iPhone Senior Mode: Everything You Need to Know
iPhone Senior Mode: Everything You Need to Know
For our reviews of senior phone plans: https://www.theseniorlist.com/cell-phones/best/plans/
For Consumer Cellular plans: https://www.theseniorlist.com/go/consumer-cellular-yt
With the new iPhone “Senior Mode,” you can simplify the iPhone’s interface, making it easier to use for those with vision impairment or dexterity issues. It’s also a great way to streamline an iPhone for someone who doesn’t need a cluttered screen.
Ryan Molloy, Managing Editor of TheSeniorList.com tests out iOS 17’s Assistive Access feature, which many have dubbed “Senior Mode.” In this video, he walks through how to install this feature, how it works, and how it can simplify phone use for your loved ones.
Timestamps:
0:00 Introduction to Assistive Access Mode
0:45 What Is Assistive Access?
1:30 How to Set Up Assistive Access
5:51 Assistive Access Apps
8:12 Calls with Assistive Access
10:39 Camera with Assistive Access
12:52 Photos with Assistive Access
15:50 Music with Assistive Access
16:50 Closing Thoughts
For our rundown of the best iPhones for seniors: https://www.theseniorlist.com/cell-phones/best/iphone/
For our rundown of the best overall phones for seniors:
Related Videos:
Jitterbug Smart4 Review: https://youtu.be/Ld8ZIV_RXWY?si=QvHLi0Bd6mQ5Ubd8
To learn more about how to age in place safely, visit https://www.theseniorlist.com/
Music: [aestate, VA]
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
Promoted by: https://cctrax.com/va/happy-in-novi-sad
I am hoping they will add easy access to voicemail and voicemail notifications.
You have so much great info i really appreciate it
Thank you, thank you, thank you! You are so knowledgeable and helpful. I think this will be very empowering for many people.
great information but where’s the date on the lock screen and how does one check voicemail in AA?
OMG thank you so much for this video. I truly appreciate it.
What a great feature , will suggest this to my mom , thank you for sharing this.
My 82-year old Mother just got her first iPhone and THIS VIDEO is a lifesaver! She was getting confused and couldn’t perform even the most simple tasks (call, text, etc.) This is being set up first thing tomorrow. THANK YOU, RYAN!
Excellent review but I’ve found the IPhone Senior mode too restrictive. While you can set it up to receive calls and text from unknown callers, you cannot call or text back to an unknown caller. You cannot delete old text messages. No web browser. In Senior mode you cannot add to your contacts.
I think the Senior mode is good for those who you are trying to protect from the outside world. Might also be good for children who need to call home or call their pre-approved friends.
Great video for those who want to set up iphone for their senior loved ones!
I got a jitterbug for for my senior sister, who is not technology savvy. These android phones still get a lot of pop-ups and can have apps on them. They can still be justice confusing.
My 71 year old grandpa has an iPhone he doesn’t use and I pay the bills. This is helpful, thank you so much
Kinda ageist to call this senior mode. Basically it’s converting the phone into a dumb phone… a basic phone.
You could have just called the video assistive access, or something else instead of adding to age discrimination. Please consider for future videos 😊
Years ago, before this feature, I did the following for a Senior using an iPhone:
– with their knowledge, I added my phone number as a contact with whom they share their location. If I know where their phone is, they themselves aren’t too far away
– Put the iPhone in what I call wiggle mode, where all the icons wiggle.
– on the main screen, I swiped every icon to the second, third, fourth, etc screen except two:
Phone
Contacts
– The icons on the very bottom are also swipable into a different screen
– My Senior knows to only interact with the main screen, which allows them to only make phone calls to people in their contacts
– on the second screen, only those icons that are “the next level of difficulty to use” are present. When I’m with my senior, we interact with those apps until they are very very comfortable with how they work, the gestures, etc
– when the senior has demonstrated the ability to use an app, that app is “promoted” to the first screen, second screen, etc
Recently, the Photos app has been promoted to the main screen. When visiting my senior, I’ll text photos and videos of interest to that phone, then save them into the Photos app. The Senior isn’t capable of using a keyboard for conversing via text, so I need to move the texting icon off screen one and two
This change shown in your video in the new iOS by Apple is a good start, but I’d suggest the following additions:
– The only incoming calls that are sent to a Senior-enabled setting are from phone numbers in their contacts. An incoming call from any other phone number triggers two events:
1) the call is sent to voicemail
2) a message is sent to an advocate for the senior. That advocate will additionally be given the ability to retrieve and listen to the voicemail and contact the Senior after the voicemail has been vetted for scam attempts, etc
Thank you for this video, I had no idea and it will be very helpful for my mom ❤
I agree, Jane SSN (선생님). Being 🎙 impatient with older people and technology is sad and I think misplaced, especially since many probably helped developed this technology with NASA🤨
Please Please Please recommend an INEXPENSIVE iPhone thats very simple! We have ATT
It should have ……
Map Navigation, notes, internet, msg, facetime, Camera, photos.
Just the few basics. ???
BUT? Do we still have to buy a thousand dollar iPhone just to dumb it down? Shouldn’t i be able to get a much cheaper phone?
My 88 year old mother, who can’t see well, just got an iPhone. She’s having all kinds of trouble learning it. We’ve taught her how to just let Siri make calls and answer them, and the same with text messages. This AA screen will be great for her, but there’s no mention on whether Siri will still work in the AA mode. Please say it will!
How do you turn the phone off when it is in Assistive Mode?
HOW I GO BACK TO SETTING ????
My dad is having problems using his phone and I thought about get him an iPhone and this video can be really helpful to set it up a way that it makes easy for him to use it. thanks
Way more complicated than it needs to be.
Incredibly helpful! Just what we’re looking for for my mother in law. Thanks!
Thanks for sharing.
Its pretty awesome!
Great job. Thank you for this rundown. Hopefully Apple keeps and improves it, it’s needed.
SOS! I’m struggling to set up Messaging.
There are 2 contacts, with messages sent in regular mode. There’s no way to send another message – no keyboard, emoji, anything! Just a text message the no way to do anything with it.
Can anyone help?? Thanks!
Thanks very helpful
I might have missed it . I saw you can send emojis and video selfie in text.. can you send an image .. like from your photos
I got a jitterbug for for my senior sister, who is not technology savvy. These android phones still get a lot of pop-ups and can have apps on them. They can still be justice confusing.
It’s too restricted. Cannot add or delete contacts, or delete photos.
This assistant access mode is great. I think I might set my sister up a phone like this.
Can the messaging keyboard be enlarged? Those letters are tiny.
Excellent video. I was just discussing this issue with my mother-in-law, who is 92. I would like to make a small suggestion: You should remove the distracting, repetitive background music.
Did bro just say for kids? most gen A’s know how to use a fucking iPhone
can this stay on forever?
You can’t “click” without a mouse. On a touch interface, you “touch” instead of “click.”
Thank you for this video! I’m in the process for setting it up for a family member and I can’t seem to find a way to check voicemail. Can you help with this? Thanks!
Thank you so much for this video! You’ve saved me tons of time switching to it and trying out each app to see that it’s really not what I want or need. I can see how it would be really, really useful for some, though, so maybe I’ll set it up that way if I ever gift or sell my phone to a total Luddite/newb. 😏
Wow – great thanks! My mother has a medical condition which has affected her ability to point without shaking – this looks great! Going now to set it up on her phone!
I have been taking care of my mom for a while now and always looking for things to make it easier and her still feel like she can do things. I just found your channel browsing reviews on senior stuff. Just wanted to thank you so much for the information you give.
I’m not on TikTok; it’s a waste of time. What I do for my mom, even though it might not matter, is add notes to her phone with videos. I hope she’ll start figuring things out. I want to explore the video content and settings to see if it’s a good fit for her. She watches too much TV, especially ‘Family Feud,’ and I’d prefer she spend time on more productive activities.” 😊
i fw this but i know i will be ridiculed for using it
When taking Facetime calls when the phone is idle (not unlocked with screen on), the video call is constantly interrupted by the screen turning itself off. Anyone had this bug or found a fix?
I have checked all the settings in "Calls" – "All Contacts" is checked however several of the contacts go straight to voicemail every time they call the senior. I have also updated the software and rebooted the iphone 13. any thoughts?
Great setting for my senior brother who likes to mess with setting and make his iPhone useless. This way he will be able to have those apps he needs but not altering the phone settings. He suffers from mental illness can’t handle technologies.
Hi man, thanks.. my dad needs a new phone. Guess he is getting mine and I’m finally upgrading to 5G
Perfect tiing for this!! I just switched my mother over to an iphone.
You did a really great demonstration, thank you for taking time to create this. 😊
I set this up for my 94 year ol father. It works great! However, when you are making a call, it just says “calling” at the top of the screen, you do not hear a dial tone. Anybody else have this issue?
Amazing! Thank you! 🙂