Windtrace Automatic Pill Dispenser for Elderly, Electronic Pill Organizer with Alarm & Light, 28 Day Smart Timed Medication Dispenser, Timed Pill Dispenser Machine for Prescriptions & Vitamins

Set up pills once every two weeks.

I purchased this months ago for my mother to use after a brief hospital stay and she refused to use it. I tried to use it myself for a few weeks, but I don't take that many meds on a daily basis. Recently, my mother suffered a stroke and we put it to daily use. While I eventually figured out how to program it (I work in tech), trying to teach my 71 y/o father was a bit more of a challenge. In an effort to help my mom back to independence, we hoped the alarm would help her take her meds on time by herself.The reality is that I have had to manually reset or move the pill tray at least once a day in the four weeks we've used it. That means my mother still has to wait for one of the family to help in order to take her pills. So much for independence. My dad is not confident enough to use or troubleshoot it when I eventually return home so I've ordered a manual pill dispenser for them.I can no longer return this and am not sure what to do with this large electronic lemon of a device. I can see how it would be a great device if the menus were more intuitive and the tray advanced as expected. Right now, its just another piece of junk I will have to recycle.

Overall positive experience after several months, but let me start with the drawbacks:1) First of all, let me say that I'm in tech. I'm a thirtysomething software developer at a prestigious company. Why is this relevant and not some random brag? Because setting the timer or changing the time on this thing is confusing. (Notice how this review is right after daylight savings time? There's a reason I'm just now getting around to the review...). If a tech person needs to look at the instructions, so will you / your dependent. The instructions are clear, just take a picture of them and put them in your favorites on your phone so when daylight savings rolls around or your routine changes, you'll know what to do. The instructions are probably online somewhere, and of course you can save the piece of paper, but taking a picture of them will probably be your best bet.2) At one point, this was stored upside down and a tiny pill got lodged in a spot that prevented the wheel from fully rotating, and the mechanism wasn't perfectly aligned after that for several weeks. I don't know why, and honestly, I don't know what fixed it. Maybe I hit the next button enough times? I *think* it's aligned again, but it's weird that it didn't click back into place right away.3) this thing beeps once every couple of minutes for about an hour and then stops. if you're out of the house during that time, you'll need to remember to take it.4) it only has 28 days. Why not make it a whole month's worth? Why make us hang on to a couple of extra pills in a bunch of different bottles?I would improve it by- allowing 31 days of medication- connecting to your phone so you can snooze it if you're not around- fixing the weird rotation issue I experienced- making the UI easier to work with, or even printing the instructions on the back.Okay, done with the bad. On with the good.1) I very rarely have to refill this! It's so much better than a one week organizer2) I can easily check to see if I've taken it already because if there are pills in the most recent divot, then it's time3) It's easy to look back and see how many times I've forgotten to take my medicine over the last month4) I love how I only have to open one lid to refill it. 7 day organizers are really annoying in that regard5) This thing is so persistent, I HAVE to attend to it if i'm home. The only downside is that if I'm not home, my partner will flip it over and I might forget about it (and leave it flipped, possibly causing a tiny pill to jam it).6) after several months I can feel what my medicine is supposed to feel like when I take it CONSISTENTLY. It's a huge difference, wow.Overall advice: I don't know if this exact one is the best, but it's a huge upgrade from where I was, and this felt like a splurge. If this broke tomorrow, I would replace it with something similar ASAP. If you have a lot of medicines, this makes taking all of them easier.

So useful for keeping track of meds for seniors!

Here are my thoughts on the product:1. Programming is not intuitive at all. Words like indecipherable and incomprehensible come to mind. One should not feel the need to consult the instruction manual every time they need to set the time, alarm, etc.2. The top cover lock latch is flimsy- it should be more substantial… and made to be “child-proof” (“press and turn” perhaps- as in a child-proof prescription bottle top).3. Forget the key and provide a ¼ turn shank with a slot wide enough to be used with a typical coin.4. The user guide is unwieldy… folding old road maps was never an easy task. The user guide should be in the form of a stapled booklet.5. The alarm volume is too low, even at the highest setting. As people age they lose their hearing. The alarm needs to be louder and perhaps uses a two-tone approach similar to European police or ambulance sirens.6. Inserting dosage rings via the folding tabs isn’t good. The tabs sit within cups and cover the pills within the compartment. The dosage ring should be a vinyl decal that “sticks” in place (no adhesive).7. There should not be a large “OPEN” identifying the location of the top cover lock. It is asking for trouble- it needs to be more discreet, so it doesn’t attract the attention of the senior citizen.There is much room for improvement.

Once you figure out how to program it, it works! It allowed my mother to remain in Independent Living 2 more years and counting. We bought it in 2023. Spent a month trying to program it. Gets a 1 rating on program ease. I sweat bullets every time I change the batteries every 4 to 6 months, but it works every day dispensing 2 tines a day the required pills for my mom. I recommend it and love this thing. Way better than trying to rely on paid help to give prescriptions at a specific time.

My wife and both take plenty of meds that have scheduled times, twice daily. My daughter bought me one of these (from a different Amazon seller) that came with a keyed lock on it, 4 years ago. It is still going strong. Because the design was familiar to me, I figured I can help my wife to get rid of her multiple pill boxes, by getting her one like mine. I purchased this one in May 2024, and yesterday, it started becoming misaligned, like it has broken gears on it. Now her night meds and day meds are both accessible at the same time, defeating the purpose of separating pills, because it jams halfway between morning and evening doses. I thought it was batteries, but the tray itself sticks open halfway between dose times, even manually adjusting. Now I have to find one from the brand my dtr gave me years ago.