Cellular Medical Alert Systems
For folks on the go, living or working alone, a cellular medical alert system from Medical Care Alert can be a lifesaver.
A cellular medical alert system is essentially a miniature cell phone that places a direct call to our emergency response center. Unlike a personal cell phone calling 911, a cellular medical alert system tells the emergency response agent who and where you are. The agent will also have a notification list of emergency contacts to notify in an emergency — such as friends, family members or neighbors.
What Cellular Medical Alert Systems Are Available?
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In-Home Cellular Medical Alert Systems
Our in-home cellular alert system is for use in and around the home, is super easy to set up and will continue to work for 24 hours if you lose power at home. This cellular medical alert system is perfect if you no longer have a landline phone at the home. Some notable features include:
- No landline, personal cell phone or Wi-Fi is required. The in-home system has its own 4G LTE cellular SIM card built right in using either AT&T or Verizon cellular service.
- The system consists of a wearable button — a necklace lanyard or stretchy wristband — and a 2-way voice speakerphone console. The cellular SIM card is inside the speakerphone console.
- The wearable buttons have up to a 1,000-foot range from the console — that's three football fields in any direction.
- Fall Detection buttons that work with the system are also available.
- Twenty-four-hour battery backup lets the system continue working even if you lose power.
To set it up, just plug it into power and turn it on. In about 30 seconds, it will connect to the 4G LTE cellular network and announce that the system is ready.
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Mobile Cellular Medical Alert Systems With GPS Tracking
Our mobile cellular medical alert system goes with you everywhere you go in the USA. GPS tracking sends us your location and the closest emergency services provider so that we can aid you at home or when you are away from home.
Mobile cellular alert systems also:
- Work independently of your personal cell phone. They use built-in 4G LTE cellular from AT&T or Verizon if you do not have a cell phone.
- Allow family members to monitor your location with our free mobile app. They can see your location, battery strength or signal if you misplace your device.
- Offer automatic fall detection services.
- No personal cell phone, internet, or Wi-Fi Required.
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SmartWatch Cellular Medical Alert Systems
Our SmartWatch cellular medical alert system also goes everywhere you go and is worn on the wrist. With a SmartWatch, the cellular SIM card is built in (using T-Mobile 4G LTE service) and does not require a personal cell phone or Wi-Fi. When you need help, just press the crown button on the side of the watch and speak directly into the watch. GPS will determine your location when you are away from home.
Your family can even monitor your location with a free app for their smartphone. Fall detection is available as an optional add-on.
At Medical Care Alert, we believe everyone should have a chance to live independently for as long as possible. This is why our cellular alert systems are available to fit various lifestyles and budgets. Order your alert system today!
2022 and 2023 3G Sunset Date For Cellular GPS Medical Alert Systems
Important dates and information regarding the 3G sunset date for medical alert mobile systems include:
- The 3G sunset for cellular medical alert systems on the AT&T network occurred on Tuesday 2/22/22
- T-Mobile/Sprint 3G CDMA units sunseted on July 1, 2022
- Verizon shut down their 3G cellular network officially as of 12/31/22
- See if your cellular medical alert device is affected using our list below
If you have a personal emergency response system — also called a PERS device — using cellular communication to the monitoring center, you’ll need to make sure it still works now that AT&T, Verizon and other cellular carriers discontinued — or sunset — the current 3G network.
By the end of 2022, all of the largest wireless carriers in the US have retired their 3G network to make room for newer technologies and free up bandwidth for faster 4G and 5G signals. This means your old cellular medical alert system needs to be replaced with a new one.
Communicators that contain GSM/HSPA/CDMA radios — which utilize older 3G or CDMA network communication paths — may have stopped transmitting data unless upgraded, rendering all old 3G medical alert mobile systems inoperative. This means your cellular medical alert system cannot send a signal for help, and you will need to replace it with a new system ASAP.
All Medical Care Alert clients have already had their 3G-based cellular medical alert systems replaced with our new 4G-LTE cellular medical alert systems, which should last for the next 10 years or so. We’ve put this guide together to help folks with other systems know what is happening and what to do next.
Frequently Asked Questions About The 3G Sunset Date
Q. When is the 3G sunset date for AT&T?
A. AT&T completely shut down the national 3G cellular network on February 22, 2022.
Q. Why did I need to do something before the 3G sunset date?
A. The official 3G sunset date for AT&T was February 22, 2022, which was the network's final cut-off date. Prior to that date, AT&T was quietly decommissioning 3G cellular towers, reducing bandwidth, reallocating bandwidth and not repairing failing 3G towers. This means you can suddenly lose service without notice and be without your life-saving cellular medical alert device able to communicate to the network.
T-Mobile finished shutting down Sprint’s 3G network — also known as CDMA — on March 31, 2022 and retired Sprint’s LTE network by June 30, 2022. T-Mobile closed all 3G networks by July 1, 2022 and retired its older GSM 2G network.
Verizon finished decommissioning its 3G network by December 31, 2022. If you have any old 3G medical alert mobile systems, they would no longer work once the 3G networks were decommissioned.
Q. Which cellular medical alert systems are affected, and what should I do?
A. Below is a list of impacted systems. You should contact your provider, but if you’re unsure or would like to upgrade to Medical Care Alert’s cellular medical alert system service, please call us at 855-272-1010. Use promo code “SUNSET” to get 10% off your order when you switch to Medical Care Alert.
Not all systems are listed, and any trademarks are the property of the respective medical alert companies:
- Bay Alarm Medical: MXD-3G
- Connect America/Medical Alert: MXD-3G, Mobile Elite, Home Cellular 3G, Mobile365 (Numera Libris medical alert mobile system)
- Great Call/Best Buy/Lively: Jitterbug 3G, Splash 3G, Lively Mobile + 3G
- Medical Guardian: Mobile Guardian 3G, Active Guardian 3G, Classic Guardian 3G
- MobileHelp: MobileHelp Solo 3G, MobileHelp Duo 3G, MobileHelp Classic 3G
- Various resellers: Belle 3G, Numera Libris, Brighton Sky 3G, SkyAngel 3G, Securus 3G, Freeus 3G, Essence 3G, iHelp 3G, Life Alert Help Phone 3G, ADT, Philips Lifeline, Critical Signal Technologies, CST, Best Buy, Lively
Q. What is an mPERS device?
A. A mobile Personal Emergency Response system is basically a miniature cell phone that calls an emergency response center. mPERS devices have built-in GPS to find your location and allow the emergency response center to send help to your location.
The mobile cellular medical alert system is perfect for active seniors, lone workers, real estate agents or anyone needing to summon help outside the home. Widely introduced in 2013, mPERS mobile medical alert systems have become very popular and saved many lives.
Q. What is the 3G Sunset, and why is it happening?
A. All major network carriers in the US, including AT&T and Verizon, have announced they will soon discontinue 3G services and transition to 4G LTE networks. Carriers are not allowing any 3G activations or re-activations and are strongly encouraging users to upgrade their devices before 3G service is discontinued. For AT&T, the sunset of 3G service is expected to happen as early as February 22, 2022, with Verizon no later than December 31, 2022.
While previous PERS devices communicate using CDMA and 3G (GSM) technologies, 4G LTE is higher-performing, next-generation technology that offers faster, more efficient and stronger broadband services consumers have come to demand. This 4G network provides infrastructure that allows PERS devices to interact with emergency services through the emergency response center).
Even though this 3G shutdown has been reported on in the news, many folks are unaware their cellular medical systems running on 3G networks will stop working in 2022.
Q. What happens if I don't upgrade my 3G device?
A. It won't work. The official last day to “sunset” the network was February 22, 2022. But cell towers are being quietly decommissioned nationwide when they need service or are being replaced with 5G bandwidth. This means any 3G device is at risk of not being able to communicate without any warning or advance notice. The network is crucial for sending push fall detection notifications and other alert notifications, device information and firmware updates needed for emergency services.
Q. What do I do now?
A. First of all, don't panic! Just call our customer service team at 877-913-3680, and we can explain your options and get you a new system that will last many years!
To help you prepare for the upcoming AT&T GSM/3G/4G Sunset, which already occurred on February 22, 2022, below are some notable items to be aware of. For clarity, any device designated as GSM or 3G must be replaced by this date, as functionality will be impacted and life safety signals will not be communicated. Some devices may have communicated via roaming through July 2022, but don't count on it.
There are other resources to help seniors prepare for the 3G cellular shutdown that can help you make the transition.
Your 3G and 4G GSM cellular devices may experience the following conditions after February 22, 2022.
Communication Failures
- Communication failures may occur depending on the programmed supervision rate of the account — typically daily or monthly. A communication failure message will be generated to the Central Station if that supervision period has expired and the device has not checked in during that time.
- You may also have accounts that are programmed as unsupervised. For those accounts, a communication failure will not be generated.
- For UL Mercantile and Commercial Fire accounts, a communication failure will be generated to the Central Station depending on the account’s programmed supervision rate.
Communication Failure Reminders
Reminders are generated to the Central Station based on the programmed supervision rate of the account:
- Daily Supervision: Reminders are generated daily
- Monthly Supervision: Reminders are generated weekly
- Unsupervised: Will not generate any reminders
- Other: For all other supervision levels, reminders are generated daily
Panel/Keypad Faults
You may also experience a local audible annunciation and fault condition displayed on the system's keypad or touch screen. That local annunciation is dependent on how the system is programmed. Typically, that programming field is called “Cell Fault Time” and defaults to 60 minutes. The fault will occur if the communicator can no longer communicate with the cellular network and the 60-minute time period has expired.
Dual-Path Communicators (IP and 3G/4G)
Prior to February 22, 2022, any Dual-Path account should be reprogrammed to ensure that the IP path is the primary and sole communication path, providing there are no agency-type restrictions.
When IP is connected and active, those accounts will continue to communicate via IP. You are responsible for changing those accounts to IP only. If this is not done, you may experience the local fault conditions and corresponding audible annunciations as described previously. These accounts will no longer have dual-path communication after February 22, 2022. Your communicator upgrade to LTE for those accounts can occur after the AT&T Sunset date.
Account Cancellations
Due to the timing and ambiguities of the specific shutdown processes around the sunset, companies will not be unilaterally canceling any accounts after the AT&T sunset, and you will remain liable for all account fees. Please note that any GSM/3G account that remains active will continue to be billed at its normal rates.
Article updated January 21, 2023 to reflect the sunset of the Verizon 3G Cellular network. If you still have an old 3G medical alert mobile system device, please call 877-913-3680.
Article updated January 21, 2023 to reflect the sunset of the Verizon 3G Cellular network. If you still have an old 3G medical alert mobile system device, please call 877-913-3680.