Medical Guardian Review 2025

Key Takeaways

• All devices require a one-time equipment fee ranging from $149 to $199.
• Fall detection is not included with any Medical Guardian device, but it can be added for an extra $10 per month.
• Most Medical Guardian devices can be used anywhere in the U.S. with a 4G cell network.

Packages and Pricing

Let’s cut to the chase. What comes with a Medical Guardian package, and how much does a system cost?

For starters, the company offers two at-home systems – one landline-based and one cellular. Both include a base station, a charging cable, and either a lanyard or wrist button for a $149.95 upfront fee. Monitoring costs $31.95 per month for the landline system or $39.95 per month for the cellular system.

Alternatively, you can invest in one of Medical Guardian’s three mobile systems. The cheapest of these costs exactly the same as an in-home cellular system. And while the MGMini Lite and the MGMove cost a bit more, they both provide you with complete emergency medical coverage no matter where you go.

Here’s the complete list of plans, and for more detailed information, we recommend checking out our complete Medical Guardian price guide.

If you’re overwhelmed by all of Medical Guardian’s many choices, we suggest checking out our ADT Medical Alert System Review. ADT offers just three options, though you can always add customizations to those three to suit your individual needs.

Expert Examined

From Christopher Norman, a Board-Certified Geriatric Nurse Practitioner with the National Council on Aging (NCOA)

“In my experience, well-intentioned family members that are comfortable with technology may get a medical alert system (MAS) that has a variety of features that THEY think they will find useful, but if the user is intimidated by them or resistive to them, then the usefulness is limited. When shopping for a MAS, pay for features you and/or the intended user will actually use – with the recognition that needs will likely change over time – rather than paying for all the features just because they’re available.” Read more about Christopher Norman →

Choosing Options and Apps

No matter which one of Medical Guardian’s devices and plans you choose, you wind up with a number of great features. Take the MGMove smartwatch, for example. It provides dependable medical protection through a built-in SOS button. Unlike a home-based system, though, you can take this protection anywhere. Plus, you have access to several useful apps, as long as you’re willing to pay an extra $5 per month.

If you prefer an in-home system, Medical Guardian offers access to plenty of great features as well. Choose from a wristband or a pendant help button. Either way, your coverage extends a full 1,400 feet from the base station. That’s four football fields in every direction for you to roam.

Below is an overview of all the add-on equipment you can order for any Medical Guardian device. Most of the features and add-ons can be used with different devices, but they’re not universally compatible with all of them.

Expert Examined

From Christopher Norman, a Board-Certified Geriatric Nurse Practitioner with the National Council on Aging (NCOA)

“In the case of a fall or history of falling, many people have told me that the fear of falling is worse than whatever pain was experienced during the actual fall. There are lots of levels to this: anatomical (whether or not a body part is injured or broken), psychological (threatened independence), emotional (fear), and even cultural (how we generally as a society fear and revile aging as a time when we get weaker or lose the things we love). Any intervention that can lessen the multi-layered concerns that accompany falling is worth investigating in my book.”

Ordering Medical Guardian

Buying Experience

Medical Guardian keeps its website simple and easy for seniors to navigate. The company displays pictures of all its devices, so you know exactly what you’re getting even before reading any of the accompanying text. There’s even a handy quiz designed to help you decide which package is right for your lifestyle.

Need even more help? A separate landing page includes buying advice, statistics, price comparisons, reviews, and a complete FAQ. Of course, if you prefer, you can call Medical Guardian directly and talk to an actual person.

Getting our system delivered was just as easy. We wanted a complete picture of Medical Guardian’s equipment and monitoring plans, so we ordered not one but three different Medical Guardian packages. As part of our testing, we ordered each one separately, at different times, just to see how quickly – or slowly – they’d arrive. Our results are included below.

We don’t typically pay extra for ground shipping, but if you need the equipment overnight, we like the fact that Medical Guardian makes this possible.

Installation Process

Unfortunately, we had to wait a few hours after our boxes arrived to get everything set up. We had to charge the equipment first. But once we had everything charged up, the actual installation process was a breeze.

For starters, every box had the system’s QR code on the side. As a backup, you can get these same instructions through the Medical Guardian website. You can also call customer service directly if that’s your preference. The point is that Medical Guardian makes the directions easy, and it makes them easy to access.

During the install, there’s some basic subscriber information to provide, like your product number to make sure Medical Guardian knows who you are. You also have to choose a payment option to set up your monthly monitoring subscription. Otherwise, installation is just a matter of finding a good spot where you can plug in your equipment. The whole process, start to finish, took us around 15 minutes.

At that point, we were ready to power up our devices and do a little testing.

Response Time

One of the first things we test when it comes to medical alert systems is response time. It’s crucial that a system get emergency help on site quickly.

On average, our MGMini and MGMove managed to get someone on the line in 23 seconds. That includes the time it took us to dial out and get an actual human being on the line. Not bad, though on one occasion, we got hung up with a voice-operated system for a couple of minutes.

Things went south, though, when we started our MGHome tests. We went through our normal routine of calling out through the device. But the device just rang and rang, no matter how long we stayed on the line. No answer from an agent or automated system. We got onto Medical Guardian’s online database, trying to figure things out, when we noticed a few missed calls on our phone, which we had left in another room.

We dismissed these as spam, the way you do when you get an unlisted number. Just as we were puzzling over the whole mystery, though, our phone rang once more. Again, no number listed, but we took a chance and answered. Sure enough, an agent was on the line.

The whole situation escalated from there. Because the monitoring center hadn’t been able to get in touch with us by phone, agents decided to get in touch with our local sheriff. And while the center recognized the mistake and tried to recall emergency dispatch, the process was already set in motion.

About 30 minutes after we’d started the whole process, a couple of officers started knocking on our door. It was just a wellness check, but having police at your door is still nerve-wracking. The good news is that the whole incident verified the vigilance of Medical Guardian’s and our local sheriff’s office.

Now, here’s the big question: what exactly went wrong? Turns out, our box had connectivity issues. In simple terms, it was dropping calls. It took us about 20 minutes to arrive at that answer, and in the end, Medical Guardian was able to reset the device over the phone.

Still, the whole incident gave us pause. It’s certainly possible we made a mistake in setting up our equipment. It’s also possible the device itself was faulty. Either way, it’s a reminder that you should always go through the standard setup tests within the first 24 hours of installing your system.

The whole debacle had one positive: by the time we were through with the whole thing, we knew that we’d never have to worry about getting help when we needed it. Even if the connection drops, we’re protected. Of course, our emergency contacts all showed up once they were notified, and we had to explain the situation to all of them, but that reminded us that others are watching out for our wellbeing, and that’s never a bad thing.

MyGuardian App

Any app worth its salt will let you access and monitor all of your equipment and make changes to features. The MyGuardian app definitely fits the bill there. We had a complete overview of our system with a simple button to turn devices on and off. The app also gave us access to our billing portal, our caregiver and emergency contacts, and customer service. It even let us see information from our MGMove, like how many steps we’d walked each day.

MyGuardian’s real strength, though, was in its design. Everything we needed was easily accessible through the app’s home page, and making changes was usually a matter of pressing a single button.

Current Medical Guardian Deals

Medical Guardian is pretty good at offering sales regularly. Right now, for example, you can get 75 percent off the company’s top products. In addition, Medical Guardian throws in free activation, free shipping, and a free lockbox. Not bad. And it pays to check the site frequently for more great offers. For example, here’s a look at last month’s deals:

Reading the Fine Print

The fine print isn’t always the most exciting, but it’s always important. You wouldn’t want to order a medical alert system you depend on without knowing the legalities behind it, right? Here’s a rundown of fine-print items such as contracts and warranties. We made this short, sweet, and painless to read.

Contracts

You may be happy to know that Medical Guardian does not require contracts for any of its subscriptions or equipment purchases. All its products come with a required monthly subscription, but it can be canceled at any time. You own the product you purchase forever, but you are able to return it within 14 days of the start of your service for a full refund.

Warranties

Medical Guardian has a free manufacturer’s warranty that is active as long as you have a subscription. It also offers product warranties that protect against defects in materials and workmanship for up to one year after your purchase. Some products, including the MGMove, also come with a 90-day warranty that covers technical issues and malfunctions.

Bottom Line

Medical Guardian offers medical alert options for everyone – seniors, individuals with medical conditions, people prone to falling. Likewise, the company can protect you whether you’re a confirmed homebody or an active on-the-go senior.

We also like the fact that Medical Guardian systems are simple to set up and use. Controls are intuitive with all functions at most a couple clicks away. We found customer support agents friendly and ready to help. They were unfailingly patient with us, even when we had a hiccup with one of our tests.

While their prices are slightly higher than their competitors, they offer top-tier products and services.

Frequently Asked Questions