Blink XT is the newest Blink … The mount doesn’t feel particularly sturdy, mind, but once in position you shouldn’t need to touch the camera.The Blink XT doesn’t employ a particularly sophisticated waterproofing system; you just need to squeeze the camera tightly when attaching the back panel to ensure it forms a seal. The Blink XT2 wi-fi security camera is weatherproof, so it can be used both indoors and outside. The Blink family of cameras works best for folks who want unfussy video security and don’t want to pay yet another monthly bill to use their cameras. Nevertheless, it does seem to be effective.It’s a shame that it isn’t possible to have different profiles for different users, but at least the calendar-based interface makes it easy to set up schedules.Audio is only one-way, however, so you can’t tell trespassers to be on their way if you catch them snooping around your bins.Blink’s XT cameras are triggered by movement and will record up to one minute of video at a time, although duration and quality can be altered within the accompanying app. This means it’s highly unlikely that you’ll be able to place your Blink camera right down the end of the garden, despite its form factor being entirely suited for just that.The following review covers the two-camera pack, which comes with the Sync Module necessary to get them talking to your Wi-Fi network. We quickly and easily mounted it above our front door facing the porch, our driveway, and the street. We tried to trick the camera by hiding in front of the porch and waving just a hand, but the camera reliably caught the movement each time and sent us a notification.In January 2019, Blink introduced “Activity Zones” on its XT camera, meaning that you can block out certain areas of the camera where you don’t want to get motion alerts.This is a huge plus if you’re not into having unsightly power cords running down the side of your house. However, in the important areas at the centre, footage is clear and sharp with plenty of detail.On occasion, the cameras also went offline for no apparent reason – you’re notified of this via a push notification –but would usually reconnect after a short while if left alone. Don’t expect HDR, but even on the middle HD mode it’s still plenty good enough to recognise faces, while the microphones pick up loads of ambient noise.Fixtures and fittings are limited, but each camera comes with a basic plastic mounting bracket that easily snaps onto the device’s rear and allows you to tilt the camera.You can also use IFTTT to get it to work with Google Home, and since Alexa support is built in, you just need to activate the skill and log in to your account. Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Blink XT Home Security Camera System - 3 Camera Kit - 1st Gen at Amazon.com. Only time will tell if the XT has the same capability.It’s good the motion detection was reliable, because the device only records when it detects movement. You can customize how long you want the clips to be once motion is detected, and it will continue to record if it continues to detect movement. It seems that Amazon and Blink are aware of the situation, as some customers have updated their reviews to say that they’ve heard from the companies directly in the weeks since launch.Amazon has plenty of other options for home cameras to sell in the meantime, from the Amazon Cloud Cam to Ring’s smart camera lineup.The XT2 is advertised as offering two-year battery life on a pair of AA batteries, free cloud storage (with no subscription plan required), 1080p video recording, two-way voice talk support, and Alexa compatibility.Customer reviews of the XT2 have been very mixed For example, it can be triggered to turn on or off by a Nest thermostat, or via GPS using either the IFTTT app. We did leave it out uncovered in direct rain for a couple of days, and the camera had no problems.Not having to pay for access to your own video footage is a great perk.Once we got the device up and running and connected to the app, we found that there’s a lot to appreciate about this camera. Blink sells two-, three- and five-camera systems for $180, $250 and $380, respectively. In addition, since it automatically overwrites the oldest stuff when there’s no space left, you never have to worry about running out.Once left to keep an eye on things, the cameras seemed to be pretty reliable – although, of course, there’s no way of knowing if they missed anything.However, these problems seem to be limited to the app itself, not the functionality of the cameras and didn’t ever appear to affect their operation.The XT’s video quality is better than Blink’s indoor cameras, with 1080p available on the ‘Enhanced’ setting. And in so many ways, it’s still the same.
Wi-fi security camera review: We tested the Blink XT2We earn a commission for products purchased through some links in this article.The Blink XT2 wi-fi security camera is weatherproof, so it can be used both indoors and outside. The XT2 is the first new Blink camera since Amazon acquired the … The XT struggles to tell the difference between an animal and a person, too, so be ready to become familiar with the local wildlife (an undersold secondary benefit of ownership if you ask me).To work, each camera must be in range of the Sync Module, which in turn must be in good range of your router to maintain a steady signal from one end of the chain to the other.