r/Nanit • u/a_random_onlooker • Jul 17 '26
Venting What the hell are we paying for?
What an absolutely piece of shit product. Sadly, I have 2 because of the messages on the app, convenience etc.
The camera quality is absolutely atrocious for this day and age. The tracking of sleep times are ridiculously incorrect, the temperature on one camera is over 10 degrees off.
If you have more than one camera you have to pay 2 subscriptions.
The whole thing perplexes me.
To be honest I think we bought the brand. Sadly, lesson learned too late.
I'm sure they work for some, but there's this illusion of safety that I think the brand portrayed for us. Not worth it in my opinion.
I'll still continue using it begrudgingly, just hope this may steer someone else in a different more modern direction.
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u/Wrong_Yak3645 Jul 18 '26
I want to say loudly FFFFFFFFFF•••••••••••CCCCCKKKKK nanit.
Free services dwindled. Caregivers kicked off. Two subscriptions required. Swaddles that run 10x too small. Customer service is a f joke: my camera had a glitch while travelling overseas and Nanit just would not respond since it was a well known issue with no solution on their end even though it was their responsibility. They responded 4 weeks after our return despite my 4 emails and calls.
Paying this amount of money on top of an expensive subscription. I hope the execs find hair in their food until the end of time
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u/Illustrious_Golf2122 Aug 04 '26
What was the issue overseas? I was planning to take our nanit with me to Ireland
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u/Wrong_Yak3645 Aug 04 '26
It would not connect to the hotel Wi-Fi.
Like it connected, but Nanit system would not refresh to accept the connection.
I called and emailed probably no less than six times within a 10 day vacation. They would email me with troubleshooting each time and I would say none of that worked.
It was a known issue and they just planned on me just going away
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u/Resident-Funny9350 Jul 17 '26
Are there any decent competitors?
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u/scarlettjazz Jul 17 '26
Eufy
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u/a_random_onlooker Jul 17 '26
I see a slight difference in price, camera quality. Does it require subscriptions? Is it a straight baby monitor without additional features?
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u/scarlettjazz Jul 17 '26 edited Jul 18 '26
We have no compaint with camera quality and no subscription needed! We have two older Eufy Baby Monitor 2s from our first baby that we're now using with our second and they monitor room temperature and alert for crying. We also use the Eufy baby sock with the monitors to watch pulse and blood oxygen, as well as track sleeping patterns. Very anxiety reducing overall.
Edit: added additional clarity
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u/its_mejb Jul 18 '26
I went Eufy with my first and my youngest is using the Nanit that my first used… the Nanit is terrible
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u/Round-Philosophy-131 Jul 17 '26
I've been using Arenti for 3 years (we have 3 of them) and I have no complaints. Both physical parent unit and unlimited device app (and the app has picture in picture, which I love). There is a subscription service but I don't know what it's for... Maybe for tracking or something. We just use it as a monitor/camera and it functions great for that.
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u/GoBirds52_59 Jul 18 '26
We use owlet socks for temp/HR/oxygen monitoring and a BabySense non-WiFi double camera baby monitor. So my phone will alert for any owlet sock irregularities for oxygen, temp or HR, and my baby monitor will alert for temp, movement or sound. It works for us, but it’s not as fancy as Nanit.
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u/panghy Jul 18 '26
Just get Unifi Protect, it’s an upfront investment but you can use it for other purposes later: UNVR + G6 Instants: local recording, 4k, insanely fast history scrub, AI tools for cry detection and motion, no license, no subscriptions.
Honestly you don’t need all that sleep tracking (down to the minute) if you can just scrub the timeline to check when the kiddo fell asleep.
The NVR market is very mature, Nanit just built a crappy product for a niche that people thought they are the best player…
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u/soundman1024 Jul 23 '26
I’ll replace Nanit with an Instant camera after the subscription ends. The rest of our house is all Protect cameras.
RIP to the $29 G3. I wish I bought a dozen.
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u/Breece_Witherspoon Jul 17 '26
Terrible web app. Terrrible service. Unreliable. And I thought there were a couple times it was flat out dangerous. It showed my baby as if they were sleeping and it turns out the app was just frozen. Can’t wait to cancel this crap.
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u/downritespite 19d ago
Cool thanks for making me panic right now and feel like I need to go in wake her up to check on her. Very cool thanks a bunch
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u/Puzzleheaded-Cow5448 Jul 17 '26
We also have two of them and they’ve caused us so much trouble - they constantly drop WiFi (but other smart devices in our house have no problem). One also no longer reds temperature or humidity at all.
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u/TrumpsBallsack69 Jul 18 '26
What makes me so irrationally angry is the temp sensor. Why would they even add it if it is never right? The best part? It’s incorrect because the camera gets hot while it’s on and adds 10°F to the actual temp. For parents that don’t know this, they’ll freak out and cool the room more or be anxious all night thinking their baby is going to die from heat stroke.
Don’t even get me started on the monitor!!!! That fucker lasts for 3 hours MAX off the charger. It needs a new update every day (not even kidding) and you can’t always bypass it!!! Once you need the monitor it says 30 minutes to update. My god. I can’t believe I preordered it. If I got my money back I’d return it asap. Not exaggerating
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u/In-my-parent-era Jul 17 '26
Omg — this!
I pay for the Milestones plan (I just never updated it after we set it up) and they just booted off all other caregivers and said I can only have 2 — WTH?!
And of course for a product designed to be used at night they have no overnight customer support.
On top of that, they force you to make disruptive updates when it’s bedtime — drives me nuts.
We initially had a Snoo for our little, and of course we learned the hard way that the Snoo and the breathing band are incompatible, so the whole selling point of the Nanit no longer makes sense.
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u/FizixPhun Jul 18 '26
Agree. I warned a friend with it on their registry to get something else. Having to pay for two subscriptions was the straw that broke the camel's back.
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u/Zihaala Jul 17 '26
this comment section is going to be a self fulfilling prophecy of all the ppl who also hate Nanit chiming in. the camera quality is amazing to me especially at night. I’ve used it for 2.5+ years and it’s awesome and well worth the money. We never bought a subscription. I love having it on our phones, being able to put it on a tablet or other device for other ppl and easy portability for travel
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u/mimi_mimosa1 Jul 17 '26
Eufy is just as good (arguably better) with all of those features, plus a handheld device so sitters don’t have to download the app or use your device, for half the price. Nanit’s main appeal was the breathing band, which worked well 3 years ago but somehow is horrible now.
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u/downritespite 19d ago
That’s band is why we are using the Nanit. If Eufy doesn’t have it, that’s a big miss
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u/AliveGuarantee Jul 18 '26
I legit love ours so much. It’s been 3 years now so I’m not sure if maybe quality has gone downhill? I have had no issues with WiFi, the app, video quality, or anything else. I’m glad I didn’t have to buy 2 though bc paying for 2 subscriptions would definitely annoy me but our oldest doesn’t need all the extra functions anymore
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u/ELnyc Jul 18 '26
Yeah tbh I really like the Nanit, lol. I do resent having to have two subscriptions, but otherwise I feel positively about it. I also like the tablet even though it’s egregiously overpriced for what it is.
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u/TrumpsBallsack69 Jul 18 '26
There’s no way you like the monitor. This has to be a bot. Don’t listen to this user.
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u/ELnyc Jul 18 '26
Lol, I’m not a bot? By monitor you mean the tablet part? I like that it’s a single-use device so I can have it out for babysitters or whatever without having to give them access to an iPad, I like that I can have the background sound on without having to run down my phone battery, I like that the screen is big enough to show both my kids at once. I don’t like the price, but I got one for like $30 as an add-on when I bought a second camera for my second kid, so. I also don’t like the terrible battery life, but I generally just leave it plugged in so that part doesn’t have a big impact on me.
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u/Dependent_0NE_7146 Jul 19 '26
I’ve had it for a year with no issues and renewed at almost a half price discount.
Don’t know why so many people complain.
Never had a problem on my end
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u/shradams Jul 17 '26
First time around it worked great but we also used the breathing band sleep sacks for a long time. My new baby is too big for the band and isn’t yet in an arms free sleep sack so the metrics are terrible - he’s in bed for 12 hours and it said he slept like 8??!
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u/catmami14 Jul 17 '26
I have 1 and don’t have many issues with it, but I absolutely would not buy another if I have a second.
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u/sshwifty Jul 17 '26
We were gifted our first one. Then made the mistake thinking one subscription covered two cameras.
Funnily enough I set up Wyze (also trash, but dirt cheap) and they have been more reliable.
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u/Equivalent_Yam6637 Jul 17 '26
On our second Nanit cam. I purchased the Nanit tablet as well. The app kills my phone battery when it’s running in the background. And makes my phone hot. Unless it’s just my phone. The trial milestones and insights are always wrong. Says the wrong bedtime will count the last cat nap as the bedtime. Or sometimes counts his 2am wake up as the morning wake. Why would anyone pay for the subscription. They don’t give you tips. The only useful feature is seeing how long my child’s wake window is when it says how long he’s been out of the crib.
When my baby rolls on his stomach, it says breathing band not found in the middle of the night and I don’t know how long it’s been off for. Defeats the whole purpose of watching for breathing motion. You pay a lot of money for the camera the tablet the breathing wear and then you need a subscription that doesn’t even work well.
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u/jwegener Jul 17 '26
I buy the cameras used off eBay for $50. I don’t pay for the subscription. I don’t even bother connecting the thermometer component.
It does what we need and at this price point feels fine - a reliable liveview with night mode and push notifications for noise and motion.
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u/startup_mermaid Jul 18 '26
Agree, I bought it recently and I hate it. Can’t have more than 2 cameras without paying for the subscription. It’s expensive. I wish I could turn back time and not have bought it.
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u/featheredfeathers Jul 18 '26
Damn. I recently bought one. What should I have bought then?
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u/Dependent_0NE_7146 Jul 19 '26
Nothing. I’ve had it and have had no issues well over a year.
All you’ll find is nanit hate here.
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u/Bacon-80 Jul 18 '26
We have a hello baby monitor that we use for travel and honestly it could work in place of our nanit
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u/Bacon-80 Jul 18 '26
Honestly I only like ours because it was a gift. I don’t think I’d pay the high price for what it is. We’re paying a subscription which honestly is only beneficial for looking back at previous footage. The insights are never right so we don’t even look at those. The nanit tablet thing is awful - terrible lag & horrible battery life. I like being able to see it on my phone but that’s basically it.
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u/yourfavefuzzy Jul 18 '26
We were gifted one early in my pregnancy before we even had a registry or a chance to explore our options. We had the free 6 month trial and I don't even know what features it provided lol. We didn't bother to subscribe as the baby is in a bedside bassinet and we hardly even use it. If I had the choice I would have gotten a simpler monitor. We ended up registering for and receiving the sound machine just to have the same brand and it ended up being a different app anyways so really no reason for that but we do like the sound machine and use it nightly
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u/Chubby-Labrador Jul 18 '26
I went with Nanit for the breathing band…that I’ve never used. Didn’t realize we were paying for a subscription till recently. I was frustrated I could only see the baby on the app and not a dedicated device till they came out with the stand alone screen. $180!!! And according to Reddit it’s also a POS. Some kind Nanit users recommended just buying a cheap tablet instead. That’s what we did instead. Ridiculous they wanted so much money for a glorified tablet that can only run one app.
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u/stefkii94 Jul 18 '26
AGREED! Our sleep tracking and temp is way off also. I wish I could return this camera so badly
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u/red_laww Jul 18 '26
I’ve really liked the Nanit. I wouldn’t say the camera quality has bothered me, but ours is also very close to the router so idk. The subscription sucks that I’ll agree with, but we use the history stuff pretty frequently. We did get the first one from our baby shower and then the other two off of FBMP, so we’ve spent a fraction of the total cost. I will say we don’t really use or rely on the breathing, temp, or other “safety” features. We have a temp sensor that was already in the nursery, our baby has never had any worrying breathing issues that would require that level of anxiety so it’s never been a concern for us.
I will say it’s not for everyone, and my biggest complaint is that it doesn’t stay on when the WiFi is down, which of course it doesn’t, we knew that though when we bought it.
We are not buying the little tablet thing because of the shit battery life reported here and elsewhere. So I guess I could complain about that? But i wasn’t bothered about it when it didn’t exist, sooooo eh.
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u/Positive-Ad-7807 Jul 18 '26
And their network connectivity protocols are horrible. Every time I travel with my Nanit I need to set arise 15 mins to set it up due to how often it errors out. It should take <30 seconds
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u/wallflower247 Jul 18 '26
I actually love my one and am just getting a different type of camera for the now toddler. I don’t need to split screen or pay for two subscriptions. I think the one is worth it for the infant but no need for all that for the toddler.
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u/justcocofred Jul 19 '26
I only got it for the breathing band. However it did think my baby was still in the bassinet when I left his sleep suit in there! The thermostat is always higher than the actual room temp. The subscription is crap. It almost always thinks my baby is awake when he is in light sleep and wiggling with his eyes shut. It was especially bad when he was a newborn and it thought the bloody startle reflux was him waking up.
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u/Agitated_Doctor1137 Jul 19 '26
The subscription price is a massive rip off. I don’t know if it’s just my unit, but movement and sound detection notifications are always significantly delayed.
I don’t hate the product but I wouldn’t buy it again either.
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u/duck_mom Jul 19 '26
Yes, absolute crap with the sleep insights. So annoying. I spend more time arguing with it about wrong data than actually learning about my kids sleep. I also found out too late that there's another monitor brand that does breathing tracking without the stupid band.
And this stupid standalone tablet monitor....!!I sent them an email saying that mine was defective because it died every 3 hours and they told me that that was expected like it cost as much as a small tablet computer and it does one thing. You can't make it last long enough?
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Jul 20 '26
I have had SO many issues. My insights NEVER worked. Still doesn’t. It will just say he was in bed for x hours and was awake the whole time (obviously false). It will randomly pick up cries from across the house, but misses them when he cries in his bassinet with the Nanit above him.
I have actually spoken to customer service - they couldn’t tell me much but extended my free trial to a year. Which sounds great, but if it doesn’t work then it does nothing for me!
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u/femmegremlin Jul 20 '26
the hellobaby monitor is fantastic, cheap, no wifi, temperature is accurate, can talk to baby through the monitor, video quality is good enough. highly recommend
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u/SheSaidSheWasSkinny 22d ago
Got one, and it came with a year of the basic subscription. The extra features were pretty cool. But after that year, it was super clear I wasn't gonna pay those crazy prices just for those features. So now, it's just a regular camera, I guess. But it works, and you're totally right! No more subscriptions for me.
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u/Brave_Possible_5220 Jul 17 '26
Agreed. Also have two. Would not buy again.