How-To
Why is my Blink camera blinking red and what to do about it
Your Blink camera uses LEDs to communicate potential issues–here’s what a blinking red light means.
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You’ve set up your Blink camera, and everything seems to be fine. Then you notice one of the lights on your Blink camera blinking red.
That’s alarming, but you don’t need to worry. The front LEDs are used to signal various things to you, and a Blink camera blinking red means it needs some TLC.
We’ll go through what the blinking patterns mean, and what you can do about them to fix the issue.
What does a Blink camera blinking red LED mean?
On most Blink cameras, a blinking red light means one of the following things. These blinking patterns are universal across the Indoor, Outdoor, XT and XT2 cameras.
| Red Light Indicator | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Rapidly flashing red light every 3 seconds | Camera disconnected from Wi-Fi |
| 5 long red flashes followed by short flashes every 3 seconds | Camera is booting up and connecting to Wi-Fi. |
| Brief red flash | Camera has detected motion. |
| 5 or 6 red flashes after the blue recording light goes out | Batteries are low. |
Most of the time, Blink camera blinking red is nothing to worry about, as it shows briefly when it detects movement. That’s so that anyone being recorded knows they’re under watch, as required by some locations.
Anything more than a quick flash means some maintenance is necessary. That could be as simple as changing the batteries, which last about a year under normal use.
It could also mean that your Wi-Fi signal isn’t stable. Check things like if your area has an internet outage, if your camera is too far from your router, or issues with your router.
And if nothing else works, you might need to reset your Blink camera and set it back up from a fresh slate.
Blink Outdoor cameras are an affordable way to add security cameras to your property. They're weather-resistant, go two years without needing to charge, and have motion detection for recording potential security issues.
Blinking red light on your Blink Mini camera
Blink uses a slightly different messaging language to decode your Blink camera blinking red on the Mini.
| Solid red light | The camera is setting up or resetting. |
| Blinking red light | Camera is setting up or resetting. |
To fix connectivity issues you might have to:
- Check for internet outages.
- Soft reset your modem, Sync Module, and Blink camera.
- Check for MAC filtering on your router.
If you have tried all of these fixes and the steady light on your Blink Mini refuses to go, perform a factory reset on your Blink Mini. This usually fixes occasional glitches.
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- Affordable price for reliable home security.
- Easy installation and setup process.
- Compact design fits any space.
- Clear 1080p HD video quality.
Red light showing on a Blink Video Doorbell
The Blink Video Doorbell also uses red lights to signal issues or lack of connectivity.
| Solid red light | Hardware damage or software glitch. |
| Blinking red light | Initial setup, rebooting, connectivity issues. |
On a Blink Video Doorbell, the red light flashing tells you that it requires your attention to fix an issue. The only time it isn’t a problem is during the initial setup.
If the light refuses to go away even when you have tried resetting the device and replacing its batteries, it’s time to contact customer support.
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- Affordable: $35 for great security.
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Now you know why your Blink camera is blinking red
Your Blink cameras use the front LEDs to signal various things. A short blink of a red light usually means the camera has detected motion, and is nothing to worry about.
If the red light is blinking in a pattern, or continuously shows, then it’s time for troubleshooting, using the steps in this article.
If the red light persists despite your best troubleshooting efforts, it’s time for Blink support to step in and help you, likely with a replacement device.
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