VTech - Audio Baby Monitor - White

Mom & I needed a good monitor for my dad who was suddenly taken ill. I am telling you, we have been through 3 different kinds. And have had to take them ALL back to the store for a refund. We tried the $19.99 price range, well that didn't work (you get what you pay for in this case) STAY AWAY FROM THESE MONITORS: "Safety First Crystal Clear Monitor" WHAT A JOKE! We bought this from Kmart. We started out with the single parent unit ( monitor for babies room & 1 for the parent). WOW! The buzzing was sooooo loud! it is just a piece of junk. We tried everything. Moved the monitor, changed the distance, EVERYTHING. I returned it. This time I bought the same brand but I got it with 2 parent monitors. "More clear channels (4)”, better this.... better that..... PIECE OF JUNK! Oh, and there were NOT 4 channels, there were only 2 channels (A&B) but since you got 2 parent monitors, they counted the 2 channels on both monitors as a total of 4 channels. So our 3rd monitor I bought from SEARS was "Fisher Price Surround Lights & Sounds" We tried everything on this one also, we even put twisty-ties around the antennas to try for better reception. Also you can't have anything plugged in like your cell phone, printer, etc. or the monitor beeps. We even put it up high, JUST DON'T BUY IT! I am returning it today. That one cost us 35.99. Plus for my mother she didn't like the dial-volume; it was too difficult to turn, you had to use your fingernail. I took a chance and ordered this “VTECH Safe & Sound” from Best Buy(online). We love it! Mom is going to write the makers of this monitor and rave about how wonderful it is. First of all, it has a button to talk back to the base unit in Dad's room, so we don't have to jump out of our chairs and run through the house like a maniac to ask him if he's OK. Second, it's real quiet, we can hardly tell if it's on or not. An added bonus, it comes with its own rechargeable batteries. Another thing I discovered last night, the loop at the top is great when your hands are full, you can hang it from a finger. Mom would like it to be a little louder, but that's because she hears no noise (when he's sleeping), and can't tell if it's on. That's just her. I can hear the heater and Dad breathing when I put it up to my ear. That's just because it's so quiet. The other day Dad coughed, and Mom jumped, (because the monitor was so quiet, she forgot it was there) We paid $54.97 and it was WELL WORTH IT! Plus, the return policy; can be returned at any Best Buy store, you don't have to bother with shipping it back (oh, shipping to us was free). WE HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS ONE. And no interference when charging your cell phone, using the toaster or microwave (we keep the other one in the kitchen). And I have this one plugged into a multi-plug unit next to my computer, NO INTERFERENCE!

First of all I think that Best Buy is a great place to shop and their customer service is excellent. I can't say the same for Vtech however. I bought this DM221 monitor for $30 on 3/14/2017. From the onset I had problems with the battery going dead when the unit was totally shut off for 4 - 5 days. I made the mistake of dealing with Vtech customer service instead of Best Buy. On my first phone call to Vtech customer service, Vtech told me that the battery should not discharge when the monitor is shut off for prolonged periods of time. I use this monitor about once a week. Vtech customer service sent me a replacement battery and said that if the battery didn't fix the problem, they would send me a replacement DM221 unit. Well the battery didn't fix the issue and I called Vtech again today 5/30/2017. Today Vtech's story changed and I was told that it is NORMAL for a fully charged battery to go dead in 4-5 days with the unit totally shut off. The unit obviously has an internal current draw. I'm sure that a diode in the battery circuit would solve the issue, but that diode costs a couple of pennies. If it is NORMAL for the battery to go dead with the unit shut off, then why did they send me a replacement battery to begin with to attempt to fix a NORMAL condition? Now that the 30 day return period for Best Buy is over, I suppose that I'm stuck with this defective unit. Bottom line: If you don't mind charging the battery every few days even when the unit is totally shut off, then this DM221 is for you. As for me, I'm buying another brand monitor from Best Buy.

My wife and I have a setup where we have a Nest Cam in our child's room for visual and the vtech for audio. The sensitivity setting is very nice. I sat at my desk downstairs from my child's room and it would activate only if he was making some kind of grunt/coo noise, so crying of any sort is definitely loud enough. We put the monitor underneath his crib and we run a fan for white noise. Unlike cheaper audio monitors we've used in the past I have heard no interference or other radio signals come through; the signal is also quite clean even with a fan making white noise in the background. Another nice touch is the walkie-talkie capability. I have used it to talk to my wife when she's upstairs feeding our son, for example. It's nice to have two parental units. We keep one in our room and one downstairs and with a battery you can go wireless for a time. I haven't tested how long the wireless truly lasts but volume is not an issue even in an non-open concept house...especially when he's making his presence known.

I bought this in 2017. I contacted customer service shortly after I bought this monitor. When I turn off the unit with a fully charged battery, the battery goes dead after 3 days. This is with no use of the monitor in that time period. I called VTech and they sent me a new battery and told me that if that didn't fix the problem, they would send me another unit. The new battery didn't fix the problem. When I called back, the next customer service agent said that they would not send me another unit because it's NORMAL for all batteries to go dead like that. I asked him if his cell phone battery or car battery goes dead after 3 days without use. He had no answer for that and told me he was done with my request and promise made by the earlier customer service rep. He then he ended the phone call. That was the last VTech product I ever bought.

With adjustable sensitivity set on high you can hear breathing (ideal for a baby but not necessary for elder care). We use the lowest sensitivity setting to keep from picking up the elder's TV but still picks up her voice calls. Great that the sender is hands free. Receivers in two places in the house set on highest volume allows hearing a call for assistance from just about anywhere. To reply to a call from the elder, have to press a button (like a CB radio) but is not a problem. We leave them plugged in and on at all times and have had no problems. Great little unit for the price.

I take care of a parent with MS and needed something that I could not only hear if she needed to get up but could respond to her as well. I tried SEVERAL other monitors and this is the only one that got zero interference/ humming and I could actually sleep at night. I love that it has two "walking-talkie" like handsets so I can leave one in my room and one that I can take with me if I have to go outside or farther in the house that I cant hear her. I only gave it a 4 out of 5 as this is the 3rd set I've had to but as the power adapters keeps dying and it's cheaper to buy a new unit than to get a power adapter.

This Baby Monitor system was recommended by Hospice of the Valley to help me provide 24/7 care for my wife when I was in other parts of the house tending to house, home and other care giver tasks. The biggest comfort to me was when she no longer said " I called and you didn't hear me". I never failed to hear when she had a need when I wasn't standing right to tend to it. What a perfect solution to being there when you're needed. So you can also call this system a "Patient Monitor" from my view.

My wife and I were looking to get a set of baby monitors that were simple and easy to use. All we needed was the ability to hear our 2 year old anywhere in our house and when baby number 2 comes, be able to hear him. The monitor is placed in the nursery and I have one handset in the garage and the other handset is carried with my wife. The range on these is easily 100+ feet. The nice part is that we can talk back and forth as well. So we can actually use them as a walkie talkie. The only downfall I see, which i wont knock them on the review, is that you can add another monitor. I would like to have one monitor in the newborns room and a monitor in the toddlers room.