Blink camera home CCTV alternatives

[Paddymcc]

What battery powered WIFI CCTV are people using for their homes? or any decent recommendations?

I had blink cameras which had been working well but they have recently implemented a paywall for all their basic features so they're being returned to Amazon.

Pretty miffed as the 2019 models i had specifically stated they would require no monthly contracts.

[SlimJim16v]

I would look at Eufy and Arlo. You have a choice of resolution and they can both record locally.

[darreni]

Paddymcc said:

What battery powered WIFI CCTV are people using for their homes? or any decent recommendations?

I had blink cameras which had been working well but they have recently implemented a paywall for all their basic features so they're being returned to Amazon.

Pretty miffed as the 2019 models i had specifically stated they would require no monthly contracts.

I have a usb drive plugged into the sync module, can you not do this?

[Shrugging for victory]

I have been on a rollercoaster ride around CCTV and I've decided to bite the bullet and go for a proper wired solution. I'm having a Hikvision with colour night vision installed next week. I have a ring camera and the delay can be horrible, which is nuts, as I'm on a mesh network, so the thought of relying on it for complete security doesn't fill me with joy, plus you have the added subscription costs.

[Paddymcc]

darreni said:

I have a usb drive plugged into the sync module, can you not do this?

Do you still get alerts set to your phone so you can then watch the recorded video and live video is required?

[Lucas Ayde]

Paddymcc said:

What battery powered WIFI CCTV are people using for their homes? or any decent recommendations?

I had blink cameras which had been working well but they have recently implemented a paywall for all their basic features so they're being returned to Amazon.

Pretty miffed as the 2019 models i had specifically stated they would require no monthly contracts.

They implemented a paywall at some point BUT you shouldn't have to pay if you had bought prior to that (which 2019 definitely was .. I got mine in 2020 and they are still 'free' for the cloud services stuff). Did you maybe add a new camera to the setup or change the 'Blink link' hub to a new one?

[James6112]

Purchased mine 2018
Still free

I recently added additional cameras & got a message saying it’s still free, which it is..
“ If your Blink account is created before April 16th 2020 then all the cameras on this account will be entitled to the free cloud storage”

Edited by James6112 on Friday 2nd June 15:18

[Scaleybrat]

https://m.reolink.com/gb/product/argus-3-pro/

I recently went for this after loads of internet trawling including various PH threads. Teamed it up with a solar panel for battery top-up and an SD card installed for any required history. No subscription, no wires, easy app to control and monitor.
Other options in their portfolio if the Argus doesn’t tick all the boxes.

[Lucas Ayde]

Paddymcc said:

Do you still get alerts set to your phone so you can then watch the recorded video and live video is required?

I'd be interested to know this too ... does the app still get notified on the phone when movement is detected and can you access the stored local videos remotely? ie. You just swap the cloud storage for your own.

[Paddymcc]

Lucas Ayde said:

They implemented a paywall at some point BUT you shouldn't have to pay if you had bought prior to that (which 2019 definitely was .. I got mine in 2020 and they are still 'free' for the cloud services stuff). Did you maybe add a new camera to the setup or change the 'Blink link' hub to a new one?

Yes this is my issue. I added an additional triple camera and hub setup in work onto my existing account in 2021 which has circumvented my older free cameras.

Those newer cameras are already on their way back to amazon for a refund but theyre not playing ball with the older ones and have admitted that they should be free to use but theyre now not.

Blatant money grab by amazon/blink

[davek_964]

Paddymcc said:

Yes this is my issue. I added an additional triple camera and hub setup in work onto my existing account in 2021 which has circumvented my older free cameras.

Those newer cameras are already on their way back to amazon for a refund but theyre not playing ball with the older ones and have admitted that they should be free to use but theyre now not.

Blatant money grab by amazon/blink

I had similar years ago with some cameras (Y-Cam). They were sold as having 7 days online storage for free - you could pay to have longer.

About 2 years after I'd bought them, Y-Cam realised they weren't making any money - and announced that they would start charging for the 7 day storage (and the cameras were useless without it).
I contacted Amazon - and despite them being attached to my house for 2 years and being well out of warranty - I returned them and got a full refund.

[darreni]

Lucas Ayde said:

Paddymcc said:

Do you still get alerts set to your phone so you can then watch the recorded video and live video is required?

I'd be interested to know this too ... does the app still get notified on the phone when movement is detected and can you access the stored local videos remotely? ie. You just swap the cloud storage for your own.

Yep, mine is, i'm not signed up to their cloud or anything. I have a 128g usb stick in the Sync module (its a sync module 2 if that makes a difference)

Here you are, this is mine. So the clips are not backed up to Amazon’s cloud. You can decide how long you want to keep the clips via settings and larger usb storage allows for the storage of more/ longer clips.

Edited by darreni on Friday 2nd June 16:51

Edited by darreni on Friday 2nd June 16:54

Edited by darreni on Friday 2nd June 16:55