Safety 1st HD Wi-Fi Baby Monitor with Audio Unit

Just set up the camera. Picture quality is good, however the camera does not detect sound very well. Even though my volume is on max, the sound is very faint.

Update: I’ve only used the sound unit a handful of times and now it no longer charges.

Have 3 in total, one in every kids room. Love being able to check on the baby when ever and where ever.

Revised August 2020

Went to use this device for only the second time and the audio unit would not connect. Spoke with technical support, and after making me jump through a number of hoops they sent a replacement unit. The (new) audio unit won’t connect either. Spoke with technical support again and they want to replace it with another warranty replacement unit, but not until I jump through the same hoops I’ve been through already. My question is why should I believe the second warranty replacement will work any better than the other units.

Save yourself the headache and wasted weeks without a monitor waiting for a broken unit to replace the original broken unit so you can go round and round and round again and still not have a functioning audio unit, and buy something else!

Purchased this on August 28, 2018. I usually wait longer to write a review, but am making an exception this time because some reviewers complain about how long it takes for live streaming to connect, but none of them (that I saw) provided specifics about the mobile device they’re using nor their internet speed, which I believe many would find helpful.

I have the app on an iPhone 6s, running iOS 11.4.1. We have an ARRIS modem with both 5GHz and 2.4GHz, and am using an old Apple Time Machine Router. We have cable (Spectrum) as our internet provider, with download speed of 234 Mbps. We cut the cord on television long ago, which means that we do a lot of streaming in multiple rooms and have 5 mobile devices (phones and tablets) all on the same network. Meaning I can be streaming a 4K movie and access the camera’s live video stream no problem.

It may also be important to note that we live in a house built in the 70’s, which has plaster walls that back in the DSL days caused us quite a bit of trouble getting reception in the back of the house, but that issue was resolved long long ago. I only mention it because plaster on top of sheet-rock is known to cause reception issues.

Connecting was a breeze. Though setting up a second camera was a little bit challenging. I had an issue where I was receiving video from the bedroom, but audio from the second camera located in the family room. Safety 1st does not offer support over the weekends, but I managed to get it all working using a bit of trial and error (basically had to unplug the bedroom camera until I finished connecting the one in the living room).

The device was purchased in the hopes that our son an daughter-in-law will (finally) spend at least one full night away from their 19 month old. I figured it’d make it less difficult on them if they could see what her son and we grandparents are up to at any given moment while Grammy is babysitting, which is why I went with a WiFi device. We’ve dubbed it the ‘Grammy Cam’

The picture quality on this device is utterly amazing, including the night vision. The camera is very sensitive to motion (the first recording made was a piece of dust that had caught the light within the camera’s range) and the microphone is almost too sensitive. I kept getting audio alerts that were triggered by the sound of my slippers skidding on the tile floor as I walked past the room. These issues were fairly easily dealt with by modifying the settings in the app, testing the settings after each modification.

Two things kept me from giving the product a 5 star rating: There’s no on/off switch on the camera. Seeing as we don’t have a baby here full-time, it would be very nice to be able to turn the cameras off like the separate audio unit. It would also be nice if they had an app for iPads. That way I could use my tablet to keep an eye on the baby on a device other than my phone. Being an older iPhone, staying logged into the app drains my phone’s battery pretty quickly. Although to be fair, that is an Apple issue, and not at all Safety 1st’s fault.

I can’t think of a single reason not to purchase this device. Well, yes, it is a bit costly, but worth every penny. I’m too old to try to see one of those tiny 3” screens, and dang, I just can’t say enough good things about the picture quality. I didn’t know night vision could be so clear.

I was unsure about this monitor at first because I didn’t know if I’d like having it connected to my phone and not having a separate viewing monitor. However, it has some great features that take place of having a separate viewing monitor. First, I like that when I am downstairs I don’t have to worry about having a separate device, since my phone is pretty much always near me. I can go outside and still have a great view without losing any “range” like a traditional monitor. Second, I love the notifications and that it records “baby moments” so I can see what the movement or noise was if i wasn’t watching. It is really sensitive to sound and has picked up noises from the hallway, but that can be adjusted for day and then heightened again at night really easily. Third, set up was super easy, but the instructions were unclear if my boyfriend and I had to set up our own accounts or just use one to get it on our individual phones. I have only had one issue connecting to the camera due to my other kids using WiFi heavily at the same time, but that was a rare issue and wouldn’t be happening at night or during the day when school is in session. Even when I had an issue connecting, it still recorded the “baby moment” movements and sounds and I could view those with no problem, so I didn’t miss anything. I love the sound unit too, so I can have that right next to my bed and can talk through it easily. The design is very sleek and modern, which I love, as well. Last, I love the wide range the camera allows. I can view my child’s entire room with ease, which is great with my toddler, but, of course, when the new baby arrives it will be focused closer on him. I can also move the camera to the main areas to use as security too when we aren’t home, which I thought added to it’s value.