Cell Phone for elderly dad..

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So, my dad is 88 and living in an assisted living facility. We have struggled with basic AT&T cell phones for the last few years in that he is always "fat fingering" the volume control on the side and turning either/both the ringer volume down or the earpiece volume down by mistake to make the phone non-functional. If I could super glue the volume control once both are turned up to "full" I would and may just do that!

My question: Does anybody have any basic cell phone product ideas that I could look into that allows me to "lock" these functions so they can't be changed?

He has NO need of texting, taking cell phone pictures, or any of that fancy [censored]! It sure seems like even the "senior" cell phone company and providers really don't know their market and keep trying to put more technology into these phones. They just don't understand that basic, no frills phones (I'm talking about flip phones here as well) are really what is needed for a large group of seniors.

Help please!!
 
My stepfather is the same age and has crippled hands. Only phone he could use was the Pantech Breeze 2 or 3. I would buy them for $20 on Ebay. They do not work well after submerged in water. I bought one monthly for a while.

Pantech Breeze II
 
Originally Posted By: 02SE
Maybe a Jitterbug.

Yup. I messed with one for a patient I had, and it is a super simple basic phone. No frills. It is a phone.
Not sure about locking volume and such though.

they have 2 models, a basic flip and a smart one. I messed with the flip version.
 
I did that with my grandma's phone, she always bumped the speakerphone button when answering it. I superglued the button and she never knew.

I think you can still adjust the volume in settings too if needed.
 
My Dad is 94. Hearing is the issue; of course ease of use is critical as well.
I recently got him a cheaper Moto E, I believe.
He just has to turn it on, press the green phone icon, and pick the person to call.
I am teaching him to turn on the speaker when he has trouble hearing.

Working OK.
Requirements include patience, training and repetition.
Good luck.
 
Originally Posted By: madRiver
Why is cell phone needed? Is it possible to use a cordless or conventional phone hooked to an ooma voip service?



He still drives (somewhat ok for now but I can see the day coming when I will need to get the keys - NOT looking forward to that) so he needs a phone. He has a cordless phone hooked to AT&T's wireless phone box with his old house phone number attached to it for his apartment.
 
Maybe get a case for the phone that you can remove the case button for volume. Then he can fat finger it and won't touch anything. Watching old movies, they had none of that and the movies usually are better too. People drove cars without a cell phone once. I know that's hard to believe.
 
I set up the Breeze II so when you open it, you are talking. I think you could tape or glue the volume button if that was an issue. It worked well/had pretty good sound quality.

You will have fun when you take the keys from him. That was my job.
 
Originally Posted By: WhizkidTN
So, my dad is 88 and living in an assisted living facility. We have struggled with basic AT&T cell phones for the last few years in that he is always "fat fingering" the volume control on the side and turning either/both the ringer volume down or the earpiece volume down by mistake to make the phone non-functional. If I could super glue the volume control once both are turned up to "full" I would and may just do that!

My question: Does anybody have any basic cell phone product ideas that I could look into that allows me to "lock" these functions so they can't be changed?

He has NO need of texting, taking cell phone pictures, or any of that fancy [censored]! It sure seems like even the "senior" cell phone company and providers really don't know their market and keep trying to put more technology into these phones. They just don't understand that basic, no frills phones (I'm talking about flip phones here as well) are really what is needed for a large group of seniors.

Help please!!


Look at Consumer Cellular. They focus on seniors. They have "big button" phones.
 
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