Battery Operated Baby Monitors For Camping in 2023

Baby monitors that are operated by batteries rather than AC power have several advantages, my favorite being that I can use a battery-powered baby monitor while traveling. One parent personally asked me to send her some suggestions for battery-operated baby monitors that have great functionalities such as video, night vision, two-way talk, and even lullabies. I thought I’d find them easily but I was wrong. There are audio baby monitors that rely on batteries but you may have to rely on outdoor security cameras that use batteries as traditional video baby monitors mostly use AC power for the camera/baby unit mainly because some features such as night vision consume a lot of power that batteries just can’t support.

The best audio baby monitor that can be entirely operated by batteries is the TimeFlys Audio Baby Monitor. It uses AAA batteries in both the baby unit and the parent unit and unlike VTech audio monitors’ batteries that barely last for 3 hours, TimeFly’s last for up 10 hours – and they are rechargeable. When you get it on Amazon, it comes with 3 AAA batteries.

TimeFlys Baby Monitor

This TimeFlys Audio Baby Monitor brand is the only monitor that truly relies on batteries to run its baby unit/transmitter and the parent unit/receiver.

Buy Now

These battery-operated baby monitors are the most ideal for camping whenever you are, in Australia, the UK, the US, or any other part of the world. You can also purchase most of them on Amazon or on physical retail stores such as Target, Argos, and Walmart.

I spent over two weeks putting together this list and having previously developed a guide for baby monitor batteries, this didn’t seem like a difficult exercise. The list below has both audio baby monitors and some great video baby monitors that rely on AAA batteries as well as rechargeable batteries.

Best Battery-Powered Baby Monitors 2023

Reviews of Battery-Operated Baby Monitors

1. Billfet Audio Baby Monitor Powered By Batteries

Billfet audio baby monitor is my best battery-powered audio baby monitor in 2022. With Billfet, you can choose to power it entirely using batteries or you can choose AC. The parent unit and the baby unit both can be used with 1.5V AAA batteries but can work with 100V-240V AC. It is perhaps the cheapest battery-operated baby monitor for camping.

Below is an image of Billfet

Below are some of the features I like most about this audio baby monitor that sells for under $40:

1. It uses FHSS transmission technology, guaranteeing you 100% privacy and no limited interference with other 2.4 GHz-frequency devices
2. Clear 2-way communication
3. Long indoor range of up 150 ft.
4. It has a good design which makes it very portable
5. It is voice-activated which enables it to save battery and reduce EMF radiation
6. Similar to VTech audio baby monitors, Billfet has a clip that allows you to attach it to your belt.

2. Levana Jena Battery Operated Baby Monitor

Levana Jena is perhaps the go-to battery-operated video baby monitor that has been in the market since 2011. Levan Jena comes with rechargeable batteries that power the parent and the baby unit and can last for up to 8 hours!

Over 1300 customers on Amazon have given this battery-powered baby monitor 3.8/5 but as of the publication of this article, it wasn’t available for sale on Amazon. You can still click the link to check if it will be available when you check it.

Below are some of the features that have drawn more than 1300 customers to try this batteries-only baby monitor:

1. It has automatic night vision with a reliable range of 15 ft. This is comparable to some of the best non-wifi baby monitors we’ve reviewed such as Eufy Spaceview S and Infant Optics DXR 8 that have 16 ft. and 15 ft. night vision ranges, respectively.
2. It has a power-saving PEEP mode feature. Wondering what PEEP mode is in Levana Jena? PEEP mode in Levana Jena is similar to VOX mode in other baby monitors. PEEP is a short form for Power-on/off Energy Efficient Picture and when this PEEP mode is turned on, Levana Jena enters standby/sleep mode after 60 seconds of inactivity. It will only come back to the active Live-view mode or non-PEEP mode when it detects when the baby makes noise. Levana Jena claims that having this PEEP mode on may extend the battery life of Levana Jena for up to 48 hours!
3. It comes with 8+ hour rechargeable batteries that you can rely on when traveling and have no AC power.

3. TimeFlys Audio Baby Monitor 

TimeFlys Audio Baby Monitor is the best baby monitor for camping as it can be powered entirely by 3 AAA batteries and can last for 8 hours. The three AAA batteries that it comes with when you buy are rechargeable but you can just get many AAA batteries on Amazon and go off-grid for some time. You can get a pack of 36 single-use AAA batteries for as low as $10 on Amazon. Check price here

TimeFly is a sound-only monitor that has cool features including;

• Temperature Monitoring and Warning,
• 8 lullabies to lull your baby to sleep 
• 1000 feet range which is very impressive
• Two-way talk
• Vibration alert which is ideal for those with hearing impairments or heavy sleepers
• LCD Display showing the real-time temperature of the baby room’s/location. You’ll get a warning if the temperature is out of the set 60.8F – 86F range.
• Night Light which you can remotely control using the parent unit.

4. Motorola MBP855CONNECT and MBP855CONNECT-2 with Rechargeable Cameras

Motorola MBP855CONNECT-2 is our fourth battery-powered baby monitor designed and distributed by Binatone Global, the owner of Motorola-branded baby monitors. Like several other Motorola baby monitors, it has some really poor reviews on Amazon despite having a large 5-inch video screen.

This monitor uses Wi-Fi and 2.4 GHz FHSS wireless connectivity to allow you to view your child on the included 5-inch monitor or on compatible smart devices while you’re away from home. The ergonomic parent unit features a 5″ diagonal color screen that makes it easy to see your child, and with a simple press of a button on the unit or a touch of the screen on your smartphone, you can talk through the device to comfort your child.

Buy on Amazon

Motorola MBP855CONNECT Portable 5-Inch Color Screen Video Baby Monitor with Wi-Fi and One Camera, White

• Expandable Up to 4 Cameras (Sold Separately, Model: MBP88CONNECT)
• Ergonomic Parent Unit with 5-Inch Diagonal Color Screen Two-Way Communication, Room Temperature Display, Infrared Night Vision, and 5 Lullabies, includes Wireless Technology: 2.4 GHz FHSS (for Local and Remote Viewing)
• Portable, Rechargeable Camera with Remote Pan, Tilt, and Zoom, and High Sensitivity Microphone
• Up to 1000ft Range ( Any obstruction between parent and baby units will reduce the range significantly) LED Sound Level Indicator, Out-of-Range and Low Battery Alerts
• Motorola is Americas #1 baby monitor brand in America (2017 revenue data).
• Pairing can be affected by other devices in range, the device being used as well as any obstructions in the range of communication

Buy on Amazon

You can recharge the cameras of Motorola MBP855Connect which lasts for 3 hours per charge. This battery-powered video camera that has built-in Wi-Fi and can be set up in any location inside your home. They include remote pan, tilt, zoom, and infrared night vision so you may see everything clearly whether it’s day or night. Plus, with two-way communication.

We featured this brand on our other list of wifi monitors with both apps and handheld units/monitors and I give credit to Binatone (beholder of Motorola brand of baby monitors), for designing such vertisile monitoring device capable of AC and DC-powering; and having both the capability to operate without Wifi and with 2.4 GHz wifi. While not among the best Motorola Baby monitors, its only fair as this model is relatively older than some recent Motorola brands such as Motorola Peekaboo Twin Cameras WiFi 1080p Video Baby Monitor.

Like Arlo brand, next on this list, the DC or battery-power isn’t the ideal way to power the camera of this MBP855Connect brand. The power cameras consume just can’t be sustained for long with some energy cells such as Triple A or Double A.

There are other features to ike about this device though. Its two-way communication lets you hear your baby’s every coo and giggle, and even check in on them with the room temperature display. You can also soothe them to sleep with any of the five lullabies built into the device.

Below are some of its features:

1. FHSS transmission technology, not dependent on Wifi
2. 5-inch diagonal screen
3. 1000 ft. outdoor range
4. Two-way communication
5. Rechargeable batteries placed in the cameras can last up to 3 hours
6. Expandable and can support up to 4 cameras
7. You can remotely pan and tilt the camera

Pros

• Camera expandability to monitor multiple locations
• Whole room view with pan, tilt, and zoom features
• The Hubble app lets you manage the camera and receive feeding straight to your phone no matter where you are.
• It allows viewing in split@ screen for multiple cameras

Cons

• Poor ratings citing frequent camera disconnection
• Some customers say the night vision is poor
• Some customers report that the sound quality is poor and that it fails altogether sometimes

5. Arlo Baby Monitor

While Arlo baby monitor does not have a battery-operated baby camera, it came fourth in this list of top battery-powered baby monitors. You should, however, note that its battery life is not very long.

Arlo Baby Monitor with Stand

On its website, Arlo states that Arlo’s “Battery power is intended to be used for short periods of temporary monitoring. The expected battery life ranges from 3 hours of night-time use to six hours of daytime use”. At night, the night vision mode consumes more power and reduces the battery life of baby monitors.

Buy Now

There are two easy ways to turn Arlo Baby on and off. You can either do it in the Arlo App or unplug the device and turn off the battery power. Turning off battery power will help conserve energy for when you need it later or if you’re moving the camera elsewhere.

After reading other parents’ reviews of this Arlo Baby camera, I wasn’t thrilled about what they had to say about the batteries. According to one user, when the battery stopped working after only a year Arlo customer service told him that there was no way to fix it or replace just the battery. The customer’s only option was to buy an entirely new camera. With a warranty of just 12 months, the user had to opt for other brands to avoid the same issue happening with another Arlo brand.

After using Arlo for a month, one user said the batteries were totally drained and the camera only worked when plugged into the wall. Then, after another month, the whole system just shut down without any warning.

It uses CR123A cells such as this Duracell CR123A on Amazon for less than $12.

I think that’s enough to tell you that this model is only appropriate if you want an AC-powered monitor with an option of using batteries for very short periods – say less than 30 mins.

While not rated highly as a smart baby monitor, this Arlo brand still has great features to like. I really like that it integrates with all the major smart home ecosystems such to make it a compatible Google Home Hub monitor, Apple’s Homekit-approved and compatible with Alexa Home’s Echo. You can use your voice to control the monitor from any room in your house.

I also really like that the camera has a wide range of viewing angles for up to 130 degrees. You can pan and tilt the camera to get a better view of your baby’s room. There are other brands, however, that boast of up to 360 degrees pan.

The latest model by iBaby, the iBaby M8L 1080P Smart Baby Camera Monitor gives you an entire 360 degrees view of your nursery and can do this remotely as you can use the smartphone app to move the camera’s field of view. This iBaby brand has also been touted as a favorite by parents using iPhone or any iOS device’s retina display. So, better rated (4.5/5) than Arlo (3.8/5) but uses ‎110 Volts of AV Power with no batteries.

6. Graco Battery Operated baby monitor

Graco Secure Coverage Digital Baby Monitor is another battery-operated baby monitor by Graco. More than 800 customers have rated this product 4.2/5 on Amazon but in March 2020, it was not available on Amazon.

This Graco battery-powered baby monitor uses a 900MHz frequency to transmit signals from the baby unit to the parent unit. I previously reviewed this audio baby monitor in our list of long-range baby monitors with up to 2000 ft. outdoor range.

You can check using the link below.

7. Arlo Pro: Fully Battery-Operated Camera and Base

Arlo Pro is my favorite battery-powered security camera with a battery-operated base. More than 15,000 customers on Amazon have rated this Netgear camera, 4.1/5. Arlo Pro camera which can be turned into a baby monitor, when used together with the base station is currently retailing at under $200 and is most ideal for campers that want very long battery life of up to 1 week. Arlo Pro and Arlo Pro 2 can both rely fully on rechargeable batteries.

While Netgear claims that the batteries could last for as long as 6 months, users have found it to last for up to 4 weeks. If you are going camping, plan effectively to make sure that the Arlo camera and base station do not drain the batteries before your camping trip ends. You should also note that when a battery is used, you should expect 720p HD resolution images and not the 1080p HD resolution images you’d expect when plugged into AC power.

Users of Arlo Pro and Arlo Pro 2 have really found these Netgear battery-operated baby monitor cameras to be handy when traveling or camping in remote locations where AC power may not be available to recharge the batteries. While Arlo baby monitor can rely on batteries, it cannot last for more than a few hours. This makes Arlo Pro and Arlo Pro 2 the best battery-powered cameras for baby monitors.

Below is an image of Arlo Pro 2 which comes with 2 cameras and is great if you plan on using it when camping with your twins.

The table below shows a further comparison of Arlo’s cameras.

8. DBPOWER Digital Audio Baby Monitor

For under $30, you can get yourself this battery-powered audio baby monitor by DBPower (image shown below). In 2021, more than 150 customers on Amazon have rated this 1000 ft. range battery-only baby monitor, 4/5. It comes with three rechargeable batteries and is quite easy to carry as it has a belt clip similar to VTech’s audio baby monitors.

9. Motorola MBP36XL: Camera and Parent Unit Operated by Batteries

Motorola MBP36XL is a battery-operated baby monitor- the camera/baby unit and the monitor/parent unit are powered by rechargeable batteries. The batteries for the camera/baby unit can last for up to 3 hours and the parent unit’s batteries can last much longer – up to 6 hours. This baby monitor can operate without wifi which allows you to use it when camping totally offline.

Below are some other features of this camera:

• The monitor/screen of this baby monitor is quite large, 5-inches diagonally. It made it to our list of best large®-screen baby monitors list.
• The technology powering the communication of the baby monitor is hack-proof. The 2.4GHz FHSS technology fully secures and encrypts communication between the baby unit and the parent unit.
• This baby monitor is expandable and up to 4 cameras can be hooked up. If you want to monitor twins or more than 2 kids in your home, this is an ideal baby monitor. It also has split-screen viewing.
• With this battery-powered baby monitor, you can talk to the baby – the two way communication enables you to soothe the baby without getting physically close to your baby. Read more about two-way communication baby monitor here.

You can read more reviews and check its current price on Amazon here.

Other Top-rated Battery Baby Monitor Brands (2022 Releases)

Below are some recently-released video monitors with large-capacity batteries. Note that they still rely on AC for the camera unit and only rely on batteries to power the screen or the parent unit of your monitor. The batteries mentioned in the ‘Details‘ column below are for the handheld screen/parent units of the listed battery monitors in this table;

Baby Monitor with Battery Backup:

Infant Optics DXR 8 Pro is my top-rated brand of baby monitor that has an external battery backup. The 10,000mAh power bank is sold separately and goes for about $20. With this backup unit, Infant Optics can run for up to 24 hours. I explained in detail why this brand is my top recommendation among non-wifi monitors in this post.

Below is an image of this backup unit.

Battery Operated Baby Monitors FAQs

In 2020, VAVA released a non-wi-fi® baby monitor that can last for up to 24 hours – mostly because of its large battery storage capacity of 4500mAh. You can read more about the Vava baby monitor here.

In 2021, VTech released VTech VM819 Video Baby Monitor with a battery that can last for 19 hours of video streaming and up to 29 hours when in power-saving mode. VTech’s advantage in this VM819 model is the small screen size of this model, just 2.8 inches in diagonal which made it possible to last long with 2600 mAh batteries. Read our review of VTech VM819 here

• About the Author
• Latest Posts
• More info

Ashley Davis( Chief Editor/Product Testing Specialist )

Hi there! I am Ashley Davis, a mom of three kids and the editor here at Motherhoodhq.com. I have been a parent since 2011 and have been doing full-time consulting as a baby sleep expert since 2019. When I am not researching or testing the next baby gear hitting the market, you’ll find me teaching my toddlers a trick or two – especially over the last few months with the lockdown. I hope you’ll find my guides and reviews helpful as you make your next purchase decision. If you have any questions, you can reach me at ashley.d@motherhoodhq.com.

• Motorola Baby Monitor Troubleshooting Sound, Night Vision, Screen, Charging, Connection etc
• How to Babyproof Your Fireplace
• How to Design a Baby Nursery