Top positive review
Great cameras - great app
By Caleb on Reviewed in the United States on March 30, 2025
After having about 6 Blink cameras for almost 8 years I can report that these things hold up and do NOT burn through batteries if you are careful with setting up timers. The app is useful, although sometimes the notifications can be annoying - and the cameras have held up really well. The one time a camera died Amazon/Blink replaced it immediately. Great system.
Top critical review
343 people found this helpful
Will not detect the best wifi signal (REVIEW UPDATE)
By Craig Phillips on Reviewed in the United States on July 24, 2021
REVIEW UPDATEWe recently lost our internet connection due to updates our ISP had to make. What we didn't know is that Blink cameras are solely dependent on an Internet connection (not just a wifi connection) even if you don't have a subscription or just have the trial. None of the outdoor cameras will remain active when you lose Internet connectivity. My wrongful assumption was that ONLY your local area network was needed since it relies on a wifi signal. Nope. That is wrong. The Sync Modules will flash the green LED and no camera will work. Great job Blink/Amazon for putting customers at risk to thieves and other criminals.We have 4 of the outdoor cameras on two separate Sync2 Modules due to the distance from the main router. We have an extender (set as a repeater) which handles the furthest cameras. As I said I never considered these would go offline if the Internet connection went down. I figured if my LAN went down then it would make total sense the cameras would go offline, yet I was foolish in my thinking.Again this is shameful of Blink/Amazon to have this even as a feature. I get that you need an account to pay for the service, but why in the world would these be designed to FAIL if your Internet connection goes down?It is not only misleading to consumers to not EXPLICITLY state that these cameras will fail to operate without an Internet connection.This IS one of the WORST investments my family ever made in a product. Would have been better to purchase a CCTV camera system and just hardwired everything on the network. For what we've now paid for 4 cameras + the sales tax we could have gotten a 4 camera CCTV setup instead from a local box store.As I have said in my original review, the cameras do work, and will suffice. Keep in mind that an Internet connection is REQUIRED and not just your local area network connection. I had to lower my rating to just one star because nothing is lower than that on Amazon's site. I'd give this camera system negative stars it it were possible just based on our experience over the past few months.Also I think I was far too generous with parts of my original review, but experience will change your mind when the experience becomes bad.I no will longer recommend ANY of the Blink cameras. Until they are no longer dependent on an Internet connection and will fully function on just your local networks wifi signal. I will be researching a true CCTV camera system to replace the Blink cameras. If I could get a refund I'd do it in a heartbeat, but that window has closed. The price of this education is high!---------Original reviewRecently purchased the Blink Outdoor 2 Camera system, and it's a very hit or miss system. I have several things to say about the security cameras and the Blink app that goes with it.The base:The friction fit mounting bases are not easy to snap into place. I had to use a long and think flat headed screw driver to aid in connecting it. Also I worried about crushing the sensor on the camera because of how much force it takes and where my hands are pressing on the camera itself (holding from the edges while mounting under a roof eave is moderately annoying). Once it is finally snapped to the base it moves freely and the camera stays in place.The Sync 2 ModuleThis is the brains of the system. Each module controls up to 10 cameras and utilizes your 2.4GHz Wifi connection. Now I mistakenly assumed that my 2 camera system didn't include the Sync 2 Module (I didn't notices a "what's in the box" on Blinks Amazon page. So I ended up buying one which was a waste of money considering it's included. The setup takes a while after you power it on you'll need the app to discover the device. Initially the blue LED flashes and the green LED is steady. Once it is discovered then then both LEDs are steady.The app (Android)At first the app to control this camera system seems simple, but there are some annoyances I've discovered. The system will NOT discover the best WiFi connection on your network. I have an detached garage with the camera approximately 75 feet from the Sync 2 Module, and my router is close to 10 feet from the Sync 2 Module. So I picked up a WiFi extender and set it as a Repeater (firewall, DNS, DHCP etc. is controlled by my primary router) in order for the signal strength to be at a maximum. It is recommended that you use the existing WiFi names (SSIDs) on your network (for 2.4GHz only) and append _EXT so Blink can see it if using a Wifi extender. Also keep your password keys for your wifi extender the exact same that are on your main wifi router. Now in theory (and based on Blink's own guidelines) the system should pick the best Wifi signal based on your setup. Well it doesn't, and there is NO option in the Blink app for me to place my garage camera on the extender Wifi (again it's on the same network as all my devices are) while keeping the door camera on the primary router (same network once again). This is not about changing networks, this is about discovering the extender on my main network (which I repeat Blink claims it will chose the best signal automatically). Yes I could add the second Sync 2 Module in the garage, but then I'd have to create a second system for the garage camera. Not entirely what you should have to do.Batteries: These cameras require the more expensive Lithium AAs you do get the batteries with the cameras (mine were Energizer Lithium AAs. The cameras are equipped with a USB B mini connection which you can use to connect to a powered USB source as to not run off batteries. In my case I picked up a motion detector LED flood light that offers a USB connection (this unit https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08F9CNPVW). I would remove the batteries from the cameras because I do not know if connected will it try to charge the batteries (these are NON chargeable lithium batteries) or it will it bypass the batteries? I would err on the side of caution and remove them.Local Storage (USB thumb drive) vs Blink SubscriptionsThis is an Amazon product and you'd think that the Blink camera systems would provide free service to Amazon Prime members. Nope. You are nickled and dimed on a per camera basis at $6 monthly, and it's $100 annually (if I read it right) for one full system). Again why is this NOT part of Prime Membership?So to avoid saving to the cloud I bought a 256GB thumb drive to insert into the Sync 2 Module. What I have discovered is ONLY clips are saved locally. You are NOT able to save live recordings to the local storage. Really? Why? What's the point of only having the clips (maxed at 60 seconds) on a local drive? To me this is a rip off and not mentioned anywhere in the product details.Yes you do get a "free" trial which unlocks all features. If you; however, cancel that trial early or let it expire without buying a subscription than certain features are locked. So again you pay a lot for the camera system and you are locked out of many features IF you don't buy their subscription to the cloud. Talk about ripping folks off. Sure you can look at live feeds, but you can't same them locally. You can take a snapshot from the cameras, but it will NOT take a photo every hour UNLESS you BUY a Blink subscription. Again this all goes back to Blink subscriptions. Tell me what's the point of local storage if all you can save are clips?Loading issues with clips and thumbnails. So I've run into issues where loading a clip from the connected USB drive fails to load 95% of the time. Again these are short clips and should pull faster than from the Cloud. Nope. Thumbnails are hit or miss. These are generated when you press the camera icon on the home screen of the app. I call them snaps, but I've noticed if I am sitting near the Sync 2 Module it can still fail. Full wifi bars too and it still fails.Alexa:It is claimed by Blink that the newest generation of their cameras will work with Alexa. I used the app from my phone, but she can't do anything with the cameras (even when trained to use them). In this case you may have to buy an Alexa enabled device (like Show). You technically don't need one they are NOT required for these cameras, but the Alexa app alone on a smartphone is limited.Finally the recommend having minimum Internet speeds of 2Mb up and down for these cameras, but I believe that is ONLY if you are saving and storing to the cloud along with accessing from the cloud. Locally your access to the Blink cameras will depend on your network speeds along with wifi. The more stuff you have connected the slower it can be.Conclusion. The Blink Camera System isn't terrible, and they are affordable. There are quirks as I mentioned and annoyances I have dealt with. These are not high end systems but on a tight budget you can get a good start.
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Great cameras - great app
By Caleb - Reviewed in the United States on March 30, 2025
Verified Amazon Purchase
After having about 6 Blink cameras for almost 8 years I can report that these things hold up and do NOT burn through batteries if you are careful with setting up timers. The app is useful, although sometimes the notifications can be annoying - and the cameras have held up really well. The one time a camera died Amazon/Blink replaced it immediately. Great system.
Blink out door cameras work but need improvement
By Sarah - Reviewed in the United States on December 1, 2022
Verified Amazon Purchase
I have been having problems with packages disappearing from my front porch. I decided to get a security system. My son installed 2 cameras outside and 2 in the house. I have an entry door downstairs in my den that faces a dark backyard. Now I can see in the den if I hear an outside noise. I ordered 2 more outdoor cameras during the black Friday sale and they will be installed this weekend.What I like about them: I can go to live view and check to see if I have packages. I can also see if someone walks up to my front door from another angle. I like that I can view clips that have been saved. ( I am still on the trial cloud option) My son said it was simple to install. To add a camera he told me just open the back and take the picture and the system adds the new camera.What I don't like about the cameras: It has a delay, in other words, a person can walk up and grab a package and walk away before it alerts me. True I have the clip, but I would like for it to alert me as soon as it detects motion. I have a clip of someone removing a package from my front door, but I was not alerted that this was happening. It's nice that I can speak through the camera, but after the theft has happened it's not useful to them talk. When the mail is delivered, I get a notice but when I check the mailman is already halfway into my yard leaving. My son and I both played with the settings. At first, it was alerting me on motion, but the clip was a few seconds and stopped. My son asked which I prefer, instant notification and useless video or to have slow notification and a longer video clip. I chose the longer clip and that is how I saw someone walk up and take a large package and turn to walk away. This happened after dark so the night vision is not good. I will be buying the cloud package when my trial runs out. From what I am reading, the cameras will not work the same without the cloud. Yes, there is a module you can buy and a storage drive that is not included, To me, it's just easier to have it go to the cloud. I am hoping the settings just need tweaking to alert and record right away. Still, I am glad to have the cameras.
Motion detection range is short (25ft), but works well inside that.
By Cory - Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2020
Verified Amazon Purchase
*7 month updateStill 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.*UpdateI'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.*Updatebumped 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.
Super awesome camera!
By anonymous - Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2022
Verified Amazon Purchase
These cameras work absolutely amazing! We had a problem with a neighbor harassing and blatantly threatening us and other tenants in an apartment complex, and now we can use the footage with both audio and visual (as quoted by the local sheriffs too!) to prosecute this jerk! You can adjust the length of the videos and the motion detection. Batteries do not have a long life if you use high video length and a high sensitivity but you only need lithium batteries to replace them every so often. Since our landlord does not seem to care about our public safety we decided to take it into our own hands. We even caught this guy being a peeping tom at another neighbor's window at 2am! So the night vision works awesome as well. Despite these actions we most definitely feel safer with these cameras in front of our place, can clearly see when packages are dropped off too, etc. It acts like your own neighborhood safe watch. The app is easy to set up as long as you have good wifi in your place and can have notifications pop up on your phone so you can monitor it as you go about your day. If you need security for your home this product is a no brainer and most definitely worth the investment! Plus the service is only $10 a month!! Thank you Amazon for helping us. I have never been in a situation like this before but I am sure glad we have these cameras!
Never Been Used - Over 3yrs Later!
By Yobuzzb - Reviewed in the United States on September 13, 2023
Verified Amazon Purchase
I bought these camera's back in 2020 and I've never used them! Recently, I decided to get them set up, but the Sync Module 2 just won't connect! I've disabled everything connected to the internet, I have no VPN, I disabled virus protection even uninstalled it, uninstalled/reinstalled the Blink app. I've unplugged and restarted the mod, the router, my phone, tried using 2 other phones, turned mobile data off using WiFi only. Phone, mod and router within inches of each other! Nothing works! I spent all of this money for 5 camera's I can't use because the little module won't connect! I've had them too long to send back. I called Blink for help and after going through everything I'd already done, they decided to send me a new module (very kind of them) and the situation is still the same. I have Cox Gigablast and the router is split 2.4GHZ/5GHZ. There has to be something blocking it. What that it is, I haven't a clue. What should have been a simple process has been anything but that for me! I'm pretty tech savvy! I'm no novice! This should have been child's play! I have 2 laptops using 5GHZ Band so i switched to 2.4GHZ on both of them. No problem connecting or surfing the web or watching videos. If anyone reads this and has a suggestion, I'd surely appreciate it!Well my cameras all work now. I shut down the entire network. Took everything off of it. Factory reset the network then set up split network again. Now the module works as well as the camera's as they should have over 3 years ago. I still don't know exactly what blocked the module. That's useful information. I've never felt so inept. Anyway, that was my work around. I'd get frustrated and come back to it if I was thinking about it which, as you might guess, was once or twice a year. They're not a necessity but are nice as added security.
Perfect Outdoor Cameras for Our Needs
By SQ - Reviewed in the United States on September 25, 2023
Verified Amazon Purchase
I've had three wired Blink Mini's inside my mom's home for about two years. They have worked great! This time, I wanted to install some outdoor cameras in the back of her home (basement level) as it is quite dark. These cameras, along with the sync module, were a breeze to install and the clarity of the cameras is perfect for our needs. I also installed two solar-powered, motion-detection LED security lights in the same area as the cameras. The lights add two advantages . . . they light up the area AND the Blink cameras record in color vs. switching to night vision. I did view the night vision before installing the lights . . . and it is "do-able", just not "knock-your-socks-off" great. With the added security lights, they are VERY good -- again, for our needs and budget.I was also able to set the sensitivity on both cameras to 4, as I mainly have them in place to pick up people. I also like that the advanced motion zone settings allow you to drill down to smaller areas in which you do not want the cameras to pick up motion.As for battery life . . . time will tell. I also scheduled the alarm/disarm time to only arm when it is dark. I have power cables to eventually hook up to power them through A/C, but wanted to try the batteries out first. Even if the batteries last a good while, I will likely switch to the wired power so that I can feel more comfortable leaving them armed 24/7 without the fear of the batteries running out.All-in-all, I am very happy with these. If they continue to perform as well as they are performing right now, I will likely buy a couple more.
Will not detect the best wifi signal (REVIEW UPDATE)
By Craig Phillips - Reviewed in the United States on July 24, 2021
Verified Amazon Purchase
REVIEW UPDATEWe recently lost our internet connection due to updates our ISP had to make. What we didn't know is that Blink cameras are solely dependent on an Internet connection (not just a wifi connection) even if you don't have a subscription or just have the trial. None of the outdoor cameras will remain active when you lose Internet connectivity. My wrongful assumption was that ONLY your local area network was needed since it relies on a wifi signal. Nope. That is wrong. The Sync Modules will flash the green LED and no camera will work. Great job Blink/Amazon for putting customers at risk to thieves and other criminals.We have 4 of the outdoor cameras on two separate Sync2 Modules due to the distance from the main router. We have an extender (set as a repeater) which handles the furthest cameras. As I said I never considered these would go offline if the Internet connection went down. I figured if my LAN went down then it would make total sense the cameras would go offline, yet I was foolish in my thinking.Again this is shameful of Blink/Amazon to have this even as a feature. I get that you need an account to pay for the service, but why in the world would these be designed to FAIL if your Internet connection goes down?It is not only misleading to consumers to not EXPLICITLY state that these cameras will fail to operate without an Internet connection.This IS one of the WORST investments my family ever made in a product. Would have been better to purchase a CCTV camera system and just hardwired everything on the network. For what we've now paid for 4 cameras + the sales tax we could have gotten a 4 camera CCTV setup instead from a local box store.As I have said in my original review, the cameras do work, and will suffice. Keep in mind that an Internet connection is REQUIRED and not just your local area network connection. I had to lower my rating to just one star because nothing is lower than that on Amazon's site. I'd give this camera system negative stars it it were possible just based on our experience over the past few months.Also I think I was far too generous with parts of my original review, but experience will change your mind when the experience becomes bad.I no will longer recommend ANY of the Blink cameras. Until they are no longer dependent on an Internet connection and will fully function on just your local networks wifi signal. I will be researching a true CCTV camera system to replace the Blink cameras. If I could get a refund I'd do it in a heartbeat, but that window has closed. The price of this education is high!---------Original reviewRecently purchased the Blink Outdoor 2 Camera system, and it's a very hit or miss system. I have several things to say about the security cameras and the Blink app that goes with it.The base:The friction fit mounting bases are not easy to snap into place. I had to use a long and think flat headed screw driver to aid in connecting it. Also I worried about crushing the sensor on the camera because of how much force it takes and where my hands are pressing on the camera itself (holding from the edges while mounting under a roof eave is moderately annoying). Once it is finally snapped to the base it moves freely and the camera stays in place.The Sync 2 ModuleThis is the brains of the system. Each module controls up to 10 cameras and utilizes your 2.4GHz Wifi connection. Now I mistakenly assumed that my 2 camera system didn't include the Sync 2 Module (I didn't notices a "what's in the box" on Blinks Amazon page. So I ended up buying one which was a waste of money considering it's included. The setup takes a while after you power it on you'll need the app to discover the device. Initially the blue LED flashes and the green LED is steady. Once it is discovered then then both LEDs are steady.The app (Android)At first the app to control this camera system seems simple, but there are some annoyances I've discovered. The system will NOT discover the best WiFi connection on your network. I have an detached garage with the camera approximately 75 feet from the Sync 2 Module, and my router is close to 10 feet from the Sync 2 Module. So I picked up a WiFi extender and set it as a Repeater (firewall, DNS, DHCP etc. is controlled by my primary router) in order for the signal strength to be at a maximum. It is recommended that you use the existing WiFi names (SSIDs) on your network (for 2.4GHz only) and append _EXT so Blink can see it if using a Wifi extender. Also keep your password keys for your wifi extender the exact same that are on your main wifi router. Now in theory (and based on Blink's own guidelines) the system should pick the best Wifi signal based on your setup. Well it doesn't, and there is NO option in the Blink app for me to place my garage camera on the extender Wifi (again it's on the same network as all my devices are) while keeping the door camera on the primary router (same network once again). This is not about changing networks, this is about discovering the extender on my main network (which I repeat Blink claims it will chose the best signal automatically). Yes I could add the second Sync 2 Module in the garage, but then I'd have to create a second system for the garage camera. Not entirely what you should have to do.Batteries: These cameras require the more expensive Lithium AAs you do get the batteries with the cameras (mine were Energizer Lithium AAs. The cameras are equipped with a USB B mini connection which you can use to connect to a powered USB source as to not run off batteries. In my case I picked up a motion detector LED flood light that offers a USB connection (this unit https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08F9CNPVW). I would remove the batteries from the cameras because I do not know if connected will it try to charge the batteries (these are NON chargeable lithium batteries) or it will it bypass the batteries? I would err on the side of caution and remove them.Local Storage (USB thumb drive) vs Blink SubscriptionsThis is an Amazon product and you'd think that the Blink camera systems would provide free service to Amazon Prime members. Nope. You are nickled and dimed on a per camera basis at $6 monthly, and it's $100 annually (if I read it right) for one full system). Again why is this NOT part of Prime Membership?So to avoid saving to the cloud I bought a 256GB thumb drive to insert into the Sync 2 Module. What I have discovered is ONLY clips are saved locally. You are NOT able to save live recordings to the local storage. Really? Why? What's the point of only having the clips (maxed at 60 seconds) on a local drive? To me this is a rip off and not mentioned anywhere in the product details.Yes you do get a "free" trial which unlocks all features. If you; however, cancel that trial early or let it expire without buying a subscription than certain features are locked. So again you pay a lot for the camera system and you are locked out of many features IF you don't buy their subscription to the cloud. Talk about ripping folks off. Sure you can look at live feeds, but you can't same them locally. You can take a snapshot from the cameras, but it will NOT take a photo every hour UNLESS you BUY a Blink subscription. Again this all goes back to Blink subscriptions. Tell me what's the point of local storage if all you can save are clips?Loading issues with clips and thumbnails. So I've run into issues where loading a clip from the connected USB drive fails to load 95% of the time. Again these are short clips and should pull faster than from the Cloud. Nope. Thumbnails are hit or miss. These are generated when you press the camera icon on the home screen of the app. I call them snaps, but I've noticed if I am sitting near the Sync 2 Module it can still fail. Full wifi bars too and it still fails.Alexa:It is claimed by Blink that the newest generation of their cameras will work with Alexa. I used the app from my phone, but she can't do anything with the cameras (even when trained to use them). In this case you may have to buy an Alexa enabled device (like Show). You technically don't need one they are NOT required for these cameras, but the Alexa app alone on a smartphone is limited.Finally the recommend having minimum Internet speeds of 2Mb up and down for these cameras, but I believe that is ONLY if you are saving and storing to the cloud along with accessing from the cloud. Locally your access to the Blink cameras will depend on your network speeds along with wifi. The more stuff you have connected the slower it can be.Conclusion. The Blink Camera System isn't terrible, and they are affordable. There are quirks as I mentioned and annoyances I have dealt with. These are not high end systems but on a tight budget you can get a good start.
Temp notification and mounting issues
By Tyler - Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2021
Verified Amazon Purchase
Image is okay. Camera is too sensitive even at the lowest sensitivity level. I have tons of video clips of moths, slight changes in lighting, the sun coming up or reflecting off of things, cars in the very distant background, shadows from birds and other animals out of frame, etc. It also is very delayed when it starts recording. I often get videos of my car parked in my driveway, still, but not of me getting out and walking inside. The video capture starts 30+ second late frequently, but not always.My biggest issue, however is that the type of temperature sensing technology used in these cameras is known to be pretty accurate within a small temperature range, but one we as humans commonly use. This type of sensor has a 2-3 degree error in a range of -5*F to 110*F but becomes less accurate beyond that. The camera is rated to -4* F on the lable, but can and has been known to withstand much more severe temps without issue, but half the reason I purchased this camera was to notify me of temperatures nearing freezing so i can move hundreds of expensive exotic plants back indoors if there is a danger of frost. The weather here is unpredictable and often off from the forecast by 20 degrees at night. (YOU CAN ONLY SET TEMP NOTIFICATIONS FROM 40* F to 90*F) this is not a sensor or hardware problem, it is a quick software fix on the app that would change with a simple update. It still shows you the temp pretty accurately much lower than freezing, but you can't get set it go notify you. The ranges it will notify you in are pointless. Most places get to 90* all summer long and that is not an issue, but maybe at 100+ degrees there is a risk of your chickens running out of water or damage to something you have stored outside, etc. And same with a need for temperatures in the much lower ranges, but if I had a 40* warning set I'd be getting woken up almost every night for 2 months in the spring here, alone. I'm fine getting woken up for 5 nights all spring long if it got to 32* and i needed to worry. Some of my plants like bananas take damage below 55 so when I move them out, I'm within the range i need it to warn me at the start of summer, but the rest of the year this feature is useless for me.Not just for me. The entire blink community is asking this same question and has been. Amazon/blink's fake robot keeps skirting around the problem blaming customers for not using the product correctly or using it outside of it's operating range or telling them to update the camera instead of answering why it is limited this badly when there's no need for it to be. If that many people are upset with this issue, I'd recommend amazon looks into and fixes it or at least explains why they choose to limit it to such a small range, or provide a pretty much feature at all and advertise it as useful when it clearly is not.Another issue, good luck popping the camera onto it's mount. Had no trouble with 2 cameras, the other 3 were impossible to pop into their mounts after mounted and one of them, no matter what. Was able to get better results swapping out mounts with cameras they did not come packaged with, but this is a reoccurring issue in the forums as well. A better mounting system would be advised to amazon as well.Wifi connectivity distance is lacking. I gave a powerful router and can connect every device I've ever owned all over my property which is not that large i have cameras mounted 20 feet from the router and/ or sync module 2 and they do not want to connect and show wifi strength very low in the app.Pros: very affordable and simple home security system, the cameras themselves, even if they don't work should at least deter some amount of criminals and they are simple, small, cordless, have decent picture and a lot of options to play around with in the settings. You can turn on cameras at will, remotely, to check on things, talk to your pets or say hi to the package delivery guy when the app notifies you he's knocking on your door asking for a signature and he can talk back. (There is a little lag).Still worth the investment, but I hope blink fixes some of these issues for later models. And the software updates allowing for the simpler non-hardware bug fixes.
Works pretty good
By Tacaño Anciano - Reviewed in the United States on December 19, 2022
Verified Amazon Purchase
Works pretty good for such a light, battery powered cam. I have one setup under the eve as a package cam and one actually wound up being setup in my 3D printer enclosure. This way I can check to see when my next spool of 3D filament just got delivered and also the progress of my latest print. I'm not home very often so its convenient for me to check in on things briefly from afar. These cams let me do that.The best thing about these cams is that they are powered by 2 AA batteries. The worst thing about these cams is that they are powered by 2 AA batteries.They communicate with the Sync Module 2, not your router so keep that in mind. Do not base cam locations on where your router(s) and access points are, base it on whether its within 100 feet of a Sync Module 2.When you setup one of the Blink cams it automatically starts a 30 day trial subscription to the web storage service and it also activates some of the cam's functionality as well. I am still within the trial period so I am not sure exactly what you can or can't do after it ends if you don't continue with a paid subscription.As you can see in my pics, you can plug a USB cable into the back but it can't be just any USB cable as shown here, it must be one specifically made for the Blink Outdoor camera. If a cable lists other Blink models or other brands of cams it will work with then it is not correct for the Blink Outdoor cam to retain its weather tight integrity. Blink sells a USB power cable for the Outdoor that is meant to be plugged into an outdoor outlet. 3rd Party vendor sells flat cables that are meant to run under/over a door or window and be plugged into an indoor outlet only. The USB port will not charge the batteries in the unit. If you intend to live-view for long periods often or record a lot of motion clips at busy locations then you should get a hard wired cam with a DVR instead of these.So far I like what I'm getting from these peace-of-mind curiosity cams. They work great with Alexa Show, Fire TV stick and my phone for viewing. It downloads backups of motion clips to the Sync Module 2 once a day that I can look at on my PC. Its my understanding that once the trial subscription runs out, some of the functionality is removed. Not sure what exactly yet but I'll update once I find out.* * UPDATE: After the 30-Day Free Trial Ends...My 30-day automatic trial subscription ended a few days ago. Gist is its pretty much the same except more cumbersome to manage clips and also can't be looking through a cam in Live-View and hit the record button to start recording anymore - it says that requires a subscription. Also, no taking pictures when in live-view either. Also clips load much slower and you have to have a clip loaded and being viewed before you can delete one. Also you can't set a schedule to delete the clips after a certain period anymore - requires the sub. So best way to delete them is to safely eject the USB and bring it to a PC and manage the files there.I got a couple of notices starting about 10 days or so prior that my subscription was going to end soon and that I would not be able to record after that if I did not purchase a subscription. Now that it has ended I noticed that I wasn't getting any motion activated notifications on my android phone and no clips to display under the Clips Tab in the app. I also notice that the Clips Tab is now only showing Local Storage (empty), prior the USB only contained Backup Clips from the web that were not listed in the app as clips and had to be viewed and managed on the PC. Tried setting off a couple of cams and their lights showed they were recording but no clips appearing on the Sync Module 2 USB. Went through all settings on all cams and Sync Module 2 and ejected and reinserted USB - still no clips showing. Sent an email off to support via the website support page stating the above. Checked the app again the next day and a cryptic message stating the module was out of sync or something came up. A minute orso later clips showed up and all has been working as far as motion being detected and clips showing up on the Sync Module 2 USB within a few minutes of such motion. No thumbnails for the clips but it does show date+time and the cam it was from.In my experience with these cams, do not set motion detection up in busy areas including your front door if you have a family, friends, pets, etc. going in and out all the time because you will fill up with lots and lots of clips very quickly. And I'm guessing run the batteries down very quickly as well. Not practical from an environmental, financial or time management aspect. I try to remember to disable the motion detection on cams I will be active around such as my garage. Only delivery people and strangers go to my front door so its not a highly active entrance for me and I'm using my cams primarily for drop-in live-viewing and not necessarily thief catching anyway.Without a subscription, the cams are working good, original batteries still ok, motion recording working to the Sync Module 2 usb drive, live view working good from the phone app, fire-tv stick and my echo shows. I have a 128 GB USB (formatted as exfat on my Win10 PC - it came from SanDisk preformatted as FAT which is not acceptable) in the Sync Module 2 and use a PC on a regular basis so motion-clip file management is not a problem for me even if the local storage management is cobbled in the app. I have 2 Blink Mini usb powered cams and they are recording motion clips to the Sync Module 2 also now that the subscription has ended. The subscription isn't a bad price btw if you want the off-site storage and extra functionality and convenience it provides.Oh yeah, I forgot to mention:A day after sending my email to customer support I got an automated response saying they received my request with an incident number saying I would be contacted soon. (by now my cams are notifying and recording ok so problem resolved) A few days after that I received a second email from Blink - asking me to rate the customer service person's response to my problem. I never received a response from customer service. Nothing. My cams are working now though so not sure if they did something on their end or what. Also not sure what's up at Blink but obviously their customer service via email is not functioning at this time. Suggest if you need help you call the phone number instead.
Great product, but….
By Mike Gerend - Reviewed in the United States on April 1, 2025
Verified Amazon Purchase
Has worked great for me in a number of places. Easy to set up, works as advertised well. Only issue is the last set I bought has an issue with synch module which can no longer be detected using auto or manual process. I know it’s a hardware issue because I’ve setup up many of these.
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