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

I have two monitors set up in my elderly mothers bedroom and den. The sound quality is fine if I test it with another family member. But my mom, being 97 years old has a hard time hearing what I am saying when talking to her through the monitor. I think this is just the nature of the beast (so to speak). Elderly mom vs younger people in the family being able to hear and speak with no problems

Weve been using this baby monitor daily and overnight for 2.5 years and it is still going strong. As long as we turn it off between naps and plug it in overnight we havent had any issues with the battery life. It will silence if there is no noise or only low level noise in the babys room and start transmitting sound when there is a an increase in noise. The sensitivity setting is helpful if you want to hear what is going on all the time. The parent unit has a belt clip which is handy for moving around the house or working outside. Overall we have been very happy with the monitor.

Great product

Sound is awesome. Volume gets pretty loud. And I like that I can talk to my kiddo, even though we don’t currently really use that feature.

A few years ago I bought this for my wife who had joint replacement surgery. I put it in the bedroom where she was sleeping, so I could hear if she needed assistance. She just had another surgery recently, so I took it out of the closet, recharged the parent unit, and everythings working fine. Very nice unit, compact size. The parent unit has a little clip, so you can wear it on your person. Also it has a talk back, so you can communicate to your loved one/baby if needed. Im very happy with it.

When we moved our baby girl to her crib in her room, we, of course, needed some sort of monitor. Since we didnt receive the fancy, expensive video monitor at our baby shower that we had registered for, we had to come out-of-pocket for one and had to settle for a more basic, less expensive monitor. Im so glad that someone didnt waste $200 on a monitor with all the bells and whistles! This monitor does everything we need it to. It has good range - in my one-story house Ive never been too far away for it to get signal. The volume is nice and loud at the highest setting and wakes us up when she cries. Theres also a setting for a vibration alert, and it works, but I have yet to use it practically. The nightlight casts a soft amber glow. I love the feature where you can communicate with the Baby unit. There have been many times when my spouse or I have talked back and forth when one of us needed something. We like this monitor so much that, when my mother needed one at her house for when shes caring for our daughter, I recommended this one to her. The only cons I can think of with this unit are minor. 1) I wish the battery on the Parent unit lasted longer. When we have someone babysitting at our house, the Parent unit is always off of the charger (which is in our bedroom) so the sitter can use it in the living room. The charge on it wont last a full day. 2) When you turn off the Baby unit (like when Im at my mothers and feeding my daughter or sleeping in the bedroom and dont wish to have the Parent unit listening in) the Parent unit emits a loud beep every 30 seconds or so. I can understand the practicality of this feature (in case the Baby unit accidentally comes unplugged), but it still bugs me. Overall, I think this is a very good monitor and I would recommend it to anyone!

We’ve been using these monitors since our child was born four years ago… we only just now needed to buy a replacement bc the parent unit sound would go in and out (regardless of being plugged in or not, or fully charged). Great monitors! Works well and has longevity.

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 babys lungs ability to trigger this, it is awesome, because you dont 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 didnt 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 doesnt 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 havent maintained, its true purpose, which is to lower your worry and increase your sleep, has been flawless the last 18 months!

As a sound monitor it is fine, maybe equal to a more expensive model, maybe not. It is more than adequate for my needs, especially at such a great price. Baby monitors in the ToysRUs were twice the cost and looked cheaper. Out of the gate, the rechargeable battery wouldnt recharge, the VTech replaced it overnight with a working model. Very impressive response! The nightlight on the handle of the baby unit does not stay on past about 15 minutes unless you set the auto-lock to yes. The instruction book is long, but important to read well or you will miss important settings info on the menu. I like that you can use the adapter on the parent unit for power if the battery gets low or dies. It only seems to be able to recharge fully when unit if off, not while in use, but with this newer one, the battery is doing fine. Multiple volume settings, vibration alert and sound beep alert when the baby unit has sound activity. What I like is that it picks up noises NEAR the unit and tends NOT to pick up noises farther away, distant, which is a good thing. We have lots of sirens where I live but I do not hear them loudly at all, since they are literally mostly in the distance. Note: I dont use this for baby monitor, but the quality is good for one. I use this for an outdoor kitty who I cannot hear when she is outside and crying to be let in, now I can hear her and get her in before she panics. Plus I can hear my neighbors, UPS deliveries, whatever is out there beyond my sight and indoor hearing. My favorite bonus on this is that I can be inside and listen to all the birdsong from outside. In the mid-fifties (yes, the 1950s!) we used to have an indoor/outdoor monitor to listen to the morning birds while having breakfast in the kitchen. Nice to be enjoying that again. Very clear. No ambient noise indoors, but outdoor has ambient noise from all the outdoor chaos, the wind and traffic.

I think this is a wonderful monitor. There are 2 things I would change if possible, but overall this is the best audio monitor Ive used - and Ive 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. Id 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 its 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 cant 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 Ill 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.