Does Blink Work With Alexa? We Did the Research

I have always been curious about whether my Blink cameras worked with Alexa, like my other smart home cameras, to view live footage.

I have tried to trigger Alexa to connect my Blink cameras on a rudimentary scale, just to gauge whether the feature was available out of the box, but to no avail.

So I decided to do some research on the topic to put an end to my curiosity, as well as yours on whether Blink cameras work with Amazon Alexa devices.

Blink cameras work with Alexa to view live footage, thanks to the Blink SmartHome Skill available for Alexa, which can be easily installed by pairing the Blink account with Amazon Alexa.

Blink SmartHome Skill for Alexa

Blink devices can be controlled and viewed on Alexa-supported devices flawlessly without any issues, despite it not being available natively out of the box.

Thanks to Alexa's brilliant Skill ecosystem, which brought about the feature of Alexa reading out the Bible, controlling Blink devices also requires a Skill.

Amazon Alexa Skills act like applications for Alexa, which you can install as add-ons in order to control supported devices and services.

It is built using Amazon's own Alexa Skills Kit (ASK) development kit, meaning third-party companies like Blink can easily implement the feature for their services.

This works in direct competition with Google's own Assistant Actions, which enables users to a plethora of google home hacks and features.

That being said, there are some mild prerequisites you might need to set up before dwelling into the process of setting up Alexa for Blink devices:

• Make sure the Blink device is appropriately set up using the Blink app and is powered on.
• The Alexa device, with which you want to view or control your Blink device should also be set up and linked with your Amazon account.
• The Alexa app on your smartphone or tablet running iOS or Android logged in with the same Amazon account you logged in on your Alexa device.

Once the prerequisites are set up, installing the Blink skill for Alexa is a very simple process which you can do by simply following the steps given below:

• Open the Alexa app on your smart device.

• Tap on the Devices tab on the bottom menu bar.

• Tap on the Plus (+) icon on the top right corner of the screen.

• From the menu that pops up, tap on Add Device.

• Scroll down the list of available devices to add, and click on Camera.

• This takes you to the available camera brands that support Alexa, where you need to navigate to and select Blink.

• Follow the instructions on the screen if you haven't set up your Blink camera with the Blink app, and tap on the Continue option.

• This opens the page where you can install the Blink SmartHome Skill. Tap on Enable to Use to continue.

• On the resultant page, sign in with your username and password of your Blink account to let Alexa gain access to your Blink devices.

• Once successfully linked, click on the Close option.

• A new menu will pop up enabling you to add your Blink camera. Tap on the Discover Devices option.

• Alexa will start searching for Blink devices. Be patient as this process can take up to 45 seconds as mentioned on the page.

• Once the device is successfully found, tap on the Setup device option.

• If you want to add your Blink camera to an existing group of Alexa devices, you can proceed with the instructions and pair your Blink camera.

This properly sets up your Blink camera with your Alexa devices.

In order to view your Blink camera on your Alexa device, simply give the following command: Alexa, show me <blink cam name>.

Blink Not Working With Alexa? How to Fix

If your Blink camera does not connect with your Alexa after following the above-mentioned steps religiously, then there might be an underlying issue.

This can be something as simple as a minor hardware bug to even a widespread major software glitch that exists for most users.

But fortunately, they are mostly user-end problems and therefore can be fixed easily with a little bit of basic troubleshooting.

Power Cycle Your Devices

A power cycle can help in solving almost all hardware glitches that are usually noticed in electronic devices, including pairing issues.

Due to the constant operations that happen in the background of your Alexa and Blink devices, there are chances of minute hardware glitches.

These glitches can sometimes be harmless and therefore often neglected, but in some cases can cause serious issues, even leading to the device refusing to boot.

This is caused mainly due to an imbalance of charges inside the internal components of the systems.

A power cycle attempts to rectify this by making sure all charges are depleted and then charging up the internals evenly for the best performance as intended.

In order to perform a power cycle on your Blink camera, simply follow the steps below:

• Disconnect the Blink camera from its power source.

• Let the device sit idle in a powered-off state for about a minute.

• Connect the Blink camera back to its power source. If the camera uses batteries, it is recommended to use freshly charged ones.

• Let the device sit idle in a powered-on state for about a minute.

This safe power cycles your Blink camera.

In order to perform a power cycle on your Alexa device, simply follow the steps below:

• Disconnect the Alexa-enabled device from its power source.
• Let the device sit idle in a powered-off state for about a minute.
• Press the buttons on the Alexa device if any to make sure that all the charges from within the system are depleted.
• Connect the Alexa device back to its power source.
• Let the device sit idle in a powered-on state for about a minute.

This safe power cycles your Alexa-enabled device.

Check for Updates

Updates are an important factor of any smart device, as it contains newer features and, even more importantly, crucial bug fixes.

This necessity of applying the latest updates applies to the Blink camera, as well as the Alexa device.

If the issue of Alexa not connecting properly with Blink cameras is a widely reported issue, it is safe to assume that Alexa and Blink might be working on it.

They can only rectify this by pushing out the firmware patches.

So it is imperative to stay on the latest firmware and be ready to upgrade to a later version if available.

Final Thoughts

If you face any issues with Blink cameras not detecting on Alexa devices, it is best to contact Blink support for further guidance.

I hope my article on whether Blink works flawlessly with Alexa has been a worthwhile read and has aided you with the same.

Have a good day!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Are Amazon Alexa Skills free to use?

Most Amazon Alexa Skills are free to use, with some requiring a subscription charge for unlocking their full features.

Can Alexa disarm my Blink security systems?

As long as you have the Blink SmartHome skill installed on your Alexa, you can arm and disarm your Blinks security systems by giving the following commands :

Alexa, ask Blink to Arm.

Alexa, ask Blink to disarm.

Is Blink Live supported on Alexa?

Blink Live is not supported on Alexa, since Alexa has its own proprietary feature named Live View that serves the same purpose.

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