Connected doorbells provide security and ease of use, at the expense of a sometimes high price. Blink tries to solve the problem by offering an affordable product that promises on paper. We test it for several weeks, see how much this Video Doorbell is worth on a daily basis, and whether it delivers on its promises.
Our homes are increasingly connected, thanks to the increasing accessibility of home automation products, such as connected light bulbs or speakers with voice assistants. They offer added convenience, while allowing you to stay connected to your interior even when you’re far away.
It is in this philosophy that connected doorbells are becoming more popular, as they not only offer deep integration with the rest of your home automation system, but also allow you to know who is at the door even when you are not there.
Most of these products, however, have a major drawback, since most of them cost more than a hundred euros. With its subsidiary Blink, Amazon seeks to democratize the success of its Ring brand, offering a connected doorbell for less than 60 euros, a price significantly lower than that charged by the competition. At this price, what is the Blink Video Doorbell really worth and does it miss out on certain features?
Design
The Blink Video Doorbell is quite inconspicuous and fits perfectly against a fence, gate, or wall. The choice of colors is limited to black or white, which however are universal colors that can be easily combined with most shades.
The doorbell must be installed vertically, since it is not possible to rotate the image. In the upper part we find the photo and infrared module, gathered in a black square, regardless of the color chosen.
Source: Hagop Kavafian for Frandroid
Source: Hagop Kavafian for Frandroid
Source: Hagop Kavafian for Frandroid
Below, Blink has discreetly placed the microphone, and below, the doorbell button. This is surrounded by a band of blue light that flashes when the button is pressed and lights up when communication is established. Finally, the speaker is hidden under the hood, on the bottom edge, which keeps it from being too visible, but makes it difficult to hear the person you’re talking to.
Facility
Like many connected doorbells, the Blink Video Doorbell mounts securely, preventing it from being easily stolen by a passerby. A tray is fixed to the wall using the supplied screws and plugs, but above all the guide that allows you to know exactly where to make the holes. The doorbell then attaches to the tray with a simple gesture. To disassemble it, a specific tool is provided, which allows you to unhook it to change the batteries, for example.
Speaking of batteries, the Blink Video Doorbell comes with two AA batteries that are supposed to last up to two years. However, it is possible to connect it electrically if you have an arrival, which avoids having to change the batteries, but also benefits from additional functionalities, as we will see below.
Source: Hagop Kavafian for Frandroid
Source: Hagop Kavafian for Frandroid
Source: Hagop Kavafian for Frandroid
If you want to mount your camera in a corner or at an angle, Blink offers additional accessories for sale, but it’s a shame these aren’t included right in the box.
Luckily, you won’t have to worry too much about where to put the doorbell as it is IP65 certified, which means it is resistant to water and dust, but also resistant to your extreme temperatures, since it can work between -20 and 45 °C . .
Application
To set up the camera, just use the Blink app to scan a QR code on the back and put in the batteries. The rest of the process is totally guided, either connect it to the wifi network or fix it.
The Blink app isn’t the most modern out there, as its design is a bit outdated and the interface isn’t very intuitive. That being said, it offers plenty of features to customize your doorbell and other brand cameras.
Unlike them, the Video Doorbell does not require the use of a synchronization module and can work directly using the Wi-Fi network, on the other hand, without it, the doorbell will only work if the button is pressed, but it will not be able to act. as a security camera.
Therefore, a sync module is highly recommended, as it allows you to arm the doorbell and let it film and even record video locally, while saving battery power. More on that later, but this greatly improves timbre performance, making it almost indispensable. However, let’s qualify these observations, since the fact of connecting the Blink Video Doorbell electrically allows us to do without a synchronization module and benefit from these functionalities.
When all features are available, the app allows you to control the doorbell at any time to view the live stream, but also activate it instantly or according to a predefined schedule. In the same way, it is possible to define detection zones to be notified if movement is perceived in this particular zone. Similarly, an option allows you to capture a snapshot every hour, allowing you to track what happened throughout the day.
Also note that the Blink Video Doorbell does not require a subscription to take advantage of these features, not even to save snapshots if you connect a USB storage to your sync module, which is quite rare and worth noting. On the other hand, Doorbell does not offer advanced features, namely person or package detection, like some competitors, which are certainly more expensive.
When someone rings your doorbell, Blink Video Doorbell notifies you via a simple vibration in the app, unlike Ring, which vibrates continuously. This makes it very easy to miss a delivery unless you’re using smart speakers or other cameras as chimes.
The most annoying thing, though, is the delay, as you have to wait a good 5 seconds before you get a notification, then the same duration for the video stream to show up. This delay is too long and will encourage more than one dealer to leave. Worse yet, the Blink Video Doorbell didn’t notify us at all when the doorbell was pressed. Fortunately, we tried again with a sync module, which largely solved these issues with reduced latency to 3 seconds when someone calls and no missed notifications.
Let’s end this section with integration with third-party services, including voice assistants. Because Blink is a subsidiary of Amazon, the Video Doorbell only works with Alexa-enabled products, including Echo speakers and displays. This is reliable, in the sense that all the speakers sound at the same time to announce the arrival of a visitor. Unfortunately, you have to ask Alexa to show who’s at the door, while Nest products automatically show the live feed as soon as someone rings the doorbell.
Also, the Blink Video Doorbell doesn’t really integrate with other Blink cameras, since it can’t automatically start recording on another camera when someone rings the doorbell. However, it is possible to arm the entire system simultaneously, that is, activate recording and motion detection on all the devices that comprise it. If you have a Blink Mini camera at home, it can also be used as a doorbell, knowing that Blink doesn’t offer one.
Finally, Blink does not natively offer integration with connected lock providers to open the door for a delivery person. An IFTTT applet is certainly available, but it can only be triggered when motion is detected, which isn’t useful for a doorbell.
image quality
The Blink Video Doorbell features Full HD 1080p video quality, which is in line with industry standards. As such, the picture is decent, especially during the day, assuming most visitors will be standing near the doorbell.
Colors aren’t the most accurate and images often tend to be overexposed and burnt in, especially on cloudy days with white skies. However, the details are precise enough to recognize a visitor or read a license plate.
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At night things get more complicated as the infrared beam is either too strong or not strong enough, sometimes making it difficult to identify a visitor, especially if the person is looking directly into the camera as their face it gets too bright. . It is best to install the camera with a corner mount, which is sold separately.
Fortunately, the app also allows you to play around with the infrared parameters to adjust them according to your needs.
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Sound quality, on the other hand, is highly questionable, as it is with other Blink products. Sure enough, a persistent hum is heard, regardless of the ambient noise, which complicates understanding. Conversations are certainly audible, but with background noise and sometimes even an echo, which is really questionable for a doorbell.
Things get complicated for visitors, as the speaker isn’t powerful enough, even at maximum volume, and doesn’t allow them to hear you properly. The conversation becomes almost inaudible if a car passes by and it is really difficult for the two interlocutors to understand each other.
Autonomy
Blink promises up to two years of battery life, which is pretty impressive. In fact, this can vary a lot, but we must recognize that batteries rarely need to be changed, which ensures good peace of mind.
Also, unlike other competitive products, you only need to change the batteries and not charge a removable battery or even the doorbell, thus avoiding having to leave it out of service for long hours.
Price and availability
The Blink Video Doorbell is available only for 59.99 euros or in a pack with a synchronization module for 94.98 euros. In view of our test, we strongly recommend that you buy the version with a synchronization module at least to connect it electrically. Keep in mind, however, that if you already have Blink products at home, you can use the same sync module without having to buy another one.
Finally, it is important to note that these prices are very often discounted, and it is wise to wait for a promotion to purchase one. Indeed, the price of the pack with the synchronization module not reduced is not attractive compared to the Ring Video Doorbell, which offers better features.