At-home vagus nerve stimulation. tVNS without limits.

Push the ear clip's jack into the socket on the end of Buddy, firmly, until it stops.

Buddy tells you when this needs doing. With nothing plugged in, the screen shows a plug. Once the jack is in, the screen changes to an ear, your cue to put the clip on your tragus.

If the plug icon keeps showing, the jack is not all the way in. Give it another firm push.

Buddy holds three tones at a time and lists them on its screen. Nudge the joystick up or down to move the highlight, then press it in to choose.

Buddy goes straight to the session timer for that tone, ready to start.

You choose which three tones are loaded on Buddy in the Vagal Tones app.

Your nervous system is built to tune out signals that never change, the same way you stop hearing the hum of a fridge after a few minutes. That is called habituation, and over a long session it can make steady, unchanging stimulation less effective.

Anti-habituation is Buddy's answer to it. As your session runs, Buddy varies the stimulation slightly, so your nervous system keeps treating it as a fresh signal rather than background noise.

You can see it on the screen. When anti-habituation is on, the timer hand on Buddy's display switches direction partway through a session, sweeping one way and then the other. Nothing is wrong and your session has not reset. The minutes keep counting down as normal.

You choose how much. Set anti-habituation in the Vagal Tones app as a percentage from 0 to 10%. Higher settings vary the stimulation more, and 0 turns it off completely.

Buddy tVNS uses the same current-controlled stimulation technology, the same ear clips, and the same Vagal Tones protocols as our Gen 1 tVNS Stimulator. We've shipped more than 10,000 devices since 2019, and every product page carries named, verified owner reviews you can read in full.

The improvements in Buddy are about the hardware surrounding the stimulation: wireless charging, a bigger battery (4+ hours), and a larger screen. The actual stimulation experience is identical to the technology our customers have been using and reviewing for years.

Every Buddy also comes with a 45-night sleep trial. Not sleeping better? Full refund.

Vagal Buddy tVNS is a wellness device, not a medical treatment. It is designed to support vagal tone and your parasympathetic nervous system alongside healthy habits. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. If you have a specific medical condition, consult your doctor about whether vagus nerve stimulation might complement your treatment plan.

Every Vagal device comes with a 45-night sleep trial. Not sleeping better? Return it for a full refund. No questions, no hassle. We've shipped more than 10,000 devices since 2019 and we stand behind every one of them.

EverCharge is our wireless charging technology that creates complete galvanic isolation between the mains electricity supply and the device. This means you can place Buddy tVNS on its charging pad and continue your session safely -- the battery charges while you stimulate. There is no electrical path from the wall to you. The result is effectively unlimited session length.

Yes. Wireless charging transfers energy across an air gap, so there is no physical electrical connection between the mains power supply and the device on your body. This is called galvanic isolation. It is the same principle used in hospital-grade equipment to protect patients during monitoring and treatment.

Without EverCharge, a full charge gives you over 4 hours of continuous stimulation, roughly 3x the battery life of the first generation device. With EverCharge, session length is effectively unlimited: the battery replenishes while you stimulate, so you can run continuous overnight sessions or extended daytime use without interruption.

With Buddy's screen off, give the joystick a press. The screen wakes and shows your battery level, a thumbs-up with the number of sessions you have completed, and your intensity setting. After a few seconds it goes dark again.

This status screen only works once you have completed your first full session. Run one session from start to finish and it will be there from then on.

Buddy tVNS builds on everything from the first generation tVNS Stimulator. The key differences are: EverCharge wireless charging (charge during use), a larger display for easier navigation, a bigger battery for longer standalone sessions, and the same current-controlled EverSteady stimulation engine. It still connects to the companion app (called Vagal Tones on iOS and Vagally Better on Android) via Bluetooth for custom protocols and firmware updates.

This is completely normal. The EverCharge wireless charging pad works by sending energy across to Buddy tVNS using a rapidly oscillating magnetic field. The coils and components involved can vibrate very slightly at certain frequencies, producing a faint sound, sometimes described as a quiet warble or chirp, a little like a 90s modem in miniature.

What you are actually hearing is the charger and device talking to each other. The charging pad modulates its power signal to negotiate with Buddy tVNS: checking alignment, agreeing on power levels, and monitoring battery status. Those rapid back-and-forth exchanges create the distinctive sound. It may change in pitch or pattern at different stages of charging, for example when the battery is nearly full and the conversation between charger and device slows down.

Ensuring Buddy tVNS is centred on the pad can sometimes reduce the noise. The sound does not indicate a fault, and it has no effect on charging performance or device safety.

Want the full story? Read our blog post: Why Does My Charger Sound Like a Dial-Up Modem?