Does My VTech Baby Monitor Have To Stay Plugged In?

VTech is a renowned children’s educational toy brand that also sells and manufactures a wide variety of baby monitors. Most of their children’s products are battery-operated, but does the VTech Baby monitor have to stay plugged in?

The parent unit display in VTech baby monitors does not have to stay plugged in because it has a rechargeable battery. The baby unit camera does not have a battery and must stay plugged in to continue operation.

One of the great features of modern video baby monitors is the ability to carry the display parent unit around with you due to the rechargeable battery. VTech video baby monitors all have rechargeable Ni-MH batteries that can be replaced if necessary. Usually, the battery lasts a long time and shouldn’t need to be replaced. However, replacements are available when necessary.

VTech Baby Monitor Only Works When Plugged In

If you find that your VTech baby monitor only works when the device is plugged into a power outlet, it may be time to replace the internal rechargeable battery in the parent unit display. Luckily, changing the batteries in a VTech baby monitor is relatively easy.

VTech’s rechargeable batteries are plugged into the parent unit via a small plastic connector. Before changing the battery, you should leave your parent unit display plugged in and charging for at least 6 hours to ensure it has a sufficient charge to operate.

If you need to change the battery, here’s how you do it:

Change the Battery in Your VTech Baby Monitor

1. Open the battery compartment if there is one; if not, unscrew the back of the parent unit to expose the internal rechargeable battery.
2. Unplug the old battery carefully.
3. Plug in the new battery
4. Test your VTech baby monitor parent unit

Different models of VTech will utilize different rechargeable battery packs. It is important to either remove the battery pack and purchase one just like it or to search online for your parent unit’s model number and replacement battery.

Other Issues to Troubleshoot

There are many other issues that can creep up with modern devices, such as the VTech video baby monitor. It is important to try all of the easiest troubleshooting fixes before resorting to changing the battery.

Drained or Dead Batteries

Your battery may be completely drained and just needs to be charged. It is important to charge your parent unit display’s rechargeable battery for at least 6 hours before you decide that it needs to be replaced. 

You may not have a completely non-functioning battery but just one that was completely depleted and needed a longer charge. However, if you find that your VTech baby monitor isn’t charging, you’ll have to take some additional steps.

Damaged Charging Cable

If your battery isn’t charging or your VTech video baby monitor parent unit display isn’t powering on while plugged into standard AC power, you might have a damaged charging cable. 

Try either replacing the charging cable or trying the current cable in another outlet to test whether the cable is working or not.

The parent unit display should power on when plugged into AC power whether the battery is non-functioning or not. If your parent unit display only works when plugged in, then you probably need to replace the Ni-MH rechargeable battery for your VTech model.

Constant Beeping

If you find that your Vtech video baby monitor’s parent unit display is making a constant beeping noise, it could be that you either need to replace the internal Ni-MH battery or you may need to replace the AC power supply. 

It should be replaced if there are any frayed wires or obvious damage to the power supply. 

It’s also important to ensure that when installing your video baby monitor system, your cables aren’t forming any tight 90-degree angles. 

Sharp angles are the enemy of electronic cables. The cables can easily become damaged and break over time. It’s possible that your power supply isn’t working due to an internal broken wire if sharp angles are used.

If All Else Fails…

If you’ve changed the batteries, changed the charging cable, and replaced the AC power supply and still have problems with your VTech video baby monitor system, it may be a more serious issue with the motherboard. The motherboard is what all of your components plug into. 

It may be possible to repair the motherboard, but without extensive electronics knowledge, it can be quite an undertaking. 

Depending on your video baby monitor’s price, it might be easier to either contact VTech to see if your baby monitor is under warranty or to replace the entire system altogether. 

Conclusion

Modern video baby monitors like the VTech brand baby monitors are great because they allow parents the freedom to move around and keep an eye on their little ones. Sometimes, problems can occur with the batteries and need to be replaced. Still, most people will never have to replace the batteries in their rechargeable video baby monitors.