Edit to original review (below): Blink customer service reached out to me after I left a 3 star review for the reasons below and ultimately sent me a replacement camera. So far the new camera is working well so maybe I got a bad unit the first time. 6 stars for Blink customer service! Original Review: This camera goes “offline” about every other day and killed its batteries in 2 months. It’s not reliable at all. When it works it has great video quality and it’s cool that it rings through your doorbell and Alexa but that’s only when it decides to work. I tried all the troubleshooting steps online and contacted Blink customer support but they were useless. Now I am stuck with the thing because I bought the annual package. Save up your money and buy a better brand of doorbell camera.

I am a long-time user of Blink, meaning I am in the "grandfathered" set of customers with free, limited cloud storage for video. Overall, I think if you are already a Blink customer, this is a good addition to your system. Install: I needed one of those "wedges" that turns the camera to face out and using that, the install was pretty simple. I agree with the people that noted that the back plate it comes with (which you still use when installing the wedge) is a little cheap and janky. But the wedge is more sturdy and the resulting install is probably a little bit more solid and better than if I had just mounted the flat plate to the wall. You do need a good sized piece of flat wood to screw everything into. This is not going to mount well to raw siding, curved trim pieces around doors etc. You'd have to attach a small board to the surface of anything like that and then mount it to that board. Power vs. batteries: I have one of those wired doorbells that is old-school, with the metal strikers that hit little chimes, not a digital doorbell. This apparently matters because you need more power and a slightly larger transformer to drive one of those doorbells. In turn, that means the transformer has enough power to power the blink doorbell. If you have a digital doorbell you may (or may not) need to rely on the battery for the cameras. It all depends on how big the transformer for your existing, wired doorbell is. During the setup it asks you what kind of doorbell you have, and has a fairly sophisticated set of settings to make sure that when it sends a signal to the physical doorbell it is sending the correct amount of power to strike the chimes correctly. Set-up: Very easy and painless, almost exactly the same as setting up a regular blink camera. Put in the batteries, scan the QR code, it finds the camera, links it to your existing system/sync module and you are ready to go. Motion Sensor: If you are already pretty familiar with Blink cameras, you know they can come with one of two kinds of sensors to detect motion. Camera based sensors that just detect changes in the picture and more traditional sensors that only detect actual, physical movement. The cheaper Blink mini only has a camera based sensor, while the more expensive units only detect actual physical movement with a dedicated motion sensor. Both kinds of sensors can be triggered falsely by something like blowing leaves, but the camera-based sensors cannot distinguish changes in shadows and light from actual movement and so they have much higher rates of false detection. Unfortunately, the blink doorbell appears to only have the cheaper detector that can be fooled by changes in light. It does, however, have a more sophisticated, narrower grid of zones you can exclude from movement than the older Blink mini. How much this matters to you is going to depend on where you plan to stick the camera - if you point your doorbell camera directly at a busy road and don't lock out the parts of the image that covers the road, you will get constant alerts from every car that goes by, or every person walking on the sidewalk, etc. So think carefully about where the camera will sit and whether you want one of those wedges to tilt the direction of the thing to keep the camera aimed only at places where you actually want it to detect motion. Video quality: Very good, with a wide angle, almost fish-eye lens, so you get very good broad coverage of the area you are pointing the camera at. There is also a microphone that records sound while you are recording video and it seems to work ok as well. In theory you can use the thing to have a two-way conversation with whoever is at the door, but I haven't tried that yet. I am, overall, very happy with the camera quality for the price here. Sound Chime/notifications: When you push the doorbell, a chime inside the module itself goes off. It is reasonably loud and lets the person ringing the doorbell know they definitely rang it. The light on the button also lights up briefly to confirm the chime was pressed. Would you, sitting inside the house, hear the chime the doorbell makes outside? Probably, if you are in a small, quiet house. Would you hear it down in the basement of a large house with the TV or music on? Absolutely not. So if you are not hooking this up to an existing doorbell with a properly loud internal chime, then you will want to have it hooked up to your Alexa. I don't use Alexa so didn't test that feature. You do get a notification on your phone, when somebody rings the bell, but I think most people will want either a hard wired connection or an Alexa connected to this thing to make sure they always hear the doorbell. What don't I like? I wish it had the same motion detection sensors as the larger blink cameras. I would have paid more to get that. Because it uses the camera to sense motion there are places where it really won't give good results. So think very carefully about where you will place this, how often the wind will blow trees and create moving shadows within the motion detection zone, etc. It is annoying that even when the device is hard-wired, the light around the doorbell button isn't constantly lit. Just as if it were only running on batteries, it only lights up when you press the button. Not a huge deal in my installation, but if you don't have a porch light on, your doorbell will not be obvious to visitors. It is particularly odd that they put a red LED into the thing which apparently has no purpose other than in the initial setup. The design would be much better if the lighted ring around the button was always lit and then it flashed or turned red when you pressed it. It appears all of the hardware necessary to do that is in the device, but it is not programmed that way. I get that when the device isn't hardwired you don't want the button lit, but when it is powered it really should be lit in the dark. For $50, this thing is ok. If you get it on sale, then it is a good deal, at least if you are an existing Blink customer. I am surprised that they killed off the little bit of free cloud storage for new customers. That can't cost very much to provide these days and it was the key differentiator between Blink and some of these other companies that provide more elaborate, high-priced options. Blink's claim to fame is that it works well enough and is cheap. But if you have to pay a bunch of money for cloud storage no matter what, I would probably look at the more expensive options vs. Blink. It stops being a compelling value once you start having to pay for video storage.

Blink's video doorbell offers a convenient and reliable way to monitor your home's entrance. Its easy to install and integration into the Blink app ecosystem, you can quickly set up and start using the device. The video quality is decent, providing clear images during the day, and the infrared night vision ensures visibility in low-light conditions. The motion detection feature is responsive, sending alerts to your smartphone when activity is detected at your door. One downside is that it requires a subscription for cloud storage to access and save recorded video clips. Overall, Blink's video doorbell is a practical choice for those seeking a straightforward and affordable home security solution.

I have never such an indebt review, but I spent a whole year going through doorbells. I will start from the beginning of my experience. I will list the 3 main doorbells I bought, Why I bought them, what I didn't like about them and why I returned them and the refund process. This is what I was looking for in a doorbell. Also, I learned through out the process what was more important for my needs. It needed to be Wireless for easy insulation. Good night vision. Good AI detection, a separate chime for indoor, remote monitoring, a long lasting battery, Elderly friendly & easy to use, and one of the most important needs were budget. I didn't want to spend a big amount on the doorbell, Then, spend money on a app, cloud subscription, separate chime, & Alexa. I was buying these for my grandparents. They do not understand having subscriptions for everything nowadays, but has to be easy to understand and use. EKEN wireless doorbell and Chime; Bought on February 13, 2023. The reasons I bought it were, said it was free and no subscription, indoor chime, and the price. After buying this one I really learned what was important and if things seem to good to be true they probably are, duh right. First off, the app is free to downloads but is not free after that. There is a monthly app fee and cloud storage free. Also, the app is a Chinese app. its complicating and not user friendly. I got notifications every time a car went by. it was annoying. I only could see the street. It didn't show any of my drive but the very end. Only worked with 2.4 Wi-Fi. You could only have one indoor chime connected and it was not loud enough. One of my most annoying facts about this doorbell was I had to charge it every week! I live in rural area and I couldn't imagine how soon I would have to charge living in the city. I returned EKEN on September 19, 2023 because it quit working. It would no longer connect to the internet or the chime. it was frozen for weeks. In the end I'm glad it gave out because it was really more of a nightmare and not free like they say! I paid $46 for this doorbell. Blink Wired/Wireless Doorbell; Bought on July 31, 2023. I really had high hopes for this one. This one was the most misleading, very vague information, and the hardest to get a refund on. This is not a wireless Doorbell. For it to really work with out an Alexa, google home or some kind of in home system you have to wire it. There is no indoor Chime. You are not told about Sync Module when buying. The app is free but cloud storage is not and you need locally storage with the Sync Module 2 and USB drive (each sold separately). I was not aware of this when I bought it. However, with out an Alexa I couldn't even get it set up and use it and get the local storage later. I thought we could use the app like every other doorbell but with out the Alexa you will get no notifications. It doesn't say when I returned it, but I remember them telling me after a non-pleasant- conversation to keep the product and we will refund you. If you are wondering... no, you can not take it home and hook it up to your Alexa. they disable it unfortunately , 😒🤣. I paid $60 for this. Eufy Security, Battery Video Doorbell C210 Kit, Wi-Fi Connectivity, 1080p, 120-Day Battery, No Subscription, AI Detection, Wireless Chime Included, 2-Way Audio, Remote Monitoring for Apartment Living; Bought on November 5, 2023. I waited till the doorbell died for the first time to write the review. after the first one it was really important to me for it to have a reasonable length in a battery! I charged it for the first time for a good amount of time. The first's charge is always the most important on any battery powered electronics. It died on 2/15/24. The battery lasted 100 days with moderately amount of use. I am very happy with it. It does not take long to charge back up either. I am not getting a notification every time a car goes by either. The AI in the doorbell works really well on telling me when someone is here or when there is activity. Great night vision. One of my Favorite is it came with a free angle piece! so I see my whole driveway and street. The house is a normal ranch house so the driveway is 'normally' placed 😂 none of the other doorbells came with a angle piece and the insulation looks great. There is a piece it snaps in-to, so, no thief can run off with it and protects it from water. Moreover, ITs free! The app is free and the chime is also a storage device! The chime is loud and has more then one chime. I did have to buy a memory card for the storage. In the reviews I read it said It has to be SanDisk 128GB Ultra microSDXC UHS-I Memory Card with Adapter - 120MB/s, C10, U1, Full HD, A1, Micro SD Card - SDSQUA4-128G-GN6MA. You can have a lower GB but nothing higher then 128GB. I have had no problems with it its just a basic memory card but works great with doorbell. I have had no problems with doorbell or local storage and chime. The app is super elderly friendly and easy to use. the company brags about being budget friendly. Eufy says, "No Subscription Required: Designed to protect your home as well as your wallet, Eufy security products are one-time purchases that combine security with convenience." I have no complaints with this product. I had to spend more money with this one but because I don't have to pay for a subscription, app fee, and cloud storage (storage is after the moment of doorbell going off being able to see it) I paid $99.99 with a $20 coupon. The memory card was $13.88. With doorbell and everything included, memory card, and coupon & tax; I paid $100.91. I Know this a long review, but if I could save someone a year of wasting time on doorbells I hope I can help!

Product set up was easy. However, if you think the product is going to be used painlessly, I’ve ran into several problems. First - I have a high speed network that is super stable. I’ve checked wifi signal to the device and it is immaculate. I can have someone ring my doorbell, it will alert me no problem, but there is a 55 to 1:36 second delay from when I try to view the camera to see who’s there. Was expecting a little much from the product I guess. And it’s not a large home it’s attached to, whole house is 900 square feet, and there is a single wall between the router - so it’s not a connectivity issue nor a electrical interference issue. I can reliably connect to my wifi from the edge of the driveway with zero problems, and signal strength at 80%. Update 6/20/2024 Was a faulty unit! Latency has improved after RMA. Thanks again Kevin!

In the process of automating my home, and finally got around to adding a video doorbell. Awhile back I decided to go with amazon, mostly because the non-internet version (hubitat) I settled with was too involved a process to set up, and required more attention. I'm gone alot, and have a truckload of things to do when I get home, so I literally don't have the time to mess with something like that. Enter Alexa's repertoire of things I can utilize. Since I'm already subscribed to pretty much everything amazon has, may as well just go all in, right? Anyhow, item came in a day early (surprising, since I live in the middle of nowhere) along with my tp-link mesh system. Pretty much doing a tech overhaul at my house. Got rid of Starlink (great service, but support sucks in general) since spectrum entered into the area and signed up with them. Starlink uses just a single wireless router if you don't want to spend more $ for additional hardware. And then there's other issues I just didn't want to subject myself. I digress.... Set up the mesh system, got spectrum running, and started connecting things. First thing was the doorbell. This to me is still a novel thing. Yes I know its been around for awhile now, but remember, i'm doing a tech overhaul here. Didn't bother with such things before, nor cared too much about em. So, after some thinking, I installed it at the traditional place (front door), and used the wedge to angle it a bit to catch the front sidewalk. Connected it to the mesh system (took a minute, as I was unfamiliar with the system). It pretty much installs itself. It's all run off the phone as far as configuring and whatnot. You WILL be required to install the blink app. It's not part of the amazon app. Not sure why, ask Jeff about that one. Sync module is a no brainer, just follow the directions. Here's the interesting part. I don't need yet another subscription, so I opted out of the cloud storage thing. With the app, you can pull clips off the sync module using your phone, and do whatever you want with them anyhow, don't need a sub to get it. Save yourself a few dollars and go the route I went. Get a usb stick. HOWEVER, I didn't get a usb stick just for the sync module. I have a microsd storage card (350 gig) from my previous phone that I couldn't use in my new one (fold 5), so it just sat around being randomly used as a transfer tool between pc's. So why not use it as storage for the module? Well, I plugged it into a sd card multireader and stuck it into the module... AND IT WORKS. Amazon states max is 250, but I've got an extra 100 gigs with my microsd card :) Will tech support help if it breaks down? Doubt it. The research I did says that although higher capacity cards may or may not work in the module, support is limited to cards with a max of 250 gigs. Not sure how that works out, but I don't write software so whatever. Long story short, camera works great. Fiddle with the sensitivity though. I set it too high (lvl 7) and got alerts from the clouds going by. Dropped it to 6, but its too dark to tell if that helped. In the end, i'm happy with my purchase. Quality is great, and does what it says it's supposed to do. Good luck!

I recently decided to replace my Google Nest Doorbell which I have been using for several years now. As much as I wanted to love the the Nest, my experience with their products, or actually their Home App to control their products has been less than desirable. Besides being fussy with reconnecting to WiFi when it goes down for more than a few minutes, Google has a bad habit of releasing app updates that cause their devices to either no longer connect to the network, or refuse to connect with their servers and thus require the devises to be uninstalled and reinstalled to the app. Let's just say this is a long and arduous process that does not always work (like recently) and in many cases my Nest devices become unusable until Google decides to release a new app that corrects the problem (which can take weeks or longer). So after reviewing a number of other devices, I settled on Blink because it offers an option for storage/live access that does not require a monthly subscription. Installation, setup and use of the Blink doorbell so far has been easy and the only issue so far is the slight delay in receiving motion/doorbell ring notifications and the time it takes to pull up the live feed sometimes. Love that the device uses long life disposals AA lithium batteries instead of a non-replaceable rechargeable battery. Once I replace my old doorbell chime & transformer, I will likely wire the doorbell to it so it uses the battery for backup power. Next will be to add some of the Blink Outdoor Camera 4 to my system and seeing how these work over time.

We bought 2 of these - because our house didn't have working doorbells ... and we couldn't hear people at the door. And that was a problem. We got them activated, then it took a little while before we could get them installed. I think we missed our 2 week free trial entirely. But, it takes a while to get things done while unpacking. The day we put them up, we lost internet for 3 days. They don't work without internet. Finally, we had them up and running. They are S L O W .... I watched the mailman ring the doorbell ... set down the packages ... and leave. As the truck was driving away, my phone chimed ... about 20 seconds. My son has enjoyed them. He can talk with me from the garage door or front door. I can open the Blink app to watch the live video. My husband even gets the doorbell while he is driving around town. Maybe we need to get the services that go with these ... I didn't think about extra monthly charges when I ordered them.... service is by Blink, a company of Amazon. My "Show" doesn't seem to be able to connect to the devices .. one of the big reasons that we chose Blink doorbells is so we could see them from our Show devices. Overall, not impressed. I've never gotten the motion detection to work. Night vision has not been tested. But since they are fully installed, I'm not removing them to send them back. Update after nearly 3 months: Great: You can talk to people IF you open the app. But having the app open all the time is hard on your phone batteries. Easy to install We are still on the first batteries, and the front gets a lot of traffic. It is easy to pause them if you plan to work near the camera range to avoid constant notifications. (ONCE you know where to find it on the app) If your app is working. It can be fun to scare the kids working near the camera... "I see you!" Ahem. It can be great tool to talk to the person at the door. Especially if you don't want to open the door. The range of vision is HUGE. The resolution is great. You can usually get good details. The Ugly: The delay is so long, that people sometimes walk away before you know that they arrived. They hear the bell. You hear it 10 to 20 seconds later IF you have sound up on your phone. No matter how hard I've tried, it doesn't really interact with my Echo Show. That connection seems to do nothing. I expected it to act like an indoor doorbell, and then show me the camera view. I expect my dots to chime. But nothing happens. Images only show on the app cloud storage. You can buy a device to store data at home. But I wish I could view the picture from the doorbell 2 minutes later when I get the notification! Which leads to ... you HAVE to get that subscription if you want this to function as a camera. NEED TO IMPROVE: They need a dedicated box you can mount inside the house that has a loud CHIME when the doorbell is pushed. OR get this feature to work with your dedicated Alexia devices. Doorbell is pretty worthless if the only person who hears it is the person who pushed the doorbell. .... Yeah, it chimes OUTSIDE! Need to be able to pull open the app and activate the camera to see outside on demand (like I do with the Blink mini cameras).

Seriously? The “wired” version still needs batteries? Wish I had read the specs closer before purchasing, though supposedly the 2 AA Energizer Lithium Ultimate batteries may last up to 2 years if you: 1. Purchase the Synch 2 module to reduce WIFI power 2. Use the default settings which limit each video capture to 10 seconds (which may not be enough time to see someone even step on to your porch). And not retrigger again for another 10 seconds if motion is still detected. 3. Don’t use the “live” view often. 4. Live in an cold climate that may limit current output on extremely cold days. However, many on-line comments say their batteries only last a matter of months. If the Blink doorbell is going to be mounted in an unshaded area, you might want to consider getting the white one instead of black, so it doesn't overheat on a hot day. Here is what I like about the Blink doorbell video camera with the Synch module 2 system: 1. It is one of the less expensive doorbell camera systems, which is primarily why I purchased it. 2. It gives you some free on-line cloud storage without a monthly subscription plan. And/or can store locally with a USB drive. 3. It can work with your old chime doorbell and wires. 4. It can work in an interactive video/audio mode with someone at the door, although it seems to have an initial 5 -10 or more second delay to start the video view, and then a 2 or more second delay each way in communication. 5. It can send your phone motion and doorbell pressing alerts, though the delay seems to vary from 1 second to several minutes. (But if using your phone, you obviously need it with you, and not silenced, and not in a disabled FOCUS mode to receive the alerts.) 6. It can work with Alexa. 7. Doorbell installation was fairly easy, although they do not leave much internal room between the baseplate and the camera for the wires and wire nuts. 8. Wi-Fi connection was easy. 9. The Wi-Fi connection seems to be dependable so far (though I have only used it a few days now). Here is what I don’t like: 1. The “wired” version still needs batteries (though they might possibly last 2 years). 2. The base plate has weather stripping so can form a waterproof seal, and the Blink camera is waterproof, but there is a gap between the two so water can still enter the base housing and wires anyway. I ran a strip of black electrical tape around the top and sides of the gap (leaving the bottom open for drainage) to try to seal that – I just hope I can get the tape off later to replace the batteries. 3. There can be a rather large delay in notifications when someone rings the doorbell. Some reviews say up to 25 seconds. I have found it varies from 1 second to several minutes, though rebooting my iPhone (as per an online suggestion) did seem to help enormously, and it now seems to notify usually within several seconds. 4. Although you can adjust the video capture time after the camera senses motion, the battery saving default time of 10 seconds often is not long enough for someone to even reach the porch. And since it won’t re-trigger for another at least 10 seconds, you may not even record them taking a package from your porch. 5. The Synch 2 module does not have an internal chime. You either need a wired chime, or an Alexa speaker, another blink mini camera, or your phone to be alerted. 6. Am not crazy about the aspect ratio. You can see 135º horizontal but only 80º vertical. You can see the face of the majority of callers but may not see the face of someone tall, or someone standing close to the doorbell, and you cannot see packages on the porch. 7. The camera resolution is adequate, but the dynamic range is a bit lacking. If someone is standing in shadow on your porch on a bright day, the background will be very bright and the callers face will be very dark.

Update : Within a couple days (maybe even 1 day?) of posting my initial review, a customer service rep (Kevin, very helpful) emailed me. He asked if I could turn the Customer Support Access option on, so they could access the device and go over the system logs (he said they would not gain access to video or audio, but I can't verify that). After doing so, they got back to me the next day and let me know my device was "experiencing an issue that could be related to a hardware failure." After giving them my mailing address, I received a replacement doorbell camera about a week later, with a return label for my old camera. I got the new one added to my network and installed, and am now getting recordings of people that walk up to my door. On motion sensitivity setting 5, it was notifying me of seemingly every car driving by. Due to my mailbox being at the gate by the sidewalk, and having the detection zone set to see my mailbox and car, I can't really avoid getting the cars passing by. I tested it on setting 4, but then rarely got any notifications or recordings of people, even myself, walking to or from the door. I will just make do with it on 5, and getting all the cars. At least I'm not on a very busy street, though it did warn me the batteries will not last as long. I'd rather replace batteries more, if it means having a log of anyone coming to my door. I would say 4/5 for the new camera, though if they can expand the sensitivity settings, it could be higher, 5/5 for customer service. Thank you, Kevin. I feel like this doorbell camera is a complete waste. I have tried everything to get it to work like it should, but no luck. Different batteries, a reset, checked for firmware updates, turned the motion detection all the way up, etc. After researching the issue, it seems like a very common issue with the Blink Doorbell "Camera". I have had dozens of packages delivered in the approx 6 months I have had it in use. It has successfully recorded 0 of those deliveries, including a large box with a trailer hitch for my car. The hitch was packed about 20-25ft from my gate to the porch, which is straight out from the front door and camera. I could hear the person hauling it up and sliding it on to the porch, which took probably 15 seconds from when I heard the gate open. Very, very disappointed. I would give 0 stars if I could. Would not recommend this to anyone, unless you are only looking for a wireless doorbell, in which case you also need an indoor camera to link to for the chime. I even set an indoor camera in my front window sill, pointing diagonally across the porch to attempt to record anyone coming to my front door - it has only picked up cars driving by. A trail cam would have been better use of my money. The only reason I went with Blink was to avoid having to pay a monthly fee and use cloud storage. I like this system of having a module in your home with a thumb drive that records locally, if only it would work. The outdoor cameras have been working fairly well, at least, so far. They pick up my dog running around the yard, and I have one in my garage that will go off constantly while I'm out there. Not sure why their doorbell and indoor cameras are so bad at detecting people.