# Set up a smartphone so it's easier for an older adult to use

A step-by-step setup plan for bigger text, a simpler home screen, emergency features, and fewer confusing notifications.

- Topic: Personal Life & Wellbeing
- Framework: Few-Shot
- Level: Standard
- Tags: Plan, Fill-in Template
- Source: https://www.thinkwithprompt.com/prompts/set-up-a-smartphone-so-it-s-easier-for-an-older-adult-to-use

## Prompt

```text
Help me set up a smartphone so it's easier and safer for an older adult to use.

**Phone:** [MAKE, MODEL, and iPhone or Android version if known]
**Who will use it:** [me / my parent / my relative - age optional]
**What they need it for:** [e.g. calls, texts, video calls with grandkids, photos, medication reminders, banking]
**Challenges:** [e.g. small text, shaky hands, hearing loss, memory, unfamiliar with touchscreens]
**Who helps them with tech:** [e.g. me, by phone, visiting monthly]

Give me a setup plan in this order:
1. Seeing and hearing: text size, bold text, display zoom, magnifier, ringer and call volume, hearing aid compatibility, captions.
2. Simplifying: a home screen with only the apps they use, removing or hiding the rest, larger icons, any simplified mode the phone offers.
3. Safety: emergency SOS, medical ID, emergency contacts, fall detection if available, location sharing with family (with their agreement).
4. Fewer interruptions: turning off non-essential notifications, silencing unknown callers or spam filtering.
5. Security: a passcode they can remember, automatic updates, backups.
6. Favorites: speed-dial contacts with photos.

For each step, give the general settings path and mark it [CHECK ON THIS PHONE] since menu names vary by model and version. Then write a one-page large-print guide for the user covering the 5 things they'll do most often.
```

## What to fill in

- MAKE, MODEL, and iPhone or Android version if known
- me / my parent / my relative - age optional
- e.g. me, by phone, visiting monthly
- CHECK ON THIS PHONE

Free to copy and use. From ThinkWithPrompt (https://www.thinkwithprompt.com/), a library of 2,663 curated AI prompts.