How to Troubleshoot Blink Camera connectivity issues with your network

Authored by: Support.com Tech Pro Team

1. Introduction

How to Troubleshoot Blink Camera connectivity issues with your network

2. Resolution

The Blink system relies on having good signal strengths for optimal performance in viewing Live Views, uploading motion clips and for best video quality. It is critical for the cameras to show 3 bars of connectivity to avoid performance issues.

Fewer than 3 bars for each connection can create intermittent issues with the performance of your system. Its important to note that the cameras utilize two types of signals for communication:

• LFR - Low-Frequency Radio - is the signal that cameras share with the Sync Module.
• Wi-Fi (2.4 GHz) - is the frequency that the cameras communicate with your Wi-Fi router on. Blink supports mesh/merged networks with a single SSID but only communicates on the 2.4 GHz band.

Reboot the router in case of any camera issues on a mesh network.

Assuming standard construction techniques (single building, no unusually dense construction materials) the Sync Module should be able to communicate with Blink cameras up to 100 feet (33m) away in any direction. We recommend keeping the Sync Module near your wireless router for best signal strength. Click to learn about signal strengths and how to check them. You should have 'three bars' of signal connectivity at the Sync Module and each camera, as depicted on the Sync Module screen in the Blink app

One solution, other than moving the camera closer to the Wi-Fi router, is to install a Wi-Fi extender or booster. A newer, more effective solution is called mesh Wi-Fi.

• Extenders
  A Wi-Fi extender repeats the wireless signal from your router to expand its coverage. Extenders function as a bridge to capture the Wi-Fi from your router and rebroadcast it to areas where the Wi-Fi is weak or nonexistent. This improves the overall Wi-Fi performance and signal strength for all connected devices within range. Click here to learn more about using extenders with Blink cameras.
• Mesh Wi-Fi
  Mesh networks eliminate connectivity dead zones by blanketing your home in Wi-Fi. They work by allowing different types of devices to chain off each other as nodes in a network, each broadcasting the radio signal further than the last. The typical mesh network includes several nodes, which act like satellites for your network. One of these nodes is a gateway and connects to the internet through your modem. The other nodes communicate to each other and will expand your wireless coverage every time you add a new node. Rather than communicating with a single access point (like a traditional network), each node of a mesh network communicates with the others. This distributes the overall signal strength and Wi-Fi coverage throughout an area.
  
  

Where to find Signal Strengths

Tap the three-lined icon next to your camera's nickname. This will present the camera's settings page. Scroll down and tap the Update button to pull the latest readings for both the camera to Sync Module and camera to Wi-Fi connections

Troubleshooting your connection

As a first step, power cycle the Wi-Fi router to see if signal strength improves after you tap the Update button in the Blink app as shown above. If that does not improve signal strength, move the camera closer to the Wi-Fi router and tap the Update button again. Repeat until you see 3 bars of signal strength