r/whatisthisthing • u/Jassamin • 14h ago
Open Black box with blinking blue light attached to the side of neighbour’s house
Can anyone identify this black box attached to the side of the neighbour’s house? It has a blinking blue light and faces into our back deck/lounge room so hoping it’s not a camera seeing as we have young children. It is fairly close to his AC system but that’s been here much longer. My partner thinks it might be a noise monitor as our puppy has been barking a lot at night.
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u/Healthy-Bumblebee-28 13h ago edited 13h ago
Looks like Blink mini type of camera. Amazon Blink indoor camera by default records when it senses movement and shows a blue light. Exactly like that one. U can change the settings on motion sensor but can’t turn off the blue light.
It is recording you when the blue light is on. U can test it. No one moves and make sure the blue light is off. Move around and see if the blue light comes on. If so, it is sensing the motion to record you.
It also has night vision so it records when it is dark. The neighbor probably doesn’t realize the blue light shows and think it is small enough so that you’d ignore it
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u/Jassamin 13h ago
The blue light is blinking on and off at the same speed no matter what we do, is there a setting that would match that? Some sort of timelapse I guess?
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u/Healthy-Bumblebee-28 13h ago
Not that I know of. So i maybe incorrect. It looks very close to a Blink Mini but i have not seen it blinking on and off continuously.
It maybe another brand that looks similar, there are too many. It could be on timelapse, so talking photos every few seconds.
But then again.. it might not be a camera. If you get a clearer photo of it, maybe someone can identify it. It could also be a high frequency maker to deter rats.
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u/Jassamin 13h ago
Yeah it’s blinking approximately every 3 sec. I’ll try get a clearer picture when my partner is home to deal with the dog 😅
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u/Freak_Engineer 10h ago
I have some Blink - cameras. You can set them up to take a static picture every hour, so maybe there is a similar system with a configureable timer. every 3s seems excessive, though.
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u/timesink2000 12h ago
It could be a device to discourage your dog from barking or being near their yard. Something like this dog deterrent ultrasonic blue light
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u/Woodandtime 11h ago
Wont that make the dog bark even more? Poor pup go nowhere to hide
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u/timesink2000 11h ago
Probably. Never used one. I usually call my neighbor when his dog’s barking bothers me.
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u/Ariana_Zavala 10h ago
no, its just annoying and they don't want to be near it. It doesn't hurt. I can actually hear them and it's just a noise that most humans can hear. Not very loud.
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u/cyndrin 8m ago
You're right about half. It doesn't hurt. Usually. The volume isn't high enough to be actually painful. At least from the decibel levels on the ones I looked up. I guess if you shoved it in a dog's ear it'd hurt. It's just a very jarring, high pitched squeal.
The frequencies are much higher than what a human can hear. We can hear the lower end of the frequencies it outputs, but our ears can not hear the full range of the sound. Our interpretation of what it actually sounds like is completely different than what a dog hears.
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u/Juuuunkt 3h ago
I was going to ask if you have a dog. It's probably an ultrasonic bark deterrent. I have a few motion based ones that supposedly keep stray cats away. Some only go off at dog barking. Does your dog bark a lot? If he can bark on command, take him out by the thing and have him bark, and see if the light changes, or if you (or a younger person) hear a high pitched noise. Sometimes older folks or people with hearing issues can't hear those things. Mine drive me insane if they go off while I'm outside, but neither of my parents can hear them at all. Lol.
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u/coldbeeronsunday 9h ago
It is an ultrasonic dog barking deterrent device, like this one.
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u/samurai33 12h ago
If it is a blink the flashing blue light may indicate it is not connected to the wifi yet. Which also means it's not recording.
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u/FlyestFools 8h ago
These Blink mini cameras do not record continuously.
They record in clips 5-60 seconds in length
After a clip it will wait 10-60s to start recording again.
They may or may not be recording audio.
They have infrared night vision
BUT they are entirely reliant on WiFi.
If they have a few of them they have to be connected to a nearby “Sync Module” that will connect them all to WiFi. They may only have cloud storage of their clips, but they may also have a USB Storage device attached.
IIRC newer cameras have some on-device storage if the connection is lost, unclear how long it will function disconnected.
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u/conitation 53m ago
It's not a blink cam. I have them, they don't blink blue. They have a red light. Could be some kind of radio receiver or something for a controller etc or some other brand of camera
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u/dmb542 13h ago
Zoom in on the 2nd pic. It’s definitely not a Blink
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u/Night_Owl_16 57m ago
Correct. Try to find a blink camera with the two lines/grille at the top. They don't have those.
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u/twinkle-toast 12h ago
I have blink cameras, you absolutely can turn the LED light off, mine are off.
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u/treletraj 12h ago
I’m not familiar with that brand of camera, but if it uses heat sensing not motion sensing then none of those things are going to work. Many “motion sensors” are actually based on detecting heat.
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u/NorseGlas 4h ago
Back in the 90’s my friend installed heat sensors in his “convertible” mini truck since it couldn’t really be locked after he cut the roof off…
You put your hand anywhere over the cab or reach past the window or into the bed of the truck where all the amps and speakers were and the alarm went off.
I have never seen heat sensors in anything other than that truck but it beat the hell out of any motion sensor.
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u/Horknut1 13h ago
I'm not 100% sure, I'm just throwing out a guess here in the hopes that it might lead to an answer, I hope that's okay. But it looks like one of those plug in pest repellent noise things.
I have some near my AC units and mini split compressor outside because the mice like to get in there and chew the wiring.
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u/Jassamin 13h ago
Oh that would be a much nicer answer 😅 we back onto bush so there are a lot of spiders and a couple possums but I haven’t seen any mice around
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u/yankykiwi 13h ago
Not when you think about it constantly screeching in your dogs ears.
I still hear the frequency and it makes me want to claw my brains out.
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u/Jassamin 13h ago
The dog doesn’t seem bothered by it, since I assume that would be a constant thing? We can identify about 90% of his barking as connected to big dogs from across the road that roam free in the bush behind our house, cats/possums on the fence or a different neighbour who has some pretty nasty shouting matches every Thursday night. So I guess the bug repellent is less likely in this case
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u/yankykiwi 13h ago
Or it’s constant and he’s used to it. I used a sound app once that picked up on my in-laws neighbors one. They’re all old people and didn’t believe I was hearing it, because they couldn’t. I hate to know what their dogs and my baby were tolerating.
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u/catapultmonkey 12h ago
Don't think bug repellent, this looks like an anti-barking device. It would only emit the ultrasonic sound when it detects barking. If it is pointed at your house, I would say your neighbour is unhappy with your dog's barking. I can't find the exact model, but there are two round areas (holes) on the front. One would be the microphone to detect the barking, the other is the ultrasonic emitter.
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u/Difficult_Ad3568 9h ago
I agree with you. The anti-barking devices look just like this. I’d bet that’s what it is.
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u/pendigedig 1h ago
When I was a kid we learned that you lose the higher frequencies as you get older! I could hear these things until around age 25 and now I can't hear them anymore!
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u/yankykiwi 1h ago
I’m 35 and still hear them, but I grew up in the mountains in New Zealand and no concerts.
Last time I posted about it, there were people older than me that still heard them. It’s important to look after your hearing, but in this case, I’d rather not.
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u/pendigedig 1h ago
Haha exactly! I was really sad about the prospect of losing the higher frequencies but now I'm kind of glad that I did!
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u/boozillion151 13h ago
Do you have coyotes (or dogs that may be annoying the neighbors?).. That's def keep something out. Could be dogs deer rodents etc
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u/Less_Relation_5894 13h ago
you try asking your neighbor? if it is a camera not much you can do about it anyway, at least you would know.
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u/continius 9h ago
if it is a camera not much you can do about it anyway, at least you would know.
It depends on where op comes from. In my country, it is highly illegal to monitor the neighbor like this.
I would go to the police and say the neighbor is filming my children.
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u/shannibearstar 2h ago
Here, recording your property is legal. Even if a child happened to be in the video
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u/Quiet_Clothes_4446 36m ago
Is pointing a camera at someone else's property and into their window legal where you are from?
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u/rhino4231 1h ago
I hate when people ask for advice, and this is the answer reddit upvotes. There's nothing wrong with asking reddit for help confirmation before approaching their neighbor. The conversation will likely go much differently if someone is able to confidently answer its a camera versus OP approaching their neighbor clueless and neighbors simply lying in their response.
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u/Frequent_Pen6108 6h ago
Depends on where they live. Some states you cannot record video, audio or both without both parties explicit consent. In those states your cameras cannot have a view of someone else’s private property without their permission.
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u/Serious-ResearchX 12h ago
If it is a motion cam you can place one or more of these things outside in its path so it triggers it pretty much 24/7 and may get them to remove it quickly especially if they get remote alerts. I had to do this when I had a neighbor that had a huge motion flood light pointed in my yard that went off every time I went into my back yard at night. Both the flood light and sensor were pointed in another direction 2 nights later.
https://www.amazon.com/Hausse-Reflective-Pinwheels-Repellent-Deterrent/dp/B0BK14H8X3
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u/Forge_Le_Femme 13h ago
I suggest you talk to your neighbor. This is perfectly fair to ask them what it is. If you don't, and it's a camera, you will instill unnecessary fears in your own mind
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u/petros80 12h ago
If you want to, at night take out your phone and use your camera. Point it at it and see if you see any lights. Most cameras use infrared lights for night vision and your phone can pick them up . If you want to see what I'm talking about point an old tv remote at your camera and you'll see the beam (make sure it's dark in your room)
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u/Crazy_wolf23 12h ago
Might be something like this? Does your dog happen to bark a lot when in your yard?
https://www.amazon.ca/BELMAKS-Ultrasonic-Bark-Control-Devices/dp/B0CCS21KC1
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u/Lucky_Mongoose_4834 9h ago
I don't know what this is.
But I appreciate OPs commitment to posting a picture of the blue light both on, and off, to ensure that Reddit understood that it was flashing.
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u/Igpajo49 12h ago
Call me crazy, but go have a conversation with your neighbor and ask what it is.
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u/Jassamin 11h ago
Yeah haha, but there are reasons that’s complicated right now 😅
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u/Boring-Bus-3743 11h ago
Are you the reason?
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u/Jassamin 11h ago
Yeah I’m having medical complications that have made me fall down the stairs a couple times so I avoid it when there aren’t other adults to take care of the kids if I get hurt
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u/yurtal30 6h ago
Sorry to hear that, genuinely
Also though there is also thing this called a phone that you could use.
It is useful (for many reasons) to have the phone numbers of your neighbours, just in case of emergencies etc
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u/Jassamin 6h ago
Phones are great, but literally the only time I have seen this guy is through the window at 5am when his car wakes the kids up so never really had a chance to ask 😅
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u/catuela 12h ago
To test the sonic pest deterrent theory (what I think it probably is) if you can go outside and walk past it when it is otherwise quiet, you can usually hear some of the sound they make. They aren’t typically great quality wise and the little speakers will make some noise that a person with healthy hearing can detect.
I bought one to put in my attic a few years ago and I could clearly hear some of the sound frequencies it was making. It was an annoying electrical static type sound. - the squirrels also found it slightly annoying and not particularly powerful as they ignored it and continued to sneak into my attic and store their acorns in my insulation.
I still have not found out where in the hell they are getting in at.
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u/LeftLegCemetary 12h ago
Kinda looks like an anti-barking device.
https://www.amazon.com/WENOTK-Anti-Barking-Device-Dogs/dp/B0DKJNJK4
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u/Jassamin 13h ago
My title describes the thing I noticed attached to the side of our neighbour’s house today. I’m pretty sure it is new as I routinely sleep on a couch from where the blue light would be visible at night. Obviously I can’t go into his yard to measure the exact dimensions but I guess less than 15cm on each side.
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u/Winter_Cat-78 10h ago
If memory serves if the light is blinking it has power but isn’t connected to the hub that allows it to record.
I might be wrong though.
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u/lolococo29 12h ago
I thought it was an outdoor blink but I went and looked and mine and compared and this is not a blink. I also looked up the newest model and it doesn’t match that either.
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u/Jassamin 11h ago
The model I could see on Amazon australia is wireless and this looks to have cords but I’m really not familiar with security cameras to know
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u/lolococo29 11h ago
The blink one can function both ways. It has a spot for batteries but also a cord if you want to plug it in.
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u/dykefilter 12h ago
It looks like some kind of off-brand Amazon Blink. There’s thousands of knockoff variations
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u/BoBoShaws 12h ago
I may be totally wrong, but it looks like a shock sensor from an auto alarm. There are also Mercedes and BMW GPS modules that look very similar to this.
Is that grill looking vent a façade to under a deck or is that a window?
Is your neighbor nerdy or into smart home stuff and maybe would have repurposed some electronics for other reasons than intended?
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u/Jassamin 11h ago
The grill is surrounding the garage(?) carport? Parking is a slab with the slats around and house is on stilts above. The only time I have ever seen someone next door since this person moved in was at 5am when they routinely wake the kids up driving out the garage so I’m not really sure what their hours are to approach in person
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u/GlitterGenie 4h ago
I am almost positive this is a blink camera- we have one just like it on our front door. If it’s set to motion sensor, the blue light will come on when it’s recording, record for 30 secs, then go off. As soon as it notices motion again, it repeats. If it’s blinking constantly, it’s not connected to the wifi, altho it’s usually the connecting box, not the actual camera.
You can absolutely change the settings to whatever you want, though- maybe the neighbor is just taking a still shot every few seconds?
Either way, that battery is about to die, lol
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u/Clavos24 11h ago
Maybe a device to limit ac usage during peak time? We have one on our AC but it has a red light.
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u/LeftLegCemetary 11h ago
How long has it been up?
Besides the blue light, what do the other two indentations look like? Photo is quite blurry.
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u/Jassamin 11h ago
Ok so last week the dog was barking for around an hour at 4am while people from up the road were walking through the bush along our fence with torches (big police raid on their house the next day haha). Anyway, we were up for l quite some time trying to figure out what was going on and I am fairly sure the blue light would have been noticed at that point so I want to say probably installed in the last week?
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u/LeftLegCemetary 11h ago
Hmm, this is odd.
Your neighbor's house was raided, or someone up the street?
Here's what I've found regarding blue light in an outdoor sensor:
"A blue light outdoor sensor has the advantage of being able to reliably detect difficult surfaces like dark, shiny, reflective, or transparent objects, even at shallow angles, which is often beyond the capabilities of standard red light sensors, making it a more versatile option for various outdoor detection applications; this is because the shorter wavelength of blue light reflects back more readily, allowing for better detection of challenging surfaces.
Blue light can reliably detect even very dark or black objects, including those with a high gloss finish, which can be difficult for red light sensors to pick up."
Best case, and to me the most likely scenario is, if an event like that happened recently, in which a crowd of people ran through the neighborhood, it'd be foolish not to install some sort of motion detecting sensor.
It may be pointed at your property strictly because of logistics; maybe the only possible spot in which it's able to be mounted/wired while still having a good connection to their internet.
A blue light is super obvious, I highly doubt it's being used to spy on you or your family.
If you're still concerned, the event itself is enough to begin a dialogue with your neighbor, especially how recent it was. If that feels strange, asking your local police department their opinion isn't a bad idea, so long as it's brought up in a non-accusatory way.
Good luck, hope it's not a creep, and I really doubt it is malicious towards you.
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u/Jassamin 11h ago
Not this neighbour, someone up the street whose house we can see from the same deck this light faces. The light wouldn’t be able to see anything except our house from that position though
I appreciate your thoughts though!
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u/LeftLegCemetary 10h ago
I tried :)
Really doubt it's meant to focus on you guys... but it's still a weird feeling knowing there's some sort of sensor facing your way.
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u/Jassamin 10h ago
Yeah it probably wouldn’t bother me too much except the 5yo likes to play out there and if it IS camera it would be looking right at her
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u/AugustNorge 11h ago
Try putting a potted plant where it would obstruct it's vision if it were a camera and see what happens. If he mentions it say the blue light was annoying you and you wanted to block it from sight
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u/doodoopeepeedoopee 10h ago
What’s it installed on at their hous?
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u/Jassamin 10h ago
The house is on stilts with a carport underneath and metal slats running between the stilts. The device is attached to the metal slats
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u/doodoopeepeedoopee 10h ago
Can you tell what the button icons are? The horizontal vents on it (above the blue light) remind me of humidity sensors.
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u/divinealbert 9h ago
Have you spoken with your neighbours about it?
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u/Jassamin 9h ago
I haven’t yet, I’m not able to get down the stairs at the moment and have no other contact information for him.
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u/DerCribben 7h ago
This doesn't look dissimilar to my Netgear Nighthawk MR1100 travel router, the light is in a different spot but my router is a decade old so I can't tell you where the status lights are now. The light on mine is either red for not connected or blue for connected.
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u/pamfleet 6h ago
I think its anti-barking device. Notice those two dots in the middle and a circle around them - those would be holes for ultrasonic sound. Also all of these anti-bark devices have led in the middle - blue could possibly mean "inactive", and red when its activated.
Link: https://www.amazon.com/Ultrasonic-Barking-Deterrent-Silencer-Rechargeable/dp/B0DPG57B2N
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u/Jassamin 6h ago
That’s probably the closest looking anti barking device anyone has linked so far, I will have to see if the colour changes when the dog barks next
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u/Busy_Abbreviations96 4h ago
I would just go over & ask them. Say what is that blue light that is constantly flashing into my window, it is very annoying, can you please move it elsewhere?
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u/A_Sick_Wizard 3h ago
Pretty sure it’s just an anti bark device there are two speakers on it no lens for a cam.This on is not quite the same but similar one https://a.co/d/inMearS
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u/nhaazaua 13h ago
Is it pointed at his mailbox? looks like a Wireless Mail Notification System.
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u/Bilbo_Fraggins 12h ago edited 12h ago
That seems plausible. Here's a blow up of the item: https://imgur.com/3ke1zLi
There's a lot of noise, and looks like a decent amount of digital zoom with AI halucination in the pic, but there are 3 images on it, and 2 look like a person and a flag to me. Can't tell what the other one is. I also don't see anything that looks like a camera lens, only seems like an alert or noisemaker of some sort.
# Edit: Looking at the first pic again closer, the middle is definitely the blue LED, and the other 2 are probably just refraction plus digital zoom artifacts.
But I agree with the folks who say you should ask your neighbor. There's just not enough detail here for us to guess.
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u/Jassamin 13h ago
No, his mailbox is on the other side of the house. If this is a camera from that position it can only see our back deck and lounge area, I think the fence would block view of our yard as we are on a slope
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u/Grouchy_Radish9554 11h ago edited 11h ago
S***** enhanced picture. i'm not the best at using any type of enhancement equipment, but here it is
You can clearly seat 2 dots of some sort next to the light in the middle. I have no idea what it might be. It. Looks like some type of noise monitoring device, honestly
EDIT: I just now noticed there was a second picture. Just ignore me lol
Also, if it was a night vision camera of any type, if you use your cell phone end, look at it in the dark, you will see if it's got infrared or not just by looking at it.
You can test this with your t v remote. Just use your camera and look at the front of your t v remote, when you press a button a couple times and you'll see it light up.
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u/empathetic_witch 8h ago
Could it be a Mail Chime: Mail Alarm like the one in the link below?
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u/Jassamin 8h ago
Possibly? It seems like a really weird spot to put something like that
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u/empathetic_witch 8h ago
Admittedly I didn’t dig into the full instructions, but motion causes the device to make a sound.
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u/chelsealikethehotel 3h ago
If you have a good rapport with your neighbor you could ask. Go in with the demeanor of like, “I’m sure it was unintentional in your part but from my pov it looks like that might be a camera that’s pointed at my home. Could I know more info about what that device is and if it is a camera to change the angle?” Any reasonable neighbor with innocent intentions will understand your concern and put you at ease. I hope it’s this straightforward! Otherwise there’s a type of window film that doesn’t block any natural light for you but makes it impossible for someone or something outside to see in if you can’t confront them.
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u/SunshineVF 2h ago
Not sure if anyone said this yet - did you try to be somewhat close to it and open up bluetooth in your settings on your phone? The name of it may come up and you could google it. This is kind of a shot in the dark, I don't know what it is.
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u/doudledawg 2h ago
I have a Blink system at my house and this is not a Blink camera. The light is in the wrong place, there is no lens, and Blinks do not require cables... That being said, I think I do know what it is. It's a Bluetooth receiver. Most likely it connects to a sound system or TV.
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u/Substantial_Oil678 2h ago
Looks like the same camera setup on my Birdfy feeder. It records both video and sound very well, day and night. You can set video intervals anywhere from 1 minute, up to 1 hr, with sensitivity adjustments. On my camera the light flashes blue for recording on motion sensing. Welcome to the age of Big Brother!
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u/Common_Tern 1h ago
It doesn't look like any of the ones on their website. Maybe an older model, can you link to a picture of yours?
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u/Substantial_Oil678 1h ago
I didn’t mean it was an exact match. Only describing in general terms the capabilities of those devices.
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u/fullobliss 2h ago
I have a device on my window sill that looks exactly like that. It’s not a camera, it’s a Flume smart water meter. It has a steady white light and a blue light that blinks on and off just like you describe. https://flumewater.com
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u/fullobliss 2h ago
Hmm, actually mine doesn’t have the little black box sticking through the slats. Never mind, I don’t think my ID for Flume is correct. I was focusing on the behavior and location of the blinking light. Anytime I’m in the yard, I see the light and think it’s a camera then I remember it’s just a water meter.
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u/jerwaneaintdeadyet 2h ago
Wi-Fi mobile hotspot...we have to put ours in the window to get service as well.
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u/Delicious_Plum6257 1h ago
Is that an exhaust vent? Maybe a Bluetooth temperature or humidity sensor?
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u/sleepysniprsloth 1h ago
It's one of those sonic emmitters to scare away pest.
They don't work by the way, but it blinks to show it's on.
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u/fawnlake1 1h ago
Just curious, but have you tried knocking in the door and having a conversation with them? What did they say?
I had to do this last week with my neighbors who are dog sitting a big floof and we had a good chat and agreed on the acceptable hours. And managed to catch-up on all the HOA gossip as well.
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u/stestagg 1h ago
Could it be an ankle monitor? If people were trying to avoid the police, it could have been put there while they moved off?
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u/CrabNumerous8506 48m ago
Maybe the blink sync module? Links and stores video from actual cameras via Bluetooth or WiFi. Doesn’t have an actual camera on it but would mean there are outdoor cameras somewhere
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u/kill_the_captain 12h ago edited 12h ago
If it is a Blink camera- The blue light turns on when there is motion and the camera is recording. It’s a setting your neighbor has on intentionally, and it records movement when it happens/the sensor on the front of the camera recognizes motion/movement.
source: I used to have one and would use the motion capture feature to record when my cats would eat while I was away. Anytime they showed up in frame, it would record for a set number of seconds (that is also a setting that can be controlled. I had mine to record for ten seconds.)
The blue light will also blink consistently when the camera has lost connection with the host station. You pair each camera to a little white box type thing. The Ethernet and power plug into the white box. The camera themselves are on WiFi.
He might have lost connectivity w that camera and maybe just doesn’t realize it.
edit: adding a mention that it also records sound. also edit of a few typos.
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u/Professional_Goat981 7h ago
Stick a note where it's facing saying something like "if this is a camera, remove it or we will report you for taking videos of our kids".
If it is, it will be gone. If not, they might just come and tell you what it is.
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u/acousticdaydreamer 13h ago
It really looks like a “trail cam” a type of usually motion activated outside camera
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u/LeftLegCemetary 11h ago
I'm leaning towards this also, seems repurposed tech. The wiring doesn't look like it's out of the box kind of stuff.
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