Freedom Alert, Landline Personal Emergency Device, 2-Way Call with Family and Police for Home Safety, Device for Seniors and The Elderly

After my dad passed, my mom wanted to stay in her house but has some health problems and is also a fall risk, so we knew we needed SOMETHING for her to wear so she could get help if she needed it. We started researching and found a dizzying number of solutions, most requiring a monthly subscription fee that connects you to a call center. Since mom is on a fixed income, we didn't want to burden her with a monthly fee so we focused more on our options that wouldn't require a monthly fee. Out of all the options we found, we chose this one for a variety of reasons.First, we liked the fact that we could program it with a call sequence. If mom holds down the red button for two seconds it will first dial my sister. If she doesn't answer live, it then calls me. If I don't answer, it will try her neighbor across the street. And finally, if she can't reach any of us, it calls 911. When the call is answered it plays a pre-recorded message letting the answerer know that this is a distress call and then lets them talk to my mother. We loved the fact that it doesn't immediately go right to 911, which can avoid needless emergency calls if she accidentally triggers it. (But you DO have to hold the button down for 2 seconds to activate it, which helps avoid "misfires" from momentary accidental button presses.)The second feature we love is that the pendant has both a microphone and speaker built into it. Some similar units have a smaller pendant but don't have a mic and speaker in it. They rely on a base unit that sits somewhere in the house and acts as a speaker phone. If the base was in the kitchen and my mother fell in the bedroom, the bathroom, or the sun porch, it would be impractical for her to yell loud enough for the base unit to hear her and she would not be able to hear the answerer speaking back to her. So the mic and speaker inside the pendant work great (and in tests we did the call quality is outstanding).The rechargeable battery lasts about 30 days and it comes with a spare battery inside the base unit that will always be charged. The pendant will notify her when the battery is getting low, and when it does that, she just swaps the two batteries, putting the spent battery in the base unit to charge, and moving the charged battery from the base unit to the pendant. We rehearsed it all with her and she was able to do it no problem.Note that this unit DOES require you to have a home phone (not a cell phone) for it to tap into. In a sense, it acts as a "smart cordless phone" on your existing home line. However, my mother DID recently switch from a traditional wired phone to an internet-based voice-over-IP (VOIP) internet-based phone and it works just fine with the VOIP line. So if your loved one has internet and no home phone, you could very inexpensively get them a VOIP phone line to tie this to.Overall we are very satisfied with this unit. It's brought us all a lot of peace of mind. We thoroughly tested it and were able to verify that 911 could see her exact home address when it calls. Mom wears the pendant religiously, even placing it outside the shower on the floor when she showers (we talked through various scenarios such as shower falls, etc.). It's brought us a lot of peace of mind for a modest one-time investement.

My mom of 88 y.o. loves it because it is super easy ... just press one button and it calls up sequentially me and if I don't answers then it calls my wife, then my daughter. Finally peace of mind !

This seems to be a well designed unit with every eventuality considered. I like the fact that it can be set to go directly to 9-1-1, which I had thought was not legal for alarm systems. Perhaps it is legal because it is manually operated and requires a two+ second push on the button to activate. Anyhow, this feature makes the unit useable without having to rely on others to make the call for you, nor do you have to pay a monitoring service a monthly fee. For those who prefer to have it call a neighbor, family member, etc., it can be set to call up to four numbers, and then either stop or, if it has received no response to then dial 9-1-1. Also important is that the remote is actually a telephone remote, not just an activator. You and whoever answers, whether a family member or the 9-1-1 operator, can actually talk to each other through the remote. (Family members should be instructed IN ADVANCE that if they receive the call and you do not respond by voice when they talk, then THEY should call 9-1-1.) There apparently is no identification given to called parties other than what is described below.There is no message, preset or recorded by you, that is sent. The device is activated as a telephone remote so you can talk to the called party. When calling numbers other than 9-1-1, after about 10 seconds the system will instruct the called party to press the "5" button on their phone. If the person does not do that, the system will hang up and go on to the next number. If the called party does press the number, the device will not call any further numbers on the list, including 9-1-1. My assumption is that, if and when the device calls 9-1-1, the operator will only hear either you or nothing. Either eventuality should evince a response.There are options or instructions for using the unit with phone lines that are not standard, single land lines. These include VoIP, DSL, dialing 9 for an outside line, and dialing *82 to override call block on the recipient's end.Up to four remotes ($119.95 each) can be used with the base unit. Also available is a wall-mounted remote unit (also $119.95) for those who are bedridden. This would count as one of the four remotes.Since the remotes are really telephone extensions, you can answer using them when receiving a call. However they do not "ring." You must be within earshot of a phone that does ring in order to know that a call is coming in. Unfortunately the method of answering is to push the blue button for two+ seconds--the same action that initiates an emergency call. I can see where this may cause some accidental alerts. You hang up a call by pressing the gray button on the back of the remote, or by waiting for three minutes of "silence" to be detected by the device.Complaints (the reasons for the four star rating instead of five):1) The belt clip is useless to many, as it is made to only fit belts of one inch width or smaller. I didn't try to use the belt clip until I obtained a short lanyard for the remote (Retracting ID Card/Badge Reel, BLACK, 30'' Retractable Nylon Cord, Carabiner Style (Sold Individually)). The lanyard is attached to the top of the remote and then clipped to a belt loop of my pants. The extension is long enough to allow using the remote as a phone without having to detach the lanyard. Sure enough, in the first week of using the belt clip it slid off my belt four times -- twice while I was out working in my fields. I'm glad I anticipated the problem and saved having to purchase another remote.2) The switch settings for whom to call (family only, 9-1-1 only, etc) are hard to see, as the small, flush switch lever is black on black. This is especially difficult for older folks. I had to place it directly under a strong light to see where it was set, and my eyes are pretty good.3) The pendant batteries look like AAA, but are not. They are 3.7 volt, and the manual seems to indicate that they are only available from LogicMark at, currently, $15 per pair including shipping. They recommend replacement every two years.4) What I believe to be a design flaw: the activation button on the remote is a large rubberized bump that rises above the surface of the body of the remote. This is good in that it is easy to locate strictly by feel. However, since it protrudes, it also makes it easier to accidentally activate the unit. If you place the unit on a surface, then accidentally press on it, it will probably activate. If you are wearing the remote around your neck and accidentally press the remote between yourself and a counter edge, it will probably activate. I believe the button should have been dished rather than convex. It would still be just as easy to locate the rubberized surface by feel.Do's and Don'ts:Do: When putting on or removing the belt clip from the belt, remove the remote from the clip first. The blue emergency button is directly across from the clip's lever. The lever is fairly stiff. The combination of these factors makes it difficult NOT to accidentally activate the device while trying to put on or take off the clip.Do: Remember to hold the activation button for at least two long seconds. Shorter times will not activate it (which helps reduce accidental activations.) Basically you hold the button down until the remote beeps. Will the person needing this device be able to remember that instruction?Do: Instruct friends and family on what will happen if the device calls them. All persons in the called households should receive this instruction.Don't: lean too far over the sink, etc, if wearing the remote on the supplied lanyard. The lanyard is long (the pendant is almost at my waist), and it is really easy to swing it into the sink water or the flow from the faucet.Don't: Misplace or lose the manual! Programming numbers of family and friends to be called is pretty complex. If you need to change a programmed number or remove one or add another, you will NOT remember how to do it.Additional info: On the front of the base unit is an LED labeled "INFO." This is not explained anywhere in the manual. I contacted LogicMark and they said:"Here are the explanations regarding the green info light:* No light: The unit is in standby mode and is ready for use.* Solid green: the unit is in use* Flashing: the pendant battery is low and needs to be exchanged with the battery from the charging station on the front of the base."They also pointed out that this list is printed on the bottom of the base unit. Now why didn't I think to look for it there instead of in the manual?