You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
Can anyone recommend a phone I can set up for my mum in her early 70's. She's only ever had a very basic phone and is finding it increasingly difficult to function in modern society. She has problems receiving and sending texts now too.
I am thinking it might be useful for setting up things like online purchases etc? She is increasingly asking me to help with purchases and bookings, boarding cards for holidays etc.
I may be moving further away than I currently live so we also want to be able to communicate more easily and perhaps with video calls.
She is not great with technology so needs to be as simple as possible.
Many thanks.
From experience with my folks, get a simple dumb phone designed for old people, that'll help with the texts.
Then get a separate tablet for the online stuff, as the screen is bigger and more useable, and it's not like they need the 'access on the go' ability that smart phones give
Get something that is as close as it can be to whatever you have so you know exactly where all the settings and so on are when fixing it over the phone.
Get an Echo Show and she can tell it what to do.
I see where you are going, but it sounds like ‘which downhill bike for my non-cycling partner’ - likely to result in limited appeal and little use.
My mother started with a PC in her 60s, iPads in her 70s, but only switched from a landline and simple celllphone combo to an iPhone in her mid-80s.
I suppose if you are committed to this course then it’s whatever OS you are most familiar with and a big screen. But if the real need is for doing stuff online then the recommendations for a tablet are likely to work better than a phone. Some companies seem to revel in providing terrible phone experiences that are tolerable on tablets.
just reread ‘boarding cards’. They still print these out in airports for you. But if you want to go down the tech route then a phone and tablet with the same OS might be easier than a phone alone or different systems.
It sounds like what you want there is something like a Chromebook.
I toyed multiple times with the idea of getting a modern smartphone for my mum before it suddenly dawned on me, I wasn't going to get it for her benefit, I was getting it for mine. She'd probably have hated it.
Most smartphones are actually pretty simple to use though - once set up properly.
My Mum (equally technophobe) has a Chromebook (which we bought her after repeated issues with a PC) and has finally upgraded her woefully old and shit smartphone to a Samsung A16 which, although basic, is at least new and actually functional.
The critical thing is to get something on the same operating system as you have / are used to because you will become IT support whether you want to or not so it's helpful to see broadly similar screens, apps and functions.
And, much as this goes against the grain of official security advice, get them to write their passwords clearly in a little book and make sure that you know the phone unlock code.
Everything needs a sodding account, app and password these days so getting over that hurdle and getting them to accept that fact and work with it is the main barrier.
This is the phone I got for my mum
They have a Samsung tablet for online shopping, holiday booking, prescription ordering etc.
My dad has a smartphone, but only because he always has, and to be honest I'd rather he didn't any more as he's already getting confused between email, texts, WhatsApp etc.
I've got access to their Gmail account from my phone, so I keep an eye on it and prefilter/delete any crap, and when a "this is your password reset link" mail appears I can call them and ask what they've done now...
On the password front, all their usernames, passwords etc are written in a notebook which lives in a drawer and I have photos of the pages. People may wince, but it really is the only way. They also have strict instructions to never, ever, reset a password - if they are having a problem just leave it and I'll sort it.
And, much as this goes against the grain of official security advice, get them to write their passwords clearly in a little book
This "official security advice" is a common argument and it is bogus.
In a corporate environment, sure, it's a really stupid idea unless you take pains to secure it away (and you should have password managers anyway). For a pensioner mother though, what's the actual risk here? Insider threat is probably the greatest threat, other family members may not be acting in her best interests. Burglars are looking for jewellery, iPads, the five grand hidden under the mattress, small high-ticket items to fund their next score; they're not going to give the slightest of shits about hacking her Facebook account.
One thing I would say though is, if you go down this route, use a plain notebook rather than something that says PASSWORD BOOK in big letters across the cover.
something that says PASSWORD BOOK in big letters across the cover.
I once saw something that was exactly that in one of those 'catalogues of pensioner tat' that you find in the Sunday magazines.
I once saw something that was exactly that in one of those 'catalogues of pensioner tat' that you find in the Sunday magazines.
Yeah. It crops up with depressing regularity on LinkedIn, posted by people who think they know what they're talking about. I get it, I do, but it's short-sighted thinking. I tried introducing my luddite partner to a password manager and she took to it like a duck to petrol. She now writes her password on scraps of paper and promptly loses them. 🤷♂️
+1 IHN
Get all the passwords and usernames recorded somewhere. You'll need them
Same os as your used to, if you go that route.
I would also be thinking POA. Get it in place, you might never need it but if you do you will be eternally grateful it's ready to go. Once it's set up, register it with all her banks etc. If there are problems, they will then talk to you. Without it, they won't.
Thanks for all the tips poa is also on the to do list list. Yes the password thing has already been experienced when trying to do various online chores for her. 'Mum What's your password for x account' 'what?! I don't know. i don't have a password. It never asked me for a password before ' well you did when you set the account up. Sigh.'
She has an old Chromebook she does email on but I still think a smart phone would be useful as I am abroad a lot so WiFi calling and messaging would be better. She had a heart attack when she texted me in Morocco and it cost her a pound or something daft.
She had a heart attack when she texted me in Morocco and it cost her a pound or something daft.
Daft, but hardly unaffordable. And less than a new smartphone.
She had a heart attack when she texted me in Morocco and it cost her a pound or something daft.
**** me your Mum had a heart attack and your bothered it cost her £1 to tell you ??
Early 70’s is not old for tech these days. My parents have Apple products. No they don’t always know how to use them properly but sit down with them and go through it patiently with them and they pick it up
They didn’t realise it costs to send pictures by text, so they now use WhatsApp . They didn’t realise they could take pictures on their phone and then see them in their tablet or TV. Just a bit of patient showing them what to do. They use Face ID too as well
Has she got so health issue that is effecting her cognitive ability or is not happy with your approach 😜
Can she cope with a touch screen? My mum can't . Also does she need all this ? She grew up without it and foisting modern requirements on her may not be helpful. Only one in a million phone calls need to be made "now" as opposed to when you get home. Scope for online fraud etc will increase with a phone as it can be left some where with accounts open as shutting them down is a pain and the increasing requirement for overly complicated passwords make this more likely. People lose phones, old people even more.
**** me your Mum had a heart attack and your bothered it cost her £1 to tell you ??
I believe it was a turn of phrase.
Not: she had a heart attack and texted to tell the OP and it cost £1
Rather: she texted to say something random but was astonished / mortified to find that this has cost her £1.
At least, that's the way I read it.
It's exactly the kind of thing my Mum would do too. Text some random shite about next door's cat while I'm on holiday somewhere and couldn't care less...!
We've got her onto WhatsApp and video calling now - but with strict instructions to only use video calling when she is connected to wifi.
This thread is getting increasingly depressing. Early 70s is not old and infirm.
I have a simple pixel phone and it plays happily with my android tablet and my windows laptop. Mrs BigJohn has a Samsung phone and tablet that work together amazingly well. We both know how to do things with them even though we're "early 70s".
Boarding cards, tickets, payments, reading the paper, setting up direct debits, booking tonight's accommodation from a Croatian bar on Airbnb, WhatsApp video calls, speed awareness courses, all done on the phone.
The devices and apps tend to be simple and intuitive once you spend a day or so getting used to them.
What is difficult is persuading a naive user to stop opening links, stop creating passwords, stop installing new apps just because "it said I needed to" and stop going down rabbit holes and ending up repeating stuff that influencers are trying to spread.
This thread is getting increasingly depressing. Early 70s is not old and infirm.
Well, it *can* be...
I guess most people are going off their own personal experiences.
My grandparents were both losing their marbles at that age.
My Mum has all her faculties but is very infirm.
My Dad is still quite sprightly - although he's a complete technophobe to the point that he pretty much refuses to use a smartphone or computer, his wife does all that tech stuff for him. In fact, while he's not "old and infirm", his mental attitude to tech is such that I don't think he'd cope in modern society which demands email addresses and accounts and apps without her to manage it for him. Which is a problem in itself.
Daft, but hardly unaffordable. And less than a new smartphone.
As said I am abroad a lot and I may move abroad in a few years. I'm very close with my mum and we like to be in contact. Currently her old dumb phone is playing up and we would like to future proof being able to stay in contact easily and cheaply. A smart phone at £200 is not really that much compared with calls and texts abroad over several years.
This thread is getting increasingly depressing. Early 70s is not old and infirm.
Agreed I just wanted advice on if certain phones were easier than others. My other parents (dad and step mum of same ages are very techie as worked in computers professionally from the early days) it's just that my mum is someone who doesn't try at things that she finds difficult but she is increasingly seeing that she is being left behind by her choice and is open to trying.
This thread is getting increasingly depressing. Early 70s is not old and infirm.
Yeah, fair enough, I should add that my folks are in their early to mid 80s and my dad, who was always the 'online' one, is losing his faculties a bit and my mum is pretty new to it all as my dad was always the 'online' one.
My mum and dad are mid 70's. Mum get's my sister's hand me down iphones, and she has a laptop and tablet. My dad is quite happy with his dumb mobile. He doesn't text. He'll occasionally use the phone.
MIL had a new/old Nokia. She just did up/down and pressed the number she wanted. She used computers in work, but in later life it was all too much - TV remote and the dumb phone was enough. Don't even start me on her insisting she kept the Sky subscription - I noticed the remote was full of dust. I asked 'how are you using sky' - she showed me the TV remote, not the Sky one. We got rid and saved her £50 a month. FIL was very techy and had the latest laptops and iphones.
Some 70 year olds aren't tech savvy.
Some 70 year olds aren't tech savvy.
My sister is not even sixty yet and would think the CD drawer was a cupholder if PCs still had them... Someone gave her an airfryer and it's been sat on her worktop for six months whilst she 'works out how to use it'. I think she thinks it's akin to landing the space shuttle, rather than just being a little oven.
She has an old Chromebook she does email on but I still think a smart phone would be useful
it’s irrelevant what you think - we spent years coaxing my folks into getting into the 21st century. In the end a medical condition that needed an app tipped them into “ok then” but my dad resents the bloody thing, refuses to use Ringo to pay for parking etc. My mum was always slightly more engaged both with tech and phones but won’t use it for anything that would make her life easier! Online banking - no way it’s full of scams. WhatsApp group to organise the family christmas get together - only after it was essentially forced on her because everyone else was having the discussions there. I guarantee that in November this year she still send separate emails to each of us asking when we are thinking of coming!
as I am abroad a lot so WiFi calling and messaging would be better.
Even in Covid they hated video calling. I never phone her mobile because she feels she has to answer immediately, the landline works for them - if they are home they will answer, if they are out they will call me back!
Beware of forcing her into doing things she doesn’t want - it won’t necessarily be the answer. I suspect one of the reasons my mother doesn’t like WhatsApp is the same reason I moan about my son going to uni and not keeping in touch! It removes the personal connection. I thumbsupped your picture might be very time effective but it’s not actually very personal.
She had a heart attack when she texted me in Morocco and it cost her a pound or something daft.
surely the sender pays the same regardless of where the recipient is? Unless you had a Moroccan number… in which case I’m not sure it’s your mums fault!
I should say my in-laws are slightly more tech savvy (all the same era as the OP’s mum) and have been using WhatsApp since the days when you paid for it - because they holiday abroad a lot and it was cheaper than roaming charges. Despite that they struggle with groups!
they do now put boarding passes on the phone but always still print them out too… they at least use online banking - and Sat nav etc. The difference here is THEY see the advantage for themselves of their peers have introduced it to them.
Unless you had a Moroccan number… in which case I’m not sure it’s your mums fault!
Yes we did. I don't think it's anybody's fault but thepoint still stands WiFi messaging and calling abroad costs nothing and especially now thanks to Brexit we have to get local SIM cards when in Europe.
Anyway I'll have a play about with an old smartphone on smarty I think and see how she gets on. Perhaps try a Doro if she is willing to try.
Slightly at a tangent, but I have made sure that Mrs BigJohn is as capable at all modern day life skills as me.
Statistically, I'll be first to die and I've seen so many widows not know how to do anything technical, where to find out where the bank statements are etc.
Yes I get some pushback on why I'm making her set up a new payee, WhatsApp group, new TV etc. but I think it might be worth it one day.
Maybe not set up a tubeless tyre though.