Which? Don't Buy baby monitors

When you buy a baby monitor, you want to be confident that it’s helping you keep an eye on your baby from the moment you take it out of its box. But there are baby monitors that will let you down.  

Every year we test all the big brands - from BT to Motorola - and all different types of baby monitors, including audio, video and smart models.

The models we name and shame as Don’t Buys have such terrible picture quality that you can’t make out your baby on the screen. Their battery life could cut out midway through a nap, and the signal strength barely stays strong in a bedsit. 

Baby monitor reviews - compare all 76 baby monitors we've tested in our lab

What makes a Don't Buy baby monitor?

Here are some of the baby monitor problems we’ve discovered in our tests:  

• Baby monitors that say they’ll carry on working at a range of up to 100 metres, but when we measure range, in a more realistic situation, we’ve found models that cut out after just 16 metres.
• Monitors where the batteries run out after as little as two hours, which could leave you constantly chasing around trying to find the charger.
• Whether my baby monitor be hacked is a worrying thought for today’s parents. We’ve reviewed a wi-fi enabled baby monitor where you can get by with just one character to set the password – an insecure password can potentially leave your account wide open to hijacking by hackers.

Sales and promotions can easily make a poor baby monitor look like a tempting bargain. But even if you don't want to spend big, you can still pick up a great model. 

We've discovered cheap audio baby monitors costing around £20-30 that have great signal and sound quality and are easy to use. 

Join Which? to find out which baby monitors we’ve named Don’t Buys.

How we test baby monitors

Our tests go further than any competitor in putting baby monitors through their paces. 

We assess everything from video and sound quality, to how accurate a room temperature sensor is and whether a smart monitor could be hacked. 

Our in-depth testing means we can confidently recommend those baby monitors that will give you peace of mind, while also highlighting those models to avoid. 

• Our lab experts assess every baby monitor for how easy it is to set up and use, so you'll be saved a frustrating experience trying to get the monitor to work. 
• We run rigorous tests to assess sound and picture quality, and also test battery life of parent units and range, meaning you can keep an eye on your little one on the go, for longer. 
• For smart models, we run an industry-leading assessment of how effectively the monitor can repel hacking attacks and keep you and your privacy safe from prying eyes. 

Baby monitors reviews you can trust

Which? Best Buy baby monitors are easy to use, have a great battery life and crystal clear sound and/or image. Discover the best baby monitors.

Which? is independent – we work for you, the consumer, so you can be sure that our product recommendations are influenced only by our test results. 

We're not influenced by third parties and we don't accept freebies from product manufacturers or retailers. 

We buy all the products that we test ourselves, so our advice helps you to make the right choice first time and avoid costly mistakes.

Join Which? to ensure you avoid accidentally buying a Don’t Buy baby monitor.