Medical Alert System - No Monthly Charges

We purchased one of these for my elderly aunt about 9 months ago. We previously had one of those services with a monthly charge. I didn't need anyone to answer her distress call. What I wanted was something that would dial my cell phone with the push of a button and would allow her to talk to me without any problems. It had to be durable, reliable and (very) easy to use. Pros: Very sturdy - not a piece of junk. It's built to last a long time Well designed. The base (Big part) has its own battery charger for the base batteries (back up) and a spare battery for the personal unit. It tells you when the battery for the personal unit has a low battery. The personal unit has a speaker and a microphone. In use, all communication is through the small personal unit on the person. In other words, there's no listening to and yelling at some box in another room. It can be easily programmed to ring multiple phone numbers in order,and/or 911. It stops when someone answers and they press 5. This is a solution to the problem of getting an answering machine rather than a person. It generally has good clarity of sound - both ways. The limitation is the quality of your cell phone and the connection. The "panic button" is large and easy to push. It does take a good solid push to activate it. We've never had an accidental activation due to it hitting something. It can be worn as around the neck or on the wrist. Cons: The personal unit is a little bulky. It's about the size of a fat matchbox with two appendages sticking out of the top. These are the antennae and the battery access. My aunt finds it too bulky to wear around the neck. She uses it on her arm. The wrist band that holds the personal unit is loose. It doesn't grip the personal unit adequately. We put a piece of tape on it. There is a lag in communication - generally a few seconds - after answering it on the cell phone. It kicks in after about 5 seconds. Not really a big deal. After answering the panic call on the cell phone, it intrudes with a message to "push number five" in order to confirm that the answerer is not an answering machine. This message could be shorter. Not really a big deal. So, if you're tired of paying for that monthly service, this is the solution if you ask me. I think the technology is now there to make the personal unit smaller. They should do that. But it's a winner.

This works really well. I am actually surprised by the great sound quality on both ends of the call when using the pendant to make an emergency call.The unit comes with two rechargeable batteries, one of which stays in the base station, charging, while the other powers the pendant. Once the pendant battery dies simply switch the one in the base with the one in the pendant and you're good. No need to buy new batteries or find time to plug the pendant in to charge it. Physical switches on the back of the unit allow you tell it to call 911 only, call your friends list and then if no-one answers call 911, or ONLY call your friends list (which is really important of our use since the user doesn't want 911 called). When the emergency button on the pendant in pushed the base unit dials the first person on the friends list and plays a recorded message alerting the user that this is an emergency call and asks them to press a button to be connected. If a button isn't pressed within a few seconds the machine hangs up and dials the next person on the list (Requiring a button push from the recipient prevents the machine thinking it's connected to someone just because the call routed to voicemail). The base unit is light weight and fells like it was a bit cheaply made, but this is triumph of function over form. Despite the cheaply made feel, the actual use of it is easy, reliable and REALLY high quality.

I received the product and the instructions were clear, leading to an easy setup. Range around my 2500sqft home was totally fine and volume from the remote unit was great for my mother in law. Important note for those of you who do not have a landline, I know that there is a recommendation to use a cell phone bridge device. I tried this route initially but had problems with the system not working appropriately. For example, when I tested the dialing, it dialed the numbers, but when the recipients hit 5 from their phones, the system did not recognize it and proceeded to hang up and dial the next number in the line. Also, the pre recorded message would start too early and the recipients would only hear part of the message if the phone range too long before pickup. We were using an iPhone with T Mobile Service so I am not sure if that contributed to the issue. So I returned the bridge device and bought a VOIP bridge instead: https://www.amazon.com/OBi200-1-Port-Adapter-Support-Service/dp/B00BUV7C9A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1501478690&sr=8-1&keywords=obihai200 This works perfectly and I would recommend this solution instead for all of you folks without landlines.

After my grandmother fell and broke her hip, we decided she needed something like the "Life Alert" pendant. Decided on this one because of the versatility. She can wear it as a bracelet, a lanyard, or attach to a walker/wheelchair. She does the lanyard option. I have the 911 function turned off. My grandmother has called me several times on accident and I didn't want 911 being called unnecessarily. in the event the first 3 people didn't answer. Pretty simple to use. Haven't tested the waterproofness of it. NO MONTHLY CHARGE!!!! That's one of the best parts. You might pay a little more upfront, but then you are done! I do wish the range was a little bigger. Overall, no complaints though.