Monitoring Elderly Parent

[FrancesC]

Is anyone using the Pro 4 cameras to monitor their elderly parent(s)?
my mom is planning to go back to her condo(!) soon and actually wants me to install cameras with two-way audio so I can peep in on her and help with things (she is vision impaired) when she is alone.
Also, if you're doing this, how many cameras do you use, and what happens if the camera is picked up and moved while active? Had any major snags? What set-up do you have - how many cameras? Do you use the monthly paid subscription or just use free streaming? 
Thanks in advance for any insight.

Frances 

[StephenB]

I haven't done this, but there have been a couple folks who've posted here about this possibility - one installed a camera in a nursing home (with permission).

An indoor powered camera might work out better.  Either the new Arlo Essential Indoor camera or one of the older Arlo Q cameras.  

But if you only want to chat with her over video (and don't need surveillance features), I'd go with a facebook portal instead (not the TV version). There's an older "portal+" version that has a good-size screen, and I think the on-screen controls are big enough to be accessible for someone with impaired vision.  It is easy to use, and supports free video calls with facebook messenger.  Zoom also works, but is a bit harder to use.  The disadvantage here is that she'd need to initiate or answer the video calls.    But for extended conversation, the portal would be much better than any of the Arlo cameras,  and the video quality and delay would be much lower on the portal.

Echo Show might be another option (though I haven't used it).  It apparently includes a "drop in" skill you can enable - that would allow you to "drop in" without her needing to answer.

[FrancesC]

Thanks for the ideas. 
I was looking at the battery powered cameras because of the ability to pick the thing up and move it around the house.

In the past when she was home she would call me and try to describe what she was trying to do. It would be very helpful if I could see what she couldn't so I could tell her where to put her hand/finger to accomplish what she was trying to do (push buttons on the microwave, for example, because the darn thing just won't work unless the clock is set!).

And no offense to anyone here, but I really dislike the "dot"-type devices that listen all the time - too creepy for me. (I was an IT pro in my career and that's just far too invasive for my comfort. oh, I have an iPhone but do I talk to Siri - HECK NO!)

FB Messenger is a good idea so I'll ponder that one, but I'm leaning toward cameras anyway so that I can just "drop in" and check, as she'll be having caregivers in the house with her and I need to make sure they're doing what they should without them knowing I'm there. 

Maybe my answer will be cameras and a tablet of some kind. 

I greatly appreciate the help, StephenB! 

[StephenB]

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@FrancesC wrote:

And no offense to anyone here, but I really dislike the "dot"-type devices that listen all the time - too creepy for me. 

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 None taken.  

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@FrancesC wrote:

Maybe my answer will be cameras and a tablet of some kind. 

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That could work.  Honestly I haven't found the 2-way voice feature to be very useful.  Pickup isn't that great, and there often is a lot of lag.

The new Essentials indoor camera is less expensive than the Pro 4, so if you need multiple cameras it is definitely worth a look.  It features a privacy shutter feature, so she would know when the camera was enabled.  The privacy shutter is white (camera face is black), and it is pretty big - so it is pretty visible.   It does need power though - no internal battery.

[FrancesC]

Can you mix and match cameras in one set-up? and would you have to have a base station to do that or would a wireless router handle it? 

[TomMac]

Some of the cameras like the older Q and newer Indoor Essential are ac powered only and hook into the home wifi directly.

Many of the other cameras require a base unit... but yes you can mix and match and all will show up in the app/web.

As to the moving around to assist what she sees... obv it would need to be a battery powered unit, while set units could be ac powered to watch her.

With my mom who is 93, we gave her an old Iphone ( no cell service ) and she uses it all the time to video chat with us via wifi... tho i wonder how well yr mom would see the screen, we set it up with minimum icons on the pages .... as mentioned a tablet would work too

[StephenB]

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@FrancesC wrote:

Can you mix and match cameras in one set-up? and would you have to have a base station to do that or would a wireless router handle it? 

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You can mix and match cameras with no problem (and you can have some cameras on a base station, and some connected directly to your wifi).  Some cameras require a base station, others only support wifi.  And others give you a choice.

New cameras require a paid subcription for cloud storage - so you could price out the older Arlo Qs and Pro 2s, as they both come with 7 days of free cloud storage.  Putting them into the mix would let you reduce subscription costs.

[FrancesC]

Thanks TomMac!
More good suggestions - I appreciate them. I've talked to mom in the past about an iPhone so that she could use the voice features, but so far haven't talked her into that. Maybe.... 🙂