Download Blink Video Doorbell UPDATED
Julieta Bassette
Have just purchased the Amazon Blink doorbell and set everything up and all is well, apart from the fact that it seems to be announcing on every single Sonos device in my house and I seem to have no control over disabling.
I was having the same issue as Kiiefa. None of my Sonos speakers showed in the Alexa app as a selectable Announcement Device, only an old Echo Dot I no longer use. When the Blink video doorbell was pressed/triggered though, it would announce on all of my Sonos speakers. In the Alexa app I had a few Sonos groups that I previously used but, as Kiiefa said, I barely ever go into the app anymore so they were of no use.
Everything was working fine until a couple of days ago. If you ask the echo to "show me the front door" it says it cant find a device or group by that name. I also have a routine setup to where if the doorbell is pressed alexa will run the same command "show me the front door" and this doesnt work. Ive tried "blink doorbell" too.
The doorbell displays fine on my phone. The only hangup seems to be displaying on the echo show. It shows the "front door" in the alexa app devices and im able to manipulate settings but it just wont connect the two.
I did the method above with a virtual switch and an Alexa routine for when my blink doorbell was pressed, to get a notification via telegram (via node red) and also to change the colour of the smart bulbs in the house (again via node red.)
Interestingly, the delay between the notification from the blink app and the notification from telegram via node red was only 1 second.
This makes this workaround a viable alternative and (via node red) means theres way more customisation / options also.
Does the integration to Alexa ( accessing the HA switch) require you have a cloud HA account? Or is it possible to do the integration the other way around, that is HA can access Alexa devices like the doorbell and their events.
I picked up a Blink Doorbell during Prime Days, but I'm struggling to accomplish what I was hoping to. I have two existing Blink Minis that never had a Sync Module, and those have been working great with the schedule I have set. That said, I'd like the doorbell to always be armed to pick up motion. I got the Sync Module with the doorbell, but I can't seem to separate the cameras from the doorbell. Any thoughts?
I had to do my own troubleshooting by forcing the camera to activate and then i was able to tap on the notification and it showed that it was indeed my blink cam, not someone elses ring video doorbell (there is a neighbor two houses down that has one).
Confirmed -- my blink camera is detected as a Ring Video Doorbell and ONLY says that inthe notification for joining the network. In the clients list it says "Blink-DHCP", which is correct but the deceptive notification had me thinking it was a neighbor's device.
There does not seem to be an issue with pending notifications or battery level. The manual does not have any notes on blink codes. Does anyone have a hint as to how to turn the blink off or why it may be doing this?
If we exclude the Ring pre-roll from the rankings then the Google Nest doorbell did the best, consistently capturing almost the entire motion event. After that was the Blink doorbell, then the 360doorbell and then the Eufy Dual. 5 th place is when the Ring high resolution stream turned on, and coming in last every time during the day was the Eufy 2K Doorbell.
During the night tests using porch light illumination the results were similar with the Ring Pre-Roll technically finishing first slightly ahead of the Google Nest doorbell and Blink Doorbell. After that the
360 doorbell and Eufy dual performed similarly and the Ring high resolution footage started recording at about the same time as the Eufy 2K doorbell, which was pretty far into the motion event.
Infrared tests were performed with no porch lights and only a single doorbell at once. In these tests the Google Nest and Blink Doorbells were still the first to start recording, but the 2K doorbell did better in these conditions which is consistent with the results from my last video. During infrared testing the 360 doorbell and Eufy dual performed the worst and were the last to turn on.
The google nest doorbell also has a pretty impressive vertical field of view due to the fact that it records in portrait orientation instead of landscape, but as you can imagine that comes with a loss of horizontal field of view, where the nest ranked in last place.
In my opinion, vertical field of view is more important for a video doorbell because it lets you keep a better eye on your packages, and a low horizontal field of view can be more easily compensated for using an angle bracket mount.
Anyways, in my testing the shortest battery life was consistently the nest doorbell which lasted between 33 and 35 days between recharges, then the Ring Doorbell made it between 50 and 58 days, the Eufy 2K was between 60 and 71 days, and the 360 lasted a very respectable 83 days before needing a recharge. If you hate charging batteries the Blink doorbell is the one for you because not only does it use disposable lithium AA batteries instead of rechargeable ones, but it also lasted 131 days before needing a battery replacement on my front door which is a relatively high traffic area. The Ring doorbell also gets a nod here because it uses a removable battery pack, so you can always just have an extra charge pack laying around to switch out when you need to.
As I said, I only have 28 days of battery usage data for the Eufy Dual, but I recharged all the doorbells when I installed the Eufy Dual and the battery drain trend looks similar to the Eufy 2K, so I would expect around 2-3 months of battery life from the Eufy Dual.
As for notification speed, the Blink and 360 doorbells were consistently the first to notify me on my phone, due to the fact that they are text only notifications while the Ring, Eufy Dual, and 2K include a thumbnail and high resolution image while the Google Nest doorbell includes a short video of the event.
The Ring Video Doorbell 4 finished in second place while having almost double the battery life, and half the monthly fee. The pre-roll feature worked well and is a welcome addition that anyone who has ever been frustrated with a battery doorbell can appreciate. Unfortunately, adjusting the price to include 2 years of subscription fees makes it the second most expensive option in this test.
The HomeAware Blink and Doorbell combines the HomeAware Blink, which gives your system a color-coded light notification wherever you need it, and a doorbell signaler. Compactly designed for areas where you do not have much room. With a 500-foot range, the removable notification disk keeps you connected to your system when you are out in the garage, down in the basement, or even outside.
Throughout our test, we used the doorbell with the optional ($35) Sync Module 2, a small, square indoor device that keeps a connection to the camera and allows additional functions, such as on-demand live video and local video storage. The Sync Module 2 can support up to 10 Blink security cameras, although it is not compatible with the Blink XT2, Blink XT, and first-gen Blink Indoor cameras.
The doorbell delivers a nice, sharp image during the daytime and is fast to react to movement in my tests. An alert popped up on my phone within 2 to 3 seconds of walking past the camera and within a second of pushing the doorbell button.
Connecting to the doorbell and seeing the live view once you get an alert takes slightly longer. It took anywhere from 5 to 10 seconds to make the connection, which means you might miss whatever triggered the alert. The video will be recorded if you have the subscription plan or storage in the optional Sync 2 device, but if you have the video doorbell alone, this is something to consider.
As mentioned, I used the video doorbell with the optional Blink Sync Module 2 ($35). This device is a small, USB-powered indoor unit that keeps a connection between the Blink Video Doorbell and your Wi-Fi.
My tests of the module got off to a shaky start with the inability to access a live view from the doorbell, but that was solved with a little experimentation on placement of it near a window. Once the connection was solid, everything worked well.
Setting up the Blink Video Doorbell is relatively straightforward, though the somewhat flimsy backplate makes it a bit tough to install (more on that below). To get started, scan the QR code on the inside of the packaging and follow the in-app instructions for installation. To remove the backplate, push the included pin into the hole on the bottom of the doorbell and lift up the cover. This is where two AA batteries go (included with your purchase). The doorbell is also compatible with existing wiring.
Like many top function ga4_link127() window.dataLayer.push(JSON.parse('"event":"click_inarticle"')) video doorbells these days, the Blink offers multiple ways to connect. While it's becoming more common, it's an impressive addition for a doorbell this cheap. If you'd rather not connect to your existing doorbell wiring (or if that's not an option), the doorbell takes two AA lithium batteries, which Blink estimates can power your doorbell for up to two years.
Two-way talk is also available between the doorbell and Echo display, making it easy to converse hands-free with whoever is there. The one bummer is that, when someone rings the bell, the live view does not automatically appear on Echo Show devices like Ring doorbells.
A red status light illuminates on the front of the doorbell when recording or live viewing is in use. Video and audio recording settings can be disabled in the Blink app. Blink requires your password in order to implement account changes to phone numbers, email addresses, and other personal information linked to you. Additionally, if you have to reset your password, you will be required to sign in on all of your devices, as well as relinking your Alexa account.
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