Blink Mini 2 review

Blink Mini 2: Introduction

• Type: Indoor, Outdoor
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi 2.4GHz
• Ecosystems: Alexa

If a budget plug-in security camera is at the top of your wish list, then Christmas has come early for you. Amazon-owned Blink released the Mini 2 compact camera to the US in March of this year, before treating those on the other side of the pond in the UK to it at the end of April. 

The Blink Mini 2 brings with it a number of improvements over its predecessor, crucially the ability to use it both indoors and outdoors if you buy the weather proof cable (sold separately), as well as a wider field of view and improved low-light performance.

What’s it like in use though? It’s been monitoring my home for the last two months just so I can let you know. You are welcome.

Design and installation

• Very small and discreet
• Weatherproof for indoor and outdoor use with separate cable

If cute and compact is everything you were looking for in a security camera, the Blink Mini 2 would get top marks.

It’s significantly smaller than competitors, whether you’re looking at Ring’s Stick Up Cams, Nest Cams or Philips Hue Secure.

In fact, the Blink Mini 2 is probably around half the size of most of those, offering a lovely cube-shaped design with a small stand that can also act as a wall mount, and allows you to easily adjust the angle and tilt of the Mini 2 thanks to the ball and socket joint.

It’s a discreet device, one that would go completely unnoticed if you didn’t point it out to be honest. Its design has been improved over its processor too, especially in the white colour option that now has a white face to match the white body rather than a white body with a black face.

I prefer the black model as you the camera lens doesn’t stand out in the middle of the face and it’s perfect for my home in my living room that has dark walls, though white will not doubt be preferable to those with lighter walls, of if you’re planning to use outside.

Note on outside use, this is a wired camera and that applies whether inside or outside. There is a separate weather resistant cable sold separately if you want to use it outdoors, as I mentioned, and this cable is a little longer than the standard cable. You’ll still need access to power however so keep that in mind when it comes to placement.

Back to the design then. There’s a built-in spotlight above the camera lens, which sits central to the square front, while the rear has a QR code for setup, a small speaker and the USB-C port I mentioned for plugging it into power.

When it comes to setup, the Blink Mini 2 takes a matter of minutes. You’ll need the Blink app if you don’t already have it, and if you have an Amazon account, then I recommend linking them, which the Blink app will guide you through.

To setup the Blink Mini 2, you just need to tap on the “+” in the top right corner of the app, and select “Mini Cameras” from the list. You’ll then need to scan the QR code on the back of your Mini 2 camera or enter the serial number manually.

After that, you’ll choose a system for your Mini 2, which is a group of cameras that can be arsed, disarmed and scheduled together. This bit doesn’t matter so much if you only have one Blink camera but it’s useful if you have a few more dotted around your home and it’s part of the setup process so you don’t have a choice but to do it.

Once you’ve created the system, you will need to plug in your Mini 2 camera and wait for the light to blink blue before it turns to green.

You’ll then be asked for Blink to join the temporary Wi-Fi network that it creates, before granting it access to devices on your local network to help it find your Wi-Fi network.

After entering your Wi-Fi password, the Mini 2 will connect to your Wi-Fi network and that will be it. It sounds long winded, but the entire installation, including signing up the Blink Plus Plan trial took 5 minutes.

Features

• Two-way audio, scheduling, activity and privacy zones, Live View, Alexa support
• Person detection, 90-minute Live View (with Plus Plan)

While the Blink app is a little more basic than some other smart home cameras, it’s probably worth remembering how much you’re paying here. There are no bells and whistles and it’s a little clunky, but it does the job and it’s very easy to navigate once you’ve sussed it out.

When it comes to features, the Blink Mini 2 has plenty to make it a worthy investment. It’s not compatible with Google Home or Apple Home systems, which probably won’t come as a huge surprise to many, but it is of course compatible with Alexa. Wouldn’t make for a particularly great Amazon device if it wasn’t now, would it?

Setting up Alexa is easy enough, though you will need an Echo Show or Echo Hub – basically an Alexa device with a display.

This will mean you can ask Alexa to show your Mini 2’s feed rather than having to use the Blink app on your phone or tablet. It’s a feature Google Nest offers between its Nest Cams and Nest Hubs too so it’s not unique as such, just handy. 

Two-way audio is on board here too, allowing you to communicate with anyone that is near your Mini 2 camera through your phone and there is also the option to use the Mini 2 as a plug-in chime for the Blink Video Doorbell if you have one. If someone presses the Blink Video Doorbell, the Mini 2 will send a real-time alert through its speaker. 

Elsewhere, the Mini 2 offers smart notifications in that it has person detection if you sign up to the Blink Plus Plan.

There’s no familiar face detection like you’ll find on Nest Cams, but person detection is good if you want to filter the notifications you receive. I don’t know about you, but I do not need to be told every time my dog goes to steal my spot on the couch.

With the Blink Plus Plan, you can also stream live video for 90 minutes, if you can find a use for that. If you don’t sign up to the subscription plan, the Blink Mini 2 will still work, and you can still tap on a motion alert notification to see a live view in 1080p HD of what is happening in your home at that moment, but you need a subscription to see recorded clips (unless you had a Blink account prior to 2020).

You also get color night vision thanks to the built-in spotlight I mentioned, which doesn’t require a subscription, nor does scheduling or customisable privacy and activity zones – features you often have to pay for with competitors.

Performance

Let’s talk performance then shall we? Overall, I’d say the Blink Mini 2 is decent for its price. As I mentioned, there are 1080p HD recordings, which offer detailed enough clips that you can distinguish faces and objects. In daylight this is especially true.

You can find better quality smart home cameras that record in a higher resolution, like Arlo’s Ultra 2, but you can’t get that at the Mini 2’s price.

Night vision using infrared (without the spotlight) was good enough in that you can see still what’s happening, but things of course become a little harder to see properly in black and white.

With the spotlight on, you see a little more thanks to the color, but it’s a little grainy. Still useable, but it’s not the clearest video you will ever lay your eyes on.

Audio performance is a bit static too. It works well enough and there isn’t much lag, which is good, but it’s not crystal clear.

Motion sensitivity is excellent on the Blink Mini 2 however, and the wider 143-degree field of view is also great – and wider than competitors including the Philips Hue Secure, allowing me to see my entire living space. Granted, this will of course depend on the layout of your home, but I didn’t want for much with this smart home camera, which is saying quite a bit for its price. 

If you find yourself getting a few too many alerts – a common occurrence with smart home cameras in my experience, then you can adjust the sensitivity of the Mini 2, as well as filter notifications to only alert you when a person has entered the space your Mini 2 is watching. As mentioned though, you will need the subscription for the latter.

The only other thing I’ll mention in regard to performance is the Blink Mini 2 has a sightly irritating clicking noise when it starts recording at night. It was very noticeable to me as the Mini 2 was in the living room where we watch TV every evening, but there’s a chance you may not notice it if you’re not sat with the Mini 2 at night.

Once you do notice it however, that’s it, it will grate on you unless you have the patience of a saint. You can get around it by scheduling the Mini 2 to arm only after a certain time, when you’ve gone to bed perhaps, but it would be better if it just didn’t make the noise at all.

Final thoughts

The Blink Mini 2 is small, but it is mighty in its offering. It has a lovely discreet design, it’s versatile in that it can be used indoors or outdoors and it offers decent video clips both day and night. There are a range of features too, from scheduling and activity zones to two-way audio, and all without a subscription, which is relatively unusual.

The Blink app would benefit from a little face lift, and the Mini 2’s audio could be better, as could the color night vision. I would also love the clicking noise when it’s recording at night to simmer down a little. But all that said, there’s a lot to love here for the price.

Sure, it would be great to see compatibility with other smart home systems, but if you’re looking for a cheap and cheerful smart home camera and Alexa is the assistant you’ve chosen for your smart home control, the Blink Mini 2 is excellent. 

How we test

When we publish our reviews, you can rest assured that they are the result of “living with” long term tests.

Smart security cameras usually live within an ecosystem, or a range of products that – supposedly – all work in harmony. Therefore, it’s impossible to use a security camera for a week and deliver a verdict.

Because we’re testing smart home kit all day, everyday, we know what matters and how a particular camera compares to alternatives that you might also be considering.

Our reviews are comprehensive, objective and fair and, of course, we are never paid directly to review a device.

Read our guide on our review process for smart security cameras to learn more.

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