Easier video calling with elderly relatives who can't answer a phone

[@oblivieon1567]

Thanks so much for posting this, I had no idea Skype could answer calls automatically.

[@456lyon4]

Thank you so much for posting this video. I am also struggling to stay connected with my 82 years old mother who lives alone. Thank you sooooo much!

[@coolhead8686]

You are a life saver!!!!

[@HappyQCoins]

Thank you so much for this; we once got a tablet for my grandpa but he never used it due to complications. This simplifies everything!

[@mariuszkochanski4958]

great post as this is the issue I have with my 89yrs Mum! Greeting from Poland

[@nigellow8153]

Thanks for sharing. This is exactly what I need for my mom.

[@bz4743]

Thanks a lot for posting this, solves a lot of comms issues with the oldies who are far away

[@rachelle_banks]

This is great. We used them a lot for a virtual movie night but my grandfather wants to participate and he is 93 years old. I think his son who he lives with has Wi-Fi and stuff but he's not off at home to connect him when we want to do family calls or movie night. I will see if Zoom has some type of settings like this. Thank you again this was very inspiring.

[@tilinanirmal]

Thank you very much..there are people who has the same issue you have.....parents whom we should care ..thanks again

[@Duckieee86]

Amazon Alexa has a ‘drop in’ feature and the receiver doesn’t Need to do anything. Alexa echo show 10 also has a video ‘drop in’ and it follows my dad around in his aged care home. I’m now teaching him how to do voice commands. It sits on his bedside table.

[@joythought]

We weren't allowed to use any products like that at my mum's facility as they didn't like the "surveillance" and possibility of being recorded and footage going up to the internet... So we didn't go forwards on that. We are happy with the facility as the staff absolutely dote on my mum. She's been there for about as long as any resident: well over a decade.

[@joythought]

That sounds wonderful!

[@chrisvunguyen]

Thanks for your research and cool solution, I was trying to help a friend who's mom just came out of the hospital.. cheers mate!

[@renatocastillo6681]

I was actually thinking to do something similar. Your video just confirmed it can be done. Thanks so much, mother will be really happy.

[@dalekerr5091]

Aged care facilities are always concerned that a family member will see the staff abusing their loved one, which is why it’s a good idea to put a hidden camera in the room.

[@mikldude9376]

Nice job mate , that skype seems to work well , i have a few old phones kicking around and i have wondered for many years how it would be possible to do something like you have done there for your mum . This would be ideal for my old mum too who has severe short term memory and buttons just confuse her . Thank you for posting .

[@pedalwithoutacause]

You are a life saver thanks!

[@SamsungGalaxy-ct3hv]

Thank you so much glad to watch your video I can use for my mother as well

[@stephanes.]

I had exactly the same questions, thanks a lot dear!!!

[@henkmeerhof8647]

Many thanks for sharing. I'm also looking for this kind of solution. There are some questions though 1. This solution opens automaticaly a video channel to your moms phone, How do you know she is there? I need a solution for where I don't know if my mom is near the phone. As my mom is blind she cannot see if the phone is 'doing something'. I could mount the phone so I could see when she is in her favorite chair for example.... 2. I am amazed that the home is tolerating your solution as it would be as intruding on workers privacy as the tablet you wanted to use.

[@soulaudacity555]

Thank you for this!

[@fnk101]

Brillianr thanks just the kind of idea i was looking for

[@vincentc6788]

So nice of your idea...could you find some other android app also which actually allows us to do the similar or even allow us to open a item on their phone remotely to show them something?

[@LisaMarieAdams]

I didn't see the " Start my video automatically" to turn on under Settings... Is that still a feature? I know that feature is a little older, this is August 2021. Perhaps all you have to turn on now is Answer incoming call automatically. Please let me know if anyone has the answer!

[@joythought]

It is still available on Android. I don't know about iOS for example. Perhaps someone else can chime in on the answer.

[@alading6865]

Thank you so much

[@joythought]

I've generally struggled to find reliable stands for phones and tablets. I've bought a lot. Most of the metal ones I've bought have been adequate. Here's a video I saw and thought that I'd like to try out if I update this project at some point. By the way, we still use the set up though these days it's through a fixed mounted tablet near my mum's bed. She's 90 years old now and her ability to look at the screen has reduced a lot due to Parkinson's and dementia. Anyway, thought I'd share this in case anyone else finds it useful. If you do get it, feel free to leave your feedback below for others. Just remember, I've got nothing to do with this person's review channel or the product and I've not tried it out. Buyer beware. Hope it's useful: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bXq3Z2yYgKmGmsk

[@carpediem4413]

Thanks - how does your mom know a call is coming in and to go to the phone ?my mom is a bit hard of hearing.

[@skegen]

Looking forward for your tests with a tablet...

[@joythought]

I have tried with a bunch of tablets and none are 100% reliable at automatically answering each time. The phones can be essentially 💯

[@ukelilly]

So you would have to download a skype application to my phone as well as my mom's phone ? My mom doesnt answer the phone and not very talkative but thats ok..I will do all the talking. Also, all my old androids are dead ( battery). Where did you get batteries for your old phone ? thx. Wonder if Discord can work this way. Idk too nuch about Skype but do have Discord on my phone. thx

[@HomesByRoberta]

Amazing, thank you for sharing. Was just about to buy my father an amazon echo show, but i still find it might be too difficult for him to use. He is also in a nursing home, i will try this method. Thank you

[@lorendsouza9532]

awesome, i have been looking for a solution and going to try this for sure.

[@keesverhagen9227]

Wich options did you turn on ? I have tried so much. I have the same problem. Took my mother in my home 9 years ago. Did not wanting he rotting away in a horrible elderly home with 6 people in a large room. They gave her only several months to life. That was nine years ago.🙈 When the phone or tablet is not used for a short while it turns on standby. She is not capable to switch that back on. So nothing in the end will work like we need it to work. The other party should be able to do everything. And the phone should be allways on. But that is nowadays not possible nowadays. And with Android you akways have to give consent due to privacy. I am trying for years. Because she is getting quite alone. She is becoming blind and deaf at the same time. I also bought a headphone. With that she can hear another person. If that bloody annoying problem of the phone going in standby and the privacy problem from Android it could have been so nice for her.

[@ElectricalEngapprentice]

I tried but it didn't work. Do I need to have a subscription for this?

[@joythought]

I was able to do it with the free version of Skype

[@primovid]

This should also work with an android tablet just as well...but larger format

[@Duckieee86]

Thanks for the video btw very helpful

[@mileshurst7359]

thx.

[@patrickjhowley]

Can you do the same thing with a Tablet?

[@joythought]

Yes, I am experimenting with that right now.

[@patrickjhowley]

@@joythought Great, I would be really interested if you get it to work. Thank you. Very impressed with what you did with the phone.

[@joythought]

Tablets and Android TV boxes turn out to be more difficult. Many will auto-answer on Skype but have other annoyances. Tablets often have poor cameras and are expensive compared to phones for the same internals. I only focused on tablets offering 4G SIM support as I couldn't have the device relying on the aged care facility's WiFi. TV boxes seemed optimal to me but they were the most problematic especially because they get turned off or the TV gets turned off and then the connection isn't available.

[@joythought]

So I still think an Android phone is about the simplest and most reliable option.

[@skegen]

In this link (kzbin.info/www/bejne/h5vMdqZ5ad-ge5Y) you can see my test using an iPad, Skype with auto-answering and pics from iCloud. OPEN ISSUES: 1. How to avoid the questionnaire after Skype closes. 2. How to automatically close Skype and return to the photo frame function. Any ideas?

[@sergiopabon1387]

Unintended consequences of this trick. Potentially seen your mom changing when you called. Your mom getting it on with another senior citizen.(it happens a lot more then people think). Your mom doing something weird when she thinks No one is watching.(we all do different stuff)

[@joythought]

Humans being human. Best to live life while we are alive.