Bay Alarm Medical SOS All-In-One 2: Hands-On Test

Bay Alarm Medical SOS All-In-One 2 overall score

Here’s how Bay Alarm’s Medical SOS breaks down across the five scoring criteria.

What I actually paid for Bay Alarm Medical SOS All-In-One 2

My all-in cost for the device and the first year of service was $523.95, which is about $40 cheaper than the average of the 11 devices I tested. Subsequent years would cost $419.40. These prices include the following:

• Base price: $34.95 per month/$419.40 per year
• One-time setup fee: $89.40 (included discount from promotion)
• One-time shipping fee: $15.15

These prices didn’t include fall detection, which would add $10 per month or $120 per year to your annual total. As far as I can tell, there’s no added fee if you don’t return your equipment. That gives you a little extra peace of mind because some companies charge hundreds of dollars if you don’t return your device in good working order after canceling the service.

I paid for this service on a month-to-month basis, so you could expect a lower annual cost if you pay for the entire year upfront. Most companies will refund you a prorated amount for unused months, but make sure you read your annual contract carefully before prepaying.

The sales call went smoothly, and the rep was very helpful. It was a bit time-consuming, though.

How the cost compares to alternatives

Medical alert devices can get very expensive, and sometimes it’s hard to justify spending less on a device given that it could save your life or your loved one’s life. However, you don’t always get better value when you spend more. Here’s a quick side-by-side comparison of the different medical alert systems I tested and how they compare in value for the price you pay.

What came in the box

The Bay Alarm Medical SOS All-In-One 2 came with all of the following:

• Alert pendant
• Lanyard
• Belt clip
• USB-C charging base
• Charging base cable
• Charging adapter

Overall, the device is high quality and feels more premium than most of the other devices I tested. It’s also easy to use and worked right out of the box. Just make sure you charge the device completely before using it.

Alert pendant

The SOS All-In-One 2 pendant feels like a premium product. It’s on the heavier end of the devices I tested, but at just 1.9 ounces compared to the lightest device at around 1.3 ounces, it’s not enough of a difference that you’ll really notice.

The button is large and easy to press and hold, which is the most important factor. Even someone with weakness in their hands shouldn’t struggle with activating the device when they need to. The device is water-resistant and safe to use in the shower, and the battery can last for up to three days without charging.

A lot of people don’t love the idea of wearing a medical alert pendant because of the way it looks, so Bay Alarm has custom charms that make the device look more like a piece of jewelry. This is one of the only times I’ve seen this solution, and it’s a great option for people who don’t want their device to be so obvious.

Lanyard

The lanyard is the one piece of equipment you get that I don’t like. It seems unnecessarily large and thick, and it’s the most likely to be visible even under a collared shirt. You could swap out the lanyard fairly easily, but a lot of the other devices came with lanyards that were more discreet right out of the box.

The lanyard isn’t adjustable, and it sits significantly lower than most others I tested. It also has a plastic clip instead of a magnetic one, which feels like it’s more likely to break.

Finally, the lanyard attaches to one of the top corners of the pendant rather than the middle, so the pendant hangs at an angle when you wear it. This isn’t a huge deal, as it’s not uncomfortable, but it does seem like a strange design choice.

Belt clip

The belt clip is easy to clip on and take off, which is a nice change from some of the other products I tested that are borderline impossible to use. I personally prefer to wear these pendants around my neck, but since the lanyard from Bay Alarm Medical is less than ideal, it’s nice that there’s a belt clip that’s easy to use.

Charging base, cable and adapter

I love that the charging base has a USB-C port instead of a hard-wired charger. It lets you switch to a cord with any length you need, and you can use phone and laptop cables rather than having to rely on a single hard-wired cable for the life of your device. The included cable is USB-C to USB-A, and it comes with an adapter, so you can charge it with no additional equipment.

The only gripe I have with the charging base is that it can interrupt sleep. The LED lights that indicate charging are rather bright, and the device chirps when it’s done charging.

I pressed the emergency button, here's what happened

When it comes to the actual service you get, Bay Alarm is an outstanding choice. Here’s what happens when you press the button on the SOS All-In-One 2.

1. Press and hold the button. You have to press and hold the button for about two seconds to initiate an emergency call. The button on the Bay Alarm Medical device requires minimal effort, so it should be easy to press and hold even if the user has weakness in their hands.
2. Verification. The SOS All-In-One 2 makes it very obvious that a call is in progress to give the peace of mind you need in an emergency situation. It buzzes, has flashing lights and has audible signals that let you know an operator will soon be on the line.
3. Waiting period. I completed 10 test calls with the Bay Alarm Medical device, and the average time between pressing the button and speaking with a human was 74 seconds. That’s exactly the testing series average. The longest wait time was almost four minutes, but most of the calls connected in under 60 seconds.
4. No call cancellation. Once you initiate a call, there’s no way to cancel it. This translates to a higher risk of false alarms, but I actually like this feature because it means there’s no risk of accidentally canceling a call when you really do need help.
5. Connected call with a human operator. Every one of the 10 test calls I made with the SOS All-In-One 2 went directly to a human with no AI screening. That’s one fewer delay in getting you or your loved one connected with help, which is a major upside, in my opinion.
6. Dropped calls. None of the 10 test calls I made dropped, and there was a good connection on each, with the operator’s voice coming through loudly and clearly.

The most important thing to note here is that a call with the Bay Alarm Medical device goes straight to a human every time. There’s no delay to get routed to an AI screener, and you get haptic, visual and audible feedback while you wait to let you know your call is in progress. The only downside is that one of the calls took almost four minutes to connect.

How the calling process compares to my top picks

I think it’s most useful to compare devices based on the call experience and the overall rating because, ultimately, you want a reliable device that’s also convenient to buy, set up, wear and use. Here’s a quick breakdown of how the calling process and my overall ratings compare between the Bay Alarm Medical device and some of my other top picks.

My verdict: Is the Bay Alarm Medical SOS All-In-One 2 worth it?

The Bay Alarm Medical SOS All-In-One 2 does the most important thing it needs to very well: It connects you directly to a human, reliably and consistently, without an AI getting in the way to verify whether you need help. It also vibrates, flashes and announces loudly that your call is underway to give you immediate peace of mind when you need it most.

While the system is also less expensive than most competing devices, there are some drawbacks to consider. The lanyard is very large and the most noticeable of the 11 I tested, and while the calls go through consistently; only one of them took much longer than the average.

Overall, I think the Bay Alarm Medical device is well worth the money, and it’s among the top three devices that I tested. I recommend reading through some of my other medical alert system reviews to see exactly how this one stacks up and decide if it’s the right fit for you.

Methodology

11 medical alert systems, each bought with my own money on a month-to-month plan, unboxed on camera and graded on the same five categories in the same order every time. Four of the five category grades are read aloud on the recording; calling for help is graded on 10 timed test calls per device. The overall grade is not a judgment call — it is the weighted average of those five, computed the same way for every device, then moved up one notch.

An F on calling for help or the sales process caps the overall grade at F, and the one-notch step doesn’t apply.