Philips Lifeline GoSafe 2 Review

The newest addition to the Philips Lifeline family of medical alert systems, the GoSafe 2, is a full-featured mobile pendant that goes where you go and connects you to an emergency response agent with the press of a button. It also uses multiple tracking technologies to pinpoint your location in the event that you are unable to respond to an agent. As with most other portable help buttons, it's lightweight, waterproof, and easy to use, but whereas most companies offer fall detection as an option, it comes standard on the GoSafe 2, which accounts for its lofty $44.95 monthly subscription price. And although it provided fast response times in my tests, it isn't quite as fast and doesn't offer as many options as the more affordable GreatCall Lively Mobile system.

Design, Features, and Pricing

The GoSafe 2 pendant measures 3.0 by 1.3 by 0.6 inches (HWD) and weighs just under 2 ounces. It has a white semi-gloss finish and a permanent cord for wearing it around your neck. The cord is wrapped in a velvety collar that won't irritate your skin and is designed to break away under certain conditions to reduce the risk of strangulation.

The front of the device sports a gray rubberized Help button, a microphone, and an LED status indicator that flashes red during an alarm call or when a fall is detected, flashes orange when the battery needs charging, flashes green while being charged, and turns steady green when fully charged. If you wait too long to charge the battery a voice prompt will tell you that you're out of power and the device is shutting down, at which point it'll take a little over an hour to fully charge the battery. The rear of the device holds a speaker and contacts for the charger.

The GoSafe 2 uses AT&T's 3G cellular service to connect you with an emergency response center and GPS technology to locate your position. As with the Medical Guardian Active Guardian, it also contains a Wi-Fi radio that can lock in to a Wi-Fi hotspot to help locate you if your GPS signal is weak. It also uses breadcrumb tracking to pinpoint your location, and if all else fails, the device will use audio beaconing in which the agent will trigger the internal 123dB siren to help guide responders to your location.

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The GoSafe 2's one-time device fee of $99.95 is significantly more expensive than the GreatCall Lively Mobile ($49.95) and the Bay Alarm Medical Mobile GPS Help Button ($49). Likewise, its $44.95 monthly subscription fee is at the high end of the price scale for systems with fall detection included. The Medical Guardian Active Guardian costs $59.99 per month but there is no device fee, and the Bay Alarm Medical Mobile Help Button subscription goes for $37.90 per month. At $34.99 per month, the GreatCall Lively Mobile offers the best all-around value and includes urgent care (24/7 access to medical professionals), fall detection, and real-time GPS activity tracking via a web browser and mobile app. Philips does not currently offer client tracking or medical advice services.

Installation and Performance

When you first take the GoSafe 2 out of the box, press the help button to initiate voice-guided directions for initial use. The voice will tell you to place the device in its charger to bring it up to a full charge, which in my case took around five minutes. The voice will tell you when the device is fully charged and to remove it from the cradle for your first connection test. Simply press the button, and when an agent comes on the line tell them that you are performing a test. The agent will verify your name and let you know if there are any issues with audio communication.

The GoSafe 2 delivered relatively fast response times in my tests, taking an average of 26 seconds to connect to a live agent once the button was pressed. That's faster than the Bay Alarm Medical Mobile GPS (59 seconds) and on par with the Medical Guardian Active Guardian (25 seconds), but not quite as fast as the GreatCall Lively Mobile (13 seconds). As with the Lively Mobile device, a Lifeline agent was always able to quickly provide my exact location when requested, while the Medical Guardian and Bay Alarm Medical agents required up to 30 seconds to look up that information. Audio communication with the Lifeline response center was clean and adequately loud, and the agents were always friendly and professional.

Conclusions

The Philips Lifeline GoSafe 2 may be one of the more expensive mobile medical alert systems we've reviewed, but it employs multiple locating technologies to help responders pinpoint your position if you are unable to provide this information yourself. The pendant provided fast response times and clean audio in my tests, and comes standard with built-in fall detection, but Philips does not yet offer a web portal or a mobile app to allow family members and caregivers to keep tabs on your whereabouts. Our Editors' Choice, the GreatCall Lively Mobile, offers both, as well as an option for 24/7 medical advice, and it's one of the most affordable portable medical alerts systems available. If you're looking for an around-the-house solution, meanwhile, the Bay Alarm In-Home is our top pick.

Philips Lifeline GoSafe 2

4.0

See It

$49.95/Per Month at Philips Lifeline

MSRP $44.95

Pros

• Clean audio quality.
• Good response times.
• Uses multiple locating technologies.
• Price includes fall detection.

View More

Cons

• Pricey.
• No tracking portal or mobile app.
• No extra client services.

The Bottom Line

The Philips Lifeline GoSafe 2 is a portable medical alert system that uses several locating technologies, including Wi-Fi, GPS, and audio beaconing, to pinpoint your location.

About John R. Delaney

Contributing Editor

I’ve been working with computers for ages, starting with a multi-year stint in purchasing for a major IBM reseller in New York City before eventually landing at PCMag (back when it was still in print as PC Magazine). I spent more than 14 years on staff, most recently as the director of operations for PC Labs, before hitting the freelance circuit as a contributing editor. 

Read John R.'s full bio

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