Bay Alarm Medical Alert System Review
Bay Alarm Medical Alert offers a wide array of equipment and monitoring to help you live safely both at home and when you’re on the go.
It can be hard to choose a medical alert system, but we break it down for you so it’s easy to see if Bay Alarm Medical is the right fit for your medical alert needs.
Locked-in prices 30-day risk-free trial Landline or cellular monitoring Mobile, in-home, and in-car packages Free spouse coverage 1,000-foot range Automatic fall detection
No way to call for help with voice only Extra fee required for mobile app Package offerings that can get confusing
The most common medical alert systems either look out for you when you’re at home or use GPS technology to offer support when you’re on the move. Bay Alarm Medical provides both of those options. Plus, you can mix and match to get the protection that best fits your needs.
Compare the cost of Bay Alarm Medical packages
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Package name
|
Lowest monthly cost
|
Equipment cost
|
Caregiver mobile app
|
Learn more
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
$19.95 | Free lease |
 No |
View Packages |
 |
$29.95 | Free lease |
No |
View Packages |
 |
$39.95 | Free lease |
No |
View Packages |
 |
$29.95 | $99 |
 Yes |
View Packages |
 |
$29.95 | $179 |
No |
View Packages |
 |
$39.95 | $99 (GPS help button)
Free lease (in-home system) |
Yes |
View Packages |
 |
$39.95 | $179 (SOS smartwatch)
Free lease (in-home system) |
No |
View Packages |
Data as of post date. Offers and availability subject to change.
Bay Alarm Medical equipment
Bay Alarm Medical offers some pre-bundled packages to offer you a better deal on at-home and on-the-go equipment. But each package is just a starting point—they're all highly customizable. For example, Bay Alarm makes it easy to add extra buttons for your spouse.
There's never any contract to sign. All of the in-home equipment is provided through a free lease, but you'll pay an upfront fee for the mobile GPS unit, smartwatch, extra in-home wearable buttons, and miscellaneous accessories.
The only downside to Bay Alarm's customization possibilities is that the total monthly cost can quickly rise to $50 or $60 and up.
Take a look at Bay Alarm's equipment selection and costs to get an idea of what you can mix-and-match during checkout.
In-home base unit
- Landline or cellular connection
- Two-way communication
- 32-hour battery backup
Help button
- Waterproof design
- 1,000-foot range
- Necklace or wristband options
- Extras cost $35 each
Fall detection button
- $10 per month for first button; $15 per month for second
- Automatic fall detection sensors
- 800-foot range
Wall button
- Waterproof design
- Wireless installation
- 5-year battery life
- 2-pack costs $6 per month; 4-pack costs $10 per month
Mobile GPS help button
- Two-way communication
- AT&T cellular connection
- Water-resistant design
- Costs $99 plus monitoring
SOS smartwatch
- GPS locator
- IP67 Water resistant
- 4G LTE cellular service
- Costs $179 plus monitoring
Bella Charms
- Fit in-home help button
- Handmade
- Four designs
- $25 each or $90 for full set
Key lockbox
- Uses numeric combination
- Stores house key for fast emergency responder access
- Costs $30
Vial of Life
- Provides valuable information to first responders
- Costs $8
No voice-activated option
One thing we don’t like is that you can’t call for help without hitting a button. If you’re not near the base unit or can’t get to a wall button or pendant, you can’t call for help.
More medical alert systems are adding voice activation so that you can get help even if you’re unable to press a button. We’d like to see Bay Alarm Medical add this feature to its base station and basic wearable mobile alert device.
Note that Bay Alarm Medical has a separate line called GetSafe that does offer a voice-activated home system. But it's not interchangeable with the equipment you see here, so it's like ordering from a totally different company.
Setting up and using Bay Alarm equipment
Image: Cathy Habas, SafeWise
Bay Alarm systems come with a user manual that walks you through the setup and testing process. Here's what to expect.
The Bay Alarm Medical base unit plugs into a wall outlet and a phone jack (landline systems only). Once it’s plugged in, move the O/I switch on the back of the unit to the I position. The unit will beep and the status light will flash for about one minute. When the light stays green, the system is ready.
Button range test
Next, conduct a range test with the lanyard or wrist buttons and wall buttons. This helps you confirm that the buttons work in all corners of your home.
- Press the Mode button on the back of the unit until you hear "range test mode."
- While standing next to the base unit, press and hold the button you want to test. You'll hear a loud beep confirming that the button is connected to the base unit.
- Walk to all corners of your home and listen for the continuous beep from the base station.
- If the beeping stops, the button is out of range. Place the base unit in a more centralized location and try again.
- Repeat with every corner of your home and with every button.
Placing a test call
Like all medical alert companies, Bay Alarm Medical encourages users to test their equipment after initial setup and once a month thereafter. This familiarizes you with what happens during a real emergency call and confirms that the equipment can place a call.
Press any of your help buttons to test the system. The base station acts like a speakerphone, allowing for two-way communication with someone in the monitoring center.
And don't worry, this speaker is loud. In fact, we noticed during our own tests that there's no volume control on the base unit. The speaker stays at full volume to make sure you can hear it throughout your home.
The base station beeps repeatedly to let you know that it's placing a call. During our test, it took 47 seconds for a monitor to answer. They were easy to understand and had a friendly tone of voice.
Tech and equipment highlights
Caregiver Mobile App
With Bay Alarm Medical’s caregiver tracking app, your friends or family can check in on your location in real time and see where you’ve been. They also get alerts if your mobile GPS help button is running low on power. Bay Alarm Medical includes the app in its mobile packages at the preferred and premium levels, but you can add it to some mobile and bundled packages for an extra $5 per month.
Falls are a significant cause of both fatal and nonfatal injuries for older people. That’s why we think fall detection is essential when you’re looking at a medical alert system.
But it’s important to note that no fall detection system is foolproof. Bay Alarm Medical uses multiple sensors for automatic fall detection—that means the pendant will detect your fall and send an alert whether or not you can press your help button. There have been a good number of reports about false alarms and delayed help signals, though.
My grandmother has the at-home system with a fall detection pendant, and it’s worked flawlessly for her. Plus, there’s no penalty for false alarms, so I recommend adding this level of protection, even though it’s not quite perfect.
Additional help buttons
If you think you might get up in the middle of the night and forget to grab your alert pendant, Bay Alarm Medical offers additional wireless help buttons. You can place these extra buttons strategically throughout your home as an added safety precaution.
We recommend putting at least one in the bathroom (this is where most falls occur) and putting them low to the ground where you can reach them if you fall.
Bay Alarm Medical customer service
Bay Alarm Medical gets consistently high reviews for its equipment and monitoring. But we found negative reviews regarding fine print in the billing details and trouble with system returns. We wanted to read the fine print for ourselves, so we combed over a copy of the company’s Terms and Conditions. We don’t think it’s deceptive, but it can be confusing. We recommend reading everything carefully to avoid any surprises.
Customer support in many languages
One of Bay Alarm Medical’s standout features is multilingual customer support. Its monitoring personnel can communicate with users in 170 different languages, thanks to a partnership with Language Line Services. This is especially reassuring for caregivers assisting family members who don’t speak English.
Medical record inventory
Bay Alarm Medical provides a free Vial of Life registry with every package. This is a record of your medical information, including all the medications you’re on and any allergies or specific medical conditions. The Vial of Life helps emergency personnel provide the right care during a medical event. Even though it’s a paper record, it’s still handy to have ready before something happens. You can keep it in your home or in a purse or wallet.
Customer support summary
Overall, Bay Alarm Medical does a good job of supporting its customers. It has several customer-first policies, like its 30-day trial period and price-lock guarantee. What muddies the waters is the large number of package and bundling options that can lead to confusion.
We found Bay Alarm’s customer service representatives to be helpful and patient when wading through all the company’s offerings. If you’re willing to spend some time on the phone, it’s worth it to make sure you get all of your questions answered.
Customer-first policies Multilingual services Good reputation Helpful customer service reps
Confusing package options Billing complaintsFinal word
Bay Alarm Medical’s month-to-month subscription makes it an excellent medical alert service for those who may need it only on a short-term basis. Customers are also happy with the monitoring service’s compassionate professionalism.
The medical alert systems are priced affordably, and it’s easy to add or subtract features and products as your needs change. It has a few minor hiccups when it comes to billing and returns, but most of them can be resolved by studying the fine print and communicating with customer service. Overall, we think it’s an excellent choice for older adults who want both independence and security.
FAQ
No, Bay Alarm Medical retains ownership of all equipment and loans it to you during your subscription period. But you’re on the hook if there’s any damage to the equipment, which could run you between $200 and $300. Fortunately, you can avoid that risk if you purchase a warranty protection plan. The plan is $5 per month and covers equipment up to $300.
The base unit must be plugged into a standard landline phone jack to connect with the monitoring center. For power, it needs a 110-volt electrical outlet that’s not connected to a light switch—you don’t want to turn off your medical alert system accidentally.
If you don’t have a landline, you can upgrade to a cellular-only plan for $10 per month. Bay Alarm provides the cellular connection, and you don’t have to have a cell phone or individual plan to use it.
Bay Alarm Medical recommends testing the button on your pendant or your base unit at least once a month or as often as you need for peace of mind. Press the button and wait for the system to dial out. When the responder asks if you need help, let them know you’re just testing it. There are no charges or penalties for testing your system or false alarms.
How we evaluated Bay Alarm Medical
Our review of Bay Alarm Medical is the result of real-life experience from my grandmother, hands-on product testing, customer reviews, and research. We considered package and equipment options, pricing, and customer service. We also looked at how easy it is to understand what the company offers and how easy it is to use the medical alert systems. See our full rankings methodology for more information about how we rank and review products and services.
Compare Bay Alarm Medical to other medical alert companies
|
Brand
|
Best for
|
Lowest monthly price
|
In-home range
|
Backup battery
|
Landline option available
|
Multiple wearable options
|
Learn more
|
Read review
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Best overall | $21.95/mo. | 1000 ft. | 32 hours |
Yes |
Yes |
View Packages | Read review |
 |
Best for budgets | $24.95/mo. | 1300 ft. | 32 hours |
No |
No |
View Packages | Read review |
 |
Best for fall detection | $29.95/mo. | 400 ft. | Not available |
Yes |
Yes |
View Packages | Read review |
 |
Best for customization | $29.95/mo. | 1300 ft. | 32 hours |
Yes |
Yes |
View Packages | Read review |
 |
Best for active lifestyles | $19.95/mo. | 1400 ft. | 24 hours |
No |
Yes |
View Packages | Read review |
 |
Best smart features | $24.99/mo. | 200 ft. | 6 hours |
No |
Yes |
View Packages | Read review |
Data as of post date. Offers and availability subject to change.
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