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

Bought this based on Consumer Reports ratings. This was the best of the non-video baby monitors. Highly recommend if you don’t need the more-expensive video monitoring.

We have had this monitor for three years. Three years of continuous use. We leave the parent unit plugged in all day by our bed, unplugging for a few hours every night to take to the living room so we can listen if the kiddos need us. We ran conduit up the wall to cover the cord, and have the room unit hanging up out of the way. The kids can hear us well when we talk to them through the monitor, and know they can call for us if they need to. Saves a lot of trips back and forth at bedtime. It’s been a solid little monitor, never an issue, and would definitely buy it again if needed (knocking on wood right now, just in case I jinxed myself). Highly recommend!

We use this for travel! I feel kinda like the parent unit is almost always dead and needs to be plugged in. Maybe that is user error because we don’t use it constantly so the batter dies when it isn’t in use? That is frustrating to be honest since it takes a while to charge up when it’s dead. BUT when I have the foresight to plug it in as soon as we get somewhere a couple hours before we need it… it’s great! A classic.

We have been very impressed with this monitor set. We replaced a hand me down Sony unit that was just triggering falsely too many times in the middle of the night. PROS - Small - Parent device has a battery - battery lasts for days (seriously...like 3 or 4 before we finally plugged it back in. it may have 5 or 6...just never pushed it) - good voice quality - two-way voice feature (can have a non-yelling discussion with spouse while upstairs in nursery) - belt clip on parent device - good range (I can walk around the outside of the entire house without losing connection) - visual noise/voice indicator - vibrate noise/voice indicator CONS - the volume just isnt quite loud enough on 5 (our old Sony was just as loud if not louder than the baby was when crying) - loses connectivity every once in a while for no reason The volume is loud enough to easily hear at night when the parent unit is in the same room as you. But if you walk out of the room and leave it behind, you may not hear it. Think about getting up in the morning to make breakfast...if the Microwave is on, you wont hear it. We ended up leaving our older Sony unit in the kitchen for that reason. We dont have to carry around a monitor constantly. Every once in a while, the parent unit will lose the connection to the child unit. Our master and nursery are on opposite ends of the house on different floors so we figured it may be just too much material for the signal to go through sometimes. However even when it drops link, I took the parent unit back into the nursery and it kept beeping at me for another 60 seconds. It doesnt appear to be a range issue, but more than likely just one of the units freaking out for a short-period. It doesnt do it enough to return the device, just enough to annoy me enough to note it in the review.

I love this product. It is so simple and easy to use!

I ordered this because I wanted a baby monitor. I didnt want anything wifi enabled (because my cable company isnt the best and weve been known to just lose internet service in the middle of the night). I wanted something slightly better than the baby monitors they had when I was growing up and I had a baby brother sleeping down the hall (I.e. No cordless phone interference). These days companies seem to have worked out that whole everything wireless is on the same frequency debacle so I figured this should be no sweat. This unit set up quickly and is pretty darn sensitive. When my daughter sucks her thumb, it gets picked up on the monitor. I was nearly scared off of this item by some of the negative reviews. Once I established that it worked, I decided to run a few experiments with the sensitivity using the bathroom fan. In a quiet room, the thing is awesome. When you turn down the sensitivity to accommodate say, a white noise machine/air purifier/fan/air conditioner, it begins to show some weakness. Why? Because the sensitivity is based upon volume. If the baby crying doesnt exceed the new threshold youve set, the monitor wont pick up the sound. If the room is heavy on white noise, then you have two choices: a constant flow of white noise on the monitors parent unit or turn down the sensitivity so that only the louder cries will be heard. This isnt a limitation on the unit. It isnt able to distinguish between air conditioner and baby noises. It picks up sound over a certain decibel level. That isnt a flaw. Thats that slight improvement over the units from 20 years ago I was hoping for. If you are running lots of white noise in the room, you may need to switch to video monitors. Or you may just have to deal with the monitor blasting white noise into your room in hopes of picking up every whine and whimper. But if thats your situation, it isnt really the monitors fault for not adapting to your environment (it would be like hanging up a flat screen TV crooked and then writing a negative review for the TV saying the picture is slanted). Its a good monitor. Clear sound and very responsive to baby noises. It may not completely change the way you parent, but they never made that claim.

Only the receiver unit, not the baby unit is battery powered. They should have made both battery powered. Finding a plug every time is a hassle.

I really like the simplicity of this device. It’s easy to set up and use and does what it promises. The battery life is very poor. I get a few hours out of a newly purchased device.

I received this product today and have tested it. It seems to be working as advertised. Amazon asked to rate vibration strength and battery life, neither one of which is of any interest to me and I have not tested these features. This item will be used by me exclusively on line current. It works, and I hope it will help me protect my 93-year old mother. But, I wish the receiver could produce enough sound volume to wake me from a sound sleep. Im afraid that is not the case. It will be fine, assuming Im already awake...but, not if Im asleep which was the desire when I bought it.

I absolutely love my VTech DM221 Audio Baby Monitor! The sound quality is crystal clear and I can easily hear every little noise my baby makes. The range on this monitor is also impressive, as I am able to move around my house and still get a strong connection. But the best part about this monitor is the added features, like the two-way talk feature. The two-way talk feature allows me to comfort my baby from a distance. I also have to mention that I am a huge fan of the Vtech brand in general. Their products are always high quality and innovative. I have purchased several other Vtech products for my family and have never been disappointed. Overall, the VTech DM221 Audio Baby Monitor is a fantastic investment for any parent. It provides peace of mind and convenience, and I highly recommend it to anyone in need of a reliable baby monitor.