Blink Home Security Camera Review

Unboxing and Setup

Blink Packaging

We ordered two cameras but received three boxes. Here’s why that matters for your budget. The Outdoor 4 requires a Sync Module, which acts as the brain of your system. It connects Blink cameras to each other and your Wi-Fi network. Since you only need one Sync Module for several cameras, Blink’s pricing gets even lower if you buy multiple cameras.

The Sync Module does complicate setup slightly. First, we connected it to our Wi-Fi router, then paired each camera to the hub. It only took about five minutes, though we did spend some time finding the optimal spot for the module. While Blink claims a 100-foot range, real-world performance through walls limited us to about 70 to 80 feet for reliable connectivity.

Blink Indoor Equipment

The installation process actually got easier from there. Once we scanned the QR codes on the boxes, complete instructions popped up on our app. We had to give each device a name – we went with Fred and Barney – and the app synced everything up for us from there.

Here’s the clever part about Blink’s hub system. Offloading the Wi-Fi connection to the Sync Module reduces the amount of power the cameras consume. This is how the Blink Outdoor 4 lasts up to two years on just two two AA lithium batteries. That’s roughly four times longer than you’ll get from competitors. During our testing period, battery levels barely budged, validating these impressive claims.

The only cameras we can recall that had an easier setup were from Wyze Cams. In fact, there’s a lot of commonality between these two brands. As a starting point, if you’re into simple wireless tech, you’ll appreciate both Blink and Wyze. Not only do they resemble each other somewhat in appearance, the cameras also cost less than much of the competition. We’re going back to talking about Blink now, but if you’re interested, you can find more on Wyze in our hands-on Wyze Cam review.

What struck us most about Blink? You’d have to try to make a mistake to have a tough time installing Blink cameras. The Blink Home Monitor app (available on iOS and Android) handles all the technical stuff behind the scenes. Just follow the prompts and you’re recording in minutes.

>>Dig Deeper: Guide to choosing home security cameras

Making Adjustments

Setup was easy enough. Fine-tuning these cameras was more of a challenge. They required more than pairing them with our mobile devices and syncing Wi-Fi passwords. We want cameras that let us make adjustments, though.

The more control you have over your home security equipment, the easier it is to be sure it’s all going to work the way you need it to. Ultimately, that’s going to keep you safer. Blink cameras offer tons of useful features, and they afford you tons of control over your security. It’s no easy task mastering that control, but once you do, your home will be far more secure from all threats.

Blink App – Video History

First up, dialing in your camera’s motion sensitivity. You need that sweet spot between catching real threats and avoiding notification overload. Case in point – our neighbor’s tabby cat treats our porch like her personal afternoon spa. With the default sensitivity, we get bombarded with “motion detected” alerts during work meetings. But if we set the sensitivity too low, we might miss important events.

We also spent time tweaking our Outdoor 4’s night vision settings to work with our existing porch lights. Plus, we had to decide between cloud storage and local storage via USB drive connected to the Sync Module. Yes, it took patience to get everything just right. Now these cameras work exactly how we need them to, and we understand every setting inside and out.

Expert Examined

From Joshua Lee, Active-duty Police Sergeant

“The motion sensors need to be set up correctly or expect to receive too many or not enough alerts. This is exactly what happened to one of my victims of a residential burglary. He received too many alerts, so he adjusted his sensors to be less sensitive. In this case, the burglar crawled on the ground and made his way to the side window where he gained entry to the home.”

Blink Mini – No Stand

Blink Mini 2: The Full Experience

Blink Mini on Table

The Blink Mini 2 is small enough to go virtually anywhere – from end tables to bookshelves. We tucked ours behind a plant that sits near the TV so visitors would be less likely to notice it. We tested the 1080p HD version, although there’s a new 2K Mini 2 available if you want better resolution.

Don’t let its compact size fool you. The Mini 2 packs all the essential security features you need. At $40 (often on sale for less), it’s genuinely accessible to almost any budget. That’s a refreshing change in an industry where many “budget” cameras still cost $100+.

Blink Mini Resolution

The Mini 2 delivers crisp 1080p HD video that matched our expectations for this price point. We could easily identify delivery drivers, recognize neighbors, and yes, count the boxes of Thin Mints when the Girl Scouts came calling. The clarity impressed us, especially considering the tiny form factor.

It’s worth pointing out that the Mini’s resolution fluctuates depending on the strength of the Wi-Fi signal. It can also be lower than 1080p HD. That’s by design, though. This “fluid video,” as Blink calls it helps to keep playback smooth and glitch-free.

Motion Sensitivity

Here’s where the Mini 2 shows its budget roots. The default sensitivity caught everything – leaves blowing, shadows shifting, even our curtains moving from the AC. After tweaking the settings, we found the adjustment options surprisingly limited. While testing the Blink Mini camera, we eventually settled on a medium-high sensitivity that caught important events but still triggered occasional false positives.

Blink Mini and Stand

To be fair, the Blink Mini is a $40 camera. You’re just not going to get the same features from a $40 camera that you’d get from a $350 camera. The fact that it allows for any motion sensitivity adjustment at all is a pretty big win. Where it counts – ensuring we got alerts when the camera picked up motion – this camera never let us down.

Self-Monitoring With the Mini

Blink doesn’t offer any type of professional monitoring, so when it came to responding to alerts from our Blink Mini, we were strictly on our own. To its credit, Blink provided us with everything we needed to monitor our own system. That includes real-time alerts and access to both live and recorded footage any time.

Wired Installation

The Mini 2’s power cord limits placement flexibility compared to battery-powered alternatives. However, it keeps the camera smaller and cheaper. It’s just, finding that perfect angle near an outlet takes some creativity. We ended up running the white cable along our baseboards where it practically disappears. For indoor use where outlets are plentiful, we think the trade-off is worth it.

Blink Mini with Stand

The bottom line with the Blink Mini is that it doesn’t include all the features of Blink’s other models, but it packs a powerful punch and, thanks to an intuitive app, it’s every bit as convenient as those other models. We think it can make an excellent addition to any system. In fact, it’s cheap enough that you can add multiple minis to your system. After all, the more areas you have eyes on, the safer you’re going to be.

That said, if you’re looking for slick features like activity zones, person detection, and facial recognition, Google Nest Cam review is another great place to look. Sure, the cheapest Nest Cam costs $99, more than twice as much as the Blink Mini, but you’ll get AI-powered features such as those mentioned above. Just something to consider in case the Blink Mini leaves you wanting for more.

A Quick Comparison

To put the Mini 2’s value in perspective, let’s compare it to its closest rival – the Wyze Cam v3. Both target the ultra-budget segment, but each makes different compromises to hit that price point.

Blink Outdoor 4

Here’s a close up look of our Blink Outdoor 4

The Outdoor 4 takes everything we liked about the Mini and weatherproofs it for outside use. There’s even a 2K model of it, too. Its matte black finish helps it blend into most exteriors, and the minimalist design doesn’t scream “security camera” to potential intruders. We think of it as the Mini’s tougher sibling – same DNA, just built for the elements.

Night Vision With Blink

At the risk of rehashing old grievances, night vision was pretty weak in our hands-on Blink Outdoor camera experience. In an outdoor camera, this is a bit of a letdown.

The infrared night vision works adequately for basic detection. We could tell when someone approached our door or when that neighborhood cat made its nightly rounds. However, facial details at 20+ feet proved difficult to pick out. The image gets grainy and washed out, especially compared to Ring’s stellar low-light performance.

You’ll find better night vision in one of the Ezviz cameras we reviewed recently, but generally, a camera with exceptional night vision needs some integrated lighting feature to do its best work. (Visit our Reolink Argus 3 Pro review for a really stellar night vision experience.)

Good news – Blink now offers solutions. Their LED floodlight mount ($40) transforms the Outdoor 4’s night footage from murky black-and-white to surprisingly clear color video. There’s also the hardwired Floodlight Cam at $100 if you don’t mind some electrical work. We tested the floodlight mount and the difference was dramatic.

Blink also offers a solar panel mount that keeps the Outdoor 4 charged indefinitely. At $50, it’s pricey, but eliminates battery anxiety completely. During our month-long test in partly cloudy weather, the solar panel kept our camera consistently charged.

Smart Home Limitations

As an Amazon brand, Blink doesn’t work with Google Home or Apple HomeKit, but its integration with Alexa is solid.

We streamed footage from all of our Blink cameras on our Alexa devices

The Alexa integration actually impressed us. Simple voice commands like “Alexa, show me the front door” instantly pulled up our Outdoor 4’s feed on our Echo Show. We even created routines that automatically displayed cameras when motion was detected. This is super handy when cooking dinner and the doorbell rings.

If you need a camera with broader integration with platforms like Google Home, IFTTT, and Samsung SmartThings, check out our review of Reolink’s cameras. They made a dedicated smart home tab in their mobile app making it easy to connect their cameras to your smart home ecosystem.

Smart home challenges aside, Blink Outdoor redeems itself in other areas, exhibiting the same strengths that made me a fan of the brand in the first place: Fluid video resolution at up to 1080p; seamless two-way talk; customizable motion detection; and that easy installation Blink is famous for.

Wide Field of View

Blink upgraded the field of view from 110 degrees on older models to an expansive 143 degrees. That extra coverage makes a huge difference in practice.

For instance, our driveway and front walkway form an L-shape. With the old Outdoor 3’s narrower view, we needed two cameras to cover both areas. The Outdoor 4’s wider lens captures everything from a single mounting point. That means one less camera to buy, install, and maintain.

Here’s one of the two Blink Outdoor 3’s we needed to cover our frontyard and driveway

Person Detection

The Outdoor 4 finally brings AI-powered person detection to Blink’s lineup. However, you’ll need the Blink Plus subscription at $11.99/month for unlimited cameras (or $3.99/month for one camera). In our testing, person detection accurately filtered out 90 percent of false alerts from cars, animals, and wind-blown branches. Worth every penny if you ask us.

A Note on Blink and Pet Monitoring

We think it’s worth pointing out that these cameras are not ideal as pet monitors. While they’re sensitive to most types of motion out of the box, none of the Blink cameras were triggered by our family dog, as wiggly and rambunctious as he is. It’s not the camera’s intended use, but we still wanted to point it out.

Fortunately, there’s a camera or two out there that handles this much better. As noted when we tested and reviewed YI’s Home 3 camera, the camera seemed to enjoy sending entertaining recordings of said pup in all sorts of precarious positions – no app tinkering needed. Keep in mind, too, this camera costs $20, so there isn’t much tinkering to be done, anyway.

Who knows, maybe the dog ate jumping beans that day. But it’s just something you might pick up from time to time when comparing home security companies. Motion sensors sometimes work in mysterious ways.

The Blink Mini 2, which has the same video quality as the Outdoor 4, gave us clear daytime footage

Snapshot of Blink’s Pricing

Yes, Wyze undercuts Blink on price with $36 outdoor cameras. That extra money with Blink gets you rock-solid reliability, better app stability, and an incredible two-year battery life. After testing both extensively, Wyze wins on price alone while Blink delivers better overall value.

Blink also sweetens the deal with multi-camera bundles. A three-camera system with one Sync Module costs less than $200. That’s roughly $63 per camera instead of $80. Amazon Prime Day and Black Friday bring even steeper discounts, sometimes 40 percent off or more. For all the details, check out our Blink Camera pricing page or head over to the latest rundown of Blink Prime Day deals and discounts.

Blink’s Latest Pricing Overview:

Video Storage Options

Blink Sync Module

Blink used to offer free cloud storage, but those days are gone. Still, their paid plans are some of the most affordable in the industry. At $3.99/month for one camera or $11.99/month for unlimited cameras, Blink undercuts most competitors by up to 50 percent. Annual plans save even more – just $39.99/year for single camera coverage.

That said, cloud storage is completely optional. We found that you can connect a USB drive (up to 256GB) to your Sync Module 2 for free local storage. We tested this with a spare 128GB thumb drive and it worked flawlessly. It stored about two months of event clips from three cameras before overwriting old footage.

Here’s a full breakdown of your options.

Blink Cloud Storage Plans

Expert Examined

From Joshua Lee, Active-duty Police Sergeant

“Any time law enforcement can access the video in real-time or as close to real-time, the better. I remember a domestic violence call where the witness was watching the assault as it was happening and was able to give us an accurate description, explain what was happening, and guide officers to the right area. When the suspect heard our sirens, he ran away and hid in a neighbor’s trashcan. Since the witness watched the entire thing, he told us exactly where we needed to go.”

Our Final Verdict on Blink Cameras

Blink Mini (left) and Blink Indoor (right) Cameras

After weeks of testing, we can confidently say Blink nails the fundamentals of home security without the premium price tag. These aren’t the most advanced cameras on the market. You won’t find AI facial recognition or package detection. However, for basic, reliable security monitoring that won’t drain your bank account, Blink absolutely delivers.

Of course, if you’re looking for high-tech options like facial recognition or even smart detection, you’re going to be disappointed. Ultimately, though, Blink cameras are workhorses that put home security within reach of virtually everyone.

To summarize, here’s what we think Blink’s strengths and weaknesses are.

Strengths:

• Hassle-free setup
• Long-lasting battery life
• Fluid video quality that adjusts automatically to provide smooth live view
• Affordable cloud options
• Affordable equipment
• Intuitive app

Weaknesses:

• Basic features (no smart detection for most models)
• Only decent video quality
• Poor night vision
• The need for a Sync Module (except the Blink Mini)

Now it’s your turn to decide. Do the pros outweigh the cons? Will Blink work in your home setup?

FAQs about Blink Cameras