If you’re out of range, the recordings are still saved safely, you just won’t know they’ve happened until you next get a signal. You don’t need to be on your WiFi network to view the clips or get the notifications, but you will need to have a data connection. The immediate notifications also mean that, if you have it set up in your shed outside, you’ll know someone’s trying to get to your bike. By keeping the clips shorter, there’s no way they could realise what or where it is, reach it, and smash it in time.Ĭlips are very clear, with decent audio – there’s a good chance a criminal could be identified with this kit. It’s worth keeping in mind that, if a crook were to disable the camera before the clip had completed (for instance by removing the battery), it wouldn’t be recorded. If the camera is triggered, you’ll receive a notification as soon as the recording is completed.
You can also view the battery level and the temperature in the camera’s location, as well as the camera-to-WiFi and camera-to-sync module’s signal strength.
You can easily set various parameters for each camera from your smartphone, including enabling or disabling motion detection (and adjusting its sensitivity), turning audio on or off, setting the length of the clips, the time until it will trigger recording again, and altering the built-in illuminator’s settings. If it’s dark a bright white LED gives enough illumination for most environments. If the camera’s recording – whether automatically or when live view is accessed from the app – a blue LED on the front illuminates to help protect the privacy of those in the room. When disarmed, the cameras won’t record anything unless you manually arm them. You can only do it for all the cameras on one sync unit, not individually, but you can do it in 15 minute increments. Fortunately, it’s very easy to check the connection using the app.īlink is completely unobtrusive – it’s easy to use the app to schedule when you want the cameras to be armed or disarmed. The camera must be in range of your home WiFi network – if the signal’s glitchy, the camera can indicate it’s recording, but fail to save the clip. Replacement batteries are easy to buy – a pack of four Energizer Ultimate Lithiums from Amazon costs just £6.36. These are claimed to last up to two years while repeated use will reduce this, mine is still showing as ‘Good’ after six months. The sync unit is powered by a mains adaptor, while each camera uses a supplied AA lithium battery. You can run a total of ten cameras from one sync unit – additional cameras on their own cost £99.99, but you can manage multiple sync units across various locations (home and work for instance) using the one app. Multiple cameras can be fitted – a single camera and sync unit costs £129.99, but have two and it’s £199.99, three costs £269.99, while five are £399.99. When you first connect to the internet, any firmware updates are completed automatically, then each camera you’ve fitted takes a still image of its location and you can rename it (for instance ‘garage’ and ‘garden’).
BLINK APP COST ANDROID
Setting Blink up for the first time is very easy – the iOS / Android app quickly takes you through the very simple steps of connecting the small sync unit box to your wireless network, then scanning the QR code on the back of the camera to add it to your system. Just keep in mind that the motion sensor won’t work through glass. Having said that, as long as these were kept out of the rain, they should be fine outside. These standard units aren’t waterproof, but the XT versions (available from October 2017) are.
A tilt and swivel bracket makes mounting the camera very easy.