Thirty minutes with their phone now saves you thirty panicked calls later.
Display. Increase text size (bigger than you think). Enable Bold Text. Increase brightness. Set auto-lock to 5 minutes.
Home screen. Essential apps on first screen: Phone, Messages, Camera, Weather, companion app. Everything else goes to page two or a folder.
Favorites. Top 5 contacts as speed dial. You, siblings, doctor, trusted neighbor.
Emergency info. iPhone: Health app, Medical ID. Android: Settings, Safety, Medical Information. Medications, allergies, emergency contacts, blood type.
Scam protection. Silence unknown callers. Spam filtering on. In-app purchases off. Remove unused apps.
Companion app. Install together. Walk through onboarding side by side. Let them choose the voice, the name, the preferences. Ownership of setup increases daily usage dramatically.