Best Non-Wi-Fi Baby Monitors
I curated a list of the most-reviewed non-Wi-Fi baby monitors so you can skip the security concerns that come with Wi-Fi devices.
I explained in an earlier post why Wi-Fi baby monitors can leave you vulnerable to in-home hacks and how to guard against them. The easiest way is to purchase a monitor that doesn’t use Wi-Fi.
I aggregated data from the seven post popular “best baby monitor” lists online and found the five most-recommended non-Wi-Fi monitors to review for you. Most of these have similar features and specs because they’re all among the more expensive models on the market for non-Wi-Fi baby monitors, so the differences will largely depend on which bells and whistles you’re looking for.
I’ll lay out the differences below. As for the similarities: They all have about the same signal range, use the same or similar transmission sources, all connect up to 4 cameras, all use 720 pixel resolution for the screen/camera, have two-way audio, have electric plug-in option, have temperature monitoring, and they all are within $35 of each other. Like all non-connected monitors, they have a video ‘parent’ unit and cannot connect to your smartphone.
Infant Optics DXR-8 Pro
This Infant Optics camera was the most-recommended baby monitor I saw out of the 28 monitors recommended by these seven “best of” lists.
The best feature of this monitor is the active noise reduction. The monitor will filter out ambient noise like fans, humidifiers, heaters, and other home sounds but the coos and cries of your little one will still come through clear as a bell. That can help a lot if you’re a light sleeper or if you’re a parent with anxiety (*raises hand*) who needs to hear your child’s snores to feel comfortable to sleep.
One caveat: The device’s manual cautions that this feature should be turned off if white noise machines are being used to soothe your baby (but lullaby and nature sounds aren’t an issue) because they will come through as strange, warped sounds. Even with that odd bug, it doesn’t affect the quality of the audio when it picks up the sound of your child.
It is the only monitor of the list to state it has a low-light sensor in addition to infrared LED cameras. This helps add footage on the visible and IR spectrum that the camera adds together to give a crisp image.
The camera also comes with zoom and wide-angle lenses (that you’ll need to swap out, depending on which mode you want).
The Amazon and blog-related fan base for this monitor is truly impressive, but I have seen some unenthusiastic reviews for this product, such as one from vlogger Fathercraft, who called it the “iceburg lettuce” of non-connected monitors. Kind of good, not something he hates, but is just fine.
Eufy Security Spaceview Pro
The Eufy has some interesting noise-related features such as the “voice-activated alert” and the “sound-activated alerts” are customizable so you can decide which level of noise turns on the screen or gives you an alert that your child needs you.
Another place Eufy shines is its battery life. With a 5,200mAh battery, it is the largest battery among these best-rated models, and it can run in “standby” audio-only mode for more than a day and 12 hours of live monitoring.
Like the Infant Optics model, it has a wide view lens that doubles the field of view. The picture is clear even at night.
The setup for the Eufy couldn’t be easier. You just turn the camera and parent monitor on and start using it.
A note from me about some marketing mixed-messages. In the Eufy Amazon profile, it boasts a signal range of 1,000 feet, but in the help section for the own website, Eufy states the Spaceview Pro has a range of 460 feet. That’s quite the discrepancy, and I’m working to get an answer about the actual range. I’ll update this post with a note once I have the answer.
Babysense HD S2
Two words: Split screen. This is the major star power of the Babysense HD S2. You can have a view of two babies in the same or different rooms at the same time, and you can toggle the audio between them.
Aside from that, the camera is comparable to the others in this listing. It’s a solid, high-end device that has good image quality, has a 360-degree horizontal panning ability (I’m not sure when you’d need to do a complete 360, but hey, you can’t get more flexibility than that!), and has an impressively large battery.
The manual and other company specs don’t elaborate on how many infrared cameras it uses, but given user reviews, it must have enough to compete with the 8 and 12 other brands boast. Regardless of the number, this camera gives off a nice, clear nighttime view.
VAVA VA-IH006 (HIPP)
Users rave about the easy setup and sharp picture quality of the VAVA VA-IH006, but this monitor offers something few monitors offers: the ability to cut off a Wi-Fi connection or use a Wi-Fi connection, which could add a bit of flexibility if your risk tolerance for connected devices changes.
The non-connected way to use this monitor is to opt for its Bluetooth connection settings, which gives a good range still. The features are also quite similar to the Eufy or VAVA with its 24 (audio-only) hours of battery life and a dozen infrared cameras for crystal-clear nightvision.
Motorola MBP50-G2
The Motorola MBP50-G2 also comes with a split-screen feature, making it a hard choice between this and the Babysense HD S2.
This Motorola monitor is the most affordable of these five cameras, but at $167, it’s still not cheap. The plus side is this monitor (or any on this list) should last until your child — and maybe your next child — are in big kid beds and don’t need constant monitoring. From the reviews, these monitors tend to last without issue for three to five years. Usually, the camera stops being used because the baby its monitoring grows up, rather than because of a manfunction.
One downside is the battery life. With a 2,000mAh battery, it will last less than a day while on standby audio-only mode and only five hours in active live video mode.
I really did try to find the vertical panning angle on this camera, but it must have been an oversight on the marketing materials because the panning angles weren’t even mentioned except in a company Q-and-A. I do know that the camera does pan up and down, as well as side to side.
A Reminder to Be Kind to Yourself
A final note about buying baby monitors in general: Try not to over-analyze when choosing one. Pick something that has good audio and video quality, has nightvision, has at least a few hours’ of battery life for the parent unit, and fits your budget. Otherwise, everything else is window dressing.
I got along fine with a non-connected baby monitor that we got on sale at Target that wasn’t nearly as nice as any of these. It would have been marginally better to have been able to see my sons’ facial expressions, but I could always tell when he was awake, when he was sad or scared, and when he was trying to escape the crib. Even with the graniest of nightvision, you can tell if a baby is awake by their sounds and the creepy white glow of their eyes on the monitor. (IYKYK.)
Parenting is hard enough, and I stressed a lot about picking the “right” products when I made my son’s baby registry. But the truth is a lot of these products are going to seem identical because, well, they are, especially at this higher price point.
This post contains some recommendation kick-back links, but none of these products are sponsored. I won’t take sponsorships if I can’t be unbiased, and I promise to always be unbiased when writing for you.
Sources, if you want to dive into this more:
https://adviserbaby.com/non-wifi/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbes-personal-shopper/2022/04/20/best-baby-monitors/?sh=6a1f016f5753
https://www.babylist.com/hello-baby/best-baby-monitor
https://homesecurityplanet.com/best-baby-monitor-without-wifi/
https://www.momjunction.com/articles/best-non-wifi-baby-monitors_00761402/
https://spy.com/articles/lifestyle/parenting/best-non-wifi-baby-monitors-1202858408/
https://www.mimosasandmotherhood.com/best-baby-monitor-without-wifi/
https://www.infantoptics.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/DXR-8-PRO-User-Manual.pdf
https://manuals.plus/vava/va-ih006-baby-monitor-manual#vava_va-ih006_baby_monitor