VTech Communications DM221 Audio Baby Monitor with up to 1,000 ft of Range, Vibrating Sound-Alert, Talk Back Intercom & Night Light Loop, White/Silver

I bought this baby monitor over 10 years ago. We moved into a new house built of cinderblock and didn’t realize we could not hear our children on the second floor. They were no longer infants but the youngest was four. One of our children got frightened in the middle of the night and sat on the staircase crying, and we did not hear them. The next day I searched through baby monitors and settled on this one. I had an old set but they just didn’t quite cut it - the sound was patchy and would cut out and I couldn’t differentiate between different sounds of that distance because of the cinderblock. One unit has sat in the corner of our hallway for 10 years, with a parent unit being on the desk in our room. The only time it has not worked is when we had a power outage and I forgot to replace the batteries. The kids forget it’s there and don’t feel intrude upon it at all. We even asked them if they wanted us to take it down as they got older and it made them feel comfortable to know we were just a button click away if they needed us. Communication between the two unit is very clear even if they’re whispering. It’s very easy for both of us and them to use. This became even more important as two of our children were diagnosed with cardiac in rheumatological conditions. The kids rooms are across the house and a flight of stairs from ours- a distance many monitors couldn’t handle through cinderblock. The two way talking has been a great perk, and the sound quality is excellent. The unit sits in the corner on the second story landing but will pick up the TV from the third floor as well. The belt clip is nice when I need to go outside and one of my kids was sick or had just has surgery. I used this in conjunction with a video monitor because while it was nice to see them, I couldn’t always hear the best. Being able to adjust the volume with just a click of a button, and hearing a beep each time the volume was changed as very helpful. The moment communication is lost with the other unit, the monitor will beep to let you know there’s a problem, so I never worried that communication would be lost and I wouldn’t know it. I felt confident that with this monitor I would hear anytime they called for me, or even just whimpered. I’ve had other monitors when my children were little, including a video monitor which I really loved. However, this one has lasted the longest with the best performance. Now that we have a grandchild who was over often, we’re just going to keep it running to see how many more years it will keep going strong. I know that video monitors that connect to the phone are highly preferred, but if someone is looking for something to continuously monitor and doesn’t need a video screen, this is the first one I would recommend, and the first one I’d buy for a baby shower.

I use the VTech DM221 to monitor a 93-year-old with mobility and hearing disabilities, although he is generally still surprisingly agile and moves about the house between bedroom and bathroom. Using two sets of DM221 I can monitor both locations simultaneously and track him continuously when he moves about with hearing acuity approaching that of the cat which follows him around. The price point for these sets makes this a feasible approach. However, under the current technology configuration, monitors from different sets cannot be linked to the same parent unit unfortunately. Why? Having two parent units side by side presents no major problems however and, given the sensitivity of the monitors over a wide range, ensures continuous tracking within and between various locations. I found no issues at all with the range of transmission so I can take a parent unit with me into the yard or basement of the house without losing sound quality or sensitivity. The quality of the reception within the wide parameters claimed by the manufacturer is extremely good. You can literally hear a pin drop at any location/room and it is so sensitive that it sometimes picks up extraneous sounds from the adjacent street. At times I've heard that darn cat purring at a particular location when the animal must be at least 1.5-2.5 metres from the monitor. A person's normal breathing can easily be heard with monitor placed a minimum of 1m from the source. If these sounds become too much, just turn down the sensitivity on the monitor or the volume on the parent unit. VOX sensitivity level can be adjusted across 5 settings. Having a monitor that does not require the person being monitored to press buttons or even to speak (all sounds, normal and unusual, can be heard clearly) is a great comfort since a sudden stroke or accident may leave the monitored person unable to communicate verbally. With this monitor, allowing that you are attentive and able to interpret sudden and unusual changes in behaviour and patterns of sound, you will not miss a thing. I would have preferred to buy a 2-unit monitor set with a single parent unit to facilitate this configuration but only a 2-parent/single monitor set is available. Why? I normally cannot be in two places at once (although that feat is quite often necessary) and if I need to I can simply move the parent unit to a second location, with or without AC power connected. I can use the parent unit without AC on battery power which is sufficient to last at least overnight without AC power. (The monitor is permanently connected to power so no battery issues there. The parent unit should be connected to AC power most of the time to make sure the battery pack is fully charged and ready for mobile use). There must be different battery packs for different models to the DM221 or otherwise comments about lack of battery life on Amazon are just wrong. Australian customers must buy separate AC power plug adapters which are very cheaply and quickly available on Amazon AU. The units are compact, light-weight, durable plastic (although I wouldn't try a drop from a height) with fairly simple menu controls and the possibility to monitor sounds visually as well as aurally by observing LED sensors on the parent unit which register the strength of the source. The parent unit can be used to talk to the monitored person and, in my case, even if the deaf nonagenarian cannot determine exactly what is being said he does register the fact that you are there and attentive. The sound quality is so good that occasionally he understands simple messages such as "breakfast/dinner coming" and that is totally amazing given the quality of his remaining hearing capacity. There might be monitors on the market which could resolve a couple of the issues I've presented for my needs/configuration, but this product serves my purposes extremely well, most especially in terms of sensitivity to sounds on the monitor side and sound reception quality on the parent unit side. If your needs are similar, just buy it. It works perfectly well under Australian conditions.

Big fan of this baby monitor. Simple, straight forward, easy to use, and surprising range. I wanted a reliable, sound-only monitor because my WiFi camera baby monitor (Owlet) is sometimes unreliable or disconnects unexpectedly if there are any network issues. This, however, operates independently of my internet. So as long as it’s fully charged, it doesn’t matter if we’re having local internet connectivity issues—I will always be able to hear my baby. I debated between this and the Motorola monitor, and ultimately went with this one because it uses DECT technology, which is way more stable and better for punching through walls and other obstacles. I live in a 4000+sq ft home and so far can hear my baby wherever I go! I have way more peace of mind now knowing that I don’t have to worry about my Owlet camera monitor suddenly disconnecting without my knowing and having a baby screaming that I can’t hear. I can always hear her with this monitor. It’s only been a week, but I’m optimistic that I’ll have this and that it will work for a long time.

First time parents: No matter what is written you will likely be like us and never trust a baby monitor those first few hours of sleep at a time, but once you get comfortable with knowing you will be woke up, this monitor will be your best friend. WE all know what these do, so here is the best way to describe our experience (Kiddo is now 18 months old) Pros: 1) The feature that it is silent all the time unless "triggered" to send sound to the parent unit is a little worrisome at first (notice I put this as a pro), but once you are more comfortable with your baby's lungs' ability to trigger this, it is awesome, because you don't get all the little grunts and sniffs that they make. Our biggest problem was any sound we heard when we shared a room (never bed!) with our kiddo was we were waking up and holding our breath waiting for the cry. So this feature once you are sleeping in different rooms is awesome so you only get woke if there is any real sound. We keep they mic within about 15 feet of the crib and it ALWAYS gets every sounds. All cries, all babbles, and a loud sneeze maybe, but besides that we sleep peacefully as long as she is. 2) Range: Good not great. We didn't have high hopes, this is not a 5-mile 2-way radio, but we do live in the country and doing lawn chores during a nap keeps us within about 100 feet of the house. But that leads to next pro: 3) Sound- level 5 has great volume. If you can sleep through a baby crying at that level you probably have taken too many sleeping pills or need to get checked for sleep apnea! 4) Light bar that shows sound intensity when volume is muted. Once we got to the "let 'er cry it out" bedtimes, we could do other things rather than listen to a baby scream but still keep an eye on her. This is great especially if you have a partner who is trying to sleep while you worry. WORRY AWAY IN SILENCE! 5) It has lasted 18 months as still works as a receiver well, but that is the one biggest con now--- CONS: 1) This may have been our fault from being on a road trip vacation in the summer, but after being in the car for a couple days, when we got to our destination and plugged it back in (this is after having it about 6 months), the display was "burnt out" for all but a couple bars. We already had the set up all done and with the different tones when you are at max/min volumes we can still set the volume, but we are doing this by ear, not display. 2) Battery life is questionable on the parent unit. It worked great at first and one thing that makes it last longer is the PRO #1 where it doesn't always pick up background static unless there is sound from baby. But we did have a fan on in her room for the nights, and we noticed this white noise did cause the monitor to pick up sound more often, which would make sense that it would use the battery more. We keep the monitor plugged in 24/7 unless we are taking it our of our bedroom during nap time or on vacation, so I guess 18 months of use and battery that lasts a few hours is probably pretty decent. Overall good product and while some bells and whistles haven't maintained, its true purpose, which is to lower your worry and increase your sleep, has been flawless the last 18 months!

I recently moved my 92 yr old mother in with us after she was in the hospital for a while. We gave her the first floor bedroom and bath, and my husband and I have our bedroom and offices on the top floor. I work from home, but was afraid I wouldn't hear her if she fell or needed help during the day or night. We started with a call button, but she would set it down and forget where it was. After a long search of trying to find two way monitors, I came across these. They work great as monitors for elderly people. I purchased two sets of these monitors, as I needed one for her bed/bath and one for the kitchen/family room. My only complaint is that I wish there were an option for two room monitors. The quality is excellent. They are very sensitive and pick up even small sounds. I have one placed on her nightstand in the bedroom, and it even picks up the sound of her electric toothbrush in the adjacent bathroom. If she needs me, all she had to do is call out to me, and I can respond back and let her know I'll be right down. The parent monitor has a rechargable battery and a belt clip so that you can carry it around with you. It stayed connected even when I took the trash out to the curb last night. Great range! The room monitor has no battery and just stays plugged in. Most of the time I just keep the parent monitors plugged in at my desk. Since they are side by side, I labeled them B and K so I immediately know which room she's calling from. Great value for these monitors!

I think this is a wonderful monitor. There are 2 things I would change if possible, but overall this is the best audio monitor I've used - and I've tried 6 different models. 1. This monitor is sound-activated. It only transmits when a sound louder than the ambient background noise is picked up. You can change the sensitivity level, and the highest sensitivity level is very sensitive, but I would still love the option to just have an open channel. I'd like to be able to hear my little one breathing (the old monitor this Vtech replaced allowed that). 2. Every time you hit a button, the unit beeps. Even when changing the volume level. I would prefer the option to turn off the key beeps. I like to change the volume or sensitivity in the middle of the night to just check in on the baby, and the beeping of the buttons could wake your parter/spouse if they are a light sleeper. Other than these 2 minor wants, this is a great audio monitor. It is the only one of the 6 models I tried that did not have any interference/buzz/hum/static in our house. Our old monitor started losing it's signal constantly and buzzing when we got a new wireless router. We got this Vtech to replace it. We just had a second child, and I was concerned that getting a second Vtech monitor would be a problem - the monitor links automatically and you can't change channels at will. I worried that the two units would cross-link or interfere with each other - no such problems. The two parent units connect to the correct baby units without any issues or interference. We just put name stickers on each of the parent units to tell them apart. And they worked this perfectly right out of the box. I also love the talkback feature. If I am busy with the baby and my toddler wakes up & calls for me, I can use the talkback feature to tell him I'll be there in a minute or to tell him he can come find me in the living room. That is great for slightly older kids.

We have been very impressed with this monitor set. We replaced a hand me down Sony unit that was just triggering falsely too many times in the middle of the night. PROS - Small - Parent device has a battery - battery lasts for days (seriously...like 3 or 4 before we finally plugged it back in. it may have 5 or 6...just never pushed it) - good voice quality - two-way voice feature (can have a non-yelling discussion with spouse while upstairs in nursery) - belt clip on parent device - good range (I can walk around the outside of the entire house without losing connection) - visual noise/voice indicator - vibrate noise/voice indicator CONS - the volume just isn't quite loud enough on '5' (our old Sony was just as loud if not louder than the baby was when crying) - loses connectivity every once in a while for no reason The volume is loud enough to easily hear at night when the parent unit is in the same room as you. But if you walk out of the room and leave it behind, you may not hear it. Think about getting up in the morning to make breakfast...if the Microwave is on, you won't hear it. We ended up leaving our older Sony unit in the kitchen for that reason. We don't have to carry around a monitor constantly. Every once in a while, the parent unit will lose the connection to the child unit. Our master and nursery are on opposite ends of the house on different floors so we figured it may be just too much material for the signal to go through sometimes. However even when it drops link, I took the parent unit back into the nursery and it kept beeping at me for another 60 seconds. It doesn't appear to be a range issue, but more than likely just one of the units freaking out for a short-period. It doesn't do it enough to return the device, just enough to annoy me enough to note it in the review.

Works excellent. Purchased to monitor older adult in house when I had to work outside . Easy to use, clear sounds.

fast delivery genuine product long range

Amei. Recomendo.

الجهاز مفيد ولكن القابس غير مناسب للافياش السعودية والفولت ١١٠

寝室で赤ちゃんが寝ているときに、リビングの音や会話の声で赤ちゃんを起こさないように、寝室の扉を閉めておける便利さ。 赤ちゃんが寝ている間に、トイレや入浴を済ませようとしているときに、赤ちゃんが起きてしまっていないか気になるときなど。 こんな簡単なモニターがあるだけで、生活が一変するので、赤ちゃんを持つ親御さん必携のツールだと思います。

So happy with this monitor. Has an amazing range, love the walkie talkie feature, And can hear baby very clearly, even on lower volumes. Background noise, like a noise machine, is not annoyingly loud - we have a noise machine the goes when baby sleeps and can be soooo annoying when it’s constantly heard over the monitor. Battery life is great. We can use it all day on a single charge.