VTech DM221 2 Vibrating Sound Alert Intercom Reviews Summary

Sound Quality

Pros:

• "The sound so far has been excellent and very clear."
• "I can hear everything even on low volume."
• "The sound quality sounds pretty great."
• "The audio is clear and the batteries last all night."
• "The sound is very clear. I could even hear the teacher giving the lesson on the computer."
• "Clear good sound and there is no interference at all, even when using another monitor close by."
• "The sound quality is great, no humming or static and I highly recommend this."

Cons:

• "Volume is either too high or too low."
• "The volume isn’t loud enough to hear unless someone is screaming!"
• "This device was not loud enough for me."
• "The sound quality isn't fantastic - it's a bit tinny and scratchy."
• "Unfortunately, I can not hear even at the maximum volume."
• "The speakers were not clear and static filled. I could hear the baby yet couldn't make out if they were crying, laughing, or talking."
• "It picks up more of the TV than it does him calling me also it's not very loud."

Battery Life

Pros:

• "They linked up easily and the battery life is better than I expected."
• "The battery life has been great."
• "The built in rechargeable battery it great and lasts a long time."
• "It stays charged all day."
• "It has great battery life and it's a built-in rechargeable battery."
• "Battery life is good enough to survive a night without being plugged in."
• "The battery life is okay. We can use it for 3-4 days if the unit is powered off when not needed before it dies."

Cons:

• "The parent units have AWFUL battery life and take forever to charge."
• "I keep both receivers plugged in tho because batteries don’t last long."
• "The battery life doesn't even last an entire day."
• "The battery runs down kind of fast when the parent unit is on overnight."
• "After a couple of weeks used, the battery would die after a 2-3 hours."
• "This unit’s battery does not last very long. About 6-7 hours."
• "Parent unit doesn't even hold a charge through the entire night."

Design and Features

Pros:

• "There are a lot of added features that I thought were superfluous like the loop on the parent unit but I was surprised and thankful how handy it is."
• "You can turn the night light on the baby set on from the parent handset."
• "It also has a belt clip and the range is good."
• "Also what I love about this monitor is, it has a sound and vibrating option if the baby cries you can turn on it off independently."
• "It comes with two receivers to put in two different rooms and the receivers have clips that make it easy to clip them to a belt."
• "We also like the 'Night light' option on both units, so Mom remembers its there for help & we can glance at it and know its hooked up & receiving :)"
• "The baby unit's night light is nice to have."

Cons:

• "The monitor works fine, but if I was buying it again, I'd buy a PAIR of receivers rather than just one."
• "Not sure why you can charge the large one that the parent keeps but the baby's monitor needs to be plugged in at all times — that's annoying when you're postpartum & already scrambling with a newborn & trying to get things done."
• "The child unit has to stay plugged in, which is annoying."
• "The nightlight is nice, but not super bright so it is hard to use it for a diaper change."
• "The green light also randomly flickers without explanation, even when there’s no noise at all."
• "Absolutely love these! Only downside is you can’t merge two baby units to one."
• "The one thing I don’t like is that one of them has to be connected at all times or else it won’t work."

Reliability

Pros:

• "Multiple kids and every family vacation later this thing's still going strong after almost 7 years."
• "Great product and never had any issues. It also arrived extremely quickly."
• "I would highly recommend these monitors."
• "This monitor has been a lifesaver; I don't have to check on him every 20 minutes because I can hear everything from the bedroom now."
• "Love this monitor. Picks up all sounds with no delays."
• "Had these for about 3 years now, they’ve been dropped, dunked in water (toddler things) thrown, bounced off steps, and probably worse that I’m not aware of, and aside from slightly shorter battery life, both speakers have held up very well."
• "We have been using these for 3 1/2 years and they are still working well."

Cons:

• "Definitely do not recommend and I would never purchase again."
• "The charging cords for the new parent units barely worked, not even enough to get the units going to work one time."
• "Less than a month after purchase, the unit will not turn on (even with new batteries)."
• "Within a month the speaker quit completely. I threw them away."
• "After about 6 months, one of the units stopped charging and replacing the battery didn't solve the problem either."
• "We tried it again recently and the baby side won't even stay powered on."
• "Fast forward to about 2 days ago (about 20 months after we started using the monitor), and the other unit stopped working."

Usability

Pros:

• "Easy out of the box setup & use."
• "I use with our aides for my 93 year old mom. Picks up simple sounds, clear understanding, can hear throughout the house and outside too!"
• "The two way talk feature is great when there are little gremlins who would rather play and make noises in their bed instead of sleeping."
• "I like that whenever there’s higher sound the parent monitor lights up orange to alert."
• "This works perfectly for at night time in case she needs help so we can hear her!"
• "It gives me the liberty to set on the porch from time to time to enjoy the fresh air especially when she's sleeping."
• "I can take the receiving unit with me in my room, my office or outside if I need to, and not worry if she needs me."

Cons:

• "And the return window closed, not even an option to contact the seller."
• "Since the day i got it, it turns off as soon as it's unplugged."
• "Disappointing quality."
• "Vibration doesn't work."
• "Monitor frequently loses reception around 40 feet away."
• "Sometimes it will make a loud beep even with the most minimal noise it detects."
• "EVERY SINGLE TIME you turn this on it makes this loud announcement with instructions (I'M NOT KIDDING) which wakes my baby therefore I can't even use it!"