Remote control android phone for elderly parents?

[Borgie]

My parents are 81 and 76. They do not have a computer, do not have wi-fi, do not have a smartphone. they do not have wi-fi and do not plan to get home internet. The phone would be data only unless they are in a wifi hotspot.

My dad asked me yesterday if I could get them a smartphone. ugggh!!!

I could get them a moto e6 through xfinity mobile since I am an xfinity customer and also use xfinity mobile.

If I was to do this, I would definately have to have a way to access the phone remotely as I'm sure there will be numerous questions and they live 45 minutes away.

Does anyone use a program like log me in or team viewer? Do they work well? Is there a charge?

 

[Rukbat]

They work, there's no charge (or, at least, there never used to be one). If there is, you'll have to modify their router to forward port 5900 to the phone, assign the phone a fixed internal IP address. Then you can install a VNC server on the phone and use a VNC client to connect to their phone and do what you need or show them what to do. (It's a one-time setup, then you can connect whenever you need to. They just have to run the server app on their side.)

 

[leerandall]

With my 92 year-old mother-in-law, I use TeamViewer on my PC and installed TeamViewer QuickSupport on her phone. The trick is that, before you can connect, they have to have QuickSupport running on their phone. So I put the app on her home screen so all she has to do is hit the home button to get back to the home screen, then when she confirms she can see the QuickSupport icon, I tell her to touch it to run the app, then I can connect to her phone. I do the same thing to support her tablet.

There is no charge for using TeamViewer this way. They only charge for commercial use.

 

[Borgie]

They work, there's no charge (or, at least, there never used to be one). If there is, you'll have to modify their router to forward port 5900 to the phone, assign the phone a fixed internal IP address. Then you can install a VNC server on the phone and use a VNC client to connect to their phone and do what you need or show them what to do. (It's a one-time setup, then you can connect whenever you need to. They just have to run the server app on their side.)

As I said they do not have wi-fi and do not plan to get home internet. The phone would be data only unless they are in a wifi hotspot.

 

[iGalione]

team viewer support works for phones, you're not using it commercially, so you would be able to install it on their phone, use your sign in information and then control it remotely there.

 

[ZOMMBIE1]

I got my grandparents a couple of Galaxy J3's and turned on easy mode for them. It really makes the phones simple to use. They do still have questions sometimes but by them having Samsung devices makes it easier for me to help them over the phone cause I'm familiar with the OS.

 

[Gary02468]

With my 92 year-old mother-in-law, I use TeamViewer on my PC and installed TeamViewer QuickSupport on her phone. The trick is that, before you can connect, they have to have QuickSupport running on their phone. So I put the app on her home screen so all she has to do is hit the home button to get back to the home screen, then when she confirms she can see the QuickSupport icon, I tell her to touch it to run the app, then I can connect to her phone.

I think you can connect unattendedly (no cooperation needed at the other end) if you use TeamViewer Host instead of TeamViewer QuickSupport: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.teamviewer.host.market.

It's great that TeamViewer is available for free for personal use, especially for elderly-parent support. Occasionally their algorithm mistakenly suspends access due to "suspected commercial use", but their support techs will promptly correct the error.

 

[elizabethBR]

I've been searching for a way to help my 77yo mom with her android phone issues. She is not technical so when I walk her through troubleshooting, she does not understand fully. Will TeamViewer work for me to help her out without her having to give me "allow" access? Is there any other solution for me to help a non-technical elderly person with Android cell phone troubleshooting? Also @Gary02468 You said I can use "TeamViewer Host instead of TeamViewer QuickSupport". Does the "Host" need to be installed on my Android as well as my mom's whose phone I'm trying to troubleshoot?


TIA Elizabeth

 

[elizabethBR]

I think you can connect unattendedly (no cooperation needed at the other end) if you use TeamViewer Host instead of TeamViewer QuickSupport: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.teamviewer.host.market.

It's great that TeamViewer is available for free for personal use, especially for elderly-parent support. Occasionally their algorithm mistakenly suspends access due to "suspected commercial use", but their support techs will promptly correct the error.

Does "TeamViewer Host" need to be installed on both my phone and hers for me to troubleshoot remotely without "allow access"

 

[alineflo]

I got my grandparents a couple of Galaxy J3's and turned on easy mode for them. It really makes the phones simple to use. They do still have questions sometimes but by them having Samsung devices makes it easier for me to help them over the phone cause I'm familiar with the OS.

What's a modern match to this nowadays? I need to buy my grandma a new phone.

 

[B. Diddy]

What's a modern match to this nowadays? I need to buy my grandma a new phone.

Welcome to Android Central! All Samsung phones still have an Easy Mode option in the system settings. There might be other manufacturers that have something similar, but if not, you can always install a simplified launcher like BIG Launcher.