Owlet Smart Sock + Cam Review

Written By: Samantha Wood
Reviewed By: Megan Svetz
Published:

The Owlet Smart Sock + Cam is another example of a manufacturer listening to its users’ feedback to improve their product. We reviewed the original Owlet Smart Sock 2 when it came out and really liked it as a baby health monitor. But we also found it incomplete as a baby monitor.

Owlet has since released an updated version of their monitor to bundle the original sock with a WiFi camera. This is the perfect combo to make sure that your baby is safe and sound through the night.

Not everything is perfect, however. While we still really like the Owlet sock and find the WiFi camera to be perfectly fine, the Owlet app to view the camera feed is only available on mobile phones, not tablets. We find the app user experience to be also lacking compared to other baby monitor brands such as our favorite one, the Nanit Plus.

That said, the Owlet Smart Sock + Cam is very helpful if you have reasons to be worried about your baby’s heartbeat or oxygen level. It’s great, even probably essential in some cases, but it won’t be the best baby monitor for everyone.

Curious to know if this is the right package for you? Continue reading our review of the Owlet Smart Sock + Cam for the in-depth results.

Our Rating: 9.1 / 10

Summary

We like:

We don’t like:

  • The user experience of the Owlet app isn’t as good as the competition, making it difficult to use on a day-to-day basis.

Where to buy: check price on Amazon

Alternatives:

  • The Nanit Plus Smart Camera if you want the best WiFi video baby monitor with improved video quality and insights to help improve your baby sleep (check price).
  • The Eufy SpaceView is the best Plug & Play monitor on our list at the moment. It comes with a dedicated parent monitor, a high-resolution video quality, and the prettiest design (check price).
  • The Angelcare AC517 if you want a more comprehensive package with breathing and movement monitoring and a larger display (check price).

P.S. We received a review unit of this product from its manufacturer. We are, however, not paid or compensated for our review. To remain impartial in our tests, we use objective ranking factors and put each product in the hands of real parents for a few months before we publish our review. Read how we test to learn more.

Everything that we review is independently selected by our team. We only recommend products that we use ourselves with our kids. To support our website, we may receive a small commission if you buy something through our links. These commissions come at no extra costs for you. Read our earnings disclaimer to learn more.

Overview: Owlet Smart Sock + Cam Baby Monitor

Health & Safety icon

Health & Safety
9/10

Privacy icon

Privacy
9/10

Range icon

Range
8/10

Audio Quality icon

Audio Quality
8/10

Video Quality icon

Video Quality
9/10

Battery icon

Battery
8/10

Owlet Smart Sock + Cam monitor camera app review - Baby Gear Essentials
The Owlet camera and the view from the app.

Features: Owlet Smart Sock 2 Baby Monitor

Infrared Night Vision icon

Infrared Night Vision
YES

VOX icon

VOX
YES

Multiple Camera icon

Multiple Camera
NO

Two-Way Talk icon

Two-Way Talk
YES

Play Lullabies icon

Play Lullabies
NO

Room Temperature icon

Room Temperature
YES

Humidity icon

Humidity
NO

Remote Pan and Tilt icon

Remote Pan and Tilt
NO

Remote Zoom icon

Remote Zoom
YES

Nightlight icon

Nightlight
NO

Video Recording icon

Video Recording
NO

Owlet Smart Sock + Cam infant monitor camera review - Baby Gear Essentials
You should wall-mount the camera for the best result.

Our Hands-On Review of the Owlet Smart Sock + Cam Baby Monitor

The Owlet Smart Sock + Cam is not your typical baby monitor. Its key feature is the Owlet sock that constantly monitors your baby’s heartbeat and blood oxygen level.

Using a light and comfortable sock that you attach to your baby’s foot, you will be instantly alerted if your child’s heartbeat or blood oxygen level is outside of the safe and normal range.

Owlet uses a technology that is very similar to what you’ll find in the Apple watch to constantly monitor both the heartbeat and the oxygen of your baby. It uses pulse oximetry, a clinically-proven technology that is noninvasive, to measure your baby’s oxygen saturation (SO2) and heartbeat.

The information is then sent from the Owlet Smart Sock on your baby’s feet to a base station via Bluetooth to alert you immediately if something appears wrong. You can connect the base station to your WiFi network if you want to also receive the alert on your mobile phone via the Owlet app (more on that below). You don’t need to connect the Owlet sock to your WiFi, but it does provide a lot more information than the base alone.

Owlet Smart Sock + Cam wall-mounted camera review - Baby Gear Essentials
The Owlet camera attaches to its base with a magnet, that’s great to adjust the angle just right.

Overall, we really like the capabilities of the Owlet sock. And we want to see more of these in the future. If you have reasons to be concerned about your baby’s heartbeat and oxygen level, you should seriously consider the Owlet Smart Sock.

Hands-On Experience

Our baby was born via c-section and had some fluid in his lungs after birth. The Owlet gives us peace of mind that he is sleeping happy and healthy through the night. I appreciate the heart rate and oxygen saturation level icons. We can make sure he’s doing well with a quick glance at the monitor.  

The sensor sock is cute and fits easily into pajama footies, although it can shift during feedings and changes, which results in a ‘blue’ notification alert. This typically happens in the middle of the night and unfortunately wakes my husband.

But from our experience, having an audio and video feed of what’s going on in your child’s bedroom is more useful on a day to day basis. Especially once your baby is over 12 months old and the risks of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) are significantly reduced.

That’s why Owlet now offers the Owlet Smart Sock + Cam package. It combines the Owlet sock that we tested before with a camera. Both the video feed and the notifications from the sock are accessible through the mobile app.

The Owlet camera is excellent. Picture and sound quality are on par with other WiFi models available today. The night vision is clear and well lit. It doesn’t have the option to remotely tilt or pan, however, so you’ll have to make sure that it’s correctly set up when you first install it. But its unique magnet attach makes that relatively easy. Read our guide on baby monitor installation if you want more tips on that.

Owlet Smart Sock + Cam feet review - Baby Gear Essentials
We love the assurance that the Owlet Sock gives us. This is especially useful for newborns and preemies.

The Owlet camera also lacks a few extra features that other WiFi monitors offer, such as the option to play lullabies or white noise. But that’s not a deal-breaker in our opinion.

What is more problematic, however, is the limited usefulness of the Owlet app. You can view the video feed on a phone or tablet and receive alerts from the sock, but that’s about it. Other models similarly priced offer more useful information about your baby’s sleeping patterns to help you improve their night. The Nanit Plus, for example, our best baby monitor of the year, works with pediatric sleep doctors to give you regular recommendations and it costs about $100 less than the Owlet package.

It’s also worth keeping in mind that using a WiFi monitor means that you’ll need to leave your phone or a tablet always on in order to receive notifications from the Owlet. It means that you’ll also other notifications through the night, from your emails to social media reminders. While this issue is common to all WiFi baby monitors on our list, it’s something worth keeping in mind if you’re hesitating to get a radio monitor instead. Check our list of the best baby monitors of the year here to see how they all stack up.

Owlet Smart Sock + Cam infant fit review - Baby Gear Essentials
The Owlet sock is easy to attach and fits comfortably to your baby’s feet.

After a few months spent with the Owlet Smart Sock + Cam, we’ve come to a conclusion. We really like the Owlet sock for infants that have potential health concerns. It can make a big difference to help you and your child sleep better. But the sock will only be useful for your baby’s first few months. Past that, you’ll mostly rely on the camera to keep an eye on them. And this is where the Owlet Smart Sock + Cam falls short in our opinion. The system simply isn’t as good as other baby monitors on the market today.

If you don’t have reasons to be worried about your baby’s health through the night, we recommend that you go for the Nanit Plus or the Infant Optics DXR-8 instead. Both alternatives are more useful in the long run.

Comfort and Safety

We have to give kudos to Owlet for packing so much technology in such a light and small device. The socket is very comfortable and breathable that it shouldn’t bother your baby at all. Especially when you put them to bed.

The box includes three washable socks. They will fit most infants from 0-18 months or 6-25 pounds.

The sock has a small Bluetooth transmitter that sends your baby’s heartbeat and oxygen levels to a base station that will then alert you if something appears wrong. The base station can be placed up to 100 feet/ 30 meters away from your baby (read more on the actual range below).

The fabric socks are made with cotton and they wrap softly, yet firmly, around your baby’s foot to keep the monitor in place. It can be placed on both the left and right feet, whichever you prefer. We recommend that you alternate from one to the other each night.

The socks should be gently hand washed to avoid damaging the internal components with just cold water. You can then let it dry in the air. Additional socks can be purchased on Amazon if needed. You’ll find the blue socks here and the pink socks here.

Bluetooth Signal Strength

The range from the Owlet socket to its base is impressive for a Bluetooth connection. Owlet claims that it can reach up to 100 feet/ 30 meters away from your baby’s sock, but that’s only if the signal is unobstructed by walls. In our tests, a real-life range inside a house is closer to 50 feet/ 15 meters. That’s enough for the base to be placed outside of your baby’s bedroom, but you’ll probably need to connect it to your WiFi network if you want to receive notifications when moving around your house.

The base station constantly glows green to let you know that your baby okay. The light color will change to red and an alarm will ring if your kid’s heart rate or oxygen levels are too high or too low.

Battery Life

In our testing, the battery life on the Owlet Smart Sock 2 was excellent. It will easily last through the night and recharges in about 3 hours by plugging the sock into the base.

Security: Owlet Smart Sock 2 Baby Monitor Hacking

Because the Owlet Smart Sock 2 uses a short-range Bluetooth signal to send information to the base, risks of hacking and security breach are minimal. It’s impossible for someone to hack into the Owlet via your WiFi connection if you only use the base.

That said, if you decide to stream your baby’s heartbeat and oxygen level data to Owlet servers using your WiFi connection. It’s technically possible for anyone to hack into your network and capture the information.

But because this is only data, with no audio nor video feed, the impact of a potential hack is really limited. It’s not like they could watch or talk to your baby, which has unfortunately been reported with some WiFi baby monitors.

Owlet Smart Sock 2 Health and Safety

The Owlet sock connects to its base unit with a Bluetooth signal. The debate is still raging to decide if electromagnetic fields (EMF) are dangerous for babies, but we prefer to be on the safe side and limit as much as possible the unnecessary exposure of children to EMFs.

In that regard, the Bluetooth signal of the Owlet Smart Sock 2 is probably the least intrusive baby monitor available. Bluetooth connections emit approximately 1% of the average smartphone or WiFi field. And it’s significantly lower than the 2.4 GHz FHSS connection than most of the other baby video monitors on our list generates.

As a result, the Owlet Smart Sock 2 is probably the safest device to have around your baby. We do recommend hower that you keep the base and your WiFi router as far away as possible from your child’s bedroom.

Baby Gear Essentials Owlet Smart Sock 2 heartbeat oxygen review

Owlet Smart Sock + Cam Price

Check the Owlet Smart Sock + Cam price on Amazon.

Alternatives to the Owlet Smart Sock + Cam

  • The Nanit Plus Smart Camera if you want the best WiFi video baby monitor with improved video quality and insights to help improve your baby sleep ($299).
  • The Eufy SpaceView is the best Plug & Play monitor on our list at the moment. It comes with a dedicated parent monitor, a high-resolution video quality, and the prettiest design (check price).
  • The Angelcare AC517 if you want a more comprehensive package with breathing and movement monitoring and a larger display (check price).

Owlet Smart Sock + Cam Baby Monitor iOS and Android Mobile App

You can download the Owlet mobile app on the iOS App Store and Android Play Store.

Owlet Smart Sock + Cam Baby Monitor: Most Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use more than one Owlet sock at a time with my twins?

No. The Owlet Smart Sock base can only be paired with one sock at the moment. You’ll need to purchase a separate kit for two children.

What is the difference between the Owlet Smart Sock + Cam and the Owlet Smart Sock 2?

The Owlet Smart Sock + Cam comes with a camera in addition to the smart sock. Everything else is identical between the two products.

Does the Owlet Smart Sock + Cam have an iPhone App?

Yes. There is an Owlet iPhone app and Android app.

Is there a monthly subscription fee to the Owlet mobile app?

No, there is no monthly subscription fee to the Owlet mobile app; the Owlet app is free to use.

What heart rate levels will set off the alarm?

Heartbeat under 60 and over 220 will set off the Owlet Smart Sock alarm. Oxygen levels falling below 80% will also set off an alarm. If the sock is not placed correctly, it will pulse a yellow alarm to inform you that you should adjust it. The yellow alarm is a nursery song and the red alarm is a loud and obnoxious ring.

What is the Owlet Smart Sock + Cam warranty?

The Owlet bundle comes with a standard one year warranty. We recommend you contact Owlet if you experience any issue with your model after purchase. Owlet also offers a free 45 days return and full refund policy if you don’t like the device.

What is Owlet’s customer service number?

If you’re calling from the US, you can contact Owlet by phone: (844) 334-5330.

Owlet Smart Sock + Cam User Manual

You can download the Owlet Smart Sock + Cam user manual from here.

Owlet Smart Sock 1 vs 2

The Owlet Smart Sock 1 came out in 2015 as a baby vitals monitoring system. The original product was a small revolution in the world of baby monitors thanks to its radically different approach. It was an instant success, so in 2017, Owlet released the Smart Sock 2.

The main improvements in the Owlet Smart Sock 2 versus the first model are mostly to do with the design of the sock and the signal range:

  • A new universal sock design that works on both left and right foot
  • A more breathable design with an open-toe sock
  • An improved fit to ensure that the sensor remains correctly in place
  • An increased signal range to the base station
  • A new antenna in both the sock and the base with a more powerful Bluetooth signal, also to increase the range

We received a free version of the Owlet Smart Sock + Cam for this review. Special thanks to the Owlet team for sending us this review unit. The hands-on review was done by Charlie and his wife, many thanks to them as well.

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