How to help an older person use a smartphone

Key points:

Consider the sight, sound and emergency settings, along with potential safeguards for people who may be prone to memory loss as they age

If you are considering purchasing a phone for an older person, consider an iPhone due to the uniform support available online, brick and mortar locations of Apple stores and general ease of changes to settings

Notably, the emergency services SOS feature should be used in case of an active emergency where other options are unavailable

This edition of Aged Care Guide will focus on phones, with a particular focus on how to make them easier to use for an older person. As we age, we tend to be more forgetful, hard of hearing and/or may begin to experience issues with vision.

As such, this article will address things to change or set up when booting up a new smartphone device for the first time. These functions may also assist people who live with disability, as navigating the net, placing calls and reading messages can all serve as unique hurdles depending on the user.

Font size and type

For people with visual impairments or difficulties, the default text available when booting up a phone for the first time may be too small to see clearly. In addition, the font type may impact the readability of what is being displayed, either through general misleading or as a result of a disability such as dyslexia.

Depending on the type of device, locating the system settings and accessibility options may be difficult. For iPhone users, the following steps will assist in finding where to adjust fonts:

Unlock your phone and arrive at the home screen, which shows many squares of apps
Find and tap the settings icon on the iPhone’s home screen, which should look like a machine cog
Tap accessibility
Tap display & text size
Choose the larger text option
At the bottom of the screen, the slider will determine font size throughout the operating system (sliding left will reduce font size, whereas sliding to the right will increase font size)

For Android smartphones:

Open settings
Select display
Select font size and style
Opt for the font and size you would like to see on your operating system

Using voice functionality

Voice functionality on devices can help to take the stress and difficulty out of browsing the web, composing messages and finding relevant information to assist in day-to-day life. On iPhones, this function is called ‘Siri’.

Simply go to settings, then ‘siri & search,’ and listen for ‘hey, siri’ to use this feature. Asking Siri questions can yield results from the internet, with additional commands to access other apps or features on your phone. Having a contact bank in your phone, which lists the numbers or people and their names, can allow an older person to command Siri to arrange a phone call by asking.

Google Assistant, Amazon’s Alexa, Cortana and Samsung’s virtual assistant Bixby (available through the Android store) are all effectively capable of the same function.

Using voice functionality

Voice functionality on devices can help to take the stress and difficulty out of browsing the web, composing messages and finding relevant information to assist in day-to-day life. On iPhones, this function is called ‘Siri’.

Simply go to settings, then ‘siri & search,’ and listen for ‘hey, siri’ to use this feature. Asking Siri questions can yield results from the internet, with additional commands to access other apps or features on your phone. Having a contact bank in your phone, which lists the numbers or people and their names, can allow an older person to command Siri to arrange a phone call by asking.

Google Assistant, Amazon’s Alexa, Cortana and Samsung’s virtual assistant Bixby (available through the Android store) are all effectively capable of the same function.

Emergency calling

To turn on Emergency SOS calling for the iPhone, tap the settings cog and then select Emergency SOS which will enable you to link up a responder, along with share any relevant information which may be related to the emergency.

The same feature exists on Android phones under the safety category, with additional prompts to fill in personal details. A SIM card is needed to access emergency calling functionality.