Medical alerts without a landline: cellular and GPS options

Quick answer

You don’t need a home phone line for a medical alert. Two kinds work without one: a cellular base unit that sits in the home and calls the monitoring centre over the mobile network, and a mobile pendant with its own cellular connection and GPS that works wherever there’s coverage [6] [10]. Before you choose, check the cellular signal where the person lives, and ask whether the device uses 4G or 5G, because Canada’s 3G networks are shutting down [2] [3].

The options at a glance

Our medical alert systems guide covers smartwatches in more depth, and lists the in-home plan that needs a landline.

Where to buy a medical alert that needs no landline

You sign up for a monitored plan online or by phone. The table lists the plans that work without a landline from the five providers in our main guide, which sell across Canada and post their prices. The figures come from each provider’s own pages, linked in the sources. We read them on October 13, 2026. Prices and sales change often, so check before you sign up. We haven’t tested these services.

The next table lists devices you buy once, with no monitoring fee, that need no landline. Each is sold on Amazon in Canada and the US. None of them connects to a monitoring centre.

Before you sign up without a landline

From simpleaging.com. This checklist is general information, not medical advice.

Coverage

• Someone has checked the cellular signal in the home, including the bedroom and bathroom. TELUS says poor coverage may mean its device can’t place a call, detect a fall or find your location [10].
• For a mobile pendant: the signal is also checked where the person goes most, such as a daily walk or a family member’s home.
• The provider has confirmed which network the device uses, and that it works on 4G or 5G, not only 3G [2] [3].

Power

• You know what happens in a power cut. Galaxy lists a backup battery of at least 24 hours for its base unit [4], and Life Assure lists up to 48 hours for its mobile device [12].
• For a mobile pendant: charging is part of a daily routine, and you know how the device shows a low battery.

Location

• For a mobile pendant: you’ve asked how the monitoring centre finds you, and how close the fix usually is. TELUS says GPS location is approximate and may not always be possible [10].
• For a base unit: the home address on file is right, and responders can get in. A key lock box is one way, like the Master Lock 5400D (opens in a new tab) that hangs on a door knob or the 5401D (opens in a new tab) that mounts on a wall, each with a 4-digit code you set [21] [22].

Costs

• You know the monthly fee after any sale or first-year price ends, and whether tax is extra.
• You know the one-time fees: activation, programming or the device.
• You know whether there’s a contract, and what it costs to leave early.

Why landlines matter less than they did

Galaxy calls a system that uses a landline its “traditional” one [6]. Many homes no longer have a landline. Statistics Canada reports that in 2023, 60.9% of households in Canada had a cellphone and no landline, up from 20.2% in 2013. Among households with a respondent aged 65 and over, the share was 32.5% [1].

Providers have followed. Galaxy’s answer to “What if I do not have a landline?” is that its home cellular system and mobile systems don’t need one [6]. SecurMEDIC lists “NO Landline Required” for both of its plans [7] [8]. One plan in our main guide still needs a landline: Life Assure’s Classic Home, which plugs into a telephone jack and an electrical outlet [13] [12].

Cellular base unit or mobile pendant?

A cellular base unit gives the same kind of service as a landline system, using cellular technology instead [6]. The base sits in the home. You wear a small button and press it, and you talk with the operator through the base unit; Galaxy lists a two-way speaker on its unit [4]. The button only works within range of the base: TELUS lists 600 ft [9]. Some home systems list a battery life in years rather than days: TELUS lists 3 to 5 years for its home system [9], and SecurMEDIC 5 to 7 years [7].

A mobile pendant puts the cellular connection, the speaker and GPS in the device you wear, so it works away from home. TELUS says its pendant “operates anywhere in Canada where cellular coverage is available” [10]. Life Assure says its mobile device works anywhere in Canada [12]. The trade-off is charging: makers list 2 to 3 days for the Holo Pro [14], up to 3 days for SecurMEDIC’s [8], up to 6 days for TELUS’s [10] and 6 to 16 days for Galaxy’s, depending on the mode [5].

Some people choose both: a base unit at home, where most time is spent, and a pendant for going out. Ask the provider whether a second device can share one account.

How a pendant finds you

Makers combine GPS with other ways of locating the device. SecurMEDIC describes “4-way positioning by GPS, LBS, WIFI and Bluetooth” [8]. LBS means location from cell towers. Galaxy lists A-GPS and Wi-Fi location services [5]. TELUS says plainly that GPS capabilities are approximate and may not always be possible [10]. Ask the provider how its device finds you indoors, and keep the home address on file up to date.

The 3G shutdown

Older cellular devices use the 3G network, and that network is closing. TELUS says its 3G network “will be retiring on March 1, 2027 nationally and on April 14, 2026 in Manitoba,” and that non-compatible 3G devices will lose the ability to make or receive calls, send texts or use data, including reaching 911 [2]. Bell gives the same national date, March 1, 2027, and says the change affects mobile and “IoT devices” that rely on 3G, which includes connected equipment that isn’t a phone [3].

What this means for a medical alert: ask the provider which network the device uses, and whether it will keep working after March 2027. Of the plans above, Galaxy lists its mobile pendant as 4G LTE [5], and its home unit as using “3G/4G/LTE” [4]. TELUS’s pendant page lists LTE operating bands [10]. The other plan pages don’t name the network type, so ask. If you already have an older unit, ask whether a replacement is offered and what it costs.

Costs and funding for alerts without a landline

The plans above cost C$34.95 to C$80 a month at today’s listed prices, before any one-time fees [4] [10]. Funding is limited. Our medical alert systems guide covers what the Canada Revenue Agency, Alberta’s seniors’ program, Ontario’s Assistive Devices Program and Veterans Affairs Canada say, and what Medicare says in the US. See also Funding in Canada and our tax credit calculator for home changes.

Questions to ask

The provider

• Does this device need a landline, a cellular signal, or Wi-Fi?
• Which cellular network does it use, and does it work on 4G or 5G [2]?
• How far from the base unit does the button work [9]?
• How does the pendant find my location indoors, and how accurate is it [8] [10]?
• How long does the battery last, and what happens in a power cut [4] [12]?
• Can I test the signal at home before I commit, and return it if it doesn’t work there?

Family

• Who will make sure a mobile pendant is charged?
• Does the person spend most of the day at home, or out? That decides between a base unit and a pendant.

Safety notes and when to talk to a professional

Test it where you’ll use it. Press the button in each room, and outside if it’s a mobile pendant. Tell the operator it’s a test.

Keep it charged. A mobile pendant only works with power. Learn how it shows a low battery; TELUS’s pendant lights up when it needs charging [10].

Don’t count on fall detection to call for you. Makers say it can’t detect every fall [14] [16] [18]. Press the button if you can; see the fall-detection section of our main guide.

Plan for the 3G shutdown. If a device is more than a few years old, ask the provider now whether it will keep working after March 1, 2027 [2] [3].

When to talk to a professional. If someone has fallen, feels unsteady or worries about falling, talk to a doctor. A doctor can look for causes and may suggest seeing a physiotherapist or occupational therapist. An occupational therapist can see how a person manages at home and suggest changes, equipment or a call system that suits them. Our home safety checklist goes room by room.