Top critical review
3.0 out of 5 starsGood but not great
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 24 January 2023
As noted by others for the money, it is terrific. You do not need a cloud subscription if you buy Sync Module 2 and a USB memory stick. Good quality pictures and app features as detailed in the advert.
The lousy part is if someone presses the bell button. This is announced on the Echo Show 10, even though your doorbell has sounded, the camera's view is not shown. You can ask the Echo show 10 to display the camera, which it does. However, be sure to tell it to stop if you are running the camera on batteries. There is no help on how to set this up either, so go to youtube and search for that and you should find the solution. However, I called the Amazon tech team, and after 12 or so agents and four hours got nowhere.. 5 mins on youtube solved it! So WHY is this not standard out the box option or clear instructions!? . I would like to see who is at my door automatically without the need to add software to the Alexa app, make connections, add routines, or add skills.. not straightforward – if I'm wrong, how come the amazon tech people couldn't tell me either?!.
Now I understand the routines and have fully integrated the Blink doorbell camera with my Echo Show 10. This is still a mixed bag; sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, with no idea why as when I test routines, it works 100% of the time.
I added the angle plate, which some have noted that the camera does not snap completely onto the backplate and looks like with a tool could rip the camera off the back plate quite easily. Not good.
The next problem is when the doorbell is pressed, it seems to take a while to connect to the Echo's and display the picture – meaning while the person gets fed up with waiting and leaves! It needs to be a lot quicker connection.
The doorbell chime can only be altered on the Echo, not the doorbell itself, so you are stuck with a single chime. (I think you can change this through the blink security camera options thought)
I like the idea of using the USB to add videos, so you don't need the subscription, but there's a more significant time lag if you choose the USB option to the cloud.
I did not try any other doorbell system or echo to connect video too if it works better, but for the cost, I am happy-ish if the expensive ones connect straight away when doorbell is pressed, and show on the Echo straight away. I would swap.
UPDATE : I was messing about with the Alex app on my phone and a notice said to launch the blink smart home skill via Alex, so I pressed it and gave the option of what to launch it on > selected picture frame (Echo 10) and it linked. Now the doorbell opens up on the picture frame/Echo. I believe I did do this before but seem I could not have as now it all works on pressing the bell. :-) However, I go back to the point on how to do this is poorly detailed by Amazon and needs to be updated or a new update to make this automatic.
UPDATE: no matter what I do the next day everything seems to reset so the doorbell does not show on the screen aarrgh!! Have to set it all up again and it all works, next day all seems to not work again :-(
