Blink Local Storage saves clips to your USB drive when it is inserted into a Sync Module 2.
- The USB drive must be from 1 GB to 256 GB in size.
- The USB drive must have more than 375 MB of free space.
- Any correctly formatted Type-A USB storage drive should work.
- If needed, you are asked permission to reformat the drive when it is first inserted.
Local Storage automatically starts when your Sync Module 2 has a recognized USB drive inserted, unless it is connected to a Blink Subscription Plan or Free Trial.
When you are using Local Storage with Early Notification "on" and tap a motion notification to enter Live View, clip recording stops immediately to give you access to the camera.
When you are using Local Storage with Early Notification "off" the entire motion clip saves before you can use Live View. Change clip length and Early Notification in Camera Settings.
Note that adding a new Blink Video Doorbell, Outdoor, Indoor (gen 2), or Mini camera will start a Free Trial of the Blink Plus Plan that saves clips from all of your camera systems to Cloud storage.
When your Sync Module 2 with USB drive is connected to a subscription, a once-daily Clip Backup is saved in the background to the USB drive. The Clip Backups are not viewable in the Blink app directly. To access these files, safely eject the USB drive and move it to your computer.
For faster clip downloads and to save Live View sessions, a Blink Subscription Plan offers these and other convenient features. To purchase a Blink USB drive, click to visit the Amazon purchase page.
Click a title to learn more about storage and plans.
What do the different plans offer?
Plus Plan
The Blink Plus Plan stores an unlimited number of clips from Blink Video Doorbell, Outdoor, Indoor (gen 2), and Mini cameras on your account for up to 60 days each (30 days in the EU, UK).
Here is a list of features:
- Motion Alerts in the Blink app, with Push Notifications, and Motion Clip saving.
- Tap the Motion Alert to enter Live View with two-way talk.
- Unlimited number of clips, stored for up to 60 days each (30 days in the EU, UK).
- The Sync Module 2 saves all new clips in a once-daily Clip Backup on the USB drive.
- Edit and Filter options to manage many clips at once.
- Saved Live View sessions through the Blink app or with certain Alexa enabled devices.
- Photo Capture provides a convenient condensed view of the whole day.
- Faster downloads for your clips because they come directly from the Blink secure servers.
- 10% off future purchases of Blink products (except for already discounted sale items).
- Extended warranty for every device, so long as the subscription is active.
- To view or delete backup clips, you must move the USB drive to a computer.
- Clip Backup can be turned off in the Camera Settings screen.
Basic Plan
The Blink Basic Plan stores clips from a single eligible device, and all other Sync Module 2 systems on your account are configured for Local Storage that begins when a recognized USB drive is in place.
- Receive Motion Alerts in the Blink app, with Push Notifications, and Motion Clip saving.
- Tap the Motion Alert to enter Live View with two-way talk.
- Unlimited number of clips, stored for up to 60 days each (30 days in the EU, UK).
- Saved Live View sessions through the Blink app or with certain Alexa enabled devices.
- Extended warranty for the subscribed device, so long as the subscription is active.
- A Sync Module 2 with recognized USB drive saves a once-daily Clip Backup of clips from the subscribed camera only.
- All other eligible cameras on the same system automatically configure for Local Storage.
- Clips and Live Views from the subscribed device are shown in the Cloud Clip List.
- A Local Storage icon shows for all other Sync Module 2 systems with a recognized USB drive.
Local Storage
Local Storage begins automatically when a Sync Module 2 with USB drive is not connected to a Subscription or Free Trial.
- Motion Clips are saved directly to the USB drive in your Sync Module 2.
- Local Storage stops automatically when your Sync Module 2 with USB drive becomes part of a subscription.
- Motion clips from up to ten Blink Video Doorbell, Outdoor, Indoor (gen 2), or Mini cameras are saved.
- Local Storage Clips can be viewed in the Blink app Clip List, where you can delete single clips.
- Older devices XT2, XT, and Indoor (gen1) do not save to the USB drive, they save to the Cloud only.
- To save Live View sessions, a subscription is required.
No Storage
When you have no storage option configured, you receive Motion Alerts that take you to the camera's Live View.
How do I tell the different clips apart?
You may have clips in more than one location. For instance, when a subscription plan starts or ends, your clips will save in a new way. When your primary storage type changes, all clips stay where they were created until they reach the Auto-delete age (default 14 days) or get deleted manually. When a storage type is no longer available and all clips are gone, the icon is no longer shown.
In the footer of the Blink app, tap the "Media Button" icon 
to see the Clip List.
In the Clip List, having more than one storage location creates an icon bar at the top.
A filled-in icon (solid blue color) shows the location of the clips you are viewing, as shown in the image.
- Notice the Storage bar showing that the 7200 seconds of space for older devices is now 17% full.
- A chevron ∨ next to the Storage bar opens the Auto-delete setting.
- Icons show next to the Storage location name. The example shows: "Cloud" and "New System".
- Tap the "Speaker/Mute" icon
to enable or silence audio from the playing clip. - The Mute setting is remembered for the next time you use the app.
- Only single clips can be deleted from Local Storage using the Blink app.
- Local Storage options do not include "Edit" or "Filter" abilities, meaning, you must move the USB drive to a computer to delete all files at once.
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Cloud Storage Tap the 'Cloud' icon and each clip is shown by its thumbnail image. Clip Backups are active by default, but not shown in the Clip List. Tap to play a clip.  |
Local Storage - Camera to Sync Module 2 The Local Storage Clip icon  is shown next to Camera and System names. Local Storage is active until a subscription begins.Tap to play a clip.  |
How do I view my clips?
In the Clip List, tap the clip you want to view and the top portion resizes to the width of your screen in portrait or landscape view. The Clip player supports 'pinch to zoom', meaning you can shrink or grow the video with a 'pinch' or 'spread' of your fingers on the screen. Clips on Local Storage may take longer to load because they travel an extra step from your location up to the Blink servers, before appearing in the Blink app. Cloud based clips come straight to your device from our secure servers.
In this image, a Sync Module 2 with an attached USB drive manages "New System". Two other systems, named "Outdoor" and "Cape" will show their Clip List when you tap their tab. Swiping storage icons to the left will show any additional systems on your account.
- The Local Storage Clip icon is next to the camera name.
- Most recent 30 days of clips on the USB drive are shown - up to 1000 total.
- Clip thumbnails are not available.
- Auto delete feature is not available.
- The 'used storage' bar is not available.
- "Edit" and "Filter" options do not appear in the Clip List.
What if I have just Cloud Storage or just a single Sync Module?
When you have just one type of storage, icons at the top of the Clip List are not shown.
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Cloud Storage Only
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Local Storage on USB Only
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What happens to my clips when I switch from one storage to another?
Clips in Cloud Storage have a default Auto-delete setting of 60 days.
The maximum Auto-delete setting is 60 days (30 days in the EU, UK).
Cloud Storage - Even after a subscription is canceled or is no longer active, clips in Cloud Storage stay where they were created until the Auto-delete age is reached, or until they are deleted manually.
Local Storage - Clips on the USB drive are not automatically deleted. You can delete single clips in the Blink app, or you can 'safely eject' the USB drive and access clips on your computer to delete clips all at once. When you re-insert the USB drive into your Sync Module 2, the remaining clips are recognized and Local Storage resumes.
When you have clips in more than one storage location, the following message appears in the Blink app.
When you stop or cancel Cloud based storage, and all clips expire, the following message appears in the Blink app.
What if my USB drive gets partially removed by accident?
When the Sync Module 2 does not detect a good connection you are notified in the app by the following screen. If you see this screen, make sure the USB drive is seated correctly and that power to the Sync Module is working. Click for Troubleshooting Local Storage.
