Got this last week. Tested it out on my family and also for myself only compared with the oral thermometer we have been using. I don't mind the variability, which seems to be roughly plus/minus 0.5 degree F. What I don't like is that it seems to average about 1.5 degrees F too high. Specifically, the oral has me at 98.7 but the first 5 repeats with Safety 1st ranged from 99.9 to 101. My wife's readings also came in over 100. Maybe we just got a bad one.