Setting Up an iPad for Eldery Relative
May 10, 2019 4:57 AM Subscribe
How difficult would it be to set up an iPad for an Eldelery relative?
I have an elderly relative that would like to purchase an iPad. Several of his friends own one and he would also like to purchase one to use Facetime, check emails and play some games, etc. He has an OLD desktop computer that barely works and has no desire to get a laptop, etc. So this isn't a tablet vs laptop debate; they want an iPad.
I have an iPad (my folks do as well), but my father had an old iTunes account of his own and has a laptop (as do I), so I recall setting theirs up was pretty simple as I was able to link it to their established iTunes accounts and once in a while they connect it to their laptop to transfer music and pictures and update apps, etc.
So my question is if we purchase a new iPad for him, would it be complex to set it up? I know we would need to set up a separate iTunes account, but is that it? Is this easy to do when you don't have access to a computer or established iTunes account (or any Apple products). Can this all be managed relatively easy from the iPad itself?
I have an elderly relative that would like to purchase an iPad. Several of his friends own one and he would also like to purchase one to use Facetime, check emails and play some games, etc. He has an OLD desktop computer that barely works and has no desire to get a laptop, etc. So this isn't a tablet vs laptop debate; they want an iPad.
I have an iPad (my folks do as well), but my father had an old iTunes account of his own and has a laptop (as do I), so I recall setting theirs up was pretty simple as I was able to link it to their established iTunes accounts and once in a while they connect it to their laptop to transfer music and pictures and update apps, etc.
So my question is if we purchase a new iPad for him, would it be complex to set it up? I know we would need to set up a separate iTunes account, but is that it? Is this easy to do when you don't have access to a computer or established iTunes account (or any Apple products). Can this all be managed relatively easy from the iPad itself?
The current setup procedure for a new iPad is amazingly simple, and someone who can handle a creaky old desktop can probably do it on their own, to be honest.
The important thing to communicate to them is that it really is a new paradigm in computing, and a lot of the things they have learned from using a desktop will mostly go by the wayside. Things like double clicking, saving documents, and the file system are pretty much not present in iOS. If he is willing to learn and adapt he will be much happier than if he is trying to force his iPad to behave in familiar ways. I understand that this can be easier said than done, especially for an elderly person, but it really is the best way to move to iOS.
posted by Rock Steady at 5:50 AM on May 10, 2019 [1 favorite]
The important thing to communicate to them is that it really is a new paradigm in computing, and a lot of the things they have learned from using a desktop will mostly go by the wayside. Things like double clicking, saving documents, and the file system are pretty much not present in iOS. If he is willing to learn and adapt he will be much happier than if he is trying to force his iPad to behave in familiar ways. I understand that this can be easier said than done, especially for an elderly person, but it really is the best way to move to iOS.
posted by Rock Steady at 5:50 AM on May 10, 2019 [1 favorite]
What I did for my grandma when I got her a tablet was ship it to myself first.
I set her up with her own accounts for email, Facebook, etc. Removed programs that would be confusing. Set the settings for large text display, etc.
I also tested a bunch of basic apps (solitaire, a daily Bible passage thing, some other games like angry birds, etc, that I thought she would be able to enjoy) to make sure they weren't too complicated or spammy with ads and pop ups that would confuse her.
She already had a Facebook account but I also gave her Instagram and Pinterest and followed a bunch of hashtags I thought she'd like. (Flowers, landscape photography, baby animals mostly.)
And then I sent her the tablet with overly specific instructions taped to the front. This is where the plug goes. This is what these buttons do. When you turn it on for the first time touch this first. Etc.
It worked very well. Instead of a device that would require (even a small amount of) knowledge and effort to set up, what she got was a completely ready to go and curated for HER tablet.
This is a great idea by the way. Tablets are much better devices for people who don't have the tech experience and literacy lots of us take for granted. I think your relative will love it.
posted by phunniemee at 5:50 AM on May 10, 2019 [16 favorites]
I set her up with her own accounts for email, Facebook, etc. Removed programs that would be confusing. Set the settings for large text display, etc.
I also tested a bunch of basic apps (solitaire, a daily Bible passage thing, some other games like angry birds, etc, that I thought she would be able to enjoy) to make sure they weren't too complicated or spammy with ads and pop ups that would confuse her.
She already had a Facebook account but I also gave her Instagram and Pinterest and followed a bunch of hashtags I thought she'd like. (Flowers, landscape photography, baby animals mostly.)
And then I sent her the tablet with overly specific instructions taped to the front. This is where the plug goes. This is what these buttons do. When you turn it on for the first time touch this first. Etc.
It worked very well. Instead of a device that would require (even a small amount of) knowledge and effort to set up, what she got was a completely ready to go and curated for HER tablet.
This is a great idea by the way. Tablets are much better devices for people who don't have the tech experience and literacy lots of us take for granted. I think your relative will love it.
posted by phunniemee at 5:50 AM on May 10, 2019 [16 favorites]
I did this for my dad, who had zero zilch nada computer experience. The advantages of an iPad are "you can't break it" and "you can press the button to get back to the start." One tricky thing tends to be passwords, but TouchID helps a lot there, especially if you can set things up so credentials are already in iCloud Keychain. The other is OS updates, but you can write up a step-by-step there.
Putting commonly-used web shortcuts as pseudo-apps on the home screen / Springboard also helps.
posted by holgate at 6:01 AM on May 10, 2019 [2 favorites]
Putting commonly-used web shortcuts as pseudo-apps on the home screen / Springboard also helps.
posted by holgate at 6:01 AM on May 10, 2019 [2 favorites]
We set my father up with an iPad some years ago. It was trivial then, and I expect it still is.
What my father liked most was that he didn’t have to worry about “breaking” anything, ie, no fear that he’d hit the wrong key and wipe his hard-drive.
We’d see my father a few times a year, and established a “ritual” of backing up his iPad. We never had to restore a backup - but it was nice to know that we could.
posted by doctor tough love at 6:01 AM on May 10, 2019 [1 favorite]
What my father liked most was that he didn’t have to worry about “breaking” anything, ie, no fear that he’d hit the wrong key and wipe his hard-drive.
We’d see my father a few times a year, and established a “ritual” of backing up his iPad. We never had to restore a backup - but it was nice to know that we could.
posted by doctor tough love at 6:01 AM on May 10, 2019 [1 favorite]
I've been in a similar situation and the only thing I would caution about is in-app purchases.
We purchased an iPad for my mother-in-law and she loved the thing, but then she discovered some of the slot-machine and kwazy-cupcake games that are easily installable for free to start.
Then you start getting the upsell for in-app purchases like more gems, extra lives, level ups, etc. The apps make it insanely easy to buy all of these with one click and no idea of how much you are spending in total. And now it's even more sinister with subscriptions that can run you tens of dollars per month or even per week.
I'd make sure IAP is off, or perhaps link the iPad through a family account so you can approve all purchases beforehand.
posted by JoeZydeco at 7:35 AM on May 10, 2019 [2 favorites]
We purchased an iPad for my mother-in-law and she loved the thing, but then she discovered some of the slot-machine and kwazy-cupcake games that are easily installable for free to start.
Then you start getting the upsell for in-app purchases like more gems, extra lives, level ups, etc. The apps make it insanely easy to buy all of these with one click and no idea of how much you are spending in total. And now it's even more sinister with subscriptions that can run you tens of dollars per month or even per week.
I'd make sure IAP is off, or perhaps link the iPad through a family account so you can approve all purchases beforehand.
posted by JoeZydeco at 7:35 AM on May 10, 2019 [2 favorites]
I'm not exactly sure if this would work in this situation but I have a Visa giftcard with 20 dollars in credit that I use to sign up for things that I don't want to worry about a company auto charging me for anything
posted by cda at 10:20 AM on May 10, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by cda at 10:20 AM on May 10, 2019 [1 favorite]
Setting up a new iPad is easy, and doesn't require any access to a computer (the only significant usefulness of a computer would be for backups. You can also do iCloud backups, but there's a space limit).
The most difficult aspect of it for me and my mom was the learning curve of using a touch device. My mom is still more comfortable using a stylus -- often her touches don't register, I think because she has very dry hands. She can't make touch ID work consistently, and has trouble figuring out how to do things requiring gestures or knowing whether a touch has registered. What seems intuitive to me is not necessarily so to her, and in-person training time was important. She can't always tell, or doesn't always think of, trying to swipe left/right/up/down, and often can't figure out how to back out of something she got into. She also has some difficulty with the idea of wifi, and what you can do if you are or aren't in range, or how to get on wifi when you go to a new place. Right now her tablet can't send mail, and I can't figure out why or troubleshoot from a thousand miles away; it's frustrating to be unable to access the device remotely and see what's going on.
I probably sound negative, but my mom also loves her tablet, and it was a lifesaver when my dad was in the hospital and she needed something portable for communication. If your relative has friends with tablets who can provide a little help/direction when he encounters difficulty, that will be enormously useful.
posted by kite at 11:59 AM on May 10, 2019
The most difficult aspect of it for me and my mom was the learning curve of using a touch device. My mom is still more comfortable using a stylus -- often her touches don't register, I think because she has very dry hands. She can't make touch ID work consistently, and has trouble figuring out how to do things requiring gestures or knowing whether a touch has registered. What seems intuitive to me is not necessarily so to her, and in-person training time was important. She can't always tell, or doesn't always think of, trying to swipe left/right/up/down, and often can't figure out how to back out of something she got into. She also has some difficulty with the idea of wifi, and what you can do if you are or aren't in range, or how to get on wifi when you go to a new place. Right now her tablet can't send mail, and I can't figure out why or troubleshoot from a thousand miles away; it's frustrating to be unable to access the device remotely and see what's going on.
I probably sound negative, but my mom also loves her tablet, and it was a lifesaver when my dad was in the hospital and she needed something portable for communication. If your relative has friends with tablets who can provide a little help/direction when he encounters difficulty, that will be enormously useful.
posted by kite at 11:59 AM on May 10, 2019
Everyone here has great advice and suggestions. The only thing I didn't see mentioned is that the iPad (and all Apple products) have a pretty great dictation feature so if your relative doesn't type well or doesn't like the keyboard, they can press a button and talk into it and have it pretty well transcribe what you are saying. I'd also get him a book (not an ebook but like a print book) that is a simple ipad book that he can have as a reference.
posted by jessamyn at 5:58 PM on May 10, 2019
posted by jessamyn at 5:58 PM on May 10, 2019
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Making You Bored For Science at 5:49 AM on May 10, 2019 [2 favorites]