A 5-question quiz
Which fall alarm suits your parent?
The best fall alarm is not the one with the best brochure. It is the one your parent will actually wear, charge, carry or accept, and that is a different answer for every family. Answer five honest questions about the person you are buying for, not the person you wish they were, and you will get a straight recommendation. Nothing you choose is stored or sent anywhere.
1. Will they reliably wear something every single day?
2. Will they charge a device every day or two?
3. Do they get out and about on their own?
4. Is memory loss or dementia a factor?
5. Who should the alert reach?
Whatever it lands on, remember the honest limits
None of these are medical devices. They are safety and wellbeing aids: they do not diagnose, treat or prevent anything, and no device detects every fall, whatever the marketing implies. The job of any of them is to shrink the time between a fall and help arriving, because the long wait on the floor is where much of the harm is done. And none of them replaces people; the device is the safety net, not the relationship. Our honest comparison of every device type goes deeper on the trade-offs.
Common questions
How do I choose between a pendant, a smartwatch and an in-home sensor?
It comes down to your parent, not the specs. Will they wear and charge something every day, do they go out and about, and is memory loss a factor. An active person happy to wear and charge a device suits a pendant or a watch; someone who will not wear anything, or is living with memory loss, usually needs a passive in-home sensor. The quiz on this page weighs those honestly and lands on a fit.
Are fall alarms medical devices?
Generally no. They are safety and wellbeing aids. They do not diagnose, treat or prevent any condition, and no device detects every fall. The aim is to shrink the time between a fall and help arriving, because the long wait on the floor is where much of the harm is done.
What if my parent refuses to wear anything?
Then the wearable options are off the list, whatever their specs, and a passive in-home sensor is usually the realistic answer. It reads movement and the signature of a fall without anything worn, charged or remembered, and it covers the shower and the middle of the night when worn devices tend to be off. For someone with memory loss it is often the only category that works at all.
Does the quiz share my answers anywhere?
No. The quiz runs entirely on your own device and nothing you choose is sent anywhere or stored. It simply weighs your answers and shows a recommendation, so you can think it through in private before you talk to anyone.
Do you only recommend your own sensor?
No, and that is the point of an honest quiz. We install passive in-home sensors, so you know where we stand, but if a pendant or a smartwatch is genuinely the better fit for your parent, the quiz will say so and we will tell you the same. The right device is the one they will actually use.
Is a fall alarm funded in Australia?
Sometimes. For people 65 and over, the Support at Home program can fund personal and safety alerts as assistive technology. For people under 65 on the NDIS, a fall sensor may fit under Assistive Technology. Both depend on an assessment, so eligibility is never guaranteed.
Want to talk it through for your situation?
Tell us about your parent and the home. If a pendant or a watch is genuinely the better fit, we will tell you that too.
Book a quiet chat