Use the table to find the exact right medical alert for you.
For home alerts, choose a landline or use the service’s cellular signal. For alerts away from home, choose a pendant signal, a pendant with two-way communication, and location detection features.
This article helps you choose from the MobileHelp and the Alert1 medical alert options.
Each company offers several choices.
Use the information below to narrow down the medical alert you need.
When you’re ready, use these links to go to the MobileHelp or Alert1 product page:
- Go to MobileHelp.com
- Go to Alert1.com
Medical Alert Guides
The medical alert companies offer an array of choices that took me literally hours to sort and catalogue. It’s confusing for anyone to try to pick the right one, which is why I put my research into guides you can use to help you choose.
The guides should give you confidence to buy the medical alert you need.
- The Ultimate Guide to MobileHelp Medical Alert Products
- The Ultimate Guide to Alert1 Medical Alert Products
Understanding Medical Alert Features
Medical alert companies offer service for you at home and while you’re away.
You can choose home-only, away-only, or medical alert service while at home and while away from home.
Home Medical Alert Features You Need to Know
A call box is a two-way communication box connecting you to medical alert company operators.
It works over your home’s landline telephone service.
With a call box, you can be hundreds of feet away, and it will pick up and transmit your voice to the service.
For home service, you will choose between using your home’s landline telephone service or renting cellular service from the medical alert company.
To take advantage of the call box feature, you will need to choose to use your home landline. So if you do not have a landline, you will have a pendant or a mobile device to communicate for help, but not a call box.
The landline choice is cheaper than the cellular choice as there is a fee to use the cellular service connection.
For home communication, you wear a pendant around your neck. Should you choose home-based fall detection, it is the pendant that picks up the falling motion and automatically calls for help.
The pendant contains a gyroscope and a computer to detect motion and calculate if that motion is from you falling. A fall detection device calls for help on your behalf. In the case of a false alert, you can cancel the call for help. But if you cannot access the device to cancel, the system will err on the side of sending help.
Mobile Medical Alert Features You Should Understand
Mobile medical alerts use the service’s cellular service to connect you with the operations center.
You always have the choice of using your mobile protection at home.
You can forego the “home” option and use the mobile service both at home and away from home.
Mobile protection requires that you use the service’s cellular connection to communicate with the operations center.
For communication when away from home, you wear a signal or a communication pendant.
A signal pendant allows you to press a button to call for help. A communication pendant allows you to press a button to start a two-way conversation with the operations center.
Should you order fall detection protection, the pendant will act as the fall detection device for you as well.
Mobile location detection uses GPS (what you use for driving directions in the car), WiFi, and/or Bluetooth signals in the area to pinpoint your location.
With this feature, your designated connections can use a company website map to find your location.
Master List of Medical Alert Features
Use this table to find the medical alert features that are important to you.
Choose from Home, Mobile, or both. Choose fall detection and location detection features. Decide what kind of pendant signal or communication you want.
