Silvertree Reach Review: Expert Tested

Silvertree App

Upon receiving my Silvertree Reach, I was prompted to complete my setup through the Silvertree app. Through this app, I set up my profile as the user of the device, and I added members to my Care Team. Unlike other medical alert systems, which often include caregiver apps as bonus features, the Silvertree Reach’s app is an integral part of this device.

Once Care Team members have downloaded the app, they can use it to track the Reach device's location in real time. Most importantly, the app will serve as a communication hub when the Reach wearer places an SOS call.

Silvertree Reach Emergency Calls

With most medical alert systems, an emergency call works in a linear fashion. First, the user presses a button. Then, they’re connected with an urgent response call center. During the call, the user communicates with an agent through their device. Based on the conversation, the agent will either contact emergency services or a nearby loved one to come help. Additionally, most medical alert systems have some type of feature that alerts loved ones when an emergency call is placed.

However, with no microphone or speaker, the Silvertree Reach works a bit differently.

With the Reach, the user presses a button to trigger an SOS. If the SOS is not canceled within 15 seconds, then the Care Team will receive both a text message and an app notification from Silvertree. This alerts them of the SOS. The Care Team will be presented with three possible actions to take:

• Alert RapidSOS, which will send the SOS to the urgent response call center.
• Call, which will stop the SOS and call the user’s phone.
• Stop SOS, which will notify the Care Team that the SOS has been stopped and that they are responding directly to the request for help.

If nobody on the Care Team responds to the SOS within 60 seconds, then the SOS will automatically be escalated to the urgent response call center. Here, an agent will call the user’s phone to coordinate a response. If the agent can’t get in touch with the user, then they’ll call the primary caregiver. If they can’t get in touch with the primary caregiver, then they’ll contact 911. This will dispatch emergency services to the user’s location, based on the GPS coordinates of the Silvertree Reach.

Let me give you two hypotheticals.

Hypothetical 1: Let’s say I fall and can’t get up, but I am otherwise fine with no injuries. So I’m on the ground, and I need help getting back on my feet. I press the button on my Reach, and an SOS is triggered through the app. My loved one, who happens to be grocery shopping, receives the notification. She can see my location, confirming that I’m at home; however, she doesn’t know the severity, or lack thereof, of my situation.

To address this, she calls my home phone. Unfortunately, my phone is out of reach. Worried that I might be injured and need immediate assistance, she escalates the SOS to the urgent response call center. After the call center calls my phone with no response, an agent contacts 911 and dispatches an ambulance to my location. Of course, EMTs are often happy to help with lift assistance; depending on where you live, though, this service might come at a cost — especially if it becomes a routine occurrence.

Now, let’s take the same scenario, but instead, I’m wearing a medical alert bracelet with a speakerphone. I fall, and I’m on the ground. I’m not injured, but I do need help getting up. I press the button on my medical alert bracelet, an agent picks up the phone, and I communicate my situation through the bracelet itself. The agent, assessing that I’m not in danger, calls my loved one at the grocery store; she drives on by to help me get back on my feet — no ambulance involved.

Hypothetical 2: Let’s say I fall, hit my head on the way down, am on the ground, and can’t get back up; however, I can feel my head throbbing. I press the button on my Reach, sending a notification to my Care Team. Once again, my loved one is at the grocery store, and she receives the notification. To assess the situation, she calls me, but I’m unable to answer my phone. So she then escalates the SOS to the urgent response call center. An agent, receiving the escalation, calls my phone, but I’m unable to respond. This causes them to contact 911 and finally send an ambulance.

To me, this feels like an unnecessary amount of back and forth to dispatch an ambulance for an emergency situation. We go from the Reach bracelet, to a loved one’s smartphone, they call my phone, then they escalate it to the call center. The call center calls my phone again, they get no response, and finally they contact EMS. During this time, I’m on the ground, waiting for help.

Once again, let’s use the same scenario but with a medical alert bracelet. I fall, hit my head, and am on the ground. I press my help button and communicate that I fell and hit my head with an agent through my device. Immediately, they dispatch an ambulance.

Whether it's addressing a medical emergency or simply getting help back on your feet, I think that the Silvertree Reach’s lack of a speakerphone is a big hindrance. Sure, the Reach tries to address this by routing calls through a user’s phone; but if a user needs their phone on them to explain the help they need, then what’s the point of the Reach? This is especially true as most phones and smartwatches can make emergency calls with the press of a button.

Looking for a phone that provides emergency assistance? Then read my Jitterbug Flip2 review.

Normally, this is the portion of my review where I summarize the pros and cons of a medical alert device. However, in the case of the Silvertree Reach, I truly don’t think anyone needs this product.

Granted, every feature the Reach claims to have does work. The location sharing is accurate; the battery lasted me eight days; the fall detection accurately detected eight out of my 10 test falls; and the Silvertree app for caregivers is among the more functional and sleek medical alert apps I’ve tested. The device is also on the more affordable end of mobile medical alerts, costing a one-time $149 payment followed by monthly $25 payments — fall detection included in that latter price.

>>Read more: The Best Fall Detection Devices

But despite all this, the Reach’s lack of communication features makes it, in my opinion, woefully inadequate to help people in emergencies. When using the Reach during an emergency, the chain of communication requires a zigzagging sequence of alerts, escalations, and calls between caregivers, the user’s phone, and an emergency call center. This all increases the likelihood that, in the event of an emergency, your loved one will have to wait far longer than they should to get the help they need.