The question behind every alarm

Monitored vs Unmonitored Personal Alarms

Every personal alarm has a button. What separates them is what happens after it is pressed — whether a trained operator answers within seconds and takes charge of the response, or whether the device simply rings round a list of family numbers and hopes somebody picks up.

How our monitoring works See plan prices

Monitored: a UK operator answers, 24/7

Unmonitored: it calls your own contacts

Both can have SOS, GPS and fall detection

The difference is who takes responsibility

What each type actually means

A monitored personal alarm is connected to a staffed monitoring centre. Pressing SOS opens a voice call to an operator who already has the wearer's file in front of them — name, address, health notes, nominated contacts in order, key-holder access — along with the device's location. They talk to the wearer, work out what is needed and arrange it, and they stay with the alert until it is resolved.

An unmonitored alarm has no centre behind it. It dials a list of numbers you programme in yourself, in order, until someone answers. Some cheaper devices do not call anyone at all: they sound a loud siren and rely on a neighbour hearing it. There is no file, no trained operator and no escalation beyond your own list.

Both types can carry the same hardware features — a button, a speaker, GPS, fall detection. The technology is not the dividing line. The dividing line is whether a professional service is obliged to answer at four in the morning.

To be transparent about our own position: every MediAlarm 247 plan includes 24/7 UK monitoring. We do not sell an unmonitored device, so this page compares the two approaches rather than two of our products. We have tried to describe unmonitored alarms fairly, including the genuine reasons some people choose one.

Side by side

Who answers the SOS

Monitored alarm: A trained operator in a staffed monitoring centre.
Unmonitored alarm: Whichever family member or friend happens to pick up.

Availability

Monitored alarm: 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Unmonitored alarm: Only when a contact is awake, free and in signal.

If nobody responds

Monitored alarm: The operator escalates — further contacts, key holders, or the emergency services.
Unmonitored alarm: The call list runs out and nothing further happens.

Wearer's details on file

Monitored alarm: Address, health notes, contacts and access details held ready.
Unmonitored alarm: Whatever the person answering already knows.

Deciding what help is needed

Monitored alarm: Handled by an operator trained to make that judgement.
Unmonitored alarm: Left to a relative, often in a panic.

Contacting the emergency services

Monitored alarm: The operator does it and passes on location and notes.
Unmonitored alarm: A relative has to do it second-hand.

Keeping family informed

Monitored alarm: Operators can update nominated contacts afterwards.
Unmonitored alarm: Family are the response, so it falls to them.

Ongoing cost

Monitored alarm: A monitoring plan — a recurring fee.
Unmonitored alarm: Often no monthly fee, or a small SIM cost.

Hardware features

Monitored alarm: Can include SOS, two-way speech, GPS, fall detection.
Unmonitored alarm: Can include the same features — varies by device.

Burden on relatives

Monitored alarm: Family are contacts, not the emergency service.
Unmonitored alarm: One person is effectively permanently on call.

Feature	Monitored alarm	Unmonitored alarm
Who answers the SOS	A trained operator in a staffed monitoring centre.	Whichever family member or friend happens to pick up.
Availability	24 hours a day, 365 days a year.	Only when a contact is awake, free and in signal.
If nobody responds	The operator escalates — further contacts, key holders, or the emergency services.	The call list runs out and nothing further happens.
Wearer's details on file	Address, health notes, contacts and access details held ready.	Whatever the person answering already knows.
Deciding what help is needed	Handled by an operator trained to make that judgement.	Left to a relative, often in a panic.
Contacting the emergency services	The operator does it and passes on location and notes.	A relative has to do it second-hand.
Keeping family informed	Operators can update nominated contacts afterwards.	Family are the response, so it falls to them.
Ongoing cost	A monitoring plan — a recurring fee.	Often no monthly fee, or a small SIM cost.
Hardware features	Can include SOS, two-way speech, GPS, fall detection.	Can include the same features — varies by device.
Burden on relatives	Family are contacts, not the emergency service.	One person is effectively permanently on call.

What you are paying for with monitoring

Not a button — a service that has to answer.

Someone is always there

Our monitoring centre is staffed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. No individual relative can offer that, however willing they are.

Trained judgement

Operators handle these calls constantly. They ask the right questions quickly and are calm when the wearer is not.

Your details already loaded

Address, health notes, contact order and key-holder access are on file before anything happens, so nothing has to be explained from scratch.

Location with the alert

The operator sees where the device is — how we locate you.

Family are relieved, not deployed

Relatives are nominated contacts rather than the response. See alarms for people living alone.

Alerts nobody had to press

Fall detection alerts reach an operator who can speak to the wearer and check — more on fall alarms.

When an unmonitored alarm can make sense

It would be dishonest to say unmonitored devices never suit anyone. If a household has several relatives living close by, in and out most days, and everyone is genuinely happy to be on call, a device that dials those numbers can work — particularly where the main concern is a short-term recovery rather than an ongoing risk.

The same applies to someone who wants a simple way to attract attention while another person is usually in the building, or who is trialling the idea before committing to a service.

What tends to change people's minds is thinking through a specific scenario: a fall at 3am, a relative on holiday, a phone on silent, or an incident where the wearer cannot speak. In an unmonitored setup, each of those is a dead end. In a monitored setup, each of them is a routine escalation an operator handles.

Questions worth asking any provider

Is the monitoring centre staffed 24/7, and where is it?

Ask directly whether a person answers at any hour, and where they are based. Ours is UK-based and staffed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

Does the alarm need a landline or base unit?

Ours do not — each device has its own 4G SIM. See alarms without a landline.

What is included in the price?

Check whether the device, SIM and monitoring are all included, and what happens if you cancel — see our plan prices.

What monitoring costs with us

One plan covers the device, the 4G SIM and 24/7 UK monitoring.

There is a 30-day money-back guarantee if the service turns out not to be right for you. The equipment is supplied for use with the monitoring service and remains the property of Medi Alarm 247 Limited, so it is returned when the service ends, in line with our terms and conditions.

We are a monitoring service rather than an emergency service: our operators contact the emergency services on the wearer's behalf where the situation calls for it, but attendance and priority are always determined by those services.

Monthly plan£32.99 per month — One payment every month.
Quarterly plan£89.99 every 3 months — One payment every three months instead of monthly.
Annual plan£299.99 per year — One yearly payment — best long-term value.

Frequently asked questions

What is a monitored personal alarm?+

A monitored alarm sends its SOS call to a staffed monitoring centre. When the button is pressed, a trained operator answers, speaks to the wearer, sees their details and the device's location, and then arranges the appropriate help — a reassurance call, a nominated contact, a key holder or the emergency services. Our monitoring centre is UK-based and staffed 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

What is an unmonitored personal alarm?+

An unmonitored alarm dials out to numbers you programme in yourself — usually family members or friends — with no monitoring centre involved. If the first number is unavailable it tries the next, and if none of them answer, nobody answers. Some unmonitored devices also just sound a siren locally rather than calling anyone.

Which is better?+

It depends on what you need the alarm to do. Monitoring costs more each month but guarantees a trained person answers at any hour and takes responsibility for the response. Unmonitored devices can be cheaper to run but place the whole burden of answering, deciding and acting on whoever happens to be available.

Are unmonitored alarms cheaper?+

Often, yes — sometimes with a one-off device cost and no monthly fee. The saving is real, but so is the trade-off: there is no operator, no round-the-clock cover, no record of your details and nobody escalating on your behalf if the calls go unanswered.

What happens with a monitored alarm if the wearer cannot speak?+

Silence is treated as a reason to escalate, not as a false alarm. Our operators have the wearer's address, health notes and key-holder details on file, and can contact nominated people or request the emergency services and pass on the location and access information.

Does a monitored alarm still work away from the house?+

Ours do. The Go watch and the One pendant each have their own 4G SIM and GPS, so alerts reach our monitoring centre at home and out and about wherever there is usable mobile coverage — no landline or base unit required.

Do you offer an unmonitored option?+

No. Every plan we offer includes 24/7 UK monitoring, because the operator is the part of the service we believe makes the difference in a real incident. We would rather explain that clearly than sell a device without it.

Helpful next steps

Ask us anything before you commit

Our UK team will explain plainly what our monitoring does, what it does not, and how it would work for your situation.

See how monitoring works 0800 688 9961

Phone lines open Mon–Fri, 9am–5pm. Go and One: 24/7 monitoring, 365 days a year. Junior: family monitored via the app only.