ADT Medical Alert Review and Prices
Cost: $29.99–$39.99/month
Fall Detection Cost: $10/month (not available for Medical Alert Basic)
In-Home Range: 300–600 feet
Connectivity: Landline, Cellular, GPS
ADT is an established security company that has been in business for almost 150 years. It was founded in 1874 and is headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida. The company has expanded its services to medical alert systems under the brand ADT Health.
ADT Health offers in-home and mobile medical alert systems with 24-hour monitoring services by ADT-owned and -operated monitoring centers. There are three medical alert packages available: Medical Alert Basic, Medical Alert Plus, and On-The-Go. I tested all three medical alert systems in my home to understand the overall customer experience and help you determine if an ADT medical alert system is best for you or your loved one.
ADT is one of the brands featured in our best medical alert systems round-up. It is ranked No. 5 in our top 11 brands, with an overall score of 8.71/10.0 from our team. I like ADT’s three packages and think the simple options are an advantage for first-time medical alert shoppers. I also understand some may find the lack of at-home and mobile bundles or a smartwatch option a disadvantage.
ADT’s connectivity range between the base station and the help button is only 300 to 600 feet. That is short compared to other systems from Bay Alarm Medical and Medical Guardian. There is also no online portal or app for caregivers to monitor and communicate with the medical alert user.
ADT stands out for its excellent customer-friendly practices:
Pros
No contracts and can cancel any time
Free equipment protection plan included
Standard at-home and mobile packages
Cons
Only 300-foot range for landline system
Fall detection not available for landline system
No caregiver app or user portal available
| System | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Medical Alert Basic | Type | In-Home | Connection | Landline | Monthly Monitoring Cost | $29.99 per month | Fall Detection | No |
|---|
| Medical Alert Plus | Type | In-Home | Connection | Cellular | Monthly Monitoring Cost | $35.99 per month | Fall Detection | $10 per month |
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| On-The-Go | Type | Mobile | Connection | Cellular | Monthly Monitoring Cost | $39.99 per month | Fall Detection | $10 per month |
|---|
The Medical Alert Basic is the only package that doesn’t support fall detection.
Equipment Included: Base station (landline connection), water-resistant* wristband or pendant help button
*The User Guide and ADT Health site states the pendants are waterproof (can be submerged in water for long periods of time), but a customer service representative told me they are water-resistant (can get wet but not submerged).
The Medical Alert Basic is the at-home system that uses a phone landline connection to reach the monitoring center. It has a two-way speaker and 20-hour backup battery in case of a power outage. The speaker allows you to communicate with the monitoring center agent, and the volume can be adjusted to higher or lower.
As hinted at by its name, the Medical Alert Basic offers minimal features: a 300-foot connectivity range from the unit when wearing the help button pendant and no fall detection. You may welcome the simple unit and straightforward features, especially if you’re not comfortable with technology or are a new user.
I liked the temperature monitoring feature. The base station will verbally alert you if your home temperature is less than 35 degrees or more than 105 degrees. If an ADT agent can’t get in touch with you or your primary emergency contact regarding the unsafe temperature, they’ll dispatch emergency services to your home.
I confirmed with a live chat agent that the temperature range isn’t adjustable. ADT’s home temperature monitoring will detect temperature changes from extreme events like fire or frozen pipes, but not smaller changes like a broken heater or air conditioner.
Equipment Included: Base station (cellular connection), water-resistant* wristband or pendant help button
*The User Guide and ADT Health site states the pendants are waterproof (can be submerged in water for long periods of time), but a customer service representative told me they are water-resistant (can get wet but not submerged).
The Medical Alert Plus is an at-home unit that connects to the monitoring center via AT&T cellular service. Like the Medical Alert Basic, the Plus includes a two-way speaker and home temperature monitoring. The backup battery lasts up to 24 hours, which is longer than the Basic system.
Additional features include a longer connectivity range of 600 feet, optional fall detection, and waterproof wall buttons that can be added to your package. The wall buttons connect to the main base unit and will contact the monitoring center when pressed. I recommend the Medical Alert Plus if fall detection is a nonnegotiable feature and if you have a larger home or yard and need the additional coverage.
Equipment Included: Waterproof mobile device, charging cradle, water-resistant wristband* or pendant help button
*The User Guide and ADT Health site states the pendants are waterproof (can be submerged in water for long periods of time), but a customer service representative told me they are water-resistant (can get wet but not submerged).
The On-The-Go is ADT’s mobile system. The handheld mobile device weighs only 1.8 ounces, less than half a stick of butter. The On-The-Go connects to the monitoring center from anywhere with AT&T cellular service. The package includes a neck or wristband pendant that will reach the monitoring center up to 100 feet from the mobile device. Although the On-The-Go is light and comfortable to wear, I like that you have the option to switch to an even smaller pendant that you can tuck into your pocket or purse when you’re outside your home.
The On-The-Go includes a two-way speaker, location monitoring via GPS tracking, and optional fall detection. You can also add up to two waterproof wall buttons to your package. This is the only package that doesn’t have home temperature monitoring.
The device has a 40-hour battery life and takes three hours to fully charge. The On-The-Go is a standard mobile device without high-tech or additional features. It may be a good fit if you are still driving yourself and enjoy activities outside your home and want a low-tech device connected to a 24/7 monitoring center.
You can choose a monthly, quarterly, or annual subscription for any ADT medical alert system. You’ll receive a discount on the monthly monitoring fee if you choose the quarterly or annual payment structure. All three packages have the same discount structure: You’ll save $24 per year with a quarterly subscription and $48 per year with a yearly subscription.
ADT promises that your monthly fee will never increase, even if monitoring prices rise. You’re locked into your original monthly price through ForeveRate™, the company’s price-lock guarantee program.
ADT doesn’t charge additional equipment, shipping, or activation fees. Your payment will include a monthly monitoring fee, optional monthly charges like fall detection or a wall button, and a one-time charge for optional accessories like a lockbox or extra pendant.
Shipping is free for all subscriptions. This is a huge perk since most medical alert companies only offer free shipping for annual or quarterly subscriptions. If you order the medical alert system before 2 p.m. EST, you’ll receive free, next-day shipping.
ADT allows you to cancel your medical alert subscription at any time, even if you have a quarterly or annual subscription. You’ll receive a prorated refund for the months you didn’t use.
I called customer service to cancel my three subscriptions, and I appreciated that the representative wasn’t pushy and didn’t try to convince me to keep any of the subscriptions. They said I would receive a prepaid shipping box and return label within five to seven days to return the equipment. Most medical alert companies require you to pay the shipping costs when returning your system, so this was a nice surprise. I was also informed if the equipment wasn’t returned within 30 days after I received the box and label, I’d be charged $250 per system.
Many medical alert system companies charge an optional monthly fee to protect your equipment, but you’ll receive a free protection plan and lifetime warranty for your equipment with any ADT subscription.
ADT medical alert systems have a few optional features you can add to your subscription:
Fall detection: Fall detection is available for Medical Alert Plus and On-The-Go for $10 per month. A designated fall detection lanyard will be added to your package if you choose this feature.
Leather case: The small leather case fits the On-The-Go system and can be clipped to your belt or purse. It’s available for a $10 one-time fee.
Lockbox: A lockbox for an extra house key is available for a $29.99 one-time fee (free with quarterly and annual subscriptions). The monitoring center will keep your lockbox code on file and share it with emergency services if you’re unable to answer your door during an emergency.
Waterproof wall button: Add up to seven wall mount buttons to your Medical Alert Plus or up to two buttons to your On-The-Go subscription for $2.50 each per month. The wall button connects to the monitoring center when you press it. The waterproof button can extend your coverage in high-risk fall areas, like in the shower or near your bed.
I wanted to learn as much as I could about ADT’s medical alert systems, so I went through the ordering, installation, and testing process for all three packages. I also purchased two wall buttons with my Medical Alert Plus package.
The ordering process is very straightforward, and I easily purchased each package from the ADT Health site. The $9.99 shipping fee and $29.99 activation charge were crossed out on the checkout page.
ADT frequently advertises a promo code on its homepage for a discount on fall detection, monthly monitoring, or other costs. This offer changes throughout the year, but there is almost always a promo code available to enter at checkout.
The packaging for all three devices was simple and easy to open when it arrived at my doorstep. Each package included a User Guide, Quick Installation Guide, and Fall Detection Guide (this was for the Medical Alert Plus since I added fall detection to this subscription).
I had to call ADT to confirm my account and activate each device. The activation phone number was listed on a large yellow sticker on the top of all three devices and stated, “Do not remove this sticker until advised by an ADT representative.” The testing process took a few steps, but it was easy to follow and the customer service representatives were helpful.
Medical Alert Basic
The base station was already connected to the plug, and the setup process was simple. All I had to do was plug in the base station into my phone jack and plug in the other cord into the power outlet. The Quick Installation Guide includes detailed instructions on how to plug in the two cords.
The next step was to flip the base station over and peel off a small rubber foam piece that covered the battery switch. It took me a few seconds to remove this piece, so if you have dexterity issues you may need some assistance. I used a pen to flip the battery switch to “on” because it’s deeper in the plastic and harder to reach.
I like that the device will verbally alert you (“phone line failure, check connection”) if you plugged it into the wrong line—that way you’ll know immediately to fix it without any lapse in coverage. The unit will also alert you once you’ve plugged it into the correct line.
It was easy to hear and speak with the monitoring center agent through the speaker each time I tested the system. Their voice was loud and clear—I could even hear them from up to 10 feet away from the unit.
Medical Alert Plus
The cellular base station was also simple to install. The product manual walked me through each step, including selecting a location for the device, plugging into the power cord, turning on the base unit in the back, and calling ADT to activate the base station and fall detection lanyard.
The wall buttons included small screws and a circular paper guide to help me align the holes to drill the anchor into the wall. Some companies provide adhesive tape to attach the wall buttons, but ADT’s wall buttons are more permanent since they require drilling into the wall if you want to hang them.
On-The-Go
I had no trouble setting up my On-The-Go unit and calling ADT to activate it. Like the other two systems, the User Guide had clear installation instructions for selecting a location for the charging cradle, charging the device, and calling ADT to confirm my account and test the system.
The advertised connectivity range worked for all three devices during my tests. I tested the help button pendant up to 400 feet away from the Medical Alert Basic base station—100 feet more than the advertised 300 feet—and I was still able to contact the monitoring center.
On average between all three devices, it took me 58 seconds to reach the ADT monitoring center.
I added fall detection to my Medical Alert Plus. The package included a fall detection guide and clear instructions for testing the fall detection pendant. About 10 seconds after dropping my pendant, it said “Fall detected, press and hold button to cancel.” I canceled the call by pressing and holding the pendant button for two seconds.
The Fall Detection Lanyard User Guide offers tips to minimize activation while sleeping, but sleeping while wearing the lanyard is not recommended.
“Some fall detection lanyards are recommended to wear during sleep, but I’d advise against this whenever possible,” said Ayla Girouard, Licensed Practical Nurse specializing in long-term care and geriatric rehabilitation. “Although they have what are supposed to be easy-release clasps, the non-magnetic kind actually take a decent bit of force to separate…If the lanyard is in a position to get slowly twisted or tightened it can actually get very tight around the wearer’s neck. This presents a possible strangulation hazard in extreme cases, but I’d be even more concerned about skin injury since older adults’ skin can be particularly fragile.”
I didn’t add fall detection to the On-The-Go, but when I dropped the device it said, “Fall detected” and contacted the monitoring center. I called a customer service representative to explain the situation, and they said this was a malfunction. They confirmed the fall detection lanyard is the only ADT device that supports fall detection.
The GPS tracking for the On-The-Go was not accurate during my tests. Each time I contacted the monitoring center and asked for my location, the agent either couldn’t detect it, or the location was off by almost 50 feet.
I like that each device has both verbal and visual cues (a flashing status light) to indicate if it’s connected to a power source, as well as to show its battery status.
The fall detection lanyard and help button pendants aren’t rechargeable and the lanyard battery lasts about 18 months. I confirmed with a chat agent that the help button battery lasts two to three years. ADT will alert you when the battery is low and send you a replacement pendant for free.
Most third-party review sites focus on ADT’s home and commercial security systems. It’s difficult to find relevant reviews for the company’s medical alert system services. I sorted through customer reviews on Best Company, ConsumerAffairs, Better Business Bureau (BBB), Trustpilot, and Consumer Advocates to see what other customers were saying about ADT medical alert systems.
Best Company and ConsumerAffairs were the only two sites out of the five that had dedicated pages for ADT’s medical alert services.
ADT Health is listed as “ADT Home Health” on Best Company. It has 4.1/5 stars based on 26 reviews and ratings. ADT didn’t respond to positive or negative reviews.
Over 80% of the reviews are 4- or 5-star reviews as of this writing. Some reviewers mentioned they chose an ADT medical alert system because of the brand’s well-established security services. Many positive reviews praised the customer service, stating that the representatives were professional and friendly. Multiple reviewers appreciated the monthly calls from ADT checking in on the equipment connection, as well as the fast response time of emergency services.
There were only four 1-star reviews as of this writing. A few negative reviews cited several false alarms and how difficult it was to cancel the service. Another reviewer received the wrong pendant twice and received incorrect information from customer service about the device’s range and durability.
ADT Health is listed as “ADT Medical Alert” on Consumer Affairs and has 4.6/5 stars based on 38 ratings. ADT responded to a majority of the positive and negative reviews. Many reviewers were satisfied with customer service and said that representatives were helpful and knowledgeable. Other positive reviews liked the company’s monthly check-ins, the peace of mind the system gave them, and how easy the device was to set up.
There weren’t many commonalities between the negative reviews besides customers receiving equipment that didn’t work. One reviewer said the equipment was shipped to the wrong address. Another reviewer canceled their service because ADT wouldn’t install the system. Other reasons customers canceled their ADT medical alert system included fall detection not working, the speaker volume being too low, and having an ambulance accidentally dispatched to their home.
ADT has an A+ rating and accreditation with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) but only a 1.05/5-star rating based on more than 1,000 reviews. I could not find any reviews for ADT’s medical alert systems; all reviews are for ADT security services as of this writing.
Since reviews on Better Business Bureau are for ADT security services, the company’s BBB score and reviews are not relevant for its medical alert system products and services.
ADT’s Trustpilot rating is 1.2/5 stars based on more than 2,500 reviews. There are currently no reviews about the company’s medical alert system products or services.
ADT has a high 4.9/5-star rating on Consumer Advocates based on more than 200 customer reviews. Like BBB and Trustpilot, I couldn’t find any medical alert system reviews, even after going back multiple years in the review section.
We chose 11 of the best medical alert systems from more than 1,000 hours of collective research, and we gave ADT an 8.71/10 overall rating. We did the following throughout our research process:
We grade each medical alert company using a 1–10 rating scale and score them according to the following categories:
Features and criteria within each of these five categories are assigned point values. The more points a company receives for each criteria, the higher the company scores in the overall category.See our full explanation of our methodology for a full breakdown of our medical alert system scoring system.
Choosing a medical alert system doesn’t have to be an intimidating process. Medical alert companies promise peace of mind and the opportunity to live independently—two things that should not be taken lightly.
Overall, I was impressed by the company’s excellent customer service, how easy it was to set up and use the equipment, and its generous return policy.
The Medical Alert Basic was the most disappointing of the three systems. While the help button did connect to the base station 100 feet farther than the advertised 300 feet, 400 feet is still the shortest connectivity range of any landline system we’ve reviewed. The Basic also doesn’t support fall detection, which is a dealbreaker for many older adults and caregivers.
If you have good cell service in your area and want an at-home system and fall detection, I recommend upgrading to the Medical Alert Plus for only $6 more each month (plus $10 for fall detection).
All three medical alert systems did exactly what they were advertised to do during my at-home testing. If you’re looking for a low-tech medical alert system and trust the ADT brand, this may be the medical alert system for you or your loved one.
ADT medical alert systems connect to a 24/7 monitoring center that is owned and operated by ADT. There are multiple monitoring centers throughout the country in case of a power outage or natural disaster. When you push the help button or the fall detection lanyard detects a fall, the device will connect to a monitoring center agent. The agent will dispatch emergency services or notify a loved one, depending on the situation.
WRITTEN BY
Emily Breaux has written for multiple audiences in healthcare, higher education, tech, and more, combining her writing experience with her background in education. She currently specializes in medical alert systems content.
View AuthorMEDICALLY REVIEWED BY
Christopher is a Board-Certified Geriatric Nurse Practitioner and Holistic Nurse. As a Nurse’s Aide, Registered Nurse and now Nurse Practitioner, he has loved working with older people since 2004. He earned his Master’s Degree with Honors at Yale University, completed an Advanced Practice Nurse Fellowship in Geriatrics at New York University, and gained comprehensive experience working with people with dementia (and their families) at Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, NY.
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