I'm trying to help my elderly mother, who has an iPhone with a home button, avoid frequently locking herself out of her phone. She's had issues entering the correct PIN codes for both the screen and the SIM card, and since she has Alzheimer's, we removed those codes thinking it would simplify things. She lives in a care home and doesn't leave, so we thought it wouldn't be a problem. However, she's still managed to lock her phone so severely that we've had to wipe it clean from her Apple ID twice. We're looking for advice on how to prevent this from happening again without taking her phone away, as she loves using messaging apps to stay in touch with family. Any suggestions on what might be causing this or how to solve it?
3 Answers
It's possible she might think she needs to enter a lock code, then forgets it. I had a similar situation with a relative. We had to turn off voicemail with the carrier, as they were confused about that as well. Maybe look into hardware options like a Bluetooth adapter that lets her use a standard phone for calls - it could reduce complexity!
Have you tried using the Assistive Access option? It simplifies the experience for users and still allows access to essential apps. This feature was introduced in iOS 17, so it might help your mom navigate her phone more easily without locking herself out.
Knowing the specific model of her iPhone would help, as newer operating systems have parental controls that might help. Have you thought about switching her to an iPad? It could be more user-friendly for her, but I know that's a gamble since she might still get locked out.
Yeah, but then she'd just find new ways to lock herself out of that too!