Blink Outdoor 4

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Editors' Note: This is the most recent version of the Blink Outdoor 4. Read our review from October 5, 2023 below.

Amazon’s latest security camera, the $99.99 Blink Outdoor 4, brings several improvements over its predecessor, most notably a wider 143-degree field of view (up from 110 degrees). It also offers people alerts with a Blink Subscription Plan (starting at $3 per month) in addition to other premium features like cloud-based video storage. It's as easy to install as ever, and continues to offer long battery life and reliable Alexa voice control support. That said, the Editors' Choice-winning Ring Stick Up Cam Battery remains a strong alternative and is now available for less than $100 if you don't mind settling for its narrower 130-degree field of view.

Wireless and Weatherproof

The Blink Outdoor 4 comes with the camera, a Sync Module 2 hub, a USB charging cable and adapter, a mounting bracket and adhesive backing, and two AA batteries. The camera's square enclosure measures 2.7 by 2.7 by 1.6 inches (HWD) and has an IP65 weatherproof rating. It only comes in black, but you can dress it up with a $7.99 silicone skin that comes in a variety of colors such as Eucalyptus, Forest, Lilac, or Slate, to name a few.

The front of the enclosure holds the camera lens, two passive infrared (PIR) motion sensors, a microphone, and an infrared LED for black-and-white night vision. The camera captures 1080p video at 30fps and has a 143-degree diagonal field of view, an upgrade from the 110-degree field of view of the third-gen model. There’s a temperature sensor around back and a speaker on the left side. Also on the back is a USB–C charging port, hidden by a rubber cover. Behind the removable back panel is the battery compartment for the two included AA batteries, which are rated to last up to two years depending on use and video settings.

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.

A Basic Plan goes for $3 per month or $30 per year (for a single camera) and includes person detection, 60 days of cloud-based video storage, video sharing, the ability to record while viewing a live stream, local storage backup, rapid video access (so you can watch your videos as soon as they are recorded), and automatic photo capture. For $10 per month or $100 per year, the Plus Plan gives you everything in the Basic Plan with support for an unlimited number of Blink devices, plus a Custom Snooze feature that lets you temporarily pause motion alerts for up to 24 hours, an extended warranty, and discounts on future Blink purchases.

The Outdoor 4 supports Alexa voice commands and integrates with lots of third-party smart devices via IFTTT applets, but it doesn’t support Apple HomeKit or Google Assistant. You can use Alexa commands to arm and disarm the camera, view live video on an Amazon Echo Show smart display, and use motion triggers in Alexa routines.

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.

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).

Use the Video and Photo Settings to configure the length of each video clip (between 5 and 60 seconds), select a video quality setting, enable night vision, and select an IR intensity level that adjusts the brightness of the infrared LED (High, Medium, Low) to control glare and supply more IR light when needed. Other settings let you adjust the audio volume and set up privacy zones to restrict recording coverage in certain areas of your yard.

Back at the home screen are buttons for arming and disarming motion detection on the camera. A Clips button takes you to a screen with thumbnails of all recorded video. Tap any thumbnail to watch, download, and/or delete the clip.

Easy Installation and Excellent Performance

Setting up the Outdoor 4 camera is quick and easy. I already had the app installed on my phone for previous reviews, but if this is your first Blink device you’ll have to download it and create an account. I tapped the plus icon in the upper right corner of the home screen, selected Sync Module from the list of devices, and used my phone’s camera to scan the QR code on the bottom of the hub. I tapped Create a New System, gave the system a name, and plugged in the module. After a few seconds, one LED was blinking blue and the other was solid green so I tapped Discover Device and selected my Wi-Fi SSID when prompted. I entered my Wi-Fi password and waited a few more seconds for the hub to connect to the Blink servers and update firmware, and the Sync Module installation was complete.

Back at the home screen, I tapped the plus icon again and this time selected Wireless Cameras. I installed the two batteries, used my phone to scan the QR code on the inside of the battery compartment, and added the camera to the system. I replaced the battery cover and waited a minute for the camera to connect and go through a firmware update before taking it outside and mounting it on my backyard deck.

The Outdoor 4 is a 1080p camera, so it doesn't offer the kind of crisp imagery you get with 2K cameras such as the Wyze Battery Cam Pro, the TP-Link Tapo C420S2, or the TP-Link Tapo ColorPro C325WB. That said, its daytime video quality is reasonably sharp and shows good color quality. Black-and-white night video is decent, but gets slightly fuzzy about 20 feet out regardless of your IR intensity setting.

Motion alerts arrived instantly, and the person detection feature correctly identified humans in view. Alexa voice commands to display video from the camera on an Amazon Echo Show device worked flawlessly and two-way audio came through loud and clear. Temperature alerts also worked as intended.

Simple Wireless Surveillance for Alexa Smart Homes

Priced at $99.99, the Blink Outdoor 4 lets you affordably monitor outdoor areas without having to run any wires. Its 143-degree diagonal field of view lets you see more of your property than its predecessor, and if you subscribe to a premium plan, it can alert you if there's a person in view. Like the last generation, it provides up to two years of battery life, is a cinch to install, delivers reasonably sharp 1080p video, and works with Alexa voice commands. The Ring Stick Up Cam Battery ($99.99) is comparable in terms of features and performance, though the Blink Outdoor 4 offers a slightly wider field of view. For even better image quality, consider upgrading to a 2K camera like the TP-Link Tapo ColorPro Outdoor Security Wi-Fi Camera C325WB ($119.99), which delivers superior nighttime image quality and doesn’t require a hub, but note that it isn't wireless.