Internet and cell phone solution for elderly parents...

[netternator]

Hi Everyone,

One of the reasons I retired early is to spend more time with my octogenarian parents who are starting to need more assistance. They are shopping for new Internet, cable and cell phone plans. They are in the market for new phones and also to get a better price for internet and streaming/cable services. They have a preference to upgrade to i-phones. They are generally confused by their current Xfinity service and having to use 2 different controllers and opening up multiple menus to watch different programs. My husband and I are called to their condo often to reset their router, help them find channels, etc.

Here is their technology usage:
- My dad Surfs the internet (Google) for hours and plays chess online
- My mom has an i-pad that she uses to play puzzles and texts her sisters from
- They watch a lot of shows on YouTube, Amazon and HBO max
- They also like to watch a variety of traditional cable news channels such as MSNBC, CBS evening news, Fox News
- they both have base model android phones that are 3-4 years old. They'd like to upgrade but I still think something basic is good for them since they wouldn't have the knowhow to use any advanced features.

I saw that Mint mobile had deals for Seniors. I also think AppleTV might be an easy option for them - I think the menu and interface for that is much easier than others.

They are in the Baltimore metro area so lots of connectivity options.

Anyone have a similar situation or advice how to optimize & simplify?

Thanks so much!!!!!

 

[Texas Proud]

Prepaid Unlimited & Shared Data plans. From only $5/mo.

US Mobile's pay as you go phone plans come with custom and/or unlimited data, talk & text options, starting from $4/month. These prepaid plans are perfect for any user.

www.usmobile.com

As mentioned by someone else on the forum.... we got this for my DW... You can choose which network to use and change it if you want.... we are about to so we get some international roaming...

They have some perks also but I have not gotten into them...

 

[RetiredAndLovingIt]

I have Frontier Fios 500 for my internet and love it. I came from Spectrum that in recent years had become really bad.
I had one issue in the beginning with Frontier where I was down for almost a week and it came back on before the repair guy showed up but I made him come anyway just to check that a bad installation was not part of the problem. The entire neighborhood was being connected and he figured some installer accidently unplugged me at the main connection box a few streets away. The second problem was the lost dog I was fostering ate the Fios cable, but they fixed it at no charge and moved it to avoid more problems. I pay $44.95 and it's well worth it, the price has been the same for 2 years now.
For cellphone service I have Tello, plans start at $5 up to $25 for unlimited everything (25GB data). They use T-Mobile towers and I have the $6 plan, 100 minutes, unlimited texts and 1 Gb of data which is all I need since I'm on Wifi most of the time. I manually renew my plan before auto renew so my unused minutes and data rolls over to the next month and I currently have banked 1125 minutes and 11.4 gb of data. I can change my plan up or down anytime with no extra charges and I've been with them since 2017 since they fit my needs.

 

[GrayHare]

I gather "controllers" are remote controls. Those could probably be combined into one universal remote, however I've found many people are understandably confused by universal remotes because they are modal. For example, when the remote is in cable box mode, it cannot change TV settings unless the person first switches to TV mode.

I've yet to see a universal remote that clearly shows (via LEDs?) which mode it is in. Even if it did show current mode, it might still be too confusing for many people.

 

[RetiredAndLovingIt]

I have a Roku TV and all my apps are on the home screen then I just arrow over to whatever app I want to use including live streaming TV via antenna or internet. I don't have cable so maybe that's why I just have the same remote for everything.

 

[harllee]

I am pretty old too and I can handle Youtube TV OK, they have a good remote and unlimited recordings that are very simple to use. I have the apple SE phone --a good budget iPhone. I live in a Continuing Retirement Community in an independent apartment. One of the great benefits here is that there are IT experts available to the residents who can fix all the tech problems, basic issues are at no charge. There is a reasonable charge for more complicated stuff (like mounting a tv on the wall).

 

[netternator]

Prepaid Unlimited & Shared Data plans. From only $5/mo.

US Mobile's pay as you go phone plans come with custom and/or unlimited data, talk & text options, starting from $4/month. These prepaid plans are perfect for any user.

www.usmobile.com

As mentioned by someone else on the forum.... we got this for my DW... You can choose which network to use and change it if you want.... we are about to so we get some international roaming...

They have some perks also but I have not gotten into them...

Thanks for the tip!

 

[netternator]

I have Frontier Fios 500 for my internet and love it. I came from Spectrum that in recent years had become really bad.
I had one issue in the beginning with Frontier where I was down for almost a week and it came back on before the repair guy showed up but I made him come anyway just to check that a bad installation was not part of the problem. The entire neighborhood was being connected and he figured some installer accidently unplugged me at the main connection box a few streets away. The second problem was the lost dog I was fostering ate the Fios cable, but they fixed it at no charge and moved it to avoid more problems. I pay $44.95 and it's well worth it, the price has been the same for 2 years now.
For cellphone service I have Tello, plans start at $5 up to $25 for unlimited everything (25GB data). They use T-Mobile towers and I have the $6 plan, 100 minutes, unlimited texts and 1 Gb of data which is all I need since I'm on Wifi most of the time. I manually renew my plan before auto renew so my unused minutes and data rolls over to the next month and I currently have banked 1125 minutes and 11.4 gb of data. I can change my plan up or down anytime with no extra charges and I've been with them since 2017 since they fit my needs.

Wow. Tello has great rates. I'll need to check them out!

 

[netternator]

I gather "controllers" are remote controls. Those could probably be combined into one universal remote, however I've found many people are understandably confused by universal remotes because they are modal. For example, when the remote is in cable box mode, it cannot change TV settings unless the person first switches to TV mode.

I've yet to see a universal remote that clearly shows (via LEDs?) which mode it is in. Even if it did show current mode, it might still be too confusing for many people.

Yes, the universal style remote is very confusing for my parents. Why is technology so complicated!!!!!?

 

[netternator]

I have a Roku TV and all my apps are on the home screen then I just arrow over to whatever app I want to use including live streaming TV via antenna or internet. I don't have cable so maybe that's why I just have the same remote for everything.

Thanks!

 

[SnowballCamper]

+1 on the us mobile. I'm on the annual plan, I pay $150 for 12 months ($15 per month) for "unlimited" on the Verizon network.

I wish I had a good suggestion for TV watching, our Samsung "smart" tv certainly outsmarts us.

 

[cathy63]

Do they know which streaming apps all their shows are on, or do they need a global search that lets them find stuff on all the channels they subscribe to? I think Roku is probably the best option for search across multiple streaming services, though I haven't tried Google TV.

For phones, I don't think going from Android to iPhone is an upgrade for people who are confused by technology. Switching UI paradigms is just going to be more confusing. Maybe newer Android phones would work for them?

 

[netternator]

Do they know which streaming apps all their shows are on, or do they need a global search that lets them find stuff on all the channels they subscribe to? I think Roku is probably the best option for search across multiple streaming services, though I haven't tried Google TV.

For phones, I don't think going from Android to iPhone is an upgrade for people who are confused by technology. Switching UI paradigms is just going to be more confusing. Maybe newer Android phones would work for them?

thanks cathy! We actually found a deal with Verizon Fios that included 2 new iphones and several free streaming apps including YouTubePlus which they are on a lot. They were paying $250 a month with Comcast for phone/TV/internet before and this new package is $175/month plus the free phones. A great deal! Switching carriers is the way to go to get the perks. Now, I'm going need to give them some lessons on how to use all this stuff!

 

[cathy63]

Good luck!

 

[Jerry1]

I also think AppleTV might be an easy option for them - I think the menu and interface for that is much easier than others.

I have a Roku TV and all my apps are on the home screen then I just arrow over to whatever app I want to use including live streaming TV via antenna or internet.

I have an Apple TV box and Roku. I would recommend Roku. The remote itself is much easier to use. The Apple remote has something akin to a track pad whereas the Roku has push buttons that are more intuitive and easier to use. The on screen menus are not really any different.

 

[Texas Proud]

+1 on the us mobile. I'm on the annual plan, I pay $150 for 12 months ($15 per month) for "unlimited" on the Verizon network.

I wish I had a good suggestion for TV watching, our Samsung "smart" tv certainly outsmarts us.

Oh wow... you are less than my DW.. it cost us $270....

The only negative that I will pass on is it was not a slam dunk to change networks... that took us time over 2 days to complete... and even then it did not work and we had to call them back!! DW was NOT happy and complained a LOT...

 

[tizod]

For those of you with AppleTV, there is a remote called Function101: search amazon. It makes Apple TV via more traditional remote and easier to hold. It runs the TV features (sounds etc.) that you need (not setup menus). Since we have gotten them last Sept, I think we have never needed the TV or Apple remote. They setup easy as well, for almost all brands you might expect. They have a few tricks to learn (like long press the menu button for prior channel, and FF button on youtube TV), but just a few.

 

[Romer]

Since my MIL passed, we have been looking at options for my 87 year old FIL who didnt like to use thee computer, his wife did all that.

I read articles that Ipads were the easiets. My daughter thinks a Chrome Book would be better as he did use to type and does use his Google home screen. He loves to say "Hey Google" and have it answer his questions

Anyone try a Chrome book for an elderly parent?

Let me know iff this should be a seperate thread. It seemed approriate for me here.

I did all their IT stuff and told him we could lower (vs cancel) his internet speed so his google works, but should figure out what he wants to use in the future. He would rather think about it later since it has been two weeks since her passing. We are not pressing him and checking their e-mail for him in case something important comes.

 

[RetiredAndLovingIt]

I'm not a fan of using phone or tablet screens for web surfing, just way to small for me. I'm currently using an 18" Chromebook, my last one was 14" and that was a great size to use when sitting on the couch. I don't consider myself "elderly" yet in my mid 60's. I haven't looked into it cause I'm not that interested but I think I could pair my Android phone to the Chromebook to answer my phone calls as well.

 

[aja8888]

Since my MIL passed, we have been looking at options for my 87 year old FIL who didnt like to use thee computer, his wife did all that.

I read articles that Ipads were the easiets. My daughter thinks a Chrome Book would be better as he did use to type and does use his Google home screen. He loves to say "Hey Google" and have it answer his questions

Anyone try a Chrome book for an elderly parent?

Let me know iff this should be a seperate thread. It seemed approriate for me here.

I did all their IT stuff and told him we could lower (vs cancel) his internet speed so his google works, but should figure out what he wants to use in the future. He would rather think about it later since it has been two weeks since her passing. We are not pressing him and checking their e-mail for him in case something important comes.

I'm old and love my Chromebook!