[DEPRECATED] Blink Camera Device Handler with Motion Sensor, Live Video Streaming, Integration with SmartThings/SHM, Temperature, Signals and Push Notifications

In my perfect world scenario they would just buy your code and make it their app. Toss out the half-you know-what’d garbage they current have that’s basically a glorified on./off switch and give us something that blows the competition out of the water.

Can you elaborate on what you’ve offered them?

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I got the canned response too. I told them that IFTTT simply won’t do. In my experience the lag just isn’t acceptable. XT order cancelled. Too bad.

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Canned Response:

Thank you for contacting Blink With the release of our IFTTT integration we have decided to disable third party integrations including all available SmartThings integrations. Blink users that would like to integrate their SmartThings hub with Blink can now use IFTTT. To use the Blink IFTTT service login to your IFTTT account and search for Blink in the list of available services. The Blink IFTTT integration currently supports arming and disarming your Blink system and also triggering other IFTTT devices/actions when motion is detected on any of your Blink cameras. We may add more services (such as arming or disarming individual or groups of cameras) in future.

When we announce/release new features and improvements, we’ll post about them to our Updates page linked below.

http://support.blinkforhome.com/customer/en/portal/topics/881964-updates/articles

I don’t even see the arming/disarming triggering. I only see motion based triggers. Pretty useless anyway.

edit… I mean, I can’t make any new applets that are based on arming/disarming.

I received the same canned response from Blink. Hopefully they either keep this available or officially integrate with ST (keeping fingers crossed for either). Until they decide to add more services to IFTTT as in their response, the only thing I have been able to come up with to fix the “zone” issue it to run separate sync modules for each “zone” to keep my current configurations for different modes (haven’t tried yet but should be do-able). Creating an IFTTT applets to cover each camera’s motion alert to trigger a virtual motion in ST will be just fun also.

For the applet, the “THIS” would be something like a virtual/simulated switch from Smartthings for Blink arming. The “THEN” will get you the group arm/disarm selection.

IFTTT would be a viable option if I could select multiple presence sensors to control arming/disarming the system or arming/disarming individual cams. You can only select one “this” command/parameter at a time.

As far as I can tell, IFTTT does not provide the simplicity of Rboy’s app… such as the example above or turning Blink on/off using mode changes.

So frustrated.

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I too got the same canned response. This is what I wrote back:
Thanks, Blink’s canned response has already been circulated widely within the SmartThings user community.

Just please make sure to forward this to the founders & management.

You are effectively crippling the product in favour of monthly payments for users to get desired functionality, something you advertise in direct opposition of (no contracts or monthly fees for the included storage or features). The IFTT option is not a replacement for what I’ve got today.

Posted on their Facebook page as well, seems as it is moderated and waiting approval/they didn’t let it pass.

How about giving them a good round of postings on their public post mentioning all of this on Facebook as well?

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Sent, along with tweets.

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Furthermore, even the paid model is going to fall short of this from what I can tell.

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Well, if it fails they’ve got no one to blame but themselves. Shame that’s how they’ve chosen to monetize their customer base. It’s MUCH cheaper to retain a customer than create a new one. And they’re looking like they’re going to need to up their marketing budget very soon.

I’ve just sent them a message on Facebook as well:
“Everyone at Smartthings community is receiving the canned response from management about the recent removal of Smartthings integration in favor of a poorly stripped down IFTTT. How about an actual explanation or some sort of note letting us know you intend to work on your app to get our features BACK?”

No response…

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Are we sure they are waiting until the 27th? Mine stopped working this afternoon. Seeing this in the logs:

error Exception while querying: groovyx.net.http.HttpResponseException: GATEWAY_TIMEOUT with status 504
error Unable to get all cameras details
error Error: Blink returned:null

Same here, mine doesn’t work anymore either.

Do you think they actually know?

Kickstarted companies like Blink are likely much, much, much smaller than you think. Even their Customer Support may be outsourced or just a couple people on rotation.

They ran into a performance impacting issue and reacted quickly, and perhaps it was the only or most strategic decision at this time. We don’t know their proportion of SmartThings customers to non-SmartThings nor the complexity of their architecture, nor their subscription monetization priority.

It is very easy to say “they should be communicating better” … Indeed, some businesses handle situations like this “better”; but we all know that is mostly not the case; and that doesn’t mean they are going to fail as a company.

Mine quit this afternoon as well. I wrote them congratulating them on creating a secondary market for used Blink.

Looks like it’s time to revive this thread:

The w*nkers didn’t even follow through of giving us a grace period to find a suitable replacement solution until the 27th. Ready to hang their CTO right now.

Same, well crap

Insult to injury for sure. [quote=“tgauchat, post:1588, topic:40535”]
Kickstarted companies like Blink are likely much, much, much smaller than you think. Even their Customer Support may be outsourced or just a couple people on rotation.
[/quote]

I work at a small company and I disagree. Call our office and we answer. No massive phone tree to navigate or outsourced anything. Smaller is supposed to mean better service. Plus, word travels much faster in a small business. Not to mention the canned response somebody took the time to form over there in a short period of time. so yes, they’re listening.

This blows as I used my 5 camera system as motion sensors for my Kitchen, Day Room and Dining Room, Front Door and Stairs for Home Automation purposes

Now, I have to go out and buy 5 motion sensors and I feel like I have wasted my money on the Blink System as I really only needed to cameras to cover the front of the house and back.

I actually showcased these and 4 other people bought the system based on my demonstration. Guess these will be going to FlyBay.

Good Job Blink

I got this IFTTT reply:

JAN 23, 2017 | 04:22PM UTC
The Blink Team replied:

Thank you for contacting Blink With the release of our IFTTT integration we have decided to disable third party integrations including all available SmartThings integrations. Blink users that would like to integrate their SmartThings hub with Blink can now use IFTTT. To use the Blink IFTTT service login to your IFTTT account and search for Blink in the list of available services. The Blink IFTTT integration currently supports arming and disarming your Blink system and also triggering other IFTTT devices/actions when motion is detected on any of your Blink cameras. We may add more services (such as arming or disarming individual or groups of cameras) in future.

When we announce/release new features and improvements, we’ll post about them to our Updates page linked below.

http://support.blinkforhome.com/customer/en/portal/topics/881964-updates/articles

Thanks,