Avoid Blink Subscription Fees - How to store Blink security camera videos locally 

Hi, I bought the blink indoor camera got the 30 days free, and have tried contacting blink and Amazon about the "Amazon cloud service" that I need for the subscription plan. One says to contact the other it's like a ping pong game back and forth "Contact them no contact them" Do you know how I can get The Amazon cloud service and which one for the blink mini indoor camera. And thanks for the video

Hi Mark, First time on Average Me. But long time viewer of Uber Hints. I'm the guy who tends to politely nag you about Covid stuff. Also the one who boasts making 2000 per week on weekends. Not easy to do now as Quest bonuses have dropped from highs of 800 down to 400 since we last chatted live. I have a Blink Mini. With this new feature in your update with the Sync 2 can I now have essentially the same features as I enjoyed during my free trial cloud service. In other words getting immediate notification of a trigger and ability to view them immediately after they happen?

My free subscription just expired and I canceled it anyways. But for the life of me I cannot get my USB local to work. It shows there is a local drive and there is a check mark next to it. I get updates that motion was detected but nothing shows up in my USB drive. It says nothing is on the drive. I can only do live view after the motion was detected. But I want to see what motion was recorded like when I had a subscription. What’s going on?

@@CranmanPhotoCinema same here. And im online looking to find out.

Let me know you find. My storage stopped a while back. I got the cameras working. I think my wifi extender was interfering. But no local storage occurs

That's what I did

Just installed 3 outdoor blink cameras today. How do you like them? Debating on not paying for a subscription 🤔

Hi Shane, Consodering the affordable pricing and the convenience. I've taken the subscription option. I'd recommend it for sure. You can still save footage without the subscription but it's one of those things that seem like frugal option but it gets tough when you need your footage quick and easy. Hope this helps👍🏻

Thanks Michael!

What did you end up going with? I installed 3 Blink outdoor cameras today.

Same here.. Subscription is a no brainer , right. I wanna be able to see, when I'm not there.

Just install the module where it would be very difficult to find. Like the attic or ??

Burglars usually go for any electronics/jewelry/guns they can carry. Ones that enter at night are usually armed and/or high. Or they arm themselves with a large knife from your kitchen. That way they don’t get caught carrying one. They also might use your pillow cases to carry the loot. The first place they often go is right to the bedrooms and start yanking the drawers open from bottom to top. If they start at the top drawer, it takes an extra second to close it to get to the next one. They are in a hurry. I think the average burglary takes 7 minutes. Anyways, hide the module in a socket that’s out of view or plug it into an extension cord and hide it. If you have the money to spend, get a hard wired system and power it from an Uninterruptible Power Supply. Some burglars will cut any cable box and phone lines they see and turn off the power hoping to disable any security systems. Lock both boxes. I’ve got mine rigged with a really loud siren that’s powered by the UPS that goes off the instant the power box is forced open. Keep your cameras up high where they can’t be reached and not easily seen. Get an alarm system. I’d you can’t or don’t want to, just get an alarm security company sign and put it out front where it can easily be seen. That in itself reduces the chance of being burglarized by 2/3s or so. Just thought I’d share to help another vet out. Home Security is kinda a hobby of mine. :)

I find it's a practical option.

Just one

As of now (9/21) they give you 30 days for free

Yeah, I'm not real happy with the service on a lot of levels. When it's working, it works nicely. But when there's problems, customer service is not great.

Normal. The cameras are good quality, The bracket a bit flimsy, I am in Canada and will see if they survive the cold :) Update more than a year later: I must say that the batteries held up pretty well. At least a year in med quality and 5-10 notifications a day on front. more than 2 years on back camera. I use local storage on stick & almost satisfied. Still unhappy though with bouncing of data through Amazon servers. If you are not careful they will know how when you go in out of your home, and so hackers possibly ✌

I have 5 cameras. Four of the 5 didn’t work. I cannot see paying $100 a year this subscription. You can buy another system and not have a fee . In a couple of years you’ll have made your money back. Amazon is a racket.

That's what I thought until both cameras stopped recording motion, they both show live video if I request it, but nothing is saved, so the cameras do still work.

@sjb3594 Did you end up buying another system? Any recommendations? Thanks!

Until someone breaks into your house and steals your stuff along with the USB drive that has all the recording data on it.

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Then you’d have to avoid Blink altogether because they’re an Amazon product

Lol

You buy usb to amazon too

Buy Amazon stock so you at least get a small slice of the pie when you buy this and subscribe.

You want the sync module then which i believe comes with the cameras today. When i purchased my cameras in 2021 a sync module was not needed and all of the indoor cameras were wired with wifi connections. When i purchased the outdoor camera last year i was a little pissed to find out i needed a sync module to operate it and it was sold separately.

I always apply for the warranty immediately or I forget to do it, or I lose the purchased information.

@@AverageMe awsome thanks will reach out to blink customer support and do just that. Thanks again.

i believe you have to delete it manually from the pc. but a 125 gb stick can record 25,000 30 second high quality clips so...

I suppose you can. hey are two separate functions.

It is and I regret buying it. I left a negative review on Amazon and they flagged it for no reason, and I'm banned from reviewing Blink products now.

@@Flu_Tang_Clan Amazon banned you. It’s just another case of the truth hurt’s.

Being an Amazon product how could it not be a con? Big Tech is all about control. These cameras we plug into the grid are used for a lot more than our own security. Read the fine print.

This is pretty immediate, maybe a 4 second delay

Yes, you will get a notification that motion is detected and then you can click that notification which takes you straight to the live feed. If you want to go back later and look at other live video feeds from earlier that day or week while your on the other side of the country you can do that too.

You can set the time length in your settings.

I always was confused on this. Can multiple cameras work for 1 sync module? .right now 1 is blinking the other is solid

You just use one Module which comes with the outdoor camera and then if you buy other outdoor cameras they will be about $10-$15 less because they won't come with the module. The other option is just buying the outdoor camera pack that comes with 3 outdoor cameras and the one module that you need. If you are just using the doorbell then there is no need for the module as you can just connect it directly to your wifi network.

I think you should have the subscription. I know I will continue with mine after the trial period. It just makes more sense to review it on my phone than wait until I get to a computer. What if I want to see who is doing what repeatedly? Or show a friend? Just easier to have readily available on my mobile devices

I was going to use the flash drive 100% but then just ended up sticking with the sub after the 30 day free trial ended because it's a lot more convenient and doesn't break the bank while giving me great piece of mind since I have unlimited storage.

10 cams = 30@month. That’s 5 gallons of gas!

It's on the sync module

It is used as a storage device to hold all of the motion sensor recordings. Think of it like a library but all the books are instead clips of what activated the motion sensors in the camera.

I haven’t tried it yet but the USB port is on the modal and supplies all the cameras with storage.

It’s not working for me. App cannot access the USB

@@AverageMe Once you open the app theres 5 icons/buttons on the very bottom of the screen. Tap the second from the left that looks like youtube icon.

I might buy one now you can access the USB from your phone. Thanks

It’s much longer than I like. Once activated, it sometimes takes up to 5 seconds to view in real time. By this time whomever or whatever activated it is often gone. Of course you still have the video.

@@AverageMe thank you

I've got a 32 GB flash drive in mine.

Yes.

As far as I can tell, you can as long as you have a USB adapter for it.

@@AverageMe thank you so much it's coming on tuesday when I come home from work

Just when is senses movement, or when you choose to view the camera through the app. When motion activated, it’ll stay on for a predetermined length of time, such as 10 seconds

@@AverageMe 10 seconds is NOT long enough!!!

I would say that is the major drawback.

You can increase the time in settings. I think up to a minute long.

True. I've had lizards and frogs set it off.

Yup, my neighbor’s cat, every morning at 2 a.m. on my porch

The Blink Outdoor camera requires the sync module to operate, as you saw in the video. The sync module comes with the Blink Systems/Kits. Once you have that, you can add other "standalone" cameras to the system.

@@AverageMe I paid for the standalone camera today after watching your video and I’ll have to buy the sync soon

An iXpand drive can work

According to Blink support, an Amazon.com account is required to purchase and activate Blink Subscription Plans.

I lost my iPhone and it took MONTHS of repeated contacts to finally get my cameras re-assigned to me. I had my purchase info from from Amazon, my emails, my cameras with codes and pictures, etc. and it still was a major headache. So I would not be optimistic.

No, they all use the same module. You connect them through the app. I’m also using 3.

@@AverageMe Do u need to by the sync module separately ? Or does it come with the outdoor unit ?

@@nomadcharter3691 No, all you have to do is connect all 3 cameras to 1 sync module

I think I did get that, but not with each camera. I just bought a new one when one of mine failed and no subscription was offered.

Welcome Nicole! And thank you!

You’re welcome 💙🙏🏽

It requires WI-FI and Internet based on everything I have seen.

If you don't have Internet it won't save the videos, and you can't even watch the camera live, so it's pretty useless.

the cloud option is really only needed if you don't have the control module and usb device, unless your worried i might get stolen then you don't have a back up if they don't get caught, so you could just hide the module, if the police don't arrive in time you still have footage.'

$3 seems cheap, until like me, 10 cams on my system. I use a flash drive and can view all the activity, live and recorded.

@@gordymorton15 I have 4, and a usb stick.

Yes you could do that.

Your not very smart, go back to 4th grade and start over

Thanks for the info. I haven't heard anything about it.

In general, the more your camera is activated, and the longer you have the video option set, the faster batteries will drain. There is an option to hard-wire the cameras to a USB power source in order to save battery life.

Yeah that marketing there is a bit misleading for sure. It says the outdoor camera lasts for 2 years on 2 AA batteries. I have had mine for about 45 days and the batteries are already dying. Looks like it last 2 years on standby mode only lol.

I did. For the $99 for 3 cams is worth it.

I guess you use your phone, lol!

@@AverageMe So when using as you describe the video is not stored in your house?

Yes but the drawback is the limited options viewing remotely. But it's money saved!!

I’ve been pretty happy with it so far. But the battery issue, while it makes the camera easy to install and use, is also a drawback as they do need to be replaced pretty regularly depending upon how often they are activated.

Not necessarily. There's something to be said for convenience. Having three cameras, I ended up paying the roughly $100/yr for the subscription

@@AverageMe how many other devices like phone ,laptops can connect to this and view security ??

You can see the clips on your phone now from anywhere.

@@mace5380 Without subscription? When did that start? We had to get the subscription.

This isn't a doorbell cam. I think you might be confusing this with another product or video.