Finding and Fixing Gaps in Your Blink Camera's Recordings
Blink cameras offer a convenient way to monitor your property, but their value diminishes significantly if they fail to capture important events. Discovering that your camera has missed a recording—whether it was a delivery person, a visitor, or a security concern—can be deeply frustrating. The good news is that most causes of missed recordings can be resolved with some simple troubleshooting.
This guide will walk you through the common reasons why your Blink camera might not be recording every motion event and provide clear, actionable steps to ensure it captures what matters most.
## Core Concepts: Arming and Retrigger Time
Before diving into technical issues, it's crucial to understand two fundamental Blink concepts that directly impact recording.
- System Arming: Your Blink system will only record motion clips when it is in the 'Armed' state. If your system is 'Disarmed', motion detection is turned off, and nothing will be recorded. Always check the status at the bottom of the Blink app's home screen.
- Retrigger Time: This is the cool-down period after a motion clip is recorded. The camera will not detect any new motion until this time has elapsed. You can adjust this setting from 10 to 60 seconds. A long retrigger time is a common cause of missed back-to-back events. For example, if it's set to 30 seconds, and a second event happens 15 seconds after the first one, it will not be recorded.
## Optimising Motion Detection Settings
Incorrectly configured motion detection settings are one of the most frequent culprits for missed events.
### Adjusting Sensitivity
The sensitivity setting determines how much movement is required to trigger a recording.
- Too Low: If the sensitivity is set too low, the camera may ignore subtle but important movements, such as a person walking at a distance.
- Too High: If it's too high, you may get false alerts from things like shadows or blowing leaves, and you might ignore real notifications.
- Finding the Balance: Try increasing the sensitivity setting incrementally and testing it until it reliably picks up the motion you want to capture without excessive false alarms.
### Checking Activity Zones
Activity zones allow you to mask off specific areas of the camera's view to prevent them from triggering motion alerts.
- Review Your Zones: Open the camera's settings and check the Activity Zones. It's possible you have inadvertently blocked out the area where motion is being missed. Ensure the zones you want to monitor are active and uncovered.
## Investigating Connectivity and Hardware Issues
A stable connection is vital for your Blink system to work correctly. The camera communicates with the Sync Module, which in turn communicates with your Wi-Fi network. A problem at either point can cause missed recordings.
- Check Signal Strengths: In the Blink app, go to the camera settings and check the 'Camera to Sync Module' and 'Sync Module to Wi-Fi' signal strengths. If either of these is weak, it can cause intermittent failures in uploading recorded clips.
- Improve Connectivity: Try moving the Sync Module closer to the camera or to your Wi-Fi router. Reducing the number of walls and obstacles between the devices can significantly improve signal strength.
- Battery Levels: While a camera might have enough power for a live view, it might not have the sufficient voltage to reliably power up the infrared sensor and initiate a recording, especially in colder temperatures. Check the battery status in the app and replace them if they are low.
## Subscription and Storage
Finally, ensure your storage plan is in order.
- Subscription Status: If you rely on a Blink cloud subscription, make sure it's active. An expired subscription will stop cloud recordings.
- Local Storage (Sync Module 2): If you are using a USB drive for local storage, ensure it is properly inserted and has free space. If the drive is full or has an error, new clips cannot be saved.
By systematically reviewing your system's armed state, retrigger time, motion settings, and connectivity, you can solve the vast majority of issues related to missed recordings and restore your confidence in your Blink security system.