Anyone Know Of A Decent 4G Non Touch Screen Phone For People Over 70?

Rocky-Roader

Rocky-Roader

Rocky-Roader

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I'm trying to help a guy who lives a few doors down, he had a text a few months ago saying O2 were switching off the 3G at the end out August.

He is old skool, loves the outdoors and uses his phone purely for calls or texts, everything else is done on his laptop, if it wasn't for the pandemic he wouldn't have had to buy a laptop and would still be doing everything manually.

So far I have have bought him 3 different 2024 remakes of old skool Nokia phones - which would be perfect - if the font size could be increased!

1 x didn't have an option to increase font size.
2 x did have the option to increase the font size but when you change it the font size does not actually change at all!
(I watched videos on YouTube showing people how to change the font size but the person making the videos didn't even notice that the text was not actually getting any bigger)

Got him a Doro phone but it only has up and down arrows, no left and right, so he gets confused with the navigation especially doing a text, plus he isn't keen on the look.


So basically looking for a non touch screen phone that is not too small to hold and allows you to make the font size bigger, thought I would see if anyone here may also have an elderly friend or family member that had the same problem and if they had any recommendations?


At this point am thinking of going on Temu and buying a bunch of different old skool looking 4G phones by random brands to see if one is suitable before the 3G is switched off.
 
Which Doro model does he have at the moment? There's some models with the full up/down/left/right buttons (6820 for example).

+1 to big launcher if ending up with an Android smart phone, definitely makes things a lot easier, they also have other apps that can replace the stock apps too.
 
hyperseven said:
My dad uses a touchscreen Android with 'Big launcher' which is made for seniors it has big onscreen buttons and takes over the SMS and caller apps with much more accessible ones.
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Ahhh that looks promising, thank you, never crossed my mind to look for something like that so will be great to have another option for him to try.


Orcvader said:
Which Doro model does he have at the moment? There's some models with the full up/down/left/right buttons (6820 for example).
Click to expand...

It's the Doro L20, I did look at the 6820 but the reviews said texting is complicated and one mentioned a potential software update coming - I don't know if thats happened yet though otherwise could be a good shout
 
I recommended one of these for one of my elderly clients recently. IMO Dash Plus from EE https://ee.co.uk/mobile/pay-as-you-go-phones-gallery/imo-dash-plus-payg-details

He had an old phone that just stopped getting a signal due to the 2G/3G switchoff. Anyway his requirements were similar to yours except he wanted Wi-Fi calling and texting as he doesn't get great signal where he is.

Screen is pretty big, no touchscreen, but might take a bit of getting used to, showing him the ropes etc just because its a new device.
 
Rocky-Roader said:
I'm trying to help a guy who lives a few doors down, he had a text a few months ago saying O2 were switching off the 3G at the end out August.

He is old skool, loves the outdoors and uses his phone purely for calls or texts, everything else is done on his laptop, if it wasn't for the pandemic he wouldn't have had to buy a laptop and would still be doing everything manually.

So far I have have bought him 3 different 2024 remakes of old skool Nokia phones - which would be perfect - if the font size could be increased!

1 x didn't have an option to increase font size.
2 x did have the option to increase the font size but when you change it the font size does not actually change at all!
(I watched videos on YouTube showing people how to change the font size but the person making the videos didn't even notice that the text was not actually getting any bigger)

Got him a Doro phone but it only has up and down arrows, no left and right, so he gets confused with the navigation especially doing a text, plus he isn't keen on the look.


So basically looking for a non touch screen phone that is not too small to hold and allows you to make the font size bigger, thought I would see if anyone here may also have an elderly friend or family member that had the same problem and if they had any recommendations?


At this point am thinking of going on Temu and buying a bunch of different old skool looking 4G phones by random brands to see if one is suitable before the 3G is switched off.
Click to expand...


I bought the "Doro 5860" (has an emergeny button too), which has the things you're looking for; it's a good mobile and I have no complaints with it and we've had it for
about 1+ years now. Check out an online pdf manual as well... (btw, both my wife and I are 66 and with disabilities... The phone is worth a look.)
 
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Thanks @Biffa and @Old Man, so far I've used vouchers on Temu to get an Android 15 touch screen phone for £25, the IMO Dash and a few of the Doro models are available at CEX so I'm going to pop in and get them and then if there is one that he prefers - I'll get it new for him so he's got a guarantee etc and put the others on eBay

It seems crazy that some sites are still selling phones that don't have 4G and seem to have no mention of the changes coming up
 
I bought this one and it's really decent:

Tosaju Senior Mobile Phone 4G Big Button Phone for Elderly Simple Basic Unlocked Sim Free Easy to Use Feature Mobile Phone LCD Display SOS Button 1000 mAh Battery: Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo

Shop Tosaju Senior Mobile Phone 4G Big Button Phone for Elderly Simple Basic Unlocked Sim Free Easy to Use Feature Mobile Phone LCD Display SOS Button 1000 mAh Battery. Free delivery and returns on eligible orders.
www.amazon.co.uk

It's got a SOS button on the back so really easy to use. It has a 4 day battery life and will recharge for weeks off a USB battery bank.
 
Rocky-Roader said:
Thanks @Biffa and @Old Man, so far I've used vouchers on Temu to get an Android 15 touch screen phone for £25, the IMO Dash and a few of the Doro models are available at CEX so I'm going to pop in and get them and then if there is one that he prefers - I'll get it new for him so he's got a guarantee etc and put the others on eBay

It seems crazy that some sites are still selling phones that don't have 4G and seem to have no mention of the changes coming up
Click to expand...
Personally I'm not sure I would trust phones from Temu due to possible security issues, especially if they're much lesser known brands.
 
SpellowHouse said:
Dear God, they are old, not mentally ill. Buy him a smartphone, a pair of reading glasses and a stylus.
Click to expand...
Not all eye problems can be solved with reading glasses :) My father for example cannot reliably read any text on any phone, tablet or even e-ink display (he got to the point his e-reader was displaying about a paragraph or less per page*).

And physical buttons are often much easier if you've got any problems with your eyes, or hands.

Seriously my dad was playing Ultima Online for 15 years, and World of Tanks for about 5, and first used an ereader back before the kindle was released, but he cannot cope with touch screens and mobile screens.

My mother never managed to learn how to use a computer (she was very sharp, but couldn't co-ordinate the mouse movement with the screen), but she did manage to learn, largely by rote how to use a simple old fashioned push button mobile to call certain numbers.


*He can just about reliably read the e-ink display on the Tapo thermometer I bought for him, it's got simple 7 segment type numbers about an inch high (I suspect someone in their UI department realised they were very easy to read at a distance and set them up to be the font used).
 
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Orcvader said:
Personally I'm not sure I would trust phones from Temu due to possible security issues, especially if they're much lesser known brands.
Click to expand...

I agree but it's a cheap way to see if he's able to adjust to it without paying out,


SpellowHouse said:
Dear God, they are old, not mentally ill. Buy him a smartphone, a pair of reading glasses and a stylus.
Click to expand...

True but I applaud these oldies for wanting to enjoy themselves and their lives like they always used to without being confined to sitting at home doing nowt.

Today we see many people who can't sit in their garden with the wife for an hour without touching their phone - really sad and unhealthy compared to the olden days when people had to make conversation amongst themselves etc and do something physical lol
 
Rocky-Roader said:
I agree but it's a cheap way to see if he's able to adjust to it without paying out,




True but I applaud these oldies for wanting to enjoy themselves and their lives like they always used to without being confined to sitting at home doing nowt.

Today we see many people who can't sit in their garden with the wife for an hour without touching their phone - really sad and unhealthy compared to the olden days when people had to make conversation amongst themselves etc and do something physical lol
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OLDIES!!!

You're as young as you feel (don't you know) and I feel 25 (now till I'm 500), but when using modern and fully decked out mobiles, it can be hard to figure out everything and a bit confusing at times, so it's
simply much easier to get a mobile that does what you want it to and without all the bells and whistles (imo).
 
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