? Frequently Asked Questions ?

Who installs the equipment?

There are no special skills needed. All the equipment can be set-up by a family member or friend.

Your digital home-care hub is preprogrammed for you in advance and the peripherals for your support package communicate with it wirelessly.

There are easy to follow instructions but if you are unsure how to position them, connect your home hub first. Then when you test this, simply ask for guidance when it connects with our team.

If you need any help, let us know.

Do I need telephone?

If you have a working telephone socket you can connect your home hub (the correct cable is already installed to the rear of the hub). If you don't have a standard land line, you can connect the hub to the rear of your wifi router.

If you have neither standard telephone or wifi router, your equipment can not function and you should contact us.

Do I need wifi?

For the moment the answer is 'no'. However, your equipment will alert our team much faster if it communicates via a broadband router. Also there are a large number of additional services and capabilities that we can provide to you if your home hub is connected via a broadband router.

The UK's telephone network is presently being changed from the legacy analogue structure to a faster digital one, with far more capability. It's planned to 'switch off' the current system in 2025 and every home will communicate solely via digital. There will therefore a need for home appliances to be compatible with this.

Based on experience of other countries that have already made the switch, as telephone infrastructure becomes increasingly digital users may experience alert delays, dropped connections and failed connections.

You can  rest assured because your equipment is dual purpose – and therefore 'future-proof'. It can already communicate via both analogue and digital networks and continuity of our services will be totally transparent to you.

What is the reliability of the equipment?

Although we correctly place emphasis on your support services, it's vital that the equipment delivering this is second to none.

We integrate our services with home devices from Tunstall who have been designing and manufacturing this type of equipment for decades.

The equipment is certified under ISO 9000 – the independent international testing organisation.

We also add extra specialised equipment to meet specific personal needs, for example epilepsy.

It is imperative that the equipment is tested upon delivery and thereafter weekly to ensure proper working. 

Who answers alerts?

Our team provides Home Safeguard services for local government and does so for thousands of vulnerable people and their families – 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

What if the equipment is faulty?

Please do check the condition of your equipment as soon as it arrives and let us know of any damage straight away so that we arrange its replacement. It's also important to set up your equipment as soon as possible equipment and connect to our 24/7 monitoring team; just to confirm that all is OK.

What if I change my mind?

If you are dissatisfied with any part of the Home Safeguard service, simply return your equipment in good condition within 14 days and will refund payment without question.

Who is Home Safeguard? 

We are the telecare service of East Devon District Council.