Smartphone recommendations for elderly parent

[disneysteve]

There are 5 people on our family plan. Four of us have iPhones and love them. My 87-year-old mother is the 5th person. She has a traditional flip phone. There's a good chance she is going to give up driving very shortly and we want her to be able to use ride services like Uber and Lyft (please, no commentary on those services - that isn't my question). Of course, using them requires having a smartphone that can run their apps. There's no need for her to get an iPhone but I really know nothing about any other options.

What would you recommend in that setting? It needs to be easy to use for someone who isn't tech-savvy. It also needs to be something my wife and I can easily figure out when she has any trouble with it since we are only familiar with the iPhone. Offhand, I can't think of any other features that would be really important to her. She'd like to be able to take pictures but I know any phone will do that.

We are with AT&T. I know that matters for which options she has to pick from. Price isn't really a factor but obviously we don't want to spend a fortune if she doesn't have to.

[JoeP]

The iPhone is a good choice IMHO, maybe something with a bigger screen like one of the "plus" ones. We've had great luck buying used phones off Ebay, just throw on a screen protector and case it they look like new.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

iphones are really apparently easy to use for people. I don't have one but all the people I know who do many even say they aren't tech savvy at all.

[disneysteve]

The iPhone is a good choice IMHO, maybe something with a bigger screen like one of the "plus" ones. We've had great luck buying used phones off Ebay, just throw on a screen protector and case it they look like new.

I've never bought a used phone but I'm certainly open to that option. Do I just look for one that is either unlocked or AT&T compatible? Then take it to AT&T to activate it to our account? Would she be able to keep her phone number?

[Nutria]

I've never bought a used phone but I'm certainly open to that option. Do I just look for one that is either unlocked or AT&T compatible? Then take it to AT&T to activate it to our account? Would she be able to keep her phone number?

We bought a used iPhone from Walmart.com. She can definitely keep her existing phone number. The person at the AT&T store might have to move the number to a new SIM, though.

[Drake3287]

I've thought about the same thing for my elderly mother. I would also go with an iPhone but pick an older model that they almost giveaway, not an expensive model 8 or X that she doesn't need.

You can easily delete all the apps she does'nt need or will only confuse her. Also, setting up contacts and showing her how texting works is pretty straight forward.

My mother still uses a landline and spends money on calling her kids long distance. I've tried to explain to her that she can call anywhere for free on a cell phone but can't grasp how that can happen!

Good luck, I'm right behind you with the same situation!

[kork13]

You're familiar with iPhones, so get her one or those. Get a used or refurbished model. There's also the lower-end version that they recently put out (sorry, I've never used iPhones, not familiar with the various models). I think if you can get her a phone for $100-$200, you'd probably doing good.

[disneysteve]

One option is to give her my iPhone 5 and upgrade myself. I've been procrastinating on doing that anyway. Then it would cost nothing for her phone. I would clear off everything she doesn't need.

[JoeP]

I've never bought a used phone but I'm certainly open to that option. Do I just look for one that is either unlocked or AT&T compatible? Then take it to AT&T to activate it to our account? Would she be able to keep her phone number?

You can save a LOT buying used phones off ebay. Just look for sellers with high ratings and positive reviews. We just pulled out the SIM from the old phone and put it into the new phone. If the SIM is a different size, AT&T will plop in a new SIM for free and port the number. AT&T has been very good for us: never charged for activation, and you should look into professional or alumni discounts.

[Jluke]

I think it is time for an upgrade for yourself

[snafu]

I was about to ask if you'd consider giving your mom your current iPhone and getting a newer one for yourself. The over riding advantage is your familiarity with the phone. Likewise your learning curve with a newer iPhone is easy peasy.

Suggest having mom send text messages to everyone she can think of as practice while you are there, on premise to answer questions. If she'll initially use a lot of functions, she'll realize they are easy and efficient like all calendar functions 2017- 2018, holidays, birthdays, Synagogue events, senior shopping special events, dates automatic payment are deposited etc. I don't know what 'List' functions you use but they all wonderful as it's unlikely your mom would go out without her phone, so everything she plans is at hand. Nothing forgotten on the written pad.

[kork13]

One option is to give her my iPhone 5 and upgrade myself. I've been procrastinating on doing that anyway. Then it would cost nothing for her phone. I would clear off everything she doesn't need.

As long as your current phone still works well & still retains a charge well, that sounds like a great option (since you've been looking to replace it anyway).

[scfr]

It makes sense to give her your current phone so that you can walk her through things easily.

A bit OT, but have you checked to see if there are senior centers in her area that may offer ride services on a volunteer or low-cost basis? (Been researching this a bit myself lately for my mom.)

[phantom]

One option is to give her my iPhone 5 and upgrade myself. I've been procrastinating on doing that anyway. Then it would cost nothing for her phone. I would clear off everything she doesn't need.

While I suppose it wouldn't hurt to give her your old iPhone just to see how she does with it, I don't think a 5 is a good solution long term since you can't put the latest operating system (iOS 11) on it. With an out of date operating system, I'd worry about falling behind on security updates and running into compatibility issues when apps stop supporting older operating systems.

[Budget Kitty]

I'd go with the iPhone too, I think they're more intuitive and easier to learn than other smartphones.