Acticheck: Life-Saving Wristband, Personal Alarm for Elderly/disabled - SOS Call, Fall Alarm, I’m OK Checks. This version only for use with broadband router | Starter system, inc 12 months service

If anyone is thinking about getting an alarm device for an elderly relative, I can't recommend this little gadget enough. It's a very easy to use wristband that the wearer can leave on (it's water resistant and doesn't need charging) and with a squeeze of the buttons either side of the face, it will alert the responder (me in this case) that there is an emergency. It has fall detection which will also alert me, and movement detection so that I can see on my phone or laptop that the wearer is moving about. There is a one off payment so no subscription or direct debits, and last but not least, this is a British designed and manufactured product invented by a man who was worried about his mum. Ticked all the boxes for me. Brilliant little gadget and my mum is very happy.

Having an elderly mother living alone has always been a worry for us, especially after a fall during the night recently left her unable to get up and contact anyone. Fortunately she was ok after this incident but it got me worrying about what could have happened.So I did some research to see what technology was available that help if something like this happened again. This is when I discovered the Acticheck wristband system.After discussing with my brother we decided that it was the best option. A simple, no complications wrist band that could be worn all day, that had 1 year battery life (so no messing around charging it) and that was completely waterproof and generally robust.We set the system up using the clear instructions and found a suitable location for the base unit and performed the clever range check the system incorporates, to help ensure the system works all around the house and garden.We then configured the various responder phone numbers and tested them.We configured the “I’m ok” request to buzz the wristband once a day in the morning, and all Mum has to do is simply press one of the side buttons to acknowledge.And that’s all she has to do. Just wear the band and leave the rest to technology. We receive an email every morning with a status update and a quick look on the Acticheck portal shows that Mum is up and about and going about her business, safe in the knowledge that should she need help she just has to press and hold the two buttons together, and the system will do the rest.It’s a very clever bit of kit that has given our family peace of mind.

As a product it works great!Easy to setup and a very good app.BUT.. it has issues!The watch strap rubbed my mothers skin to the point where it made her bleed so she was unable to wear it anymore making it useless.The 'are you ok check' is a good feature but it only vibrates for a second and isn't very strong so easy to miss.I emailed tech support twice and got no responseUnfortunately I had to return due to the comfort reasons, a shame as this has potential to be superb

This is quite a good bit of kit. Easy to set up and fairly comfortable for my 86 year old mother. She wears it all the time and it works. I get a message telling me she's up and about, we've had one warning which, upon investigation, was false alarm....but a welcome one as it proved the thing was working. Just had a call from the vendor doing an aftersales follow up, which was ace. For sub 300 quid this is a worthy expenditure to keep an eye on my mum.

Brought this for my mother who lives on her own but is getting less stable on her feet and had a recent tumble in the garden. She is amazingly independent at 92 and she doesn’t want this to change. The GPS system can’t be activated at the moment as she doesn’t own a smart phone, but I hope if she did fall when out and about someone would come to her aid. It was her falling at home, or in the garden and not being able to get up that was her main concern. I haven’t activated the ‘are you OK’ checks at the moment as she was a bit overwhelmed with the initial instructions of two buttons to call me )ie the SOS call), one button to cancel and potential false alarms. She missed the vibration, or just wasn’t reacting quick enough during the test calls we did together, but got it after a few try’s. I really don’t think even with a false alarm she would get to the phone in time, when it calls to see if she wants to cancel it, but it’s good that you can practise and even do a quick test to ensure it is working. So we are taking things slowly, and it’s nice that there is the option to activate the ‘are you OK’ for future. She hadn’t declined to wear it, which I did wonder may be a battle! She has worn it permanently since we got it, she seems to just forget its there now so it must be very comfortable, and not rubbing. I will start to check her skin when I visit to ensure it isn’t getting damp underneath. My mum isn’t able to put the wristband on herself, not to the extent of how snug it needs to be, although this could be a bonus as if she was able to remove it, I think she would forget to put it back on! We are just starting out with this alarm system, but my mum seems to be happy with it and likes that no-one else is involved but that it is me who would be alerted through a computer and can go round to check on her should she sound the alarm. This covers all of the potential concerns, as the alarm should go off by itself should she fall, she doesn’t need to keep her mobile phone on her (and she struggles to remember how to work the phone as she rarely uses it, preferring the landline). I can also check on the recorded band activity (movement) via my mobile, which is a reassuring bonus.