Setting Up Your Elderly Parent's Phone for Safety: A Complete Guide
Your parent's phone could save their life — but only if it's set up properly.
Most elderly Australians carry a phone that has emergency features they don't know about, accessibility settings they've never seen, and scam protection they've never enabled. This guide gives you exact menu paths to follow on both iPhone and Android — no technical knowledge required. Set aside 45 minutes with your parent's phone, follow these steps, and you'll have transformed it from a source of frustration into a genuine safety device.
What You'll Set Up Today
1. Emergency Access
ICE contacts, Medical ID, Emergency SOS — so paramedics can reach you even if the phone is locked
2. Screen & Sound
Text size, display zoom, bold text, volume boost — so they can actually see and hear the phone
3. Hearing Aid Pairing
Bluetooth hearing aid connection and audio routing — so phone calls go directly to their hearing aids
4. Scam Protection
Call blocking, Do Not Disturb exceptions, and carrier protection — so scammers can't reach them
5. Location Sharing
Find My (iPhone) or Google Find (Android) — so you can locate the phone if it's lost or in an emergency
6. Simplify the Interface
Remove clutter, set up favourites, reduce notifications — so the phone is a tool, not a puzzle
Step 1: Emergency Access
If your parent is found unconscious or unable to communicate, paramedics will check their phone for medical information and emergency contacts. These features work from the lock screen — no PIN required.
Medical ID
1. Open the Health app (white icon with red heart)
2. Tap your profile picture (top right) → Medical ID
3. Tap Edit
4. Fill in: Medical conditions, allergies, medications, blood type, weight
5. Toggle “Show When Locked” ON (critical!)
6. Add Emergency Contacts (you, another family member, their GP)
7. Tap Done
Emergency SOS
1. Settings → Emergency SOS
2. Toggle “Call with Hold and Release” ON
3. Toggle “Call Quietly” OFF (you want the siren so others notice)
4. Enable “Share location after calling”
How it works: Press and hold the side button + either volume button for 2 seconds. The phone counts down, then calls 000 and texts your emergency contacts with GPS location.
Emergency Information
1. Settings → Safety & emergency
2. Tap Medical information
3. Fill in: Name, address, blood type, allergies, medications, organ donor status
4. Go back → Emergency contacts
5. Add contacts (you, another family member, their GP)
6. Ensure “Show on lock screen” is enabled
Emergency SOS
1. Settings → Safety & emergency → Emergency SOS
2. Toggle ON
3. Choose trigger: “Press power button 5 times” (most common)
4. Enable “Send SOS message” (shares location with emergency contacts)
5. Some Samsung phones: Settings → Advanced features → Send SOS messages
How it works: Press the power button 5 times rapidly. The phone calls 000 and sends an SMS with GPS coordinates to your emergency contacts.
ICE Contacts (Both Platforms)
In addition to the emergency settings above, save contacts in the phone book with the prefix “ICE”: ICE - Sarah (daughter), ICE - Dr Singh (GP). Paramedics are trained to search for “ICE” in the contacts list. This works on any phone, including simple phones without Medical ID features.
Step 2: Make the Screen Readable
The default text size on modern phones is designed for 25-year-old eyes. Your parent needs different settings. These changes affect the entire phone — menus, messages, contacts, everything.
Text Size
Settings → Display & Brightness → Text Size → drag slider to maximum
Larger Accessibility Sizes
Settings → Accessibility → Display & Text Size → Larger Text → toggle ON → drag slider right
Bold Text
Settings → Display & Brightness → toggle Bold Text ON
Display Zoom
Settings → Display & Brightness → Display Zoom → select Larger Text
Increase Contrast
Settings → Accessibility → Display & Text Size → toggle Increase Contrast ON
Font Size
Settings → Display → Font size and style → drag to maximum
Display Size
Settings → Display → Screen zoom / Display size → drag to maximum
Bold Font
Settings → Display → Font size and style → toggle Bold font ON
High Contrast (Samsung)
Settings → Accessibility → Visibility enhancements → High contrast fonts ON
Easy Mode (Samsung)
Settings → Display → Easy mode → ON (simplifies the entire interface)
Step 3: Volume & Hearing Aid Pairing
One in three Australians over 65 has hearing loss (Hearing Australia). If your parent wears hearing aids, their phone can stream calls directly to them. If they don't wear aids, maximise the phone's built-in volume. Full hearing loss guide.
Pair Hearing Aids
Settings → Accessibility → Hearing Devices → put hearing aids in pairing mode → tap device name when it appears. iPhone supports MFi (Made for iPhone) hearing aids natively.
Volume Boost (No Hearing Aids)
During a call, press volume up to maximum. Also: Settings → Accessibility → Audio/Visual → toggle Phone Noise Cancellation ON
LED Flash for Alerts
Settings → Accessibility → Audio/Visual → LED Flash for Alerts ON. The camera flash blinks for calls and messages — useful if they can't hear the ringer.
Pair Hearing Aids
Settings → Connected devices → Pair new device → put hearing aids in pairing mode → tap device name. Android 13+ supports ASHA (Audio Streaming for Hearing Aids) natively.
Sound Amplifier
Settings → Accessibility → Sound amplifier (Google Pixel) or Hearing enhancements (Samsung). Boosts and clarifies audio through wired headphones.
Flash Notification
Settings → Accessibility → Flash notification → toggle Camera flash ON and Screen flash ON
Step 4: Block Scam Calls
Elderly Australians are the #1 target for phone scams. These settings won't eliminate all scams, but they'll dramatically reduce the volume. Full scam protection guide.
Option 1: Silence Unknown Callers (Recommended)
This sends calls from numbers not in your parent's contacts straight to voicemail. Legitimate callers leave a message; scammers don't.
iPhone:
Settings → Phone → Silence Unknown Callers → ON
Android (Pixel):
Phone app → Settings → Caller ID & spam → Filter suspected spam calls ON
Option 2: Carrier-Level Blocking
Contact your parent's mobile carrier to enable their scam-blocking service. These work at the network level, so scam calls are blocked before they even reach the phone.
Telstra
Cleaner Pipes initiative — blocks known scam numbers automatically. Call Guardian app for landlines.
Optus
Call Translate — scam warning labels on suspected calls. Enable via My Optus app.
Vodafone
Scam Call Block — automatic blocking of known scam numbers. Enabled by default on most plans.
Option 3: Do Not Call Register
Register your parent's number on the Australian Do Not Call Register. This doesn't block scammers (they don't follow the law), but it eliminates legitimate telemarketing calls, reducing the total number of unwanted calls.
How: Call 1300 792 958 or visit donotcall.gov.au. Registration is free and permanent.
Step 5: Location Sharing
Location sharing lets you find your parent's phone in an emergency, locate a lost phone, and (with their consent) check that they've arrived home safely. Frame it as “finding the phone if it's lost” rather than “tracking you” — the distinction matters for dignity.
1. Settings → [your parent's name] → Find My
2. Toggle Find My iPhone ON
3. Toggle Share My Location ON
4. Toggle Send Last Location ON (sends location when battery is critically low)
5. Open Find My app → People tab → Share My Location → enter YOUR phone number/email
6. Choose “Share Indefinitely”
You'll now see your parent's location in your own Find My app. If the phone is lost, you can make it play a sound even on silent mode.
1. Settings → Google → Find My Device → toggle ON
2. For location sharing: Open Google Maps
3. Tap profile icon → Location sharing
4. Tap Share location → select “Until you turn this off”
5. Choose your contact from the list
6. Tap Share
You'll see your parent's location in Google Maps on your phone. You can also locate the device at android.com/find.
Step 6: Simplify the Interface
Every unnecessary app, notification, and menu is a potential point of confusion. Strip the phone down to what your parent actually needs.
Remove unused apps from the home screen
Keep only: Phone, Contacts, Messages, Camera, and any specific apps they use (WhatsApp, banking). Move everything else to a secondary screen or delete entirely. A home screen with 6 large icons is vastly less intimidating than 28 tiny ones.
Turn off non-essential notifications
Settings → Notifications → turn OFF notifications for everything except: Phone, Messages, and one or two essential apps. Random “Update available” and “Storage almost full” notifications cause anxiety and confusion.
Set up Favourites / speed dial
In Contacts, mark your number and other key people as Favourites. On iPhone, the Phone app opens to Favourites by default. On Android, add a “Contacts” widget to the home screen showing favourite contacts with photos.
Disable auto-updates that change the interface
App updates sometimes change button positions and menu layouts — disorienting for elderly users. Consider turning off automatic app updates: iPhone: Settings → App Store → App Updates OFF. Android: Play Store → Settings → Auto-update apps → Don't auto-update.
Set a longer screen timeout
Elderly users take longer to read and respond. Set the screen timeout to 2–5 minutes (not 30 seconds). Settings → Display → Auto-lock (iPhone) or Screen timeout (Android).
Ongoing Phone Maintenance
Set a reminder to do these checks each time you visit or call:
Related Guides
- Best phone for elderly parents in Australia (2026): buyer's guide →
- Hearing loss and phone calls: solutions for elderly Australians →
- Protecting elderly parents from scams in Australia →
- Keeping your elderly parent connected with technology →
- Daily check-in calls for seniors →
- How to check on your elderly parent every day →
Give Them Connection. Give Yourself Peace of Mind.
Start your free 7-day trial today. No credit card required.
Start Free Trial