"It was almost too simple to set up and use! Technology usually takes me a while to get my head round however this really was as simple as plugging it in anywhere I wanted!"
The Careline SmartLife is one of the simplest, most-modern personal alarms on the market. It enables wearers to get connected to a 24/7 monitoring response team in less than 10 seconds and provide reassurance to family members.
Other features of the Careline SmartLife include the ability to place it anywhere in your home as long as there is a plug, unlike traditional landline alarm units, the facility to add on additional pendants, fall detections or even GPS alarms to the system, and a 600m alert range. All of these features are enabled by a brand new, digital system that is not at risk of redundancy following the long-awaited digital switchover.
Like many personal alarms designed for users to wear in the home, the Careline SmartLife Alarm consists of a base unit, that users can speak to a 24/7 response team through, and a pendant worn around the neck (or on the wrist), that houses the SOS button that alerts the team. Should the wearer take a fall, or be in trouble for any other reason, all they need to do to get help is press the single button on the pendant. The pendant connects wirelessly to the base unit, that dials out to the 24/7 response team who are ready at a moment’s notice to ask the wearer if they’re okay and determine and contact the help they require. This could be simply asking a neighbour to check in, sending over a family member, or sending an ambulance to their house. It does this function extremely well.
We put the Careline SmartLife Alarm in the hands of Sacha, aged 71, to test it to its limits and let us know what she thought of it. You can find her review just below.
We have a panel of older people who review products featured on Age Space. We asked Sacha to live with the alarm for a few days and test it thoroughly.
She ordered the SmartLife alarm from Careline365, used it for a week and afterwards we asked her some questions based on her experience. Click on each question to open her answer.
Q. How was setting up the Careline SmartLife Alarm?
A. “I mean really easy. So simple and everything just worked! If anything I was concerned it wasn’t complicated enough it was so easy. I just plugged the box into the plug upstairs and that was it.”
Q. Where did you set the alarm up? Upstairs you said?
A. “That’s right. I decided on my bedroom as it is where I spend the most time and really my living room is more of an entertaining space. I spend my evenings in my room so it seemed like the most sensible place for it.”
Q. Could you still hear it throughout the house?
A. “Absolutely. In fact I accidentally set it off when I was all the way downstairs and was still able to hear the responder clearly despite being far away”
Q. How did you find wearing and using the pendant?
A. “I opted to wear the button around my neck as I already wear a watch. It is very comfortable, light and unobtrusive. I suppose in the summer it may be more visible but to be honest I don’t really care what people think enough to worry about how it looks. The main thing is that it is light and I barely even notice that it’s there.”
Q. What happened when you set off the alarm?
A. “As I said, when I pressed the alarm I could hear them talking to me from upstairs. The lady on the other end came across crystal clear in perfect English and was absolutely charming. They knew my name and were very polite and understanding when I explained I had set the alarm off accidentally. It certainly makes me feel reassured that her, or someone like her, would be on the other end of the line if I needed them.”
Q. Overall what do you think?
A. “I think these kind of systems are great to get in place early. While I don’t really need this kind of thing in my life right now, I see a time where I will. It is so unobtrusive in my life that I will continue to wear it anyway so I get even more used to it. It was incredibly easy to set up and the experience I’ve had so far with the response team has been fantastic.”
So easy to set up I thought I had done something wrong! I hadn't - it really is just as easy as plug in and go.
Buying the Careline365 SmartLife annually is £44 cheaper than paying monthly. When the £40 one-off set-up fee is included the price of the alarm for one year is £235. This is before adding our special Age Space discount of £20 (using AS20).
Careline365’s products are all also eligible for VAT exemption, which means you don’t need to pay VAT if the person you’re buying for has a disability or long-term medical condition. The prices we’ve quoted are not including VAT as the majority of customers will be eligible for VAT exemption.
As we’ve mentioned, Age Space users can also get £20 off by using our special discount code, AS20.
The basic pendant talked about in our review does not include fall detection or GPS tracking as it is a simple alam. If you need an alarm that will work out of the house and includes fall detection, GPS tracking, and enables the wearer to speak to the response team directly through the alarm, Careline365 recommends the GO GPS.
"Excellent, friendly service. Speedy delivery and complete peace of mind. Thank you so much!"
Shop the Careline SmartLife Alarm or find out more about the company on our Careline365 Hub Page.
