Mobile phone for an 82 year old

Neil49

Take a look at Spusu (who use the EE network). Unlimited UK minutes and texts plus 1GB of data for £2.90. This is a rolling monthly contract. 

https://www.spusu.co.uk/spusu1special?utm_source=www.hotukdeals.com&utm_medium=awin&utm_campaign=0&sv1=affiliate&sv_campaign_id=47868&awc=66040_1761904452_7076aaf621e17f23a4cef8b9425b9cd7

Grumpy_chap

The OP doesn't seem to have mentioned how old / competent their Dad is.

My Dad had a Doro and it was great for him.

Mum, on the other hand, is now 87 and has the latest iPhone.  Dad could never have coped with an iPhone because of poor eyesight and poor dexterity coupled with declining cognitive function.

If the OP's Dad is nearer the Doro end of the scale, then go with the Doro, or consider a Nokia dumb phone.  The Nokia dumb phone will have smaller screen and buttons than the Doro.

ivinsp

One thought, kinda side note, my Mum who is 80 has very bad memory issues and doesn't always charge her phone so I have an app, not sure if I can mention it, to monitor any incoming texts, her location, I can access her camera and audio if needed in an emergency but it also shows her battery level which is handy 

flaneurs_lobster

ivinsp said:

One thought, kinda side note, my Mum who is 80 has very bad memory issues and doesn't always charge her phone so I have an app, not sure if I can mention it, to monitor any incoming texts, her location, I can access her camera and audio if needed in an emergency but it also shows her battery level which is handy 

Sounds on the borderline of legality, unless your Mother's phone has some kind of permanent banner or alert saying "this phone is being monitored by x" or somesuch. 

What's the app called? How is it marketed - Nannyware? Intercom mode?

elsien

Has your mother given valid consent to this (as it you have made it clear to her that she can say no) , because I'm pretty sure I know what mine would say if I suggested it. But I do also know a lady with dementia who has allowed GPS tracking for when she does get lost. Your  level of monitoring sounds very extreme though. 

PHK

Grumpy_chap said:

The OP doesn't seem to have mentioned how old / competent their Dad is.

My Dad had a Doro and it was great for him.

Mum, on the other hand, is now 87 and has the latest iPhone.  Dad could never have coped with an iPhone because of poor eyesight and poor dexterity coupled with declining cognitive function.

If the OP's Dad is nearer the Doro end of the scale, then go with the Doro, or consider a Nokia dumb phone.  The Nokia dumb phone will have smaller screen and buttons than the Doro.

Our relative found an iPhone in simple mode was much easier to use than a Doro. For example, very large text, big buttons that don’t need to be pressed. Several relatives found that Doro was hard to use, for example one model when scrolling through contacts made the current selected contact bigger that caused all the contacts to move around. Doro have now moved on to touchscreens with a simplified interface , there’s even one with a low profile keypad to dial numbers if you want. 

It’s all down to the capabilities of the person. 

Kim_13

See if there are still any O2 Classic sims on eBay - 3p a minute. Even a giffgaff goodybag seems overkill in these circumstances.

Auntie is on her second Doro, forced upgrade due to 2G/3G switch off. It's as easy to use as you are going to get, although the new handset takes a lot longer to find the network after switching on than the old one did.

millie

Kim_13 said:

See if there are still any O2 Classic sims on eBay - 3p a minute. Even a giffgaff goodybag seems overkill in these circumstances.

Auntie is on her second Doro, forced upgrade due to 2G/3G switch off. It's as easy to use as you are going to get, although the new handset takes a lot longer to find the network after switching on than the old one did.

You can buy O2 classic sims on ebay, I bought one a few weeks ago and they sent me 2 for £0.99p I topped it up and ported my number in an o2 shop, Just looked nd they are selling them for 20p now.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_nkw=o2+classic+pay+as+you+go+sim&_sacat=146492&_from=R40&_trksid=p2553941.m570.l2632

GDB2222

jimjames said:

elsien said:

86-year-old parent got on quite well with one of the lower range Samsung’s.
Think she now has an Oppo.
You might find to start using it more for other things when he’s got it - Parent certainly does. 

WhatsApp, for example 

This is a really good point. My 86/82 year old parents have iPhones and use them extensively for photos and WhatsApp/social media. Being over 80 isn't an automatic assumption that they can't use a phone anymore

I’m not that far off 82. Are my kids going to try to take all my tech gear away from me when I get older? I might have to join the NRA. 

Grumpy_chap

PHK said:

Grumpy_chap said:

The OP doesn't seem to have mentioned how old / competent their Dad is.

My Dad had a Doro and it was great for him.

Mum, on the other hand, is now 87 and has the latest iPhone.  Dad could never have coped with an iPhone because of poor eyesight and poor dexterity coupled with declining cognitive function.

If the OP's Dad is nearer the Doro end of the scale, then go with the Doro, or consider a Nokia dumb phone.  The Nokia dumb phone will have smaller screen and buttons than the Doro.

Our relative found an iPhone in simple mode was much easier to use than a Doro. For example, very large text, big buttons that don’t need to be pressed. Several relatives found that Doro was hard to use, for example one model when scrolling through contacts made the current selected contact bigger that caused all the contacts to move around. Doro have now moved on to touchscreens with a simplified interface , there’s even one with a low profile keypad to dial numbers if you want. 

It’s all down to the capabilities of the person. 

Indeed, plus there are different versions of Doro phone. 
My Dad had one that was very simple with just three big buttons "A", "B" and "C".  All he had to do was press "A" and it would ring Mum, press "B" was me and "C" was my Brother.  There was also a red button for emergency that would continuously dial around the three programmed numbers in sequence until one of us answered.
I can't really recall how it was set up - there must have been more buttons for that, but Dad moved on back in 2016 and how his phone worked is not something I needed to remember.

I note now that Doro have a far wider range of phones, including some smart phones which might well be similar to the iPhone in simple mode that you mention.