Is life alert cost worth it compared to newer companies or are you literally just paying for the brand
Posted by Scawwotish_owl88@reddit | GenX | View on Reddit | 14 comments
Life alert spent decades becoming the only name anyone remembers for personal emergency response systems and that brand recognition translates directly into higher pricing. The question is whether it translates into better service or just a bigger bill The "ive fallen and I cant get up" campaign did its job but a commercial from the 90s isnt a quality guarantee in 2026. Newer best medical alert systems have caught up on fall detection, gps, response times while charging less with no contracts For anyone who moved away from life alert to something else, was there any drop in service quality? Or was it purely the name and the bill that changed? That distinction matters when the difference is real money every month.
Taminella_Grinderfal@reddit
I have, and I got my mom, Apple Watch with cell service. It’s got fall detection, can track my heart rate and some other vitals and I can make calls from it without needing my phone.
masterdesignstate@reddit
Your moms apple watch tracks your heart rate?
TMBActualSize@reddit
Don’t give Life Alert your information. They will call you non stop
dr_police@reddit
If I don’t answer, will they call emergency services?
TMBActualSize@reddit
Sales team would not take no for an answer. They would call back a few days later and pitch me again. I'm guessing this tactic works well with older folks that aren't as sharp as they once were. I got many calls and wouldn't recommend giving them your contact information.
acreekofsoap@reddit
Come on, dude, we’re not that old!
tvieno@reddit
Some of us have aged faster. Genetics is a bitch sometimes.
FlippingPossum@reddit
My grandmother had life alert and wasn't wearing it when she fell. Don't waste your money if you won't wear it.
Anywho...I'd go for a watch.
ExistentialPenguin70@reddit
When we noticed my MIL getting a little unstable we convinced her to get an Apple Watch. We are all deep in the Apple ecosystem. The watch can detect falls and crashes, then call emergency services. I slipped on ice this winter and it detected the fall and was geared up to call for help which I canceled by indicating I was ok.
Happy-Bluejay-3849@reddit
We got a free one from our county’s office of the aging. The trick is getting your elderly parent to wear to consistently.
OptiGuy4u@reddit
We use Bay Alarm Medical for my MIL.
Clembert-Hamlamp@reddit
There are walking airbags out there, one time cost. There's another that's a vest to protect the whole body, this one is a belt to protect the hips since that's often fatal
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12337557/?hl=en-US#:~:text=The%20participant%20was%20fitted%20with,place%20by%20a%20snap%20buckle.
Marathon2021@reddit
We chose Medical Guardian. Not great, not terrible. Gets its core job done well enough though. Month to month, no commitments.
Fall detection pendant was trash though. Multiple false alarms in the first month, things as simple as the patient took the pendant off while changing clothes, and simply laid it down on a couch.
trexcrossing@reddit
I called them about a year ago for my mom. Super nice guy and spent a lot of time telling me about how it works. It does sound like a good product and it seems to be pretty much fail safe-but it is very expensive. Like almost $200 a month and it may never be needed, of course. We ended up not getting it and yes they called constantly. Also, I did my research on Apple Watches and they don’t always register a fall, and they aren’t always immediately responsive.
My mom passed away about 3 months later. I remember thinking that, there’s no way we would have left her for long periods of time in her condition, so it wouldn’t have been appropriate for her anyway.