Blink Mini | Indoor plug-in pet security camera, 1080p HD day and night video, motion detection, two-way audio, easy setup, Alexa enabled — 1 camera (White)

Got the Blink Mini mainly to keep track of my doggo when I’m out for a bit, and honestly, it does the job just fine. It’s not packed with a ton of fancy features or anything, but for basic stuff like checking in now and then, it works great.Setup was easy enough (even for someone like me who hates dealing with tech stuff), and the video quality is pretty decent for what it is. Night vision works okay too – I can still see my furball lounging on the couch like he owns the place.Wouldn’t call it high-end or anything, but for the price? Solid. Just don’t expect magic. It’s simple, works, and gives peace of mind. That’s all I needed.

I decided to buy some internal Blink cameras to accompany my outdoor cameras that I have been very happy with (to date). Noticed that these were in sale at a good price for a twin pack, so purchased them along with a Pan & Tilt Mini Camera as well.Delivered by Amazon in less than 24 hours from ordering (got to love Prime Next Day delivery!). Once delivered & opened the packaging, all 3 (including Pan & Tilt Camera Kit) cameras were installed on the App & working fine. One thing I did notice though compared to the Outdoor Cameras was that the responsiveness of the camera sensor & circuitry in sending the video signal to the Sync Module & then to my phone had a delay of about 2 seconds compared to no noticeable delay on the Outdoor cameras. i don’t know if the Mini cameras use different circuitry internally than the Outdoor cameras or not but all 3 Mini’s are the same where as both External’s have no lag at all even though they are outdoors & further away from the Sync Module. even with this minor issue, I am still more than happy with them, and anyone that says it takes a long time to setup the cameras, then that is User Error entirely.There is a QR code under the box lid that runs you through the installation (should you need instructions), but once the Blink Home Monitor app is installed on your device/s, it literally is a process of clicking the “+” button in top corner & following the prompts for scanning the QR code on the back of each camera, choosing your WiFi network (has to be 2.4GHz), entering your WiFi password & then letting the cameras update the firmware. Once Firmware is updated, then everything is all set & ready for you to make any changes in the app for camera name or personal preferences in the settings.If I had to have any downside to the cameras, it would be that the Micro USB cable supplied with the cameras is too short if you wish to mount them on an internal wall towards ceiling height (this is easily done by removing the inner base & then screwing the inner base ring to the wall & reaffixing the main base) to reach a standard height mains plug socket. A 3m (or even 2.5m) cable would have been the perfect length as 2M means it is 6” or so too short to plug into the bottom edge of the adaptor! Trying to find longer black official Blink cables is not easy either as lots of run of the mill Micro USB cables are displayed when searching for Blink cables that do not have the correct shape moulding around the Micro USB plug which means that there is much more movement available to the plug & Micro USB plugs are the weakest of all the different USB designs & could lead to very easy breakages (which is why the Blink plugs have the geometric shaped plastic to fit perfectly into the camera so any chance of cable or socket damage through movement/accidental snagging is minimised).

The media could not be loaded. This is my first camera like this, I wanted something simple and easy to view remotely on an app and this fits the bill.Price is good and setup is easy:- Install App (Blink Home Monitor)- Make an account (if you don't have one)- Add camera using QR code on the camera (and on the box)Pros:- Price- Easy to setup- Video quality good- Listen to the audio from the camera AND ability to talk back to it- Great App - loads of config options such as night vision, recording light, volume, sensitivity for motionCons:- Currently the local storage additional module is not available so you are limited to their online subscription storage (free trial included). I'm not sure if you can record just to the App manually.Finally - the box comes with mounting screws but no instructions about how to get the bottom plate off and I cannot find an easy way to do it!

I really like these cameras. I purchased my first one last weekend, and by mid week I had purchased another. The cameras are quite easy to setup and work well with their own app and/or with Alexa routines (using IFTTT), and viewing on any echo show/fire stick device.The great thing having two or more is that on setup you have a choice of grouping the cameras together or using them separately, when you choose separate this gives you more flexibility when scheduling the cameras to record when motion is detected at different times. I have Neos Smartcams which only allow you to arm to disarm all cameras, so the blink mini wins on that score.So for example you could have a camera in your shed (subject to your WiFi range) and have this set to record trigger 24hrs if motion is detected, and another camera inside your home that you only want to schedule to record if motion is detected overnight. With both any motion detected would start the recording and send an alert to the app on your phone/tablet.If you integrated the ‘IFTTT’ applet you could also just set up a routine on Alexa to arm or disarm your camera(s) either by speaking to Alexa or setting up a routine scheduled a set time.For instance I have a morning/bedtime routine set up in the Alexa App where along with turning smart devices on and off, these routines will also arm or disarm the blink cameras. Just remember if you have each camera set up separately you would have to include each camera arm/disarm separately on the same Alexa routine. There seems to be no limit what you can get Alexa routines to do.If you view your blink mini on a echo device (once you have linked it the your Alexa App) it will do two things. 1) stream you the live feed for a few minutes only 2) record this footage within your blink app. This would be a great feature to stream longer but I think it is because it’s recording too.The blink mini comes with free cloud storage until the 31st March 2021, after which it’s £2.50 per month per camera or £8 per month for unlimited cameras, but this as not put me off because Blink are launching a Blink Module Sync 2 coming soon for around £35 pounds. This allows you to record locally onto a SD card (not supplied) and you can connect up to to 10 cameras to this. As the blink mini’s don’t have a SD slot, I think this is a going to be a great alternative to an ongoing subscription service, or buying a SD card for each camera if there was a slot for them (like with the Neos SmartCam).These cameras also work like a two way radio system so you can push to talk within the blink app, speak then take your finger off the talk button and wait for a response. The speaker on the camera is quite loud and very clearly to hear.You can only view one camera at once and have to press on the app for live feed, again this will run for a few minutes and a pop up will display asking if you want to continue viewing.In my opinion in my early review, I do really like these cameras and the in fact that you can arm /disarm using a third party app within the Alexa routines really make these work for me.I could go on because I have the Echo Flex with the motion sensor add on, and get these two devices to also arm/disarm the cameras when motion is detected, plus I get a Alexa to announce a message on two echo’s in other rooms if motion is detected, but I wont.