Blink Geofencing Not Working? Let's Fix It.
Blink's geofencing feature is designed to make your life easier by automatically arming and disarming your security system based on your smartphone's location. When you leave home, it arms. When you return, it disarms. But when this automation fails, it can leave your system in the wrong state, causing either a security gap or a flurry of unwanted notifications.
If your Blink system isn't responding correctly to your location, you've come to the right place. This guide provides a comprehensive walkthrough to diagnose and resolve the most common geofencing issues.
### Common Symptoms of Geofencing Problems
- System Doesn't Arm: You leave your designated home zone, but the system remains disarmed.
- System Doesn't Disarm: You arrive home, and the system stays armed, triggering motion alerts.
- Inconsistent Behaviour: The feature works some days but not others.
- System Arms While at Home: The app incorrectly determines you have left and arms the system.
- "Exiting/Entering Geofence" Message Stuck: The app status seems to be frozen.
Step-by-Step Guide to Troubleshooting Blink Geofencing
The problem almost always lies with the settings on the smartphone(s) used to control the system. Let's go through the checklist.
### 1. Check Phone Location Permissions (Most Common Fix)
The Blink app needs permission to constantly monitor your location in the background.
For iOS (iPhone):
- Go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services.
- Make sure Location Services is enabled.
- Scroll down to the Blink app.
- Set "Allow Location Access" to "Always". If it's set to "While Using the App," geofencing will not work correctly.
- Ensure the "Precise Location" toggle is turned ON.
For Android:
- Go to Settings > Location and make sure it's turned ON.
- Go to Settings > Apps > Blink > Permissions.
- Tap on "Location" and set it to "Allow all the time".
- Make sure "Use precise location" is also enabled.
### 2. Verify Settings for All Users
Geofencing is managed on a per-device basis.
- Check Every Phone: Every user who is intended to trigger the geofence (i.e., arm or disarm the system) must have the Blink app installed on their phone and must have completed Step 1 correctly.
- Last to Leave/First to Arrive: The system is designed to arm only when the last registered device leaves the geofence, and disarm when the first registered device enters. If one person's phone has incorrect settings, the entire system's logic will fail.
### 3. Optimise Phone and App Settings
- Disable Battery Saver/Low Power Mode: These modes can restrict background app activity, which is essential for geofencing. Disable them or, in your phone's battery settings, create an exception for the Blink app so it is never put to "sleep" or optimised.
- Enable Wi-Fi and Mobile Data: Your phone uses a combination of GPS, Wi-Fi, and mobile data for accurate location. Keep Wi-Fi enabled even when you're away from home, as it helps the phone get a faster, more accurate location fix.
- Adjust the Geofence Radius: In the Blink app, go to Settings > Geofencing. You can see the blue circle representing your home zone. If you're having issues with it arming while you're home, try making this circle slightly larger.
### 4. Update and Relaunch
- Update the Blink App: Go to the App Store or Google Play Store and ensure your Blink app is fully updated.
- Force Close and Relaunch: Close the Blink app completely (from the recent apps screen) and then reopen it. This can sometimes refresh the connection and state.
### 5. Reconfigure Geofencing
If the above steps don't work, try disabling and re-enabling the feature.
- In the Blink app, go to Settings.
- Disable the Geofencing feature.
- Log out of the Blink app.
- Log back in.
- Go back to settings and re-enable Geofencing, carefully verifying your home address on the map.
By meticulously checking the location settings on every phone connected to your Blink account, you can eliminate the most common points of failure and restore the convenience of automatic arming and disarming.