Blink Sync Module XR review: Network storage on a budget

I’m a big fan of security cameras with the capacity to stream their recordings to local storage on my home network. Amazon’s Blink family of cameras, floodlight cameras, and video doorbells has long had one of the most inexpensive options thanks to its Sync Module series. And the all-new Sync Module XR is a significant improvement over the Blink Sync Module 2 that precedes it.

Most security camera hubs must be hardwired to your router or to an ethernet switch connected to your router, but the 3.25-inch-square, 0.75-inch-thick Sync Module XR connects to your 2.4GHz Wi-Fi network (5GHz networks are not supported). You can view live streams and recordings from up to 10 Blink cameras—one at a time—in the Blink app.

Specifications

The XR in the product’s name is related to a new Extended Range feature that works with the latest generation of battery-powered outdoor cameras, the Blink Outdoor 4. When you connect one of these to the hub, you can choose between a Wi-Fi connection; Extended Range (XR), to reach cameras up to 250 feet from the hub; or Extended Range Plus (XR+), to service cameras up to 400 feet away. The latter two connections use a Blink-proprietary network operating in the 900MHz spectrum.

Note that these range estimates assume a single wall between the hub and the camera, and that you’re limited to using two XR-capable cameras with these settings. The longer-range features also entail trade-offs: Using an XR connection reduces video resolution from 1080p to either 720p or 360p, and using XR+ drops resolution down to 360p. You also lose the two-way talk feature with this setting.

Performance

Michael Brown/Foundry

The Sync Module XR also provides a superior means of storing video recordings from up to 10 Blink cameras. Where you’d plug a USB thumb drive into the Sync Module 2, tempting curious toddlers to yank it out, this new model features a microSD card slot. You’ll need to provide the storage device in both cases. There’s been no improvement in capacity, however; the Sync Module XR still limits your storage to 256GB.

If you find you need more storage than that, sign up for a Blink subscription plan that provides 60 days of cloud storage for all your Blink cameras (30 days in the EU and UK) in the cloud. Subscriptions cost $10 per month or $100 per year. There’s also a $3/mo, $30/year plan, but that only covers a single Blink camera.

Michael Brown/Foundry

In addition to cloud storage, a Blink Subscription provides person detection (on cameras that support it), the ability to send video recordings via email or text message, extended live viewing (you get 5 minutes without a plan, and up to 90 minutes with one), automatic thumbnail image refresh, and a few other perks.

I had been using three of Amazon’s impressively inexpensive Blink Outdoor cameras (two 4^th-generation and one 3^rd-gen) for the past couple of years, along with a Blink Sync Module 2. The cameras deliver impressive battery life of nearly a full year on a pair of AA Lithium disposable batteries.

Michael Brown/Foundry

Removing the old sync module and migrating the three cameras to the Sync Module XR was a snap. While I couldn’t migrate the old recordings to the new storage, I was able to plug the thumb drive I was using into my PC and watch the recordings and move them to my NAS box as unencrypted MP4 files.

This review is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best home security cameras.

Should you buy a Blink Sync Module XR?

Anyone who owns Blink security cameras will benefit from adding a Blink Sync Module XR to their home security portfolio. The increased range promise is genuine, even if it does compromise video quality. While the Blink Sync Module XR doesn’t offer any more storage capacity than the Sync Module 2, it initiates live streams and plays recordings with much less delay than the older model did.

If you don’t already have a Blink Sync Module 2, the $20 difference in price between the second-generation model and the XR is fully justified. The calculus is a little more complicated for those who already own the earlier product. Personally, I don’t need the extended range, and the speedier performance and the support for a microSD card with the same storage limit as a USB thumb drive aren’t enough to justify the cost of the upgrade.

My bottom-line score, therefore, is from the perspective of a Blink camera owner who doesn’t want to pay for a subscription and who doesn’t own a previous-generation Sync Module.