Kinsa Smart Stick Reviews

by Melodio79

We bought this thermometer for our newborn who is under 2 months old. For newborns under 3 months, a fever of 100.4 is an emergency. This thermometer indicated that our newborn had a fever on 3 separate occasions, one reading as high as 100.9. This caused us to go to the emergency room where they drew blood (which is very hard on a baby under two months). They had to try twice to draw her blood because her veins are so small. They also took urine samples to rule out a UTI and talked about a possible SPINAL TAP to find out if she had meningitis! At this point, we wondered if the thermometer was the problem and we bought a rectal thermometer at CVS. The Kinsa thermometer consistently read high compared to the CVS thermometer, as high as 2 degrees. Based on the CVS thermometer, our baby never even had a fever! This was also verified at the hospital when they re-checked her temperature. This thermometer is highly inaccurate and needs to be taken off the market. Had we not thought to verify its accuracy, we may have put our newborn through more invasive procedures (spinal tap) that were unnecessary.

by Bee-Ten

Horrible software & hardware.

At least now they’re selling your data maybe about your sick child to Clorox!

“Being able to target ads in this way is a big shift from even seven years ago, when the onset of cold and cough season meant buying 12 weeks of national TV ads that “would be irrelevant for the majority of the population,” Mr. Sarma said. The flu ultimately reaches the whole country each year, but it typically breaks out heavily in one region first and then spreads slowly to others.”

Original Kinsa stopped working when I went from an iPhone 5 to an iPhone 6. Kinsa never mentioned this in any app update notes. I complained so they sent me a replacement (eventually THREE REPLACEMENTS) that were all supposed to be iPhone 6 compatible. All failed with Error 3 4 despite two being the proper lot number. Why the sent me the first replacement that even they knew was incompatible? Beyond me. They even refunded my money and sent another Kinsa. It didn't work either and never replied to me. How are they in business if they can't even test the product before the ship it after multiple failures? I don't understand. A cheap drug store thermometer works better and is faster. The original Kinsa that sometimes worked with my iPhone 5 was slow and flakey. Totally unreliable. Who would have guessed the "iPhone 6 compatible" update would be worse and completely non-functional. Kinsa is 0-4. Hard to say that's a fluke.

by Tipster5489

KinsaSmartStick was OK at the beginning. Everything worked as advertised, and it was syncing nicely with HealthKit.

As far as accuracy goes, this thermometer is about 2°F warmer than any of my other thermometers, both oral and ear types. Even the Kinsa Stick shows about 2 degrees lower.

I can’t say for sure if it’s inaccurate, maybe all the other thermometers I own have drifted too much. But the fact that it stopped working with KinsaSmartStick after 1 day is a deal breaker. The whole point of the smart thermometer is to automatically log your vitals so you don’t have to remember. I’ve had a low-grade fever for 6 months, my doctors want me to track them. Since the ear thermometer appears to be inaccurate and the quality control of both the ear and app seem to be suspect, I can not recommend any Kinsa product.

I’ve tried it on multiple devices and platforms and followed all the instructions on re-syncing the device. KinsaSmartStick sees that the device is connected, but it never sensed or logs the readings. After one day, this “smart thermometer” is just an inaccurate $40 ear thermometer.

DO NOT BUY ANY KINSA PRODUCTS.

Save your money, ask your doctor for a recommendation for a cheap and accurate thermometer, and log it the old fashioned way.

by DL830

This company should be sued for selling a faulty product for NEWBORN BABIES. This constantly tells me that my son has a fever and has left me with countless trips to multiple doctors, as well as speaking to specialists, all in an effort to understand why my son has chronic fevers despite a clean bill of health otherwise. No one could make sense of it. Each time his temp was taken at the doctor's office, the fever wasn't there. We bought different thermometers to see if it was the Kinsa. The Kinsa would read 101.2 while the others read 99.8, for example. THIS IS A HUGE AND DANGEROUS DIFFERENCE. The Kinsa tells me my son has a high, dangerous fever while the others tell me he is perfectly fine. The emotional distress placed on a parent with a newborn constantly "having a high fever" only to find out it's wrong is unacceptable, which is putting it lightly.

by Clynnlaughy

I am super annoyed I spent the money on this. I just tried to use it for the first time and set it up before my baby boy arrives , it connected to my husbands phone and seemed to work properly. We then disconnected from his phone so I could use mine since I will be the one who normally will be using this for our son and no matter how many times I try to connect it to my device and it says “ connected “ but it doesn’t work with KinsaSmartStick . Never shows any temps taken from thermometer. I only purchased this more expensive thermometer for the convenience of being able to track the temps on KinsaSmartStick and it doesn’t even work. Tried about 20 times and I’m ready to just throw this thing in the trash. Don’t spend your money on this. I have the Smart Ear device.

by Emerence

We don’t have our thermometer 🌡 yet but I’m told it should be coming home with one of my kids this week so I can’t yet say anything about that part but I’ve been using KinsaSmartStick for about 3 weeks or so anyway. My only complaint so far is that I cannot change the time stamp of when the symptoms are put in. I’m a busy mother of 7 kids and I can’t always immediately turn on KinsaSmartStick to put in their symptoms and sometimes I forget to do it until way later (i.e. my daughter was sick last night but I didn’t get it into KinsaSmartStick until this morning). I don’t know about you but I would prefer to be able to have accurate information about the time as well as the rest of it. Please fix this and I’d gladly give a 5th star.

by Bbhhop

I tell everyone about this thermometer! I love it. The fact that it has profiles for the whole family, I can keep track of everything in one place, when the doctor asks when something happened or symptoms started I can actually be confident that I’m giving an accurate answer 👍 (even when loopy from lack of sleep 😴)
Never need to worry about the batteries in the thermometer again 🤗🤗
I have been frustrated on a couple of occasions with not being able to get an accurate reading on the first, or second, attempt. Which is maddening when trying to care for a sick infant. 😠
Overall though this is by far my favorite new baby gadget.

by Jill-SimmonsGradStudent

This thermometer is more accurate then most. We got it to compare to our other rectal thermometer after our 8month old was spiking fevers for 2months due to daycare colds and ear infections. It reads only a few 10ths of a degree higher then our other 2 (one rectal and one in ear). My only complaint is with KinsaSmartStick . I can’t change how KinsaSmartStick is registering the reading once it’s been read ie underarm, rectal, mouth- leading to inaccurate app guidance and inaccurate data for doctors appointments. I also can’t change the times of when a temp was taken if I’m entering it manually. This is crazy annoying because I’m a mom of a sick baby- I don’t always record in real time!

by Chrisandlindyt

I’m writing a rebuttal for the one review that’s titled “Dangerously Inaccurate”. Every triage or emergency room nurse FIRST checks temperature among other necessary vitals. They would never go off anyone’s assessment of these things. Parents aren’t dumb. They have discernment for their children by design. We have found and had confidence in the readings from this device for the past 2 years. They have been consistent with mercury thermometers as well as other digital ones used in medical facilities. I have been a nurse for over 15 years and a parent of 3 boys.

by NickPunt

If you just want it use this to add data to Apple Health, unfortunately the UX requires you tediously add each temperature reading individually. It takes 3-4 taps each time, which if you’re monitoring temp closely is a lot of tapping to get through your backlog of readings just to fulfill a simple user need.

If you want to use KinsaSmartStick to track symptoms then it’s not so bad, but I like to track symptoms in another place as do many others.

Kinsa team: I recommend adding ‘Add All’ button on Alerts page to quick add all temperatures in queue to Apple Health.

by D&JsMom

The Kinsa is amazing! Easy to use, takes quick readings. I love how you can save the temperatures and it says the date and time they were taken. Also very handy that you can fill out symptoms. I have an 8 year old and a 3 month old so it’s great that KinsaSmartStick holds profiles for each family member. We use the Kinsa stick because it doesn’t need batteries unlike the Kinsa ear. I recommend this thermometer to all my friends with kids and babies.

by AliasAmy77

Love this thermometer! Medically fragile son with home care nurses. He gets his temp taken twice a day every day. This is a perfect way for me to keep track of his temps (for myself and the dr). Only wish there was an option to add all the old temps at once since I don’t log on to app but once a week. Maybe a box that allows you to add all without symptoms. Other than that, it does everything I dreamed of!

by A Nickname 337388846

Typically matches mercury thermometer within a couple tenths of a degree... and much easier to read. We’ve had poor experiences with both ear and forehead thermometers, but even checked this one out at our pediatrician’s office for accuracy. Love that we can set up accounts for each family member and keep all medical notes in one place. Easy to use!

Hoping they will develop a BP cuff and a pulse oximeter!

by Granniebliz

I bought this Thermometer last year when my husband and I had the flu and all of my Battery Thermometers had dead batteries. Problem is, today when I needed to use it, I realized that it requires a headphone port and my newly updated iPhone 8 doesn’t have a headphone port. I had an IPhone 6 when I bought the Kensa Thermometer.
I did some internet searching and learned that an adapter came with my new iPhone 8 and sure enough I found it still in the box that the phone came in. Now I’m back to using this Thermometer and it’s working beautifully. Maybe this info will help someone else with an updated iPhone. I think IPhone 7 also has no headphone jack. Not sure if it included the adapter though.

by Wcamarena

I adore this thermometer because it registers all the things when YOU Or your little is feeling under the weather! Everything is in once central location so that you can show your doctor if needed the temps and symptoms being experienced. Hands-down one of my favorite features, is at the end of the reading. KinsaSmartStick gives you suggestions on how to keep comfortable and practical advice for speedy recovery!

by Beth Mason

I bought the thermometer and downloaded KinsaSmartStick 3 days ago and have told friends and family how great it is. I love that you can log medications and set reminders. I also love that each person in my family has their own profile. We tested my thermometer with the thermometer in the emergency department and got the same readings, so I feel confident that we’re getting accurate temps at home. Smart Ear thermometer is definitely a must-have for every parent.

by Leila Madonna

I love this thermometer and KinsaSmartStick ! I don’t sync with the Health app simply because I use this for my infant only. I love that I can track his medications as well as set up timers for them throughout the day! My only dislike is sometimes I forget to bring the thermometer in my diaper bag so if I use the regular one then I don’t get to put it in his profile. It’d be nice to have manual recordings for this reason only. But I can understand why they won’t add it. Regardless this thermometer is amazing! I recommend it to all moms and dads!

by Jeskak22

I love this thermometer/app combo. It’s price point is really great for the quality of the product. My toddler is so finicky with how she’ll let me take her temps. Thankfully it’s easy to switch between oral and underarm. She thinks it’s fun and I appreciate the historical record it keeps. It also works when I’m not connected and asks me later when I Bluetooth to it again who the temps were for. Super helpful and means you don’t always have to have your phone handy for it all to work!

by Moniree

Wow. This is so cool!!!! You can add the whole family and track the Temperatures as sickness arises. It then gives advice on how to deal with the temperature and symptoms. The thermometer itself seems to read accurately as I check the temp back to back and all readings are very close. Only downside- be aware the thermometer does not come out of the package working so if there’s an emergency or you’re overwhelmed due to a sick child- this might not be a quick grab. You must download KinsaSmartStick and sync to phone before the thermometer works. That said- once that’s done- it’s really so helpful.

by Rachel_hearts_carlos

I’ve been using Kinsa for a few years now for my little one. I’ve only had to change the battery once so far. After all these years, I realized just now that I had better write a review because I literally track all of my child’s symptoms on KinsaSmartStick so I hope that KinsaSmartStick never gets shut down or anything. I wouldn’t want to lose my child’s years of medical history. I hope technology like this never goes away, but only keeps getting better. Kinsa is a MUST HAVE for all parents, that’s for sure!!!