About message count (free plan)

Blynk 2.0
1

Hi,
I have to use free plans for privacy reasons when I need somebody to share developer mode with me while in development/test process, since a developer accesses to all templates.
for this reason I have to follow the message counter (in console top bar) because of the 30k msg limit of the free plan, in order the projects not to be frozen.

  • counter is reseted every 30 days : what date is it ? the first of the month ?
  • what does counter really count ? I count my device side incoming and outgoing messages, but your counter rolls faster than mine. for example when my device starts and establishes connection with Blynk cloud, your counter rolls ~ +100 msg when I count less than 10 exchanges. in development process, devices are started dozens of time per day so the limit is very quickly reached within a few days
  • the free plan allows 10 devices with a limit of 30k msg/30 days, it means 100 msg/device/day, it does not give to developers the opportunity to discover the full potential of Blynk
  • it would be great to have msg count detail per day and per device somewhere in the dashboard : good for the developers to track useless bandwith consomption, good for you to optimize server ressources from the perspective where the project is then carried into a pro plan
  • the same msg count detail would be usefull in pro plan for the same reasons

in a pro plan we could expect the account admin to manage template access permissions to developers, and to have device analytics
Thank you
Bruno

2

I don’t know the answer to most of your questions, as I haven’t tried using the free plan since the message limits were introduced.

To understand the message flow better, you should probably add #define BLYNK_DEBUG to your sketch (if you don’t have it already, you’ll also need #define BLYNK_PRINT Serial in your sketch as well).

This rather old, and I suspect somewhat outdated, topic will help you decode some of the messages…

There is an authentication exchange at startup, but this doesn’t use that many messages. If you’re using Blynk.syncAll() or multiple Blynk.syncVirtual(Vpin) in BLYNK_CONNECTED() then this could easily create many more messages. Don’t forget that every sync request will trigger a response, so each virtual datastream synchronised is two messages.

Also, if you’re doing setProperty commands then these are messages too.

Pete.

3

Hi Pete,
thank you, I have mecanisms on my server side to track frames exchanges between device and blynk cloud
it looks like heartbeat frames where counted agains the limit but they are not messages to my opinion, that’s why it would be needed Blynk to clarify terminology and rules
Bruno

4

Did you try what I suggested?

Pete.

5

I’m running python code with no #define equivalent to get serial debug, I track frame exchanges (tcpdump) and they match exactly my app msg usage as excepted that’s why I don’t know where extra count comes from

6

Assuming that you’re using the Blynk Python library v1.0 have you looked at the other-functions example? This seems to demonstrate how to do debug logging.

Pete.

7

With more perspective with the logs :

  • blynk counter seems to be correct but since it is not real time, it can jump suddenly at any time, so it is difficult to compare display and reality over a short period of time
  • unwanted restarts due to device power or network failure cause extra messages to be sent when re-syncing, as Pete suggested. add this to additional reboot while in app development phase and you are done.
    It would be nice to know when counter is reseted, and per day/per device mesg count, even in PRO plan, for the benefit of both parties.
    either way, 30k mesg/30 days is a very low limit for 10 allowed devices in free plan and make it almost useless for developing or evaluating blynk, an additionnal $5 or $10 plan with less devices and higher limit such as 100k mesg/30 day would make blynk much more attractive before going to PRO plan.
    Thank you,
    Bruno
8

The limit is such that using the free tariff plan is impossible.
I think that the number of devices - 10 - is made so that the developer can check and make sure that 10 devices work, and that’s it. I don’t see any other sense in today’s free tariff plan.

1 Like
9

up please :

  • on what date date of the month is the counter reset to zero ?
  • possible to have per device/per day usage, either in free and pro plan ?

thank you

10

now I know when the counter will be reset since the limit has been reached
it would be more than usefull to know the date before the limit is reached, as well with per device/day usage

11

additionnaly :
api request reports an error when limit is reached (403, unauthorized)
but blynk protocol doest not, or it is not documented : Blynk Protocol | Blynk Documentation
it would be necessary to know about query failure using blynk protocol
Bruno

12

Bunk staff have chosen not to respond to your questions, but I guess that this works in much the same way as other Blynk limits - in a rolling 30 day way.
If you exceed the limit during the rolling period then future messages will be blocked until your 30 day total falls below the limit.

The Free account is for exploration only, so I doubt that the developers are going to spend time changing the library to allow elegant notification that the limit is reached.

If you’re planning to use Blynk long-term then you need to sign-up to a Pro subscription to free yourself from the message limits.

Pete.

13

I have a pro account but it is intended for production only and not for development for security reasons, since it is not possible to define access rights per developer to templates.
that’s why development is under free plans, as I explained above.

I also said that there was a lack of an interim plan to overcome this problem.

Yes it is a rolling 30 day way, but the question was when, until the limit comes and gives the answer

this said, in pro plan we could expect more analytics, such as device usage, and blynk protocol request failure notification

I’m not trying to push the boundaries for my own benefit, just pointing out some questions about core functions and try to understand where Blynk wants to go.

I had a maker plan which was perfect, I downgraded a few months ago during the holidays without knowing that I would no longer be able to reactivate it, so it’s not only a frustration but also a functional lack which highlights the gap between the free plan and the pro plan.

Blynk is trying to push the user to the pro plan and I understand that very well, but lack of reactivity of Blynk staff gives me the feeling that Blynk users are not as pro as Blynk expects since they don’t see the benefit to give free user a better experience to drive them to payed plan.

for certain types of projects where Blynk had no competitors, now there is since there is a hole in the offer.

Pete, can you please clarify your situation, you provide most of the relevant answers on this forum, are you Blynk staff member or experienced user ?
don’t hesitate to PM me if needed.

Thank you
Bruno

14

I’m a moderator of this forum and have been using Blynk for around 7.5 years. I get a free Pro subscription in return.
I’m not a “typical” Blynk user as my home automation projects run on MQTT and Node-Red, with Blynk being my mobile front-end to this setup.

I don’t really understand this comment. Rolling 30 days is just that - rolling.

I’m not really clear what exactly you mean by “device useage”.
As far as “Blynk protocol request failure notification” I’m not sure on that either. One omission in the current library is that there is no confirmation of successful Blynk.virtualWrite commands, but I wouldn’t class these as requests, so I’m not sure exactly what you mean by this.

This was always the theory in the past, but it seems (from anecdotal comments I’ve seen) that few users did actually upgrade in this way.
In the past Blynk had problems with users not playing fairly, and exploiting the low-cost solutions for commercial purposes. This was especially true with Legacy local server.
It seems that the Maker plan has been exploited in the same way, and this has led to its withdrawal.
I’ve always said that the free plan should have more functionality, but a limited trial period - say 30 days. This would allow people to “try before they buy”, and the inability to export templates, projects etc would make it virtually impossible for people to keep signing-up for new free accounts and carrying-on where they left off.

I see why Blynk had dropped the Maker plan, but it’s a real kick in the teeth for the typical maker who just wants a simple way to do some home automation and remote control tasks. There are other solutions out there now, as you say. They aren’t as good as Blynk from a maker perspective, but are now the only useable and affordable option.

I’m currently weighing-up my options, as it’s fairly simple to plug my existing MQTT & Node-Red back end into a new front end.
Supporting new users who have signed-up for the free plan is now a waste of time, as they will very quickly hit the 30 day message limit then abandon the platform, as $90 per month isn’t viable. So, my moderating days - and therefore my free Pro subscription days look like they are numbered.

Pete.

1 Like
15

Thank you Pete for your clarification.

I don’t really understand this comment. Rolling 30 days is just that - rolling.

it is not really rolling since there is a reset date, this is something hidden until you reach the limit, as me today :

Capture d'Ă©cran 2024-12-04 151000

so before reaching the limit, you know that the limit is about to be reached, but you don’t know when counter will be reset.

I’m not really clear what exactly you mean by “device useage”.
I mean at least the number of messages per device per day, so that the developer can track device bandwidth misuses or outages.
You say that Blynk has complained about unfair use of cheap plans, but uncontrolled devices in paid plan can harm the user and Blynk just as much.

To me, the main problem when using the free plan is :

  • the inability to track device message usage in regards to the desperately low message limit
  • the inhability to know if blynk request (using python blynklib) is successful or not, and error code if any since requests might fail with this plan

in other words to know if my device sends and receives exactly what is needed, no more no less, and to know if request failed and why.
And the main problem with the pro plan is the lack of control over developers, organizations and templates.

I’ve always said that the free plan should have more functionality, but a limited trial period - say 30 days. This would allow people to “try before they buy”, and the inability to export templates, projects etc would make it virtually impossible for people to keep signing-up for new free accounts and carrying-on where they left off.

30 days is not enough to lead a project and will increase the effect to jump from free plans to free plans to overcome it
missing export/import templates is a pain, but for me it’s not really a big deal when it comes time to move a test project from a free plan to a pro plan.

For me, instead of trying to control what users do with the plans, Blynk’s position could be for the benefit of all : we offer different plans, it’s up to the user to check if one of them matches to his needs, whether he makes money with it or not.

I really hope that blynk’s silence is due to reflection and not disinterest to user’s complains.

16

I’m not convinced.
If it wasn’t rolling then I’d expect the reset date to be 30 days from today.
I assume that you started testing around 16th November?
You might find that the messages for 16th November stop counting on 16th December, but sending more might put your 30-day total upto the maximum again. You’ll need to do some testing to find out.

Blynk is a business, and its position will always be what’s best for its shareholders. If it introduces loopholes that allow people to use the product in a way that doesn’t work for Blynk then they have to plug that loophole.

Pete.

17

You’ll need to do some testing to find out.

I opened this free account before November. 16th but didn’t reach the limit at this month which is why I assumed this count would be cleared on the first of the december but that didn’t happen
clear rules from blynk would be appreciated
I have two devices in this account, one seems blocked, the other doesn’t
but it is difficult to know if all the messages from the device supposed to still work are transmitted since the blynk protocol does not return errors

Blynk is a business, and its position will always be what’s best for its shareholders. If it introduces loopholes that allow people to use the product in a way that doesn’t work for Blynk then they have to plug that loophole.

pushing users towards the competition is another loophole
in any way, their silence speaks

to be short :
free account does not meet the needs of developers needs because of its limits
pro account meets only production needs because of lack of access rules for developpers
=> if you can’t develop, don’t expect to product

Bruno

18

The info says that this is an organisational limit, so I’d expect all devices to be blocked.

If you aren’t worried about migrating devices and templates from one account to another the why not use multiple free accounts?

Pete.

19

The info says that this is an organisational limit, so I’d expect all devices to be blocked.

that’s what I thought too

If you aren’t worried about migrating devices and templates from one account to another the why not use multiple free accounts?

firstly because the message limit per month is way too low
secondly because without clarification on the rules it will push me towards other more stable solutions

as you can understand, money is not the main concern

Bruno

20

to be more specific : in my case the basic concern is that I can’t share the same pro account with developers from the different organizations of the account, that would solve everything.

Bruno

1 Like