Dad's first smartphone : iPhone SE 2020

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kiwifidget

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#275862 14-Sep-2020 11:42

On Saturday, my 81 year old Dad and I went shopping for his first smartphone.

He ended up getting the new SE 64GB as it was smaller and fitted in his trouser pocket better.

(I keep my phone in my handbag, where do blokes usually keep their phones?)

Anyways....

He is currently on the Spark Gold Talker plan.

I made the text as big as it goes, and added the precentage number to show next to the battery indicator.

Covid tracer app is installed.

What else would you recommend I do to make his transition as easy as possible?

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#2563640 14-Sep-2020 11:54

My parents are both 80 and have hand-me-down iPhones from me.

Their greatest resource was the intuitive nature of iOS.

The other thing they both used at first was the magazine: iPhone for Seniors (or similar title).

They both seem to be able to text, call, FaceTime and use the internet on their iPhones and neither are particularly tech-savvy.

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kiwifidget

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#2563643 14-Sep-2020 12:05

Well, Mum does have 2 iPads, but she doesnt share them with Dad!

If it goes well with him, I think we'll get her one as well.

She still has a Samsung flip open old style phone.

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RunningMan

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#2563649 14-Sep-2020 12:11

Spark app, so he can check his account. Maybe see how he goes for a week or 2, then slowly teach him about new things, once he gets the hang of the basics.

alasta

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#2563656 14-Sep-2020 12:23

My mother is so limited that she can barely use a microwave oven, so I was surprised that she is able to at least do the basics on the iPhone 6 that has been handed down to her.

I have deleted a lot of the bundled apps that she doesn't need in order to simplify the home screen down to one page of apps. I also disabled notifications for everything except the essentials and set up iCloud backup as she gets 5Gb free storage.

kiwifidget

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#2563698 14-Sep-2020 13:19

I have very limited experience with the Apple stuff. I'm sure he would like less icons on the phone so I'll look into how to get rid of some.

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kiwifidget

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#2563700 14-Sep-2020 13:21

Oh the SE can charge with a Qi charger. I have a spare one of those.

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trig42

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#2563710 14-Sep-2020 13:43

The SE is a good phone. He will pick it up pretty quick. Both my folks are on iPhones, and I'd hate to think what would happen if we had to move away from iOS. They can facetime, zoom, whatsapp, bank and email on their phones.

I got them to update their phones yesterday too, so that they also now have the new Apple/Google Exposure notifications (which IMO is a pretty decent attempt at contact tracing from both Apple and Google). Apple went live on Friday with this, not sure when Android gets it.

kiwifidget

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#2563717 14-Sep-2020 13:50

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/122755287/coronavirus-apples-covid19-exposure-data-cant-be-accessed-by-nz-contact-tracing-teams

Apple iPhone users have diligently turned on their phone’s Covid-19 exposure notifications, but they may be disappointed to learn the data can’t be shared with the Ministry of Health’s contact tracing teams.

Seems a shame.

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trig42

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#2563782 14-Sep-2020 14:13

Not too worried about that, as I believe how the feature works is you tell your phone you've got Covid, and it notifies anyone else that has been close enough to you?

They did say it isn't the be-all and end-all, but every little bit helps. I guess if the MoH had access to it, it would be better.

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#2563810 14-Sep-2020 15:04

trig42:

Not too worried about that, as I believe how the feature works is you tell your phone you've got Covid, and it notifies anyone else that has been close enough to you?

They did say it isn't the be-all and end-all, but every little bit helps. I guess if the MoH had access to it, it would be better.

The functionality that Apple provides is an API to gather that information. MOH would need to make an app to take advantage of it.

They are going to start using it in the UK, think they should seriously look into using it here as well.

BTW: Google and Apple have co-operated on the API, so the functionality should be available on Android as well.

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kiwifidget

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#2563815 14-Sep-2020 15:13

Woops, going off course. Partly my fault.

Should I enable that Exposure Notification? Not sure he will remember to use the covid app every time.

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MadEngineer

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#2563828 14-Sep-2020 15:39

Put Google photos on there and turn off the backups of photos to iCloud. Google photos storage is unlimited for a slightly reduced picture quality.

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#2563875 14-Sep-2020 17:34

Make sure you Enable Automatic App Updates on iPhone and iPad

Also ensure to Enable Keychain across all the Apple devices

Also ensure that each device is able to automatically log into their home UFB WiFi network that way they are not using data off their mobile plan when at home.

AND A MUST HAVE enabled Find My on your iPhone. Because they might leave it somewhere, have it stolen or just plain drop it unknowingly. Do it for all their Apple devices.

Also make sure both your parents know each others device logins because if something should happen to one parent the other may not be able to gain access to that device where precious memories/photos are. You yourself should perhaps know these codes as well. Other wise locked out with Apple is LOCKED OUT. Also their Apple ID and security questions.

Whilst the difficult we can do immediately, the impossible takes a bit longer. However, miracles you will have to wait for.

MadEngineer

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#2564019 14-Sep-2020 19:47

Practice signing in to icloud.com

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alasta

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#2564039 14-Sep-2020 20:42

MadEngineer:

Practice signing in to icloud.com

I told my mother that her iCloud password is really important and I watched her write it down in a notebook. A few months later I get "do you know what my iCloud password is?" 😆

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