Customer Reviews

911 Emergency Phone Guardian Alert

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I recently purchased a Guardian Alert 911 unit to replace the monthly fee system I have now. When I tried to install the Guardian, I discovered a few problems. First, the pendant: the battery compartment door on the pendant is held in place by two incredibly tiny phillips type screws. They do supply an appropriate screwdriver to use, but heaven help you if you lose that and don't have a jeweler's type screwdriver on hand. Even so, the screws were in there so tightly that to open it to install the battery, I had to use my trusty pliers to grasp the barrel of the screwdriver to get enough leverage to get one of the screws to turn. A person with less than good vision, and/or hand strength and dexterity, would have a very difficult time with this, especially since the battery would need to be replaced every six months or so. Why not just a simple snap-in cover like my tv remote has?

Then there's the main problem: in the enclosed instructions they tell you not to install it near any other type of electrical appliance or cordless phone. I only have one phone outlet, to which are connected my cordless phone, computer modem and fax line. I also have the computer and printer in the same area. When I connected the Guardian, my fax line plug wouldn't fit in the line splitter they supplied, and worst of all, my cordless phone suddenly developed persistent and unacceptable static. For the present I have reconnected my old system, which fortunately I hadn't cancelled yet.

I can't actually evaluate how well the Guardian system works, as I haven't been able to leave it installed to use it.

I still like the Guardian idea of direct contact with 911 if you need it, via the pendant, versus an out-of-state call center that may not be able to hear me unless I'm close to the base unit. Also, a one-time purchase beats heck out of ever-increasing monthly monitoring fees. However, it looks like I'm going to have to get another phone jack installed in another room before I can use the Guardian 911. It would've been nice to have known all that up front.

Barbara F.

January 2009 update - I have since gotten another phone jack installed in another room, which has solved the interference problem. In something less than a year that I've had the system, both components have had to be replaced. The base unit lost its power within days of installation, the pendant went bad a month or so ago. On the plus side, their tech support was very accessible and helpful. In both cases, they said they would (and did) send a replacement unit immediately, with the request to return the defective one in the same box. The box also included a return address label and postage sticker, so there was no cost to return them. On the down side, I am a little uneasy as to the quality and dependability of a product in which both components failed within less than a year. I note other reviewers have also had product failures. I would strongly recommend doing the self-test with the button on the end of the pendant on a regular basis, say every week or two. That's how I found out my pendant had gone bad.

Second point, IMPORTANT: having worked in the emergency response field, I will strongly recommend that if you want to do an actual test by activating the system (as I did too), PLEASE call your responder's non-emergency number first, explain what you want to do, and ask if this is a good time. Emergency dispatch centers can get incredibly hectic at times, and a call coming in that is not an actual emergency could interfere with handling of one that is. In my own case, when I asked about making a test call, the response was a harried-sounding, "Not right now, please, check back in an hour." Which I did, and at that time they said fine, and thanked me for checking first. It did test fine at that point, by the way; the dispatcher and I could hear each other clearly.

Initial base unit received was not operating, but a call to the Design Tech support line was answered promptly by a live person who quickly diagnosed the problem and immediately put a new base unit in the mail to me at no cost. GREAT PRODUCT SUPPORT! This replacement worked perfectly and my testing of the range of the phone to base was excellent. This unit was purchased for my 80 year old mom who is near blind and hard of hearing. She had been receiving numerous calls from services that wanted to sign her up for an alert service with a call center (who knows where) that would then call 911 if needed. These services have monthly fees and an initial cost that all totaled seemed financially draining. This unit has a single purchase price and you're done! Once I set up the unit in my mom's house I walked around her yard outside and used the test button to check status. I got excellent coverage everywhere in her yard and beyond (over 200'). I also checked her basement and got good coverage there as well. So everywhere she may decide to go she now has peace of mind that pressing one button will put her in touch directly with the local 911 operator. I had her test the actual button to call the 911 operator to make absolutely sure she would be able to communicate successfully (her hearing is not good), but the volume level was perfect and she told the 911 operator that there was no emergency, just testing her new Guardian Alert. The operator asked for her street address which she provided and the operator told her that was what was on her screen. Perfect! Now mom knows what to expect when she may need to press the button. It's all about peace of mind, and this unit delivers that and may someday save her life. Thanks Design Tech - a very cost effective solution. Now if those darn high-pressure (the sugar-sweet type) sales people from those expensive call center services will just stop calling her.

I love (LOVE) the concept -- it's a cordless phone that only dials one number with the push of only one button. It's small enough and lightweight enough to be realistic to wear all day and night without much inconvenience by using its clip and/or lanyard. Buying it sight unseen, that was my biggest concern.

The Guardian base equipment was a piece of cake to install. Another reviewer complains about the tiny screws for the battery compartment on the phone itself. Those screws are unnervingly tiny, but I assume that's necessary to make the case so snug that it can be water resistant.

The system to double-check the battery and the range is clever and perfect in execution. It gave us great peace of mind to use its internal testing system confirm that the Guardian would, indeed, work even in the far reaches of our basement and attic.

The only problem came when we tested calling 9-1-1. A very reassuring (and plenty loud) recording assured us that the call was being made and we should wait while it rang through. The 9-1-1 dispatcher could hear us just fine when she answered. The only problem was that we couldn't hear her. The speaker somehow didn't carry her voice loudly enough for us to hear/understand her questions. Even when we held it up to our ears, her voice was too faint to understand her words.

We had just one unit to test, so maybe we just got a bad speaker in ours. And, we only tried once, so I suppose it's possible that there was a problem in the phone system or at the dispatcher's end of the call. (How often do you want to bother 9-1-1 dispatchers to keep testing a new gadget when you have no emergency?) We decided that since the dispatcher's caller ID tells her the source of the call, as long as she can hear us, that's way more important than our hearing her. But, still -- a two-way conversation would have been nice and that part just didn't work for us.

First, let me say that I think the Guardian 911 phone is overpriced. It should cost $50 or less. Such is the beauty of selling a product with zero competition. Maybe once other companies realize there's a market for this type of phone, they'll jump on board and drive the price down. Having said that, we probably would have paid double the asking price. We bought this for an elderly family friend who needed a simple phone with one button (and ONLY one button) to call 911. Anything more complicated would have useless for his particular circumstances.

Chances are, if you're woken at 3:00 a.m. by the sound of a burglar alarm or of someone crashing into your home, you'll suddenly discover how bereft you are of the wits to dial 911 -- or to even locate the speed dial button on your house phone, when you're shaking like a leaf and fumbling around in the pitch-black dark.

The ideal is to have a telephone with one single button that you can push, which will automatically connect you with the 911 operator. All the better if this phone is small enough to be worn like a pendant around your neck, carried in your pocket, clipped onto your belt or, alternately, set on your bedside table. It's such a simple concept, really, that you'd think the market would be flooded with such gadgets. Yet, only one exists.

I know this because I did a lot of research before buying this. Sure, there are neck pendants and hand-held gadgets on the market (complete with annual contracts) which will enable you -- at the push of a button -- to contact a 3rd party, who will then call 911 or whoever. Here, the potential for 3rd party pitfalls, such as slow response times, can be the same as with professional security systems contracts. There are also gadgets on the market that will allow you to push a button and send a pre-recorded message, such as "I need help." But what kind of help? An ambulance? Police? Fire Department? What is the nature of your emergency? And where should the emergency crew look for you? Have you severed a femoral in the workshop? Are you having a heart attack in the garden? Did you fall down the basement steps? Is your kitchen on fire? Is there a intruder bashing in your front door?

Whatever the nature of your emergency, if seconds count, you want to have the Guardian 911 phone at your fingertips because it is the simplest, easiest, most direct way to contact 911 and explain the nature of your emergency. Simply press the blue button for at least 1/2 of a second and, within seconds, the 911 operator will answer. A built-in speaker and microphone allow you and the 911 operator to easily hear each other, without having to put the phone directly up to your mouth or ear. (NOTE: Some reviewers reported that the speaker volume was too low. Ours thankfully worked fine from both ends. We did a test call to 911 to be sure).

There are no 3rd parties and no contracts, because the Guardian is simply a small, cordless house phone (NOT a cell phone), which has only one button and one function: to dial 911 and allow you to speak to the 911 operator. But, should you be unable to speak, the good news is that -- because the Guardian (unlike a cell phone) is integrated into your home phone system -- your address will automatically be displayed to the 911 operator.

There are two parts to the Guardian phone set: the base and the phone. It takes about 10 seconds to install the base. Simply plug it into a phone jack, and you're done. The phone, itself, requires a single AAA battery, which is included and takes less than 5 minutes to install. A screwdriver is also conveniently provided with the set for removing the screws on the battery compartment. The battery has a life of 6 months (the recommended replacement time) to 1 year in stand-by mode. In other words, if you make zero calls, the battery should last from 6 to 12 months. In the event you use your phone to call 9-11, the battery is good for a 30 minute call, by which time the emergency services have hopefully arrived.

Unlike most cordless phones, the Guardian phone never needs to return to the base for recharging. You can keep it on your person 100% of the time, 365 days of the year. This is because the phone is powered by the AAA battery, not the base. The only function of the base is to communicate your 911 call through the phone line. To ensure that the phone and base are communicating (from, say, the distance of your garden) the phone has a nifty feature -- a small, inconspicuous test button. Press this, and a built-in, recorded message will tell you in plain English whether or not the base and phone are communicating from that distance. This same button will also activate a recorded message to report on the battery strength.

ONE LAST IMPORTANT STEP: The only extra step you need to take when setting up your phone is to do a test call to 911. When the operator answers, you can say something to the effect that, "This is a non-emergency call to test our 911 phone system. Can you hear us clearly? And do you have our address in your system?"

That's it. From here, you can take some security in knowing that -- should you find yourself in need of help while out in the garden, down in the basement, or woken from a sound sleep -- all you have to do is keep your wits about you long enough to press that blue button for more than 1/2 of a second. It doesn't get any easier than that.

UPDATE: So much for peace of mind. After 10 days of use, the phone malfunctioned. It took another 4 days to figure this out, during which time the entire phone service to the house was seemingly dead. How wonderful for a vulnerable, elderly person to go without phone service for 4 days! Here's what happened: by all appearances, the phone line went dead overnight. Thinking it was a problem within the lines, we called for repair service and, after waiting in vain for 4 days for the repair crew to arrive (Note to self: Write scathing review on AT&T/BellSouth. Oh, but of course what's the point? Monopolies have no competition, therefore no incentive to aspire to anything beyond crappy indifference.) it occurred to me that I should check to make sure the house phone wasn't the culprit. Long story short, through a process of elimination, I determined that the culprit was a glitch in the Guardian 911 Phone. It had decided, out of the clear blue, to put itself into "phone off the hook" mode, which meant that the phone was off the hook for 4 days. No way to remedy this, so the Guardian 911 is going back. We'll get a replacement and see how long that works. What a shame. Such a good idea, such substandard product integrity. But, then, haven't we all come to basically expect nearly everything we buy to break down, fall apart or be recalled due to some malfunction or toxicity issue? I've amended my rating from 5 stars (great product!) to 2 (shoddy workmanship!), pending the performance on the replacement phone, which I'll never really be able to trust anyway. I will update my review and rating within a month or two after giving the replacement phone a chance to prove (or not) its worth.

UPDATE 4 MONTHS LATER (OCTOBER 2010): Okay, I've upgraded the rating to 4 stars. The replacement phone has worked like a charm, no problems. I'd give it 5 stars but, like I said earlier, it's difficult to restore my original trust in this product after the first phone malfunctioned.

I bought this for my mother last Christmas. This only issue I have with this is the battery life. Guardian says only 30 minutes of talk time with the battery - enought for several 911 calls. However, I found this device can also be used to answer and talk on incoming phone calls. Because of the battery live (1 AAA) , it is not recommended. I will try to find some Lithum AAAs and see if we can extend this.

As far as what is was designed to do: call 911. This is the best device on the market today. Don't get ripped off with the LifeLine and LifeAlert devices. They are only better if you do not have enhanced 911 service. Most communities do - be sure to check. Otherwise, save hundreds of $$ a year and get this instead.

I purchased this for my Mother for Christmas. She is elderly and lives by herself. We had tried another similar product a few years ago but with very mixed results.

It was easy to set up and easy to operate and the built in system tests give you piece of mind that it is functioning.

The BAD, hers was in operation until today when the base unit lost power. We tried everything with no results. I called the companies customer service and got a very nice gentleman that is sending a replacement unit out today. This is somewhat disconcerting but a quick glance at the base unit showed that it had no power and then a quick system check confirmed that.

I'll let you know when we get the replacement and how it works.

Easy to operate but poor sound. I guess the sound quality doesn't really matter seeing how any conversations will be short and to the point. Worked well when we tested it. All in all I fell a lot better knowing that my 92 year old father in law can get help whenever he needs it with just a push of a button. At $150 it seems like a lot of money for what it is though. Seems like they should be able to sell these for $50 or so.

I purchased this for a friend who has Parkinson's. Her hands shake badly and she can barely walk. We set it up and it seems fine, but of course she hasn't had to use it yet so I don't know how well it will work, . The only thing I'm concerned about is that the button is VERY hard to push, and is too small. Not the emergency button, which is somewhat larger, but the one that you use to test the product to make sure the battery is good and in what areas the Guardian will work. It is very important for her to be able to do these checks, so I can't rate the product especially highly. Otherwise it seems like a good product, especially since it's a one time fee and not monthly. She wouldn't have been able to afford a monthly fee along with the land line phone she had to have installed for the Guardian to work. All in all, I think it's a great idea and I hope it works if needed.
Lee Ratcliffe

not the best product out there but the only one that does this. Look around. Wal-mart bought them for $25 so let that be your pricing guide. Not worth what they ask.

All it is is a wireless phone with one number programmed in. A small wireless phone will do the same thing. This is convenient for the elderly. TEST IT OFTEN!

Purchased for my mother. It is very easy to operate but too large to wear arround the neck.