Blink Outdoor with two-year battery life | Wireless HD smart security camera, motion detection, Alexa enabled | 1-Camera System with Sync Module

EDIT - regarding battery life ive now had this for about 8 months and have gotten a low battery warning - so batteries dont last the advertised 2 years. That being said it is in a location with high activity and i have the recording settings high so that will have contributed to the shorter battery life. Had this for about 4 months now and its great. Bought it as it was one of the few cameras that i could find that allowed you to save and view clips without a subscription. It came with a months free subscription (so i used that initially) but now have it set up with a USB stick attached to the sync module with clips saved locally - and definitely prefer this way. Took me a minute to work out how to access the local stored clips in the app - but once i did it is very simple. Only downside is viewing clips saved locally (rather than on the cloud) takes a bit longer - but still its not too long. Camera quality is really good and so is the night time mode. Good field of view on the camera. App is really simple to use. Cant comment on battery life as only had for 4 months - though I have the recordings set to max quality and duration so expecting it to be less than advertised. You do get a few false motion alerts and accessing the recordings can bit a bit hit and miss sometimes (most of the time no problems) but for the price i really can't fault it (i got 1 camera with sync module for £50). Would definitely recommend.

It's good, very good. Easy to install and setup. No cables and wires. I've put a 8gb memory stick in mine and can reject it and watch videos on the main PC. Very concerned about the time-lapse though. Was expecting a package from Amazon on Tuesday 27 October 2020, heard a van door go and it was within my delivery slots. Switched the camera on and observed the man getting out his van. Suddenly there was a knock on the door? I was still watching him walk to my front door time-lapse was more than 10 seconds. A notification then was made on my iPhone? Amazon really need to get this sorted, not good enough. In this day and age it renders the 'talk to' useless? By time, you've connected to the phone and got the camera on (15 seconds after the event) they've gone... so what's the point?? I've marked it down to 3 stars because of this. My rear garden camera has a time lapse of around a second which beats this hands down. If Amazon can get the time delay sorted it will be a fantastic bit of kit but at the moment perhaps other cameras would be better? UPDATE: 8th December 2020. I obtained another camera about 2 weeks ago and placed this at the rear of the house. Having 2 cameras improved performance greatly. A quick change in settings to activating 'early' motion and time was down to almost 6 seconds from notification to seeing who was at the door. Really pleased now, an extra camera does help! Thoroughly recommend this product and get 2 cameras if you can!

The system consists of the sync module (included in the box, can manage up to 10 cameras), a camera or more, and the blink app on the phone. And requires a WiFi & internet. The cameras are battery powered (standard AA, charge is supposed to last two years. Let me stress “supposed to”), whilst the sync module requires a socket. So far so good. Installation is monkey proof (don’t underestimate your forebears, though). Once set up, you can define the areas to ignore and a weekly time schedule for the motion detection; videos are saved either in the cloud (£) or locally for free on a USB stick in the sync module. Either way, you can watch them also remotely. The notification on your phone is almost immediate; video quality, can’t complain, really. 2-way audio. Thermometer: check. Infrared for night vision: check. And this is the biggest issue I have with the camera: it has two LEDs; a blue one, that shows when the camera is recording, and that can be turned off; and a red one, that can’t be turned off, because… it’s not a LED! it’s the infrared. If you are using the system for security purposes, the camera will just make everyone aware of its presence and location: look at me! I’m here! HERE! You can turn off the infrared: unless it’s pitch-dark, there will be enough light to trigger the motion detection. Nothing, but ghost images to see. Which, however, could still be good enough. Or you’re using the camera to keep an eye on your doggo, and you couldn’t care less. Talking about security: what if someone cuts the power? The cameras are battery powered, but not so the sync module nor - most likely - your router. If you are a bit paranoid, here an easy fix: socket <---> power bank <---> sync module For the connectivity, old smartphone + dedicated SIM as a hotspot. Alexa integration: works fine, but is fairly limited. And with no apparent reason. So, for example, you can watch on your echo show your camera live, but can’t retrieve the saved videos. Or you can ask Alexa to arm or disarm the whole system (using either a specific command or more comfortably defining a routine), but it’s not possible (atm at least) to enable or disable a specific camera. It’s annoying, because the blink app can do it easily. So, why not Alexa once she’s been taught some blink skills? Mystery. Also, I’ve missed the possibility to reboot a system remotely. That being said, and with all its limits, a blink system is dirt cheap. And even cheaper when on offer or in bundle with other amazon products. And does well what it’s supposed to do. So, all in all, highly recommended.

I think the camera quality is great, like the app (using a memory stick in the sync module). It captures clips as needed and saves promptly so for my purposes covers the security quite well. Motion is also detected well (can adjust the sensitivity in the app settings). Wi-FI was a bit shaky at first (with a Virgin Hub), but when I got a TP-Link router, seems to be working reliably). I found it very easy to set up as well (just follow the instructions provided) and think it is great value overall. The reason I say about certain expectations is that for the price point, there are slight delays for real time viewing (well the initial loading approx 10 secs) no movements from the camera e.g. tilting. But as the item often goes on sale (£29 with the sync module and camera), would say this is a small compromise Would say in terms of capturing and storing footage for any crimes for example, does the job great and fulfils this purpose. No wires so easy to set up and can cover some awkward spots well. For more real time security, I think it would require a different product, but will also cost considerably more too.

The camera was very easy to set up and I have had no significant issues with the camera or app. The camera views an area around 4x8m. Daytime picture quality is extremely good. Infrared night vision is of lower quality, which is to be expected. The IR intensity can be increased at the expense of battery life if required. I did once find the video feed blurred as a result of dew or mist collecting on the front of the camera lens. I'm not sure the camera can be blamed for this as I don't know how it could be avoided. My camera is triggered very frequently and battery life was about 5-6 months, which I would regard as good. The push-to-fit mount is a little fiddly and requires decent pressure to snap into place. A mounting accessory supplied with the camera allows it to be mounted vertically or horizontally and still be able to get the camera view point you want. If using this adpater, it's far easier to fit it to the camera first, then fit the camera with adapter to the bracket. Overall, and for the price, I would day this is reliable, easy to use and with decent quality. If you are looking for a crystal clear night vision system to view a large car park, then you need to buy a specialist and much more expensive surveillance/CCTV system I can only assume that other negative reviews and problems may be the result of customers who don't have very good technical knowledge or perhaps unrealistic expectations.

October 2024 review. Blink Outdoor has damp inside lens, thought it was outside, but after bringing indoors , it's definitely inside the unit. Which now appears there is another Blink Outdoor that has gone the same way. Now all the waterproof seals are intact, make sure of that every time the batteries are changed. Not impressed and as this is one of about 6 cameras I have bought, Amazon needs to do better. Going to see what Amazon customer service say, hoping they can help. ============================================================= October 2022 review. UK. Picked up an external wireless camera on sale, so it was quite cheap, and as it had the sync2 module hub for local usb backup, seemed a good idea. In the box. Camera, wall mount, lithium batteries, opening key and rear grommet storage thing, USB mains adapter, micro to usb A lead, sync module 2 , screws and some basic instructions. (Everything you need to install) One thing you need to understand, this external camera has a PIR sensor for movement detection. It is unlike most CCTV cameras that use optical sensors, i.e the camera lens, to detect movement. So, if you put it behind a window, it will not get triggered ! That is useful for anyone who thinks it will. Image quality. It's a lowly 1080p camera, it would have been better with double or better, and I'm sure in time that will happen. Audio quality. Not fully tested. But two way speech works with a small delay either way. Wall mount. It is a push fit, but does not lock, so could be simply pulled off and removed. OK range on the ball mount. Software. There is no time/date stamp which would be essential for evidence proof, which seems odd. Cannot find a setting for it. Basic software, simple Camera settings for monitoring of battery (no voltage , just an 'ok') temperature of the unit which is not the ambient temperature, audio level, sensitivity, IR off/on/auto, IR intensity low,med,high, enable motion detection, end clip early if motion ends, enable photo capture, zone detection, recapture delay (min 10secs), clip length 5-60secs, motion record, image quality (saver, standard, best), recording led on/off, wireless status to both your WiFi router and the sync2 module and firmware number. Night Vision quality. Poor and only black and white, which is understandable for the price bracket. Pros. Out of the box solution. Cloud and local backup to usb stick (max 256Gb). Everything supplied as long as you buy the camera plus sync2 unit together. Otherwise it will have to be Cloud storage and the free trial. Free trial until Jan 2023 so that remains to be seen. Waterproofing seems good on the rear cover surround (not the usb cover as it is silicone) Cons. No time/date or camera name watermark. Image quality adequate but could have been better. Could be removed too easily. No optical detection for triggering, only PIR. Night vision isn't great. You have to use lithium batteries, or spend more for waterproof external power via micro usb socket. Live view keeps asking 'Continue?' when live viewing, which is a pain. Reckon that's to save battery life. Summary. When compared to Tapo external 3mp camera, it falls far short. Even when compared with their indoor 3mp. (Priced £19-£40 at lowest UK prices). Blink has potential, especially when put up against Ring for subscription cost savings, and less outlay for micro usb cards per camera as in the case for Tapo, but I would not recommend for domestic or commercial use. If you just want to see what's going on outside, then ok. But for proper CCTV, no. This does not tick those boxes.

Wanted a security camera for a while and finally ordered during Amazon's Prime sale. Blink outdoor was easy to fit and install. Two screws into the brick wall (about 10 ft high) and it was up. Connection via Sync Module 2 was a breeze once the Blink app is installed into your phone. Confirm your mobile number and it'll send a security code to link the device. I also did this to a second mobile in the house so two of us could watch the camera and get notifications on our phone. So easy! The 30 day trail then starts. CAMERA. A week in and its worked well. Had to adjust the camera angle once but it seems to be picking up anything entering our driveway. You can select certain areas for it to capture motion in, but I do find sometimes it picks up motion on the sides when I don't want it too. Good thing is you can Arm and Dissarm the device when it's not needed. Everyone we know is complimenting it's video quality (your can forward clips through the app easily to whatapp etc) but we have set it to standard to conserve battery atm. The Best quality must be great during the day. Night time infa is ok. BATTERY. I brought this expecting a realistic battery life of 6 - 9 months. If you try to get two years then there's probably no point in having it. So far we received one notification saying 2 year battery life at current usage rate won't be achieved and that's fine. We probably have the camera capturing about twelve 10 second clips per day atm and we usually take a picture for the home screen about 3 times a day. Will see how long batteries last over winter (hoping at least 8 months plus). If it goes quick I might hardwire it via the USB wire you can get on amazon so it runs off the mains (then you can put all the settings on max and not worry about battery life). Also I was originally planning to put a USB stick into the Module but I'm half tempted to subscribe to a year's Blink plan for £24.99 and see how we get on. It's only been a week but I'll have more updates in time. 4 MONTHS later. Camera still doing great. No notifications on battery life which is good. Its recording around ten 10 second clips a day. Had a foggy picture once night but that could have been something on the camera but no problems with recording quality or trigger times. Might increase recording quality to highest and increase clip length to 15 seconds. 6 MONTHS AFTER PURCHASE still all OK. Battery OK. Upped the recording to 15 second clips. Picture quality still on medium, as you can see from the picture its fine for most conditions. Recording around 5 - 8 clips a day. 12 MONTH UPDATE. Blink plan is going well. Batteries surprisingly still going strong. We update the picture 3 or 4 times a day and its recording around seven 15 second clips per day.

I agree with many of the more critical reviews about this camera. The marketing promises a lot, but it ends up lacking in many of those promises. As of the date of this review, I suspect that Amazon are aware of this and will eventually sort them out. I sent mine back within a few days because the range on the camera WiFi was not sufficient (they say you need 3 bars of signal), it wouldn't connect to my echo show, the support team (bless 'em) didn't know what to recommend apart from reinstalling the Skill, and I really struggled with the layout, functionality and jargon used in the app. I know this is because I have certain preconceived ideas about how it should work, but again if I like some others are expecting the live stream to be continuous, why not have that baked in?? Ultimately, Blink are trying to walk on water with this device and I can understand why, running power and signal cables to CCTV cameras is a pain in the butt (but) if you want a more professional setup, I think that's what you'll have to buy. The 2 year battery life, I find hard to believe. I suspect the caveat is that it probably could if you pointed it at a brick wall with no movement. Another 'could do better' aspect is its physical security. It uses a simple friction connector to hold it in place - think of a cork in a bottle! A simple pull and someone could easily and very quickly run off with it. To prevent this it would have to be mounted quite high up. It doesn't have proper pan, tilt and zoom functionality (ptz) it has pinch and zoom but it's not the same as a proper ptz camera. It has a wide angle of view, no panning though. It has some good points, like its size and better than expected robustness, however it's failings in its current state outweigh it's plus points. It needs a lot more development and I think the app needs a complete rework in terms of layout and usability. I think 3 stars is a fair rating. Improvement required? Yes Should you buy one? Maybe, if you lower your expectations Is it worth £99? Yes, and you can pay in installments (this is why I think Amazon know it needs work) Would I recommend it to a friend? No, my friends are techys. They'd get frustrated with it. I'd have to tell them to take the marketing with 'a pinch of salt' Will it get better? I'm positive that it will How would I describe this in one sentence? "Its a round peg that fits into a square hole" I hope this review helps you make a decision. 😊