Has anyone got a recommendation on a baby monitor? Been looking, think we want a smart app based one but it’s hard to make sense. The BT smart monitor gets really good reviews from all the websites, but real people reviews are mixed. Any help gratefully received.

I always recommend getting a basic audio one (BT one was good for us) then adding a wifi camera like a Neos.

Audio only means batteries last ages, range is excellent, parent unit is pocketable, and totally reliable. Wifi camera for checking up if you want to.

People with video monitors just seem to watch them all the time, and I wouldn’t trust something entirely app based.

Why do you want an app based one ?

When I looked around common complaints were -flakey – frequent resets needed , app not always triggering when baby crying , security issues, having to set it up on WiFi when traveling

In the end

We went with the bt video monitor 6000 it was about half the price it is now though !(2 years ago )

Having used it for 2 years I can’t see why id want It attached to my phone -unless I lived in a massive mansion with extensive grounds that is where the video signal couldn’t get to spots. The dumb one just works . It always works -that is when we travel you literally plug it in at the location and it works. No trying to get it on WiFi or any of that.

How ever despite the boomer rehtoric on here of not needing one when their kids were young…..I reckon if they actually had used one they would see the benifits. Knowing if your toddler’s crying in distress or crying because they can’t get to sleep stops many interventions that become 4 hour wakes in the night.

We haven’t actually used a monitor since no.2 was 6 months old (now 13 months). We have a cheap WiFi cam in each of the kids rooms for keeping an eye. If they want you they will make themselves heard.

As above re the audio only. We got a bit one when the tommee tippee one bust (was spot on before that. Cable broke due to bad packing for the weekend). They are more reliable, cheaper and the battery lasts longer. Oh yeah they are smaller too.

The cams we have are £20 each so not spendy.

Has anyone got a recommendation on a baby monitor?

Yep, just use the one built into the baby. Unless you live in a castle baby monitors are[another] stupid waste of money that the baby industry pushes parents into

Yep, just use the one built into the baby is unless you live in a castle.

Or have decent sound proofing /a house not built of duckspit and toilet paper.

Although more than that it lets you identify non issues without entering room and creating an issue.

The BT video one is pretty good, no complaints here. Range is fine unless you live in a massive house.

It is nice being able to check on them without having to go upstairs.

Battery life is okay for an evening in the garden away from a plug.

We liked having a video feed of both kids so we could see how agro they were getting without opening the door and disturbing them. Def get one with replaceable batteries (aa or AAA, not an expensive custom pack) as they get rinced by frequent use

We’ve got a simple BT audio one. I can’t mind how much it cost, probably more than we needed to spend. It just works and works. After seeing friends with a video one watching it all night when we went round I figured we had no need for video

BT video one – as per others works well. Useful to check why crying. Without it can’t hear a think unless we’re in bed in next room.

Think we have the 6000 – occasional deals come up. Money well spent if it gives peace of mind

As above, audio only for resilience and a generic WiFi camera to check in periodically (either from the sofa or the pub, if the babysitter’s round). Much cheaper total cost than a dedicated baby video monitor too.

I bought a £40 wireless video one off eBay, was great until the boy put it down the toilet but we just bought another. I don’t see the need for an app connection but YMMV

Contrary to someone above we defo don’t sit there watching it but the video aspect is occasionally handy.

Eufy one here.

– No wifi, so works anywhere, when travelling etc.
– Handy to check in on them, you can use as audio only if you want.
– camera end and parent end power/charge from standard micro-usb. So you generally can scare up an adapter if you forget/misplace one, or want them in several places. Or want to power off a USB batter pack etc.

I bought a nooie camera that uses an app as it only cost me £20. Some days I’m working 13 hour shifts and missing everything apart from the first feed in the morning and playtime before baby has her first nap. I can check in whilst I’m at work and there is a speaker in the camera so I can talk to her.

We also have a battery powered sound only monitor so she can nap in the pushchair in the garden and we hear wake up and can get there before she starts shouting.

We bought an Amazon ‘best seller’ video one for about £65. There are several that look similar for a similar price with thousands of reviews. Absolutely crap. Terrible range, poor image quality. WiFi/wireless link between camera and unit keeps cutting out, creating an audible click throughout the night at the camera end, waking both baby and us. Battery life terrible.

We then bought a Eufy one, make by Anker who I trust for quality after several things by them over the years. It is excellent. Great range, image quality and stable connection. Was about £150. I’d buy the same again.

Not a fan on ones that need to be connected to a WiFi network that can be viewed from a phone. Understand that they are good for people sitting away from home to check up on kids, but when at home, we try to minimise phone faffage and checking on the baby will lead to a 30 minute eBay black hole.

We’ve got a BT audio only one. I’m not here to say whether or not you need video, but I can say that all the night-light and soothing music settings on ours served only to anger our first-born. I’d prob just get the cheapest reliable-looking audio one I could find if this one breaks for our impending sequel baby.

Another no here. Mini used to go from silent to sonic weapon faster than the device could pick it up. A neighbour had a high tech one that did breathing and temperature etc. Used to wake us up for no reason all the time.

If you must, get a cheap one for your piece of mind.

We had a Motorola video one and found it very useful, and it’s lasted well. Replaced the battery for 3 quid from ebay after 4 years.

The Motorola MBP30A looks like the successor to the one we had. Very pleased with it. Battery was never an issue – we simply stuck it on charge overnight next to phones.

Very basic. No wifi to worry about (dropped connections, privacy, etc.). Literally plug & play at any location with a mains power supply.

As mentioned above, having one of these saves you running up and down the stairs to check on non-incidents, but also allows you to be there before the beginnings of a nightmare, or growing pains, etc escalate to something distressing.

£25 BT audio job here. Don’t use it in the house, but we do have it on if we’re in the garden – afternoon naps or evening. It’ll also reach over the hedge to a patch of grass we sometimes have drinks with neighbours on. Only felt the need for video once or twice – no.1 is 3 and no.2 is 16 months.

Although more than that it lets you identify non issues without entering room and creating an issue.

Very much this. Some folk seem to think you end up glued to watching/listening or whatever, if anything it’s the opposite with the ability to fix things quickly before a real (crying based) incident happens. Then they get to 2.5 and can do things like falling out of bed without waking up and it’s all good.

I’d probably just be straight on to Facebook Marketplace looking for whatever was nearby. It’s not the sort of thing that gets abused, so would happily get a second hand one

Obviously what you need when you have a very small human baby to look after is a Raspberry Pi hack/tinker/solder project. That’s what I started looking at. Thankfully my parents bought us an actual baby monitor.

Also good when your zwift roommis at the end of the garden and the feed reaches.

0-sonic in a nano second is great if you want to wind your neighbour up but it won’t help me come in from my garage if she starts crying.

We had an audio one with the cot death detector pad disconnected because it was utterly hopeless. I can see how video would be handy but you learn to distinguish the cries after a while (there is usually a prelude as well). Beyond the basics though there is definitely no need for any of the other bells and whistles, they’re just anxiety generators.