We upgraded to 4 hoping the increasing long term problems with 3 were corrected.

The upgraded mount of the 4 is easier to connect and the cameras have a clearer and larger field of view than 3. The night video does seem more clear than 3. There does seem to be less false alarms than 3 when/IF the cameras are operating properly.
WHEN the cameras are operating properly, they seem to have an increased sensitivity, although there seems to be no happy and consistent sensitivity setting to capture movement accurately; there seems to be a large deadzone in settings where the camera is either hyperactive or asleep. If you are accustomed to the 3 settings you'll likely have to have a lower the motion sensitivity and take what you get.

The Beta "Person" feature is nice but it is not consistent and seemed to reduce the overall accuracy and completely ignore the movement of real people; when this feature is turned off, many times the camera continues to indicate a person even though it is only a dog, but many times completely missing a video capture of the actual person.

The 4 cameras have what seems to be greater openings in the cabinet at different locations than the 3 version and this may prove even more problematic over time for the 4 since long term openings in 3 permitted water and insects into the camera. More than half of the 4 cameras are flashing at night for no apparent reason and consuming the battery life as early as eleven days, this flashing is seen from the nearby wired system or captured from nearby wireless units. The photo capture feature is off and most times there is no video to accompany the flashing. The flashing seems to occur later in the evening cycle towards dawn and does not appear to be dusk to dawn.

The learning curve of the 4 seems to be more difficult than 3 as we enjoyed battery life from 1 year to more than two years with the previous 3rd generation camera.

We would be furious if we paid full retail for 4 but thought we got a deal as the cameras were on sale, but we're hemeraging funds and operating costs due to the price of the batteries. We won't wait for the optional extended warranty to kick in as they are being returned within the grace period as more cameras are dying due to consumed batteries. If you decide to purchase the 4 make SURE you purchase the extended warranty.

The setup is easy and the cameras are ok, but even with a strong wifi connection, sync module signal, and fast internet speed, I often cannot see live view. I just get an endlessly spinning buffer icon. It's a different camera each time. If I go to another camera when one is failing, the other camera works fine. Because of that, I do not think it is my internet connection.

The main issue I encountered is that one camera out of the box worked intermittently for a few hours then went offline. Unlike the other cameras, it did not automatically update the firmware. I thought this was the issue, but after going through the troubleshooting steps listed on the Blink site, I tested the AA lithium batteries that were included with that camera and discovered that one was nearly dead.

I assume this is the issue. Since I had only owned the camera for 5 days, I contacted Blink support to tell them my issue and request they send me a battery to replace the dead one that came with the cameras.

They ignored my questions and just sent me links to their troubleshooting steps, which I told them I had already done. The email did say contact them again if I need more help. So, I contacted them again just now. I hope they will actually read and reply to my message, rather than send a canned response.

Assuming the offline camera issue will be resolved with fresh batteries, then I think these are ok for the price. This is mostly because you do not need to run any cables and you do not need to plug them into a power source, since they run on batteries.

I had Nest cameras before, which run on wired, AC power rather than batteries, and I see the performance is different. Granted I have only had the blink cameras for a few days, but the Nest cameras seemed more reliable. Perhaps replacing all the included Blink batteries will make a difference.

Anyway, I assume I will need to buy a pack of AA lithium batteries (regular alkaline cannot be used), since Blink support is not impressive so far.

Otherwise, as far as the image quality, don't expect to be able to identify facial features with a camera of this quality, but you will be able to recognize people you know, and, of course, you will know if someone was in front of your camera.

Problems aside, I would recommend this as a low budget security camera setup that you can easily do yourself.

A few years ago, if you wanted security cameras around your home, you had to shell out a lot of money for a wired system with a dedicated DVR, and usually pay someone to put wires from the cameras to the DVR through your home. Not something many people want to fool with. Fast forward, and more affordable wireless cameras hit the scene, and Blink is one of the more popular (and inexpensive) ones.

Blink cameras are basic compared to some other systems, but still very useful for the price. Wireless cameras can cost upwards of a couple of hundred dollars or more for elaborate systems, but Blink cameras are much more affordable and regularly go on sale. They don’t quite offer all of the same thrills as those that cost more, but they are excellent as a detection system that lets you know when someone is messing around the outside (or inside) of your home, and in good lighting, now produce good video clips as well. The 4th generation here, has expanded the field of view to 143 degrees, which is wider than the last generation which was 110 degrees – so you get more into the picture/video side-to-side, though it will bow a bit at the edges due to the wide field of view. Setup is pretty simple… you download the Blink app and sign up, plug in and connect the “Blink Module” to your WiFi (this acts as a hub, that your camera connect to wirelessly), and then via the app, add your devices before placing them where you’d like outside (or in). They run off of AA Lithium batteries (included), and it’s important to note that you should NOT use regular AA alkaline batteries in these, as they’ll drain very quickly. AA Energize Lithium batteries are readily available online and in some stores, and with average but not excessive use, can last up to two years in each camera.

Once set up and positioned properly, you’re set. Included mounts allow you to pop the cameras on via an adapter on the back of them, but other more secure mounts are available online with covers and cases to protect them better as well. They are very weather resistant, but if you add a case to it, it helps protect them even more. By default, the cameras will detect motion when they sense it and send a notification to your phone, and with the app you can view the clips. This 4th generation has added person detection which if you enable, will only alert you if it detects a person (something previous generations do not do). You can customize the length of the clips along with a variety of other settings like setting up areas where the cameras won’t detect motion at all, change the clarity of the videos, turn notifications on and off temporarily (or the cameras on and off altogether), and much more. You don’t need to subscribe to a cloud based video clip storage subscription in order to save clips, as you can use a USB drive plugged into the Blink Module to store clips on, but I do notice more delays in storage and playback using this method. If you swing a subscription for $3 per month (or $30 per year per camera) per month, your clips will be stored for X-days in the cloud, and this works more quickly, plus keeps your videos off-site so if you have a fire or someone somehow breaks in and steals the hub, your clips are still safe. The person detection feature is also only available with a subscription. You can subscribe to the “Plus” storage plan for $10 per month or $100 per year and connect multiple devices to your plan for storage. You can also download saved clips to your phone or tablet if needed when subscribed to either.

I’ve used the third generation of Blinks for some time. This forth generation again, promises a wider field of view compared to the last generation (true), a few more customizations in the settings (true), and better image quality (welllllll, not really). In decent to good light, the latest generation puts out very good video clips that are clear (1080p-ish, but quite compressed), just like the last one. Night vision however, still suffers quite a bit. Night clips are still quite fuzzy, black and white, and not very appealing, though again, even at night at the very least it still makes you aware of motion in a covered area, so you’re alerted. It’s too soon to compare battery life, but the claims of up to two years by Blink are the same. Of note, battery life is subjective… if you put one of these in a very heavily used area (kids, pets, etc) and it records dozens of clips per day, you’re definitely not going to get two years out of the batteries. If you put one of these let’s say on the side of your home, the driveway, in the garage, etc., where it gets less traffic, then battery life will be greatly increased. You can also tinker with battery life by adjusting how long or short the video clips are, their quality, etc. In mid to late October 2023, Blink is going to sell a battery extender that clamps on to the back of the Blink 4 units that doubles battery life, essentially, so look for those.

Overall this latest generation of Blinks is still very good. No, they don’t compare to very expensive cameras, but they keywords here are, “for the price”, they offer quite a bit of security for what you’re paying for. You get decent, wider, videos than the previous generation, although slight delays in getting notifications hasn’t changed since then. Also of note, some area police departments are so overwhelmed with false security system alarms, that some of them actually will avoid answering calls if that’s all you have going off, unless you can verify someone is messing around (with a camera, etc). So having at least a couple of these up outside and at least one inside, does give you the opportunity to verify if someone is lurking around, increasing your chances of help arriving quickly (or at all). If you’re on a budget, I do recommend Blink as an additional layer to any decent security system setup around your home.

I purchased the Blink Outdoor 4 cameras with the intention of using them within my home. I know that they are outdoor cameras, but the wireless feature and small form factor was what sold me on these.

_The Good_

Video Quality: The video quality depends on several factors. These include the settings within the app, and the speed of your home network and internet connection. If you are looking for great video quality, make sure that you have good internet service for download AND upload. Both are important here.

Night Vision: The night vision infrared is capable of seeing people in very low light conditions. However, if it is pitch black at night, the video quality is poor. These are not high end cameras for infrared night vision use. Will get the job done, but if you are looking out for details for that random person in your backyard, then try another product.

Sounds Quality: This goes back to what quality settings you choose in the app, and the network performance in your home. Much like the video quality mentioned above.

Phone App: The app is very simplistic to use for anyone who are familiar with smart home applications on their mobile devices. Keep in mind, THERE IS NO COMPUTER PROGRAM OR WEBSITE that you can use to work with your system in any way. This is exclusively through an app from the Apple Store or Google Play Store. The trade off is that the app does include several detailed features on how to customize you camera system. Although, it would be nice to have the option to control the system via program or app on a computer.

_The Bad_

Battery Life: If you prefer to have your cameras at a high resolution/quality, this will drastically reduce the battery life from the talked about "2 years" to down to just a month depending on the cameras activity level. This could be as little as a couple of weeks. They do offer an expansion that increases the battery capacity from 2 to 4. However, this does not do anything but double the battery life of what was already short. The camera does have the option to be powered (not charged) via USB C connection that solves this issue. However, this defeats the purpose of being wireless, and removed the water resistance of the device. Essentially, making the device a wired, indoor camera.

Subscription vs. Local Storage: Like any home automation/monitoring system, there will be a subscription fee. However, if you choose to opt out of the paid subscription, you will have no ability to record and store your videos in the cloud for ease of access. There is the option to record them locally, but the system is buggy. This includes corrupt video files, and not recording when it needs to. Further, you will lose much of the cameras functionality. Please see the blink website for details on the subscription versus free.

_The Ugly_

Poor Connection:
ISP Connection Speed: 500mb Download / 30mb Upload
Router: High End $300 plus router.
Apartment Size: 900 Square Feet

The connection to the home network and to the Sync Module is poor to practically non-existent at times. While using these devices in my home, the connection was good for about 2 weeks. Then one of the cameras began to show offline. Trying to access the camera gave me "could not connect" and/or "Camera is busy". Note: I had these connected via my 2.4Ghz network as instructed by Blink and within 25 to 30 feet of my router.
I had to power cycle the camera by removing the batteries. This did not work. Removed the camera from the system and performed a reset. This worked for a time. A few days later, both devices went offline and I had to perform the same steps. The system worked a few more days, and then happened again. I am a Computer Hardware and Network Technician. I took it upon myself to look at the network via my router's user interface and ran several tests, as well as testing all other devices both wired/wireless, and stationary/mobile. All other devices worked fine. No errors pulled from the logs for the network connectivity or for an individual device. I checked with my ISP, and they detected nothing wrong with my modem or connection outside of the home. Looking at the logs on my router, I did see that 2 MAC addresses were showing incorrect credentials. Confirmed that these MAC addresses belonged to the cameras. So it seemed that, for some reason, the cameras would "lose the networks credentials". Confirmed that the routers network security was in line with Blink requirements.

Customer Service:
I then had to call Technical Support after the above. The entire time that spoke with customer service, they had me perform the basic network troubleshoot of rebooting my router, granting them permission to my Blink Account, power cycling the cameras, et cetera. The entire time I explained that it is not my network that is the issue. Everything else on the network is working fine. The rep continued saying that "I see multiple network connectivity errors. It has to be your network." I mentioned that nothing on my network, router, modem, and ISP is testing in the negative. The representative, in my opinion, ignored any information that I provided and kept blaming my home network. I had tested this same system with another router/location with the same results.
The result was that they would send me a replacement for ONE of the cameras. I did not request a replacement. I simply wanted to speak with someone about the information that I found out, and see if there was some way to get the cameras that I already owned back online.

It seems that this network connectivity issue is also affecting several others. Please see other reviews for this product here, and on Amazon.

Luckily for me, I only wanted these cameras to watch my new dog when I was away from home. If you are in need of serious home protection, please look elsewhere for the sake of protection of you and your loved ones. They deserve the best, and this is not it.