[Evilguppy]

So... The facts:

My mother in law is 84 years old, and her only electronic device is a flip phone that drives her batty.
She no longer has a car because she totaled her last one, it was the 3rd time in a year.
We suspect she's at the onset of dementia, but she was always fiercely independent, she is NOT having that talk with anyone.
She has tried the car services for seniors in her town, hates having to wait everytime.

So my sister in law told her she needs a smartphone so she can use Uber to get around.

(Begin headache right here)

Obviously, an iPhone is easier to figure out than an Android.
But my mother in law doesn't even grasp the concept of email, email accounts, much less Apple ID etc.
And I shudder at the thought of what would happen if she forgot her password, which she is very likely to do.

Personally, I think this is not a feasible idea.
Is there any way at all that a tech illiterate senior can use an iPhone at all?
Any way to set one up so it's simple and doesn't have too many bells and whistles to confuse her?

But she would still have to learn email etc?
We have a family account, is there a way we could control her settings to simplify things for her?

Because from where I'm standing, this does not look doable at all.

What say you?

[Just_Me_D]

You're overthinking it, in my opinion. You've stated that your mother-in-law's only electronic device is a flip phone. Right? Well, you do not have to set up as passcode for the device. Just show her how to slide to unlock the device. You can then remove all of the icons she will NOT need from the first home screen, and leave only the Phone and iMessage and maybe the Uber app on the task bar. There's no need to set up email, or anything else for her. Is that doable in your opinion?

[Evilguppy]

No need to set up email? Oh... I thought the only way to use a smartphone was with an email... Actually what you describe is very feasible. Thanks!

[Just_Me_D]

No need to set up email? Oh... I thought the only way to use a smartphone was with an email... Actually what you describe is very feasible. Thanks!

You're very welcome...

[Beyond Fire]

No need to set up email? Oh... I thought the only way to use a smartphone was with an email... Actually what you describe is very feasible. Thanks!

Well the only thing you would need one is to use the App Store to download uber.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[JaneGL]

An iPhone isn't easier to figure out than an Android. Delving into the deeper capabilities of an android is, but for your scenario and most other people, it's not required, just additional stuff you can do. For example, the vast majority of android users I know never touch a file explorer app, whereas if you go to an android device forum pretty much everyone has. We're not like the public who use phones without ever setting foot in a device tech forum.