Blink Video Doorbell (2nd Gen) review: Impressive features, great price

Price When Reviewed

$59.99, tested as a bundle with the Sync Module Core. Price as reviewed: $69.99

Best Prices Today: Blink Video Doorbell (2nd Gen)

Blink is Amazon’s budget line of smart home products. While Blink gear might not match the industrial design or advanced features of Amazon’s premium Ring products, Blink delivers essential features at a much lower price. Fewer features also mean the Blink Video Doorbell (2nd Gen) is easier to set up and easier to use.

Users get clear video, wide coverage, reliable alerts and a long battery life. For many households, especially renters or first-time smart doorbell buyers, that’s exactly the kind of device they need. If you need (or just really want) ultra-sharp resolution, pro-grade audio, or a product that has a broader smart home ecosystem, you’ll need to spend more.

The Blink Video Doorbell (2nd Gen)’s 1:1 aspect ratio and 50-degree field of view lets you see a visitor’s face, a package on the ground, or anyone standing at the door’s edge.

Installation

Blink doesn’t include much in the way of instructions in the box. The Quick Start guide suggests downloading the Blink app for iOS or Google. Once you’ve done that and fired it up, you mostly get step-by-step instructions for setting up and installing your doorbell system. Experienced smart home device users will realize that installation should start with the Sync Module, but the app doesn’t suggest that step if you start with the doorbell itself.

The Blink app connects the Blink Sync Module Core to your home Wi-Fi, a step that’s usually easy. Blink cameras connect to that, and from there to your home network. The Sync Module Core is included with the doorbell, but if you want local storage, you’ll need to purchase one of the higher-end models.

There’s the $50 Blink Sync Module 2, which has a USB-A port you can plug a thumb drive into (max capacity 256GB), or the $70 Blink Sync Module XR, which has a microSD socket (same capacity limit as the other model). The XR also delivers longer range for up to two Blink Outdoor 4 cameras (up to 250 feet in XR mode and up to 400 feet in XR+ mode). Both sync modules support up to 10 Blink cameras.

I encountered some trouble with my setup using the Sync Module Core. After several unsuccessful tries, I deleted the Blink app and restarted my iPhone before reinstalling the app. Starting over with the installation didn’t immediately resolve the issue, but I eventually got the Sync Module Core to connect to my network. I’m just not exactly sure if I did anything to make that happen or if the issue fixed itself.

Once those issues were resolved, the rest of the installation was easy. The app gave well-illustrated instructions for connecting and mounting the doorbell. I chose to use the included AA batteries instead of hardwiring the doorbell into my existing setup. Once I did that, the steps were tailored to my choice and I didn’t see any of the wired instructions in my Blink app.

I installed the doorbell in a narrow slot between my home’s brick wall and its storm door. The edge of the storm door gasket made it impossible for the mounting plate to sit flush against my door jamb, so I swapped out the included screws for slightly longer ones I had on hand.

The included paper drilling template made installation far easier than pushing a pencil through the mounting plate screw holes to draw circles that mark the drill targets. I’ve installed quite a few doorbells and other home security products over the past couple of years, and this is the first one I’ve encountered that came with a template. That may seem like a trivial addition to the installation kit, but I’m now wondering why everyone doesn’t include them.

If the Sync Module would have connected on the first try, the entire process would have taken less than ten minutes. Even with a frustrating delay caused by those connection issues, the entire process took less than 30 minutes. The Blink Video Doorbell (2nd Gen) installation should be easy enough for absolute beginners even if the initial steps require a bit more patience.

Video quality & coverage

The upgraded square aspect ratio (1:1) and expanded 150-degree field of view let you see a visitor’s face, a package on the ground, or anyone standing at the door’s edge. Resolution is improved over the previous Blink model—1440 x 1440 pixels—but opting for that highest quality will lower the doorbell’s battery life (that’s not an issue if you’re using hardwired power).

In practice, image clarity is good for the price, but not stunning. I’ve tested video doorbells with image quality suggesting a 4K movie. You might think of the Blink Video Doorbell (2nd Gen) as DVD quality, a resolution that was once considered a miracle.

In low light, you’ll notice the absence of color night vision. If you live in a location with very dim lighting, you might get shadowy footage if you don’t have a front porch light or it’s not always on at night. This is the single missing feature that might tempt users to upgrade to a pricier device, but I think the image quality was more than good enough for most users.

Battery vs. hardwired installation

As with Blink’s Outdoor 4 camera, battery endurance is one of the big positives here. Blink claims up to two years of battery life with AA lithium in typical use with Sync Module. 

In real-world use, the figure will vary based on Wi-Fi strength, motion frequency, recording length, whether wired or wireless), but even a year of trouble-free battery life would be excellent. If you don’t want to worry about constant recharging or pulling new wiring, this is a big win.

The wired option is still present if you have an existing doorbell circuit, giving you the benefit of using your in-home chime.

Using the Blink app

The Blink app is required to set up your Blink doorbell. It’s also where you can watch any live video or recorded clips or communicate with anyone standing in front of your doorbell. Blink gear is optimized to work with Alexa, and you can connect your Amazon and Alexa accounts in the app.

Most of the functionality built into the Blink app is designed for Blink’s extensive line of home security cameras. If you enjoy their doorbell, Amazon hopes you’ll add a half dozen cameras and build a full Blink monitoring system that you’ll control in the app.

Subscription plan options

You can use the Blink Video Doorbell (2nd Gen) in its basic mode without paying for a subscription, but you will not get its full feature set. Without a subscription, you have access to a live view, alerts on door-press/motion, two-way talk, and limited video capture (if you also purchase a Blink Sync Module 2 or Sync Module XR).

A Basic Plan subscription ($3.99/month or $39.99/year) covers one Blink device. You get person and vehicle detection, motion event recording, up to 90 minutes of live view recording (you’re limited to 5 minutes of live viewing without a subscription), and cloud storage for up to 60 days, Blink Moments (which combines related clips across devices into one video), the ability to snooze notifications to temporarily pause alerts for up to 24 hours, and an extra 10 percent off future Blink devices on Amazon.

There’s also a Plus Plan that ($11.99/month or $119.99/year) that covers an unlimited number of Blink devices in multiple locations and extends the warranty coverage on all devices for as long as the subscription is active.

Unlike some competitors or prior Blink models, local/USB storage is no longer built-in via Sync Module Core. If you need video storage, you should factor the $40/year Basic Plan into your calculations.

Value

This Blink doorbell is a strong contender in the entry-level bracket ($60 to $80). Many other budget doorbells cost more, offer less battery life (or require hardwired power), or provide an even more limited set of features.

Mid-tier models ($100 to150 range) get better analytics, color night vision, local storage, and advanced sensors, but usually require a more expensive subscription in addition to their higher cost. The Blink Video Doorbell (2nd Gen) represents a “good enough” option for most users. Not everyone needs the most advanced features, and it’s hard to beat the Blink’s value when the doorbell on sale (it was going for as little as $30 during the recent holidays).

Should you buy a Blink Video Doorbell (2^nd Gen)?

Blink nails the basics with this video doorbell. If you just want to see who’s at your door and talk with them via app from the other side of the house, it’s a simple solution at a remarkable price.

A $40-per-year subscription adds almost all the recording features you might want; and/or if you want local storage, consider adding one of the higher-end Blink Sync Modules. You won’t get the highest-definition video or the best quality audio, but either of those options will give you an effective record of what’s going on at your front door.

Amazon’s Blink Video Doorbell (2nd Gen) lowers the barrier to entry for home security to a place where it’s affordable for almost anyone. You get a quality product with the support of a major company that has years of success in the field and avoid the shoddy quality (and questionable security) of no-name brands available online.

This review is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best video doorbells.