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PROS:
CONS:
The GreatCall Lively Mobile is the most affordable mobile system offered by GreatCall. It is IPX7 rated, it is lightweight and can be worn in several ways, thanks to the included accessories. The device doesn’t have the most impressive battery life and the Fall Detection service is included only with their most expensive plan, but the Lively Mobile compensates with an excellent response time, which is the fastest we’ve seen so far.
GreatCall was founded in 2006 and it is headquartered in California. The company provides health products and services, especially for the elderly. It became famous with its Jitterbug phone for seniors, which was launched in the same year when GreatCall was founded. Lively Inc. was acquired by GreatCall in 2015.
The GreatCall Lively Mobile is the most affordable and basic mobile medical alert device offered by the company.
The device comes in two colors: gold and silver.
Main specifications:
The Lively Mobile is a bit bigger than home-based wearable devices, but still small enough to be able to wear it comfortably. Compared to older versions, this one is even 30% smaller. The Lively Mobile has two LED indicators in the front, one for the cellular signal and one for the battery. When the cellular connection LED is white it means there’s a good signal and when it’s red, it indicates you’ve lost the signal. The battery LED is green when the battery is fully charged, red when it needs to be charged and flashing green when the device is charging. Other than that, you’ve just got the emergency button placed in the center and that’s it. On the back you’ve got the power button.
As we’ve already mentioned, the mobile device comes with a magnetic lanyard and a clip that you can attach to either your belt, a purse or your pocket. If you want you can also purchase the wrist band and a protective carry case for the Lively Mobile, which give you even more options on how to wear the device. However, we did notice something faulty regarding the mechanism used for the lanyard. Both the click mechanism used to attach the lanyard to the device and the magnetic system used for both ends of the lanyard are easily detachable, which is not that great, because they can easily be lost, unhooked, pulled, stolen and so on.
The GreatCall Lively Mobile is IPX7 rated, meaning it can be immersed in max. 3.3 ft. of water for up to 30 minutes. This is a good thing, because it means it can be worn in the shower or bathtub. However, it wouldn’t be indicated to take it in the pool for a swim.
The battery life of the Lively Mobile is not impressive. It should last around 36 hours, which isn’t that much and they recommend you charge the device even more often than that, more precisely, on a daily basis.
The Lively Mobile medical alert device is monitored by the company’s 5Star Service. You can sign up for one of their three packages: Basic, Preferred or Ultimate. Here are the benefits for each:
Basic: just offers access to their 5Star agents who will take your call in case of an emergency.
The Preferred package adds Urgent Care to the benefits. Urgent Care gives you 24/7 access to registered nurses and board-certified doctors. It also includes GreatCall Link that lets you stay connected with your family and friends.
The most premium plan, the Ultimate, replaces your device in case it is lost and also adds Fall Detection as an extra-service. The fact that fall detection is only available with the most expensive plan is a drawback. The Fall Detection feature works only when the device is worn around the neck.
Installation and performance
If you buy the device directly from GreatCall, it will already be activated but if you get it from someplace else you have to activate it yourself. Make sure the device is fully charged before you do anything. You can activate it by using their website or via telephone. It also wouldn’t hurt to test the device once it is activated, to make sure everything works properly.
The device has built-in GPS and uses Verizon to connect with their 5Star emergency center, which was voted the fastest on the market in terms of response times. And the response time is very good indeed. We’ve managed to obtain an average of under 15 seconds during our tests. The quality of the conversation was good: everything was clear and loud.
GreatCall states that their customer service is 100% US based, which is another pro.
The GreatCall Lively Mobile is an affordable mobile medical alert system. They could have made the device full waterproof and with a longer battery life, but other than that, we think this is a high-quality piece of equipment, which comes with an experienced, helpful and responsive monitoring staff.
The Lively Mobile device comes with a one-time equipment fee of $49.99. In the box you also get the cradle charging dock, the rechargeable battery, a lanyard, a clip and the user guide.
There are three plans to choose from. The first month is free. The cheapest plan you can sign up for is the Basic one, which is $24.99/month.
The second option is the Preferred plan, priced at $29.99.
The most expensive plan is the Ultimate, which is $39.99.
There are no cancellation fees or an annual contract required.
Phone: 800-733-6632
Contact form: https://www.greatcall.com/support/contact-us
Social media: Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, LinkedIn
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greatcall
Our editorial staff evaluates products and services independently, but Best Review Guide may earn money when you click on links. Read our advertising disclosure.
By: Matt | Last updated May 18, 2018 
