



Blink Video Doorbell & Mini Camera Review: The Perfect Addition to Your Smart Home
The Blink Video Doorbell and Mini Camera system is a robust yet simple solution for those keen on enhancing home security without exhausting their finances. Designed for versatility, the Blink Video Doorbell can be installed wire-free or wired. It touts two-way audio, gives HD video both during the day and night, and pushes motion and chime alerts to your devices in real time. Furthermore, it integrates seamlessly with Alexa, bringing smart convenience right at your doorstep. It can be linked with other Blink devices allowing a comprehensive home monitoring network, accessible through the Blink Home Monitor app. Let's delve deeper into how this product holds up according to actual user experiences.
Pros and Cons: A Deep Dive Through Customer Experiences
Quality and Performance
One of the most acknowledged features of the Blink Video Doorbell and Mini Camera is its quality. Customers are largely appreciative of both the video and audio clarity. Whether day or night, the HD quality manages to deliver crisp images, making monitoring effective and reliable. A user review highlights, "Pictures are 💯 clear and the value is great." This sentiment echoes through many reviews that have praised the device for its impeccable clarity and performance.
Pros:
- Receives high marks for clear visuals and sound quality.
- Adequate motion sensitivity; although, some users have found the motion alerts to be overly active—especially when located near a busy street.
- One significant advantage Blink holds over competitors like Ring is its ease of misalerts or false alarms with minimal incidents.
Cons:
- Somewhat limited field of view compared to more robust systems, but customers find it adequate.
Overall, the strength of Blink's quality lies in its ability to deliver consistent, reliable, and user-friendly functionality at an affordable price.
Usability and Setup
Setting up the Blink Video Doorbell and Mini Camera is another area where customers found joy and slight frustration in equal measure. Most users found the installation to be intuitive and straightforward, guided by the Blink app for both wired and wireless configurations. One reviewer stated, "The whole setup was a breeze," appreciating how user-friendly the process was after overcoming an initial learning curve involving the Sync Module and subscription services.
Pros:
- Simple to install with detailed instructions provided
- Quick integration with other Blink devices and accounts
- Flexibility to toggle between wired and wireless connections
Cons:
- Initial confusion reported with determining the necessary supplementary hardware and service purchases such as the Sync Module versus subscription plans
- A minor delay when using the remote chime feature with the Mini Camera
After initial set-up, the Blink system proves to be back-friendly with low maintenance operations, speaking volumes about its usability.
Features and Functionality
Equipped with smart technology, the Blink Video Doorbell offers diverse features aimed at ensuring a safer home environment. Most notably, it offers two-way audio so you can communicate with someone at your doorstep even if you're miles away, coupled with customizable alerts to reduce unwanted notifications.
Pros:
- Interactive two-way audio for real-time communication
- Integrated functionality with Alexa so users can view live feeds and engage with the system through an Echo Show or Fire TV
- Customizable alerts to decrease false alarms
Cons:
- Motion detector sensitivity could use added customization akin to adjusting the range for sensitivity
- Users without a Alexa-capable device may miss out on real-time push alerts to external devices without additional costs
These features emphasize the functionality and integration advantages that sit at the heart of the Blink brand.
Conclusion: To Buy or Not To Buy?
The Blink Video Doorbell and Mini Camera undeniably hold their own as a competitively priced, feature-rich home security option. Based on customer feedback, the system delivers exceptional quality video and audio with the flexibility of configurations. The initial setup hurdles aside, it offers solid performance and integration capabilities, making it a worthwhile consideration for those in the market for a comprehensive yet budget-friendly security system.
In summation, the Blink Video Doorbell and Mini Camera are highly recommended for a combination of ease of use, quality of the content captured, and inter-device connectivity. Users benefit from real-time interaction and intelligent alert systems, vital for ensuring peace of mind. While there are areas for improvement, particularly in motion sensitivity settings, the positives substantially outweigh the cons, making this product one that's true to its purpose.
Specification Blink Video Doorbell (Black) + Mini Camera (Black) | Two-Way Audio, HD Video, Motion and Chime Alerts | Works with Alexa:
Comments from Amazon:
These two products are great quality! I wish I knew before I just bought these two products. Before you buy there things you need to know.. The blink camera that goes on the door, you MUST by the sync module for it to give you live feed. The regular camera that goes inside will give you live feed. No issue there. The one outside that goes on the door will not. The only time it will get live feed is when you hit the blink button if someone is at door. Other wise you MUST buy sync module it’s another attachment that will give live feed. After buying the sync module there was no issue with system operations. ALSO if you want live feed on the outside or recording. You need to spend more money on a monthly subscription. Which is inexpensive. But overall it’s a good product and I am happy with it. Just wish they put the information in the description of all the equipment that is needed so you’re not trying to figure it all out yourself.
I installed the doorbell on battery power only. I have read some reviews that said the batteries died after a few days but I have not found that to be the case for me so far after 2 weeks. I do have it connected to the Sync module 2 which is supposed to extend battery life when using the live video . However I don’t get very many clips and don’t use the live video very often. One thing I don’t like is the delay of the Doorbell chime on the mini camera I have attached to it. If I ring the doorbell it takes about 5 seconds to ring on the chime. But that could also be the internet. As far a the mini camera , I got it to replace a Ring ( tired of subscription fees) . The view isn’t as wide as the Ring but sufficient and the audio and video are equal or better. Plus I got many false triggers with the Ring and have had none with the Blink. Both the doorbell and mini pick up motion immediately and are simple to install. Overall very satisfied so far. Like the whole Blink system as I have added and outside floodlight camera and a separate camera.
The only quibble I have with this product is that the motion detector alerts every time a car or person goes by on the street, which is about 50 ft away. The street isn't that busy, but still... I have to keep that function disabled. Perhaps there's a motion sensitivity setting I haven't discovered? Other than that - it's easy to install and configure, and works well. I can see who is ringing the bell, which is the main thing I bought it for. All said, I do recommend this product and would buy again.
I never see doorbell like this, is the perfect camera, the connectivity is easy,picture is 💯 clear,value for money .recommended
like this product so far very clear pics
Best product, easy to install, detects motion,great wuuality,great night vision and sound.battery life is great
This is an incredible deal for what it is. I have been more than satisfied with this product. I was deciding between the blink and the ring doorbell, and I’m glad that I chose the blink. The whole blink system is very well integrated with all of their products, and everything works together quite seemlessly. You can also use the blink mini camera as a chime for your doorbell, if you choose to not wire it to your existing doorbell sound. I did this, and it’s quite nice. When someone rings my doorbell, it pops up as a notification on my phone, as well as shows a live feed on my Echo Show 8 and rings a chime on my blink mini. I can view any of the cameras from any device with a screen, including my living room TV since I have a Fire Stick. I highly recommend the Blink home security ecosystem in general, it’s really great. It was a little difficult to understand in the beginning what hardware I would actually need, but once I figured it out and bought it all the setup was a breeze. I was initially confused (like many others) about the Sync Module 2 versus the paid subscription to the app. I ended up getting a sync module as well as paying for the pro version of the app. It’s only $10, and it lets you connect unlimited devices. This is great for me as I have 7 different cameras that need to be connected. Do yourself a favor and buy this, you won’t be disappointed. PS.. This pairs very well with the Echo Show 8.