Begin with the connection
Ask whether the proposed base uses a compatible telephone connection or its own cellular service. Your mobile phone, home Wi-Fi and the medical alert base are not interchangeable connections. Have the seller identify the exact model, what service it needs and what happens if the connection is unavailable.
Make a room-by-room checking plan
For a Houston home, include the rooms, floors and outdoor spaces you actually use. A porch or detached garage deserves its own question, if your property has one. Ask for approved checks during the return period; a brochure range does not prove performance through your walls.
Find out where conversation happens
Some wearables trigger a base, while others put the speaker and microphone on the device. Ask what happens if you cannot answer an operator from the room you are in. Practise the manual help button through the provider’s approved demonstration and check that you can hear and operate it.
Ask about backup power and moving
Request the documented backup-power instructions, battery warnings and any service limitations. If you stay with relatives, ask whether the system can move and how the monitoring address is updated. Keep a separate household emergency plan.
Sources & useful reading
Sources support the factual context. The practical buying questions are not a product, property or network test. Reviewed November 7, 2026.