Blink is a well-known brand of wireless home security cameras that are simple to install and operate. A typical question that users ask Blink cameras is whether they provide recordings in a round-the-clock manner or at all (24/7). The short answer is no, Blink cameras do not record video around the clock or even continuously, for that matter. Nevertheless, they provide features such as motion detection recording and cloud storage whereby you can record when motion is detected.

How Blink Cameras Work?

Blink cameras rely on batteries as they are wire-free, making them easy to install, and setting them up involves connecting them to your home’s WiFi to send video clips each time movement is captured within the camera’s range. This facilitates them to work for as many as two years on as few as two AA lithium batteries. The cameras transmit clips to the cloud upon detecting motion. You can then view these clips for up to one year through the Blink Home Monitor application on your smartphone or tablet. However, Blink offers only a few hours of cloud storage for free if you don’t opt for a subscription plan.

Are Blink Cameras always recording?

No, Blink cameras do not record video for 24 hours a day. To do so would discharge the batteries that power the cameras in a very short time. However, Blink cameras stay put in sleep mode until their in-built motion sensors pick up activity. And then they wake up and start recording. The camera captures events for a certain amount of time that is set before the event, typically between 10-15 seconds. The recorded video clip is then transferred to Blink’s cloud servers through a wireless fidelity connection. From there, you can review video clips in the Blink app, and the company said the upgrade will not impact its pricing plans. However, the period you can watch this footage is limited depending on whether you subscribe to one of Blink’s plans.

On the free Blink plan, you will have the ability to view the last few hours of recorded clips in real-time. Clips come with either 60 or 90 days in the paid plans. However, none of the Blink cameras record as soon as the device is powered on – they require motion detection to start recording.

Blink Camera Motion Detection

Explained The heart of Blink’s motion detection makes it possible for its cameras to operate for up to two years without the need for recharging their batteries. The cameras are always in standby mode until the internal Passive Infrared (PIR) sensor picks up heat and motion from the occupants of the house or pets crossing its line of sight. There is the option to adjust the motion sensor sensitivity to more or less activity in your home. Although high sensitivity captures more events, it captures more events while low sensitivity decreases false alarms such as trees swinging in the wind. The trade-off is that the settings that do not require high processing power can sometimes fail to capture short-motion occurrences.

Activity Zones let decide on which part of the camera’s field of view should detect motion. For example, you can define an activity area around a door but exclude motion near a heavily trafficked road. This reduces false motion alerts even further. Functionality can be set to turn on or off motion detection during specified time intervals that are selected on a schedule. That means cameras will not record at night when there is no one around in the house in the first place. Lastly, Live View enables on-demand recording of 10-second clips 24/7 as the user wishes right from the Blink app. This is especially helpful for unpredictable or first-time 24/7 monitoring situations.

Blink Subscription Plans provide free cloud storage of video clips for a few hours, subscription plans unlock

Blink Basic Plan – offers free cloud storage with 60 days of video recording for $3/month/camera or 12 months free with a purchasable device. 10-second standard clips but can set 2-minute Live View clips.

Blink Plus Plan – 90 days of storage and unlimited video storage for $10 a month. Similar to Basic Plus, supports features such as the ability to configure recording clip duration to a range of 10 to 60 seconds after motion is detected. This helps in eliminating instances where there are breaks between two 10-second clips of recording the activity.

Adding a subscription will increase the amount of time that their motion-triggered video history is available. It also allows for the saving of longer, user-defined length clips. However, none of the Blink plans include continuous recording around the clock, or 24/7 – at least, not at the moment.

Third-Party Options for 24/7 Recording Blink systems record continuously

  • Sync Module 2 - This Blink accessory ($35 MSRP) hooks your cameras up to house power instead of batteries. Hardwired cameras do not require a power source, they do not rest and can record continuously for 24 hours. However, it does require wiring experience as well as access to an outlet.
  • Remote Home Monitoring – Other like Rokublink at $9. 99 per month provides software to monitor continuous recording by forcing the cameras to check in to keep them awake. As a downside, outcomes are not guaranteed and may affect battery life.
  • Solar Panel Recharge – An aftermarket solar panel ($30-$60) can indefinitely recharge Blink camera batteries for constant use. Camera housing should be placed outside and exposed to the sunlight.
  • External Storage – Blink cameras do not have inbuilt options for recording directly to local storage devices. Some users plug in their external hard drives to routers through a USB interface and use third-party apps to download Blink videos for continuous backup recording. Complex to configure though.

In conclusion

Out of the box, Blink cameras use motion detection to record key events for the battery operation of the cameras. Subscription plans provide more videos than the free section, and third-party tools help wire around the limited battery life. However, the drawback with this system is that it does not allow for constant 24/7 recording which is necessary when monitoring home activity which is sporadic at best.

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