At the risk of rehashing old grievances, night vision was pretty weak in my hands-on Blink Outdoor camera experience. In an outdoor camera, this is a bit of a letdown. Both Blink and Arlo cameras will integrate with voice assistants, so you can use the best smart speakers to converse with anyone in the camera’s field of view and see a live feed from the camera through the best smart displays. If your camera or Sync Module is offline, we recommend trying to power cycle before resorting to a reset. You’ll find better night vision in one of the Ezviz cameras I reviewed recently, but generally, a camera with exceptional night vision needs some integrated lighting feature to do its best work. (Visit my Reolink Argus 3 Pro review for a really stellar night vision experience.)

The Arlo Pro 4 can only record video at a resolution of 2K, but aside from that, it offers the same features as the Arlo Ultra and Ultra 2, along with the ability to connect directly to your home Wi-Fi network rather than needing a base station. Both Blink and Arlo have a number of handy features that can reduce the number of false-positive motion alerts you receive; such as assigning activity zones so you’re not notified unless motion is detected in these areas, and scheduling when the camera should be monitoring for motion and when it shouldn’t. All Blink Cameras, Blink Doorbells, and Sync Modules have an easy way to reset them with a reset button. Here are where they are located:Below the video panel are three buttons. The Save button saves video from a live viewing session and the Talk button is used for two-way talk. Tap the More button to open the Device Settings screen, which is organized into several menus. The General Settings menu lets you change the device name, configure temperature alerts, and view your network and Sync Module signal strength. The Motion Settings menu lets you adjust motion detection sensitivity, choose a recording type (all motion or person-only), create motion zones, and configure a retrigger time for how long after a motion event the camera will begin detecting motion again (between 10 and 60 seconds). I’d like to note that since my last testing of the Blink Outdoor, Blink has come out with a newer version called the Blink Outdoor 4. The one I tested was the third generation, which replaced the Blink XT2 (2nd generation) and the Blink XT (first generation).

The Sync Module 2 contains a 2.4GHz Wi-Fi radio to connect to your home network and an RF radio to communicate with the camera. It has blue and green status LEDs on the front, a mini USB port for power, and a USB-A port for connecting to a storage device such as a thumb drive (not included). You can store video locally on the drive and share it, or you can enroll in a Blink Subscription Plan for cloud-based storage and access to certain features. My tests of Blink Mini centered around home entryways. Like all Blink cams, Blink Mini runs on fluid video, meaning it regularly fluctuates from higher (1080p) to lower video resolutions to allow it to run more smoothly and without gaps in your timeline. So the first thing to note: You won’t find much to gripe about in terms of video quality. This camera won’t let you down there. Motion Sensitivity These extra features offer plenty of different ways to tweak things to your liking. The most basic thing you can and should do is rename the camera itself to something like ‘garden’, which also makes it easier when asking your Echo Show device to bring up a live feed. You can also play around with the activity zones for motion detection, selecting rectangular segments from a grid overlay where motion will be ignored. This is particularly useful for ignoring notification from, for example, a swaying tree, or the area where your cat prefers to nap out and stretch. It isn’t too difficult to get everything up and running again, but if you don’t have to reset it in the first place, why should you? A Blink Mini can also get a power cycle or be restarted with the entire system from the Sync Module. Where are the Reset Buttons on Blink Devices?That’s where the Blink Mini lags behind compared to its closest competitor, the Wyze Cam v3. Although priced similarly to the Blink Mini, I’ve found the Wyze Cam v3 much better at ignoring less important motion events thanks to its built-in person detection. Resetting the Sync Module this way will put it in “ set-up mode.” All connected cameras will go offline. The Blink Outdoor provides Full HD colour video which serves up a crisp, clear picture, with more than enough detail to clearly identify individuals. Things automatically switch to infrared vision in low light, which obviously provides a monochrome picture that’s less clear than that found in daylight.

However once again Arlo just pips Blink to the post here thanks to its smart features. As well as being able to identify whether the motion has been created by a persona, animal, vehicle or another source such as wind rustling in the trees, Arlo cameras also offer rich notifications to your phone, providing you with a snapshot of the motion - so you can easily decide if you should launch the app and investigate, or ignore the alert. The only cameras I can recall that had an easier setup were from Wyze Cams. If you’re into simple wireless tech, you’ll appreciate Blink and Wyze. Not only do they resemble each other somewhat in appearance, the cameras also cost less than much of the competition. You can find much more on Wyze in my hands-on Wyze Cam review. Like all other Blink devices, the camera works with the Blink Home Monitor app (available for Android and iOS). Once connected, the Blink Outdoor 4 appears on the app’s home screen in a panel that displays the camera's last captured still image. The panel contains a photo button for taking snapshots and a video camera button that launches a live video stream. To view the video in full-screen mode, turn your phone sideways or tap the box in the upper right corner. They’re not the only cameras Arlo offers, it's more affordable Essential range features three models of Full HD camera that don’t require a base station. The camera itself feels sturdy and well-made, while its weatherproof design promises to fend off downpours (though it’s not rated for underwater submersion). During our few weeks’ worth of testing, the Blink Outdoor comfortably shrugged off some of the biggest British summer downpours we’ve ever seen, filling us with confidence in its outdoor durability. The one thing we will add though is that the plastic can get scratched quite easily, not that you’ll need to worry about that once it’s mounted.

However, when resetting Blink Cameras, if they are connected to a Sync Module, it is recommended to perform the factory reset.