We just ran our first-ever live Blynk 101 webinar, and it was all about the thing most new users want to figure out first: how do I actually connect my specific device to Blynk? Pavlo, Blynk’s founder, walked through the platform’s core concepts, demonstrated five different ways to connect hardware, and showed off some newer features live, including AI-powered Data Converters.
The full recording is above. Below is a quick summary of what’s covered and where to find it.
The session starts with the building blocks every Blynk project uses: templates, datastreams, metadata, events and alerts, authentication tokens, and the multi-tenant organization structure. If you’ve signed up but aren’t sure how the pieces fit together, this is a good starting point.
Not every device connects the same way. Pavlo walks through the main options and when to use each one:
The most practical part of the webinar. Pavlo connects real hardware and shows:
Data Converters with AI. A virtual device sends raw JSON payloads to Blynk’s HTTP endpoint. The AI parser analyzes the incoming messages, automatically creates the matching datastreams (temperature, pressure, airflow, water level), and writes the conversion code. No manual configuration needed.
Simple vs. Blynk.Edgent firmware. Side-by-side comparison of the two approaches. The simple path hardcodes WiFi credentials and auth tokens directly in the sketch, which is fast for prototyping but limited. The Blynk.Edgent path removes hardcoded credentials entirely. WiFi provisioning happens through the phone app, OTA updates are unlocked automatically, and one firmware binary works across all your devices.
Top Tip: The timer pattern. A quick but important lesson: never put Blynk.virtualWrite() directly in your Arduino loop. Use BlynkTimer instead. This avoids flooding the server, breaking the connection, and burning through message limits.
Controlling UI from hardware. Using Blynk.setProperty() to change widget colors, labels, and images based on device state. Pavlo demonstrates changing the mobile app’s header color from the device code.
The audience asked some great questions:
The fastest way to get started is with a blueprint. Log into Blynk.Console (https://blynk.io/), go to Get Started > Connect Device, search for your board, and the blueprint will set up your template, datastreams, and dashboard automatically.
Full documentation: https://docs.blynk.io
Community forum: https://community.blynk.cc
Want more sessions like this? Let us know in the comments or on the community forum. If there’s a specific topic you’d like us to cover next, we’re listening.
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