sweet2ndchance Posted March 12, 2020 Share Posted March 12, 2020 I manage the phones for our family which includes dh's grandmother. We had her on a Straight Talk phone and it was working fine for her until they announced they would no longer be supporting her phone model by the end of this year. Dh and I had just recently switched from prepaid to post-paid so we just added her on as another line (which was our free line) and got her a similar model phone. But she hates this phone because she claims it doesn't work when she is at work and her customers need to call her. Everytime, it ends up being some setting she has inadvertently changed. I've tried basically childproofing the thing so she can't change settings by accident and she still finds ways. Once, it was she had managed to turn the volume down too low to hear the ring tone. I turned it back up and showed her how to check it and how to fix it if it happens again. Most recently (this week), she somehow managed to turn on "Wi-Fi calling only" and wasn't getting any calls for three days before she noticed that it wouldn't call or ring and it said "Wi-Fi calling enabled" and didn't know what that meant. So she went out, bought another ST phone from Wal-Mart, identical to her old one, and wanted me to activate it for her. I showed her how it literally took 2 button presses to get that setting changed and instantly the phone worked as expected again. I locked that setting so it can't be changed as easily. We live in a rural area and she works even further out in the sticks, there are no wide area Wi-Fi networks here unless you go to Walmart or McD's, neither of which are even remotely close to her work. Nor does she have a computer or a wi-fi network in her house. First of all, if she wanted to go back to ST, all we had to do is reactivate her old phone, she didn't need to buy a new one. Just a time card was all she needed. I really don't understand why she gets her panties in a wad of the phone and does things like that before asking us if the phone is fixable. She knows we can fix it 98% of the time. But she still has the problem that they won't support her flip phone. I'm thinking at some point she is going to have to give in a get a touch screen smart phone even though she claims to hate them. She's never had one because she refuses to try, how can she hate it? I don't mind taking her off the phone plan if that is what she really wants and I don't mind managing her ST account, if that's what she wants (I've always managed her ST account because she claims to not know how to do it). So what do you do with an active almost 70 year old who still works 40 hours or more a week because she wants to that claims to need a flip phone because of all the dust and dirt in the air at her job? I've tried and tried to convince her that a smart phone can be made rugged enough for her job and her personality (we've fixed more than one phone that has been dropped in a sink full of water, the toilet, the bathtub, left in her pocket put through the washing machine....). But she insists that a flip phone is the only option available to her. I know they recently came out with a foldable smart phone but that is way out of our price range lol as are Iphones. Is there a smart phone that is active senior friendly? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted March 12, 2020 Share Posted March 12, 2020 (edited) dh was finally forced to get a smart phone - he has a Samsung Galaxy. They have an "easy mode" in the software that makes it more user friendly for those overwhelmed by the technology. (It's also available on the Note.). He eventually switched off easy mode. but he was able to access texting maps email contacts in addition to regular phone stuff. he could do calendar if he did calendar . . . . (he doesn't even do that on his computer.) eta: there are phone cases that "flip" so you have a complete cover. 1ds likes that it's very "sleek". Edited March 12, 2020 by gardenmom5 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweet2ndchance Posted March 12, 2020 Author Share Posted March 12, 2020 I forgot she refuses to text too. She receives them and knows how to look at them, but she refuses to send one. Sigh. When we go somewhere, she refuses to believe that we have detailed enough maps on our phones and always offers to get a map for us. When she is in the car with us, she swears Google maps isn't up to date enough and it is sending us the wrong way.... She has over 200 contacts on her phone and refuses to use the search function, she wants to flip through them roladex style to find the one she wants and gets frustrated when the phone doesn't easily let her do that.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted March 12, 2020 Share Posted March 12, 2020 (edited) 22 minutes ago, sweet2ndchance said: I forgot she refuses to text too. She receives them and knows how to look at them, but she refuses to send one. Sigh. When we go somewhere, she refuses to believe that we have detailed enough maps on our phones and always offers to get a map for us. When she is in the car with us, she swears Google maps isn't up to date enough and it is sending us the wrong way.... She has over 200 contacts on her phone and refuses to use the search function, she wants to flip through them roladex style to find the one she wants and gets frustrated when the phone doesn't easily let her do that.... one thing I like - for the search function, you can just say who you want to call. you can do so manually by going to the letter on the right-hand side of the screen on the contacts page. My dh is 71 if that is relevant. dh had to learn about the map function because I would always switch it on my phone when we went places. now he's convinced, and regularly uses it himself. but he always used to look at the map on his computer before we went anywhere. another I can say what I want, especially useful if I don't actually have it in my contacts. has anyone helped her see traffic layers on the maps? (as for maps - I loath the one Toyota had in my car. . . . .as of 2020 they're finally syncing with phones. though I had two rental cars that supposedly did android auto - after at least three attempts to use it, and it still never took me where I needed to go - so I still had to use my phone directly.) eta: texting - windows has an app that will sync with your phone for texting. I can even see the pictures that I'm sent. (and can send them). I can write texts on my laptop - and send them. so much easier to type them out! can't see video - that I can only access on my phone (2dd/dsil will send me videos) Edited March 12, 2020 by gardenmom5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweet2ndchance Posted March 12, 2020 Author Share Posted March 12, 2020 27 minutes ago, gardenmom5 said: one thing I like - for the search function, you can just say who you want to call. you can do so manually by going to the letter on the right-hand side of the screen on the contacts page. My dh is 71 if that is relevant. dh had to learn about the map function because I would always switch it on my phone when we went places. now he's convinced, and regularly uses it himself. but he always used to look at the map on his computer before we went anywhere. another I can say what I want, especially useful if I don't actually have it in my contacts. has anyone helped her see traffic layers on the maps? (as for maps - I loath the one Toyota had in my car. . . . .as of 2020 they're finally syncing with phones. though I had two rental cars that supposedly did android auto - after at least three attempts to use it, and it still never took me where I needed to go - so I still had to use my phone directly.) eta: texting - windows has an app that will sync with your phone for texting. I can even see the pictures that I'm sent. (and can send them). I can write texts on my laptop - and send them. so much easier to type them out! can't see video - that I can only access on my phone (2dd/dsil will send me videos) Traffic isn't an issue here at all. Very rural area. "Rush hour" is more like "rush 5 minutes" and that's when all the schools are letting out in the afternoon. Here, we need to be able to see rural roads and roads that sometimes don't show up on any map but they are there. The speech recognition contacts thing might be a good thing to show her. We don't even use that so I hadn't thought to show her. She doesn't have a computer and refuses to ever have one. When people ask for her email address, she proudly tells them she does not have one and will not get one just for them. What she doesn't know is that I maintain an email address for her because she asks us to look up this or sign her up for that and they want an email address. So I have a dummy email that just receives things for her and I print out anything she needs to have from the internet. @kathyntx I tried to convince her that if we got her set up on a smart phone, she could have a whole library of books at her finger tips. She loves to read what I call grocery story type novels. I even told her I would set it up so she could borrow books from the library on her phone and have audiobooks to listen to in the car but alas she says it wouldn't be the same and she only reads real books made of good old-fashioned paper. She's very stubborn. I think I forgot to mention that lol. We are also currently trying to convince her that burning plastic is not better for the environment than sending it to the landfill. There is no good solution for plastic in my opinion other than limiting its use but she insists that all of our garbage can be burned and it is better for the environment than spending $27 a month for garbage service. :facepalm: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweet2ndchance Posted March 12, 2020 Author Share Posted March 12, 2020 Meant to say before, we have some old Samsung Galaxy phones. I'm charging it up right now so that I can check to see if Easy Mode might work for her. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweet2ndchance Posted March 12, 2020 Author Share Posted March 12, 2020 I grew up reading actual books too lol. Some books I still prefer the paper books and some I don't mind the conveinence of being able to carry it with me without carrying anything extra around too. I understand her point, I really do. But she's being so stubborn about that she's kinda painted herself into a corner and refusing to back down on anything and just wants ST to make an exception for her phone so she can keep using it. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweet2ndchance Posted March 12, 2020 Author Share Posted March 12, 2020 She wears bifocal glasses and she goes to the optometrist regularly. Not yearly like she's suppose to but about every 18 months or so. I was able to take a look at the Samsung Galaxy phone we had and Easy mode looks like something we might be able to get working for her. It might take a few months but maybe we can get her talked into giving it a try. Thanks @gardenmom5 for the suggestion! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted March 12, 2020 Share Posted March 12, 2020 I grew up reading paper books. I prefer the computer because I can change the size of the font. background lighting can be adjusted, which does impact eyestrain headaches. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted March 12, 2020 Share Posted March 12, 2020 she might prefer a small tablet for reading (if you can get her on the electronic format), as the screen is bigger. I have a note - it has a big screen, but I don't like reading on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweet2ndchance Posted March 12, 2020 Author Share Posted March 12, 2020 She was given a brand new Kindle Fire by a friend of hers for Christmas a couple of years ago. She gave it to us because "I won't use the thing". We even showed her how it could be used for reading and how she can change font size and all. But nope, it's electronic and she doesn't do electronic devices. Sigh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweet2ndchance Posted March 12, 2020 Author Share Posted March 12, 2020 (edited) She needs the phone so her customers can call her and so she can call a tow truck if her truck breaks down on her route. She is a rural letter carrier. She drives just over 100 miles of mostly dirt back roads every day. Walking to use someone's phone on those rural back roads is really not safe for her since she had both of her knees replaced about a year and a half ago. So yeah, the cell phone is kind of an necessity for her whether she likes it or not. Edited March 12, 2020 by sweet2ndchance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweet2ndchance Posted March 12, 2020 Author Share Posted March 12, 2020 Nope had not heard of Jitterbug. Thanks for the suggestion @Patty Joanna I'm looking at it right now and it looks like a solid option if we can't talk her into the smart phone. They use the Verizon network which is the carrier with the best coverage in this area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WendyLady Posted March 12, 2020 Share Posted March 12, 2020 What about something like the Light Phone https://www.thelightphone.com/ It looks pretty. Has a simple screen. It basically just calls or texts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted March 12, 2020 Share Posted March 12, 2020 Speaking as a "senior," I have to point out that this is not a "senior" issue. She sounds like an active adult woman who has no patience with technology. It's her bad, but it isn't because she's over [whatever age it is that we get to be "seniors" for the second time]. 🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Tick Posted March 12, 2020 Share Posted March 12, 2020 My dad is like this. I don't have to try to convince him though. My mom has a Galaxy (5?) set on Easy Mode. It is great for her, Kris it simple. We've discovered a glitch where in the web app the *tabs" button is off the screen. She came to visit and I discovered she had maxed out the tab count. Wasn't hard to fix, and now she knows what to look for. Good luck. If you could move out of having to convince her it might be easier to find a solution. Maybe present the best option(s) and see if she will eventually "settle" for your proposal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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