on. I am sure this will annihilate the battery life on these cameras. I will update how long the batteries last, already getting many warnings of high usage.
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Debra Akery
1.0 out of 5 stars Amazon tricked their customers who bought these cameras
Reviewed in the United States on May 3, 2021
Configuration: 1 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
When I purchased these cameras in late 2020, Amazon advertised them as being no monthly charge and free storage. Now after the purchase, they have changed the rules and many customers are very unhappy. Amazon now requires a subscription for these cameras to work and don't believe them when they tell you "free local storage" with a usb. The cameras do not work the same as they did with the usb. I do not recommend these cameras.
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D V
1.0 out of 5 stars Appalled at the (new) monthly fee
Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2020
Configuration: 1 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
Why would I pay $100 for a device so that I am forced to pay monthly fee? This is a total surprise! I installed the original account on April 22 even though I bought the item way before that. I was hoping for a system that can link work places and homes. Oh well. These items are going back.
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Kindle Customer
1.0 out of 5 stars Unreliable
Reviewed in the United States on September 19, 2020
Configuration: 1 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
Makes for a very poor security camera. The live view works about 10% of the time when accessing it trough alexa, and about 50% of time in the app. Furthermore, i went to check last night to insure in was at least storing video to the cloud and i got an error stating module was off line. This was my second blink product and i can tell you they are very unreliable and make for very poor security.
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K. Oliver
1.0 out of 5 stars Extremely Dissatisfied With This Product!
Reviewed in the United States on October 4, 2020
Configuration: 1 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
I have been waiting for a very long time to get a wireless security camera which I could stick on my house, connect to my web, Alexa, without wires and not have to plug into house power. I had high hopes for this camera. It is such a great idea.
However, this camera did not do anything I expected it would do.
1. The night vision was so so. The daytime recordings weren't much better.
You can’t really see a persons face, because the camera angle is so wide everything is so small in the frame.
The picture quality isn't all that great, especially at night, so it is hard to see any quality of the image good enough to capture a distinguishable image of the person. The 16mm angle or whatever it is, is too big to capture a good image of a person who isn’t right up in the camera.
2. The camera and the settings are too buggy. The settings I would set the camera at weren't what got recorded. For example, I set it to 60 seconds of recording. It would only record 20 seconds at a time. Then it would do another 20 second recording and another until the movement in the camera was over. The problems with this type of recording is that they programmed in, at least a 10 second delay between recordings. So it misses a lot of the activity.
I installed my camera at the front of my house looking out into the street. It had my driveway, the street in front of my house, to the left and to the right of my home in the view of the camera. Hardly ever did it actually catch any of the activity out in the street. (I did set the recording parameters to catch a very wide swath of the camera view.) Maybe once in awhile it would catch a car driving by but that was rare. So most of the time, all I got was the tail end of any movement that was up close to my home. And when I say up close, I mean like the last foot/edge of the screen. In other words, as they were closest to my house, both coming and going and only recorded the top of their head. So when they were facing the camera, no face, just the top of their head. Hardly in between where all the actual activity happened and where you could actually see who it was. It would also, but less so, just catch the person far away as they arrived. Examples like - never did it catch any delivery truck or driver, except at the very beginning as they pulled up or the first second of leaving. So in other words, it never recorded or captured a good shot of anyone's face. I got a lot of dead space, dead air. A lot of before any major activity or after the activity was over. Not much in between, the actual activity/movement.
I called customer service a couple of times, although they were nice and tried to be helpful, they couldn’t fix any of these problems.
So I think for this to be a good product they need to do the following:
1. Make the recordings actually record any and all of the activity not just 20 second clips AND there should NOT be any delay between recordings. It should just be a continuous until any and all activity is over.
2. The camera should have a better image quality. So you can take a capture of the persons face, zoom in and see who they are.
3. The delay between motion, recording it AND notifying me that there is motion is too long.
I hope they fix it. But for now I had to return it and wouldn’t recommend this camera.
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Jim and Carli
1.0 out of 5 stars DO NOT BUY!!!!
Reviewed in the United States on September 2, 2021
Configuration: 5 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
I bought this for our business shop and the system set up easy and worked for a week. One day it just went offline. I called tech support and spent an hour with them trying to reset the system. They had me download another app to run wireless diagnostics. Everything checked out great. They then had me contact my internet provider to verify there was no parental controls turned on and that I was on a 2.4 system. Again, nothing had changed but still did all that. After doing that and restarting the system AGAIN, still doesn't work. Tech support was not helpful with solving any problems. System does not, they didn't have any solutions for me. I have never had to go through so many hoops to get something to work and still in the end not getting it fixed. I'm left with now 5 cameras screwed to my shop inside and out that don't work. What a waste of time and money. Buy something better than this! Not worth the headache and the risk that it might not work and not get any help. They instead argued that I must be doing something wrong. Horrible customer service.
1.0 out of 5 stars Awful
Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2020
Configuration: 3 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
Not sure how these have such a high ratings but I think these suck. I was trying to replace my Arlo cams, that was a mistake! I have the highest speed internet/wifi with repeaters and the delay on these is horrible. They claim super long batter life but that's based on very delayed or low motion detection and only takes 5 second clips. I bet if you turned all aspects up, motion, video length, etc., the batteries would last about 3 days. Even just testing one, lost 20% in only 12 videos. Pretty sure I couldn't get a good look at the perp stealing my bike in a 5 second clip. Not a fan Sending them back today.
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Kevin
1.0 out of 5 stars Ultimately Disappointed
Reviewed in the United States on April 27, 2021
Configuration: 2 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
When searching for cameras like these, I wanted a system that required no monthly recurring fees. I thought by asking a lot of questions, that this was the system for me. But I was wrong. I have 2 cameras set up with a 3rd still in the box. I was happy with the video I was getting, although there is a WIFI delay which I now know is common even in other systems. I would get a chirp on my phone when someone or something passed into view of the cameras. I could then view that video clip and delete it if it was unimportant. I recently started getting warnings that my free monthly subscription was running out. I didn't worry because I thought I was not getting any of the features from a monthly subscription, like cloud storage etc. Well, lo and behold, now I don't get those video clips when something activates the cameras. So when I get a chirp I have no clip to look at. They say that's a feature for the monthly fee. Now if I get a chirp, it does not show on my phone for review. If I get a chirp, I have to stop what I'm doing, click to "Live View" which takes 6 to 7 seconds and then hope that whatever tripped the cameras is still there and then I can see what or who is at my door. Any of the previous features I had, I thought were included without a monthly subscription. I WAS WRONG! Now I must pay $10 a month to have what I thought was included. Very disappointed with this service.
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Jason
1.0 out of 5 stars Unable to use without a sync module 2, which is not available for purchase.
Reviewed in the United States on September 18, 2020
Configuration: Add-On CameraStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
This is not clear from the product description on the website. Requesting a refund as I can not use the product.
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Shelly
1.0 out of 5 stars Must purchase monthly plan, don’t be fooled!!!!
Reviewed in the United States on May 27, 2021
Configuration: 5 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
We loved this product, everyone recommended it because once you spend $250 to purchase 5 cameras it’s free from then on. This is WRONG. It did not tell us when we bought that we would have to subscribe to see our videos after the 30 day trial. It worked great for a while but now it just says there is motion but won’t record it. Don’t be fooled!!! There will be a monthly fee. My parents have these cameras and they were grandfathered in if they purchased before April 2020. Now, you have to pay around $100 a year just to watch the videos. I am so frustrated. If we had known it wasn’t free, we would’ve purchased a different company with a cheaper plan. What a farce. Your original customers get free videos for life, but newer ones aren’t treated well? I cannot believe we wasted $250 on 3 cameras that we can’t even use a month later. DO NOT BUY IF YOU DONT WANT TO SPEND $100 A YEAR!!!!
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Amazon Customer
1.0 out of 5 stars How can these cameras have good reviews???
Reviewed in the United States on January 3, 2021
Configuration: 2 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
These are lousy motion cameras! I do not understand why they have good reviews unless the reviews are fake.
They're inconsistent at best.
The one camera only picked up motion when less than 6-8' away.
It detects motion behind it and starts to record when there's nothing going on in the direction the camera is pointed.
It misses motion completely in the target range sometimes.
It senses motion but comes on so late it misses it.
Even with reset time at 10 seconds, it doesn't take a second video after 10 seconds.
You have the ability to take a picture remotely but 7 of 8 attempts (consistently) give a "Thumbnail FAILED" message.
The Live video doesn't work at all yet after 2 days testing.
The software options have a Lot of bugs. I don't think they QA'ed this software much at all.
It's a nice picture of the blink in the rain but don't get the wrong idea... the camera lense has no offset so when a raindrop hits the lense, the pictures are super blurry. So you'll need to wipe the lense off every raindrop.
I have cheapo $28 trail cameras that work WAY better than these.
AND.... they just increased the price of the blink by 30-40%. So you are overcharged for the camera and then they want you to pay a monthly fee. Nah.
I will be returning them, very disappointed.
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DKM
1.0 out of 5 stars Now Returning - So far... verdict is still TBD
Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2020
Configuration: 2 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
I have had this set up for just a few days now. The good: Set up was extremely easy on iPad. Indoor & outdoor cameras provide a crisp image/video. Not sure about: the stability of the outdoor cameras fixture - seems very iffy! They could have made this much more secure. Very easy for someone to just walk by and pocket the whole thing - no tools needed! We will be trying to hide in near a trumpet vine - with that we will need to make sure the vine doesn't grow and cover the camera... that might fall or walk off. It would be great if the wide angle lens was wider - 130 degrees is not a whole lot - at this price point I guess you can't expect too much. Now as to Echo Show - I have not figured out how to talk through it yet and maybe you just CANNOT! Some time will tell on this purchase. I will update in 2-3 weeks.
UPDATE: We are returning the system to Amazon. Night vision is useless in our case. The video is choppy, seems when there is a good bit of movement the camera video cannot keep up somehow. Not quite sure why exactly. While we have had no strong wind in the past days, I really feel the thing will blow off the little 1/8" connection in the back of unit very easily. Clearly this product is not ready to be sold yet, they need to perfect some things. I will keep an eye on future development.
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Melissa
1.0 out of 5 stars Awful night vision
Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2020
Configuration: 1 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
I bought this camera for my backyard and am so disappointed with the quality of the night vision. It was never clear. It was either blurred, grainy or just all black. In order to get even semi-clear night vision, I would have to leave a light on all night. I tried adjusting every night vision setting with no luck. I’ve had the indoor blink cameras for several months and while the night vision quality of those is even subpar, this outdoor camera was worse and just useless. I packed it up and returned it less than a week after wasting my time trying to figure out the night vision.
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Herman
1.0 out of 5 stars DO NOT BUY! Absolutely horrible night vision!
Reviewed in the United States on October 6, 2020
Configuration: 3 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
While these are fine during the day, the night vision is absolutely horrible and honestly makes these cameras basically useless. Thieves are usually active at night so for a security camera to have basically zero night vision is just unacceptable. Even if you did record a person on your property at night, you would not be able to tell if it was a man or woman or make out any facial features. These cameras are truly THAT bad in night vision! I've tried all 3 ir settings with no better results. My ring doorbell camera does night vision so much better compared to these blink cameras. I think the ir is too weak? I may return these. I would not recommend these.
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Phil Lennon
1.0 out of 5 stars Misleading Advertising - you MUST purchase a monthly plan to make these work correctly
Reviewed in the United States on June 10, 2021
Configuration: 5 Camera KitStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
I bought these with the understanding that they would fully function with a memory stick and that I would not have to buy a monthly storage plan. All the materials and the box say that you can do this. The cameras worked great for the first 30 days while I had a "free trial" with the storage plan. However, after the 30 days were up, the motion detection stopped working and they stopped recording video altogether. I could view the live feed but that was it. For me, this defeats the purpose of having the cameras. I spent hours troubleshooting online and finally discovered that this is an ongoing issue with Blink cameras that Amazon has not addressed and continues to give customers the run-around on. If you plan to purchase a storage plan, these cameras are nice. But if you are like me and don't want to pay a monthly fee, please do not waste your time on these cameras. I am very disappointed because I did like them but now they are just expensive house ornaments. I am giving this one star because the advertising is misleading and after many complaints from customers, the issue has not been addressed.
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Gamini Meepe
1.0 out of 5 stars New monthly subscription is unfair
Reviewed in the United States on December 16, 2020
Configuration: Add-On CameraStyle: Blink OutdoorVerified Purchase
When this new camera was introduced at very first , the price was high than than now for $59. Also it did not mention the monthly subscription.
After purchasing , I was informed there is a subscription but they were not sure of the amount. However I could use it until end of December free.
Informed Amazon and returned the camera.
After couple of days they added the subscription and the fee information.
As per manufacturer the new camera is almost the same as xt2 new features added and the Mic is under the camera.
My main reason to reject this item because of the new subscription when the old camera is free.
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