Advice for difficulty texting on smartphone due to issues with fine motor skills/coordination

[JemPD]

thanks @rvallee but dont worry, dont waste your energy. I am going to try out a stylus, or the handwriting to text thing Ian spoke of. I'm optimistic that will be the answer as i dont have problems handwriting and even when bad i can seem to do that ok for some reason. Its weird - for example i walk into door frames, repeatedly miss the whole in my trouser leg when aiming my leg trying to get dressed, i knock things off because my hand/arm misses the handle on the mug I'm aiming at. And yet when i point an implement - like my fork into a piece of food, i never miss. Its odd. So i think the stylus is well worth a try.

 

[rvallee]

The main options I can see are in the "dumb phone" (as opposed to smart phones, mostly means no touch screen) category, but are those old-style keypads OK? Not many with full keyboards and it makes them bulky.

One option could be to have two phones, with only one of them with a mobile subscription, with an Android-based smart phone for when you need to use apps.

Then for texting, a simple phone with easier typing, especially for bad days. But aside from voice commands, they all seem to feature the old keypad style.

Some options here: https://lifezest.co/best-phones-for-disabled-people/

 

[JemPD]

Hi @rvallee sorry i think there must have been a misunderstanding...
i already have a 'dumb' phone... which i am very happy with & use for texting all the time, and for phone calls while out occasionally. I did say all that in the OP not sure why you're showing me dumb phones? The old keypad style is all i can use, its what i use now & is good for me.

The problem is i want to upgrade to a smartphone so i can get the apps but i struggle to text on them.

I have an old iphone 5 that someone gave me (which is how i know i cant use it), but it doesnt work without a sim card in it, & I dont want 2 phones anyway really that will be far too confusing.

Edit: ah... i realise the confusion, after reading the OP again... at the end i say 'you all seem to have phones though...'. I meant you all seem to have smartphones. silly me sorry. The issue is that ia am perfectly happy with my old fashioned phone, but am sick of being locked out of modern life due to not being able to have the apps.

 

[rvallee]

Hi @rvallee sorry i think there must have been a misunderstanding...
i already have a 'dumb' phone... which i am very happy with & use for texting all the time, and for phone calls while out occasionally. I did say all that in the OP not sure why you're showing me dumb phones? The old keypad style is all i can use, its what i use now & is good for me.

The problem is i want to upgrade to a smartphone so i can get the apps but i struggle to text on them.

I have an old iphone 5 that someone gave me (which is how i know i cant use it), but it doesnt work without a sim card in it, & I dont want 2 phones anyway really that will be far too confusing.

Edit: ah... i realise the confusion, after reading the OP again... at the end i say 'you all seem to have phones though...'. I meant you all seem to have smartphones. silly me sorry. The issue is that ia am perfectly happy with my old fashioned phone, but am sick of being locked out of modern life due to not being able to have the apps.

Ah, then all I can see is to see if accessibility features can help with typing. The only smartphones with keyboards are bulky, and frankly it's mostly just Blackberrys.

It makes sense, it's just that all the alternatives have their flaws.

 

[ahimsa]

But life is becoming increasingly inaccessible without one these days, because they only make apps for apple/android never for windows any more so i find myself thinking about changing over.

But i just <sigh> i don't want to have to buy a thing that i don't even want, just so i can access NHS app, banking apps, loads of different things i am effectively locked out of because i don't have a smartphone. ...

You all seem to have smartphones though so am wondering how you manage? I must be missing something.

I'm able to type short texts using the smartphone touch screen keyboard but it's slow. I have learned to rely on predictive text. And sometimes I can cut/paste from an old text. But mostly I just accept that it will be a slow process compared to touch typing.

I don't hold the smartphone when typing the text. I put the phone down on a table or lap desk because holding up anything for more than a couple minutes makes my hand/arm ache later.

Back to your other point, about being locked out if you don't use certain apps, some companies may require a phone app but I haven't run into any of them yet.

Every service that I want to access is available using a browser on my laptop. So while I do have a smartphone, I never use it for banking, groceries, pharmacy, etc. If a company ever made it a requirement to use their app then I'd probably switch to someone else.

I'm curious about which companies have started to tell customers that they're required to use an app? I'm not saying it doesn't happen, just that it has not yet happened to me!

 

[JemPD]

Every service that I want to access is available using a browser on my laptop. So while I do have a smartphone, I never use it for banking, groceries, pharmacy, etc. If a company ever made it a requirement to use their app then I'd probably switch to someone else.

I'm curious about which companies have started to tell customers that they're required to use an app? I'm not saying it doesn't happen, just that it has not yet happened to me!

As i said in post #3 there are several

for the NHS, you cant check or change an appointment online through a website - at least not in my area.

the NHS app is not available for windows... if it is please tell me where to find it as it wasnt last time i checked. I cant do video calls with dr/consultants without a smartphone, they dont/wont do zoom or anything accessible on a windows laptop. and while some GPs are now resuming online appointment booking it is only through the NHS app, also sharing photos with doctors is much more difficult by email.

The virgin bank website (shocking but true) will only give you access to withdraw/online transfer £500 per day unless you use the mobile app. Its my money but it wont allow me to have any more unless through the app...which i think is outrageous & have told them so i'd move but thats another cognitive effort to switch.

there are a lot of things that are reduced function or 'you need the app for that'.

I have lost track of how many apps that i want/need/would be much easier if i had it

eg heres a list of the apps i want that are android/apple only... that i can think of right now, but there are a dozen more i cant think of off the top of my head.

controller for smart meter if i get one.
controller for noise cancelling headphones
controller for cat flap
controller for vapourflow extractor/humidity controller.

restricted in choice of new boiler as they mostly need controlling via app.
local council's app for checking what can & cannot go into silver bin ie what can be recycled in my area (the online lists on their websites are very basic not nearly detailed enough but 'dont worry theres an app'.)

and on & on

Since then i discovered 3 more things i miss out on...

- i cannot get the £200 switching bonus to switch my bank account to Natwest, unless i use the mobile app - i have had that happen to me before i think with RBS or Lloyds.

-My local district council's services - some of them are only accessible through an app.

-The Audiobook service Audible no longer support their windows based app... you can listen through the website with your laptop browser but it only has the very basic functions - no sleep function or any of the other functions that made organising my library easier & things easier to find & access.

 

[ahimsa]

Hi @JemPD - So sorry that I completely missed your earlier post listing things that didn't work on the web.

And thanks for posting to add all those other examples!

I have run into cases where there's a cash bonus or credit for using an app (my reply is always "no thanks") but I have not run into any other examples. I don't use Audible, for example.

I'll keep my fingers crossed that none of my doctor's offices, or my pharmacy, suddenly require me to use an app on my phone. For example, I do video appointments with my cardiologist using my laptop.

I would hate to be forced to use an app. I'm not sure why the NHS requires an app to do certain things. But I think corporations like apps because they can collect more data and track the user's location.

I did a quick search and I guess I'm not the only one who hates to be told I need to download an app:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnko...ness-costing-brands-billions/?sh=6032db975da8

 

[Kitty]

@JemPD, can you use the apps on a smartphone okay? It's really the texting that's the problem?

If so, maybe having both types of phone is the least worst option. You could stick a cheap pay-as-you-go SIM in a smartphone so that it will work, set the phone up with your home wifi password, enable wifi calling, and the phone won't even use any of the mobile data—any calls and texts sent whilst you're at home will go over wifi [edited to add: as will use of the internet for the apps].

I imagine the prepaid SIM might expire eventually, but even if the phone won't work over wifi with an expired SIM, they're cheap enough. Then you can stay with your old phone for texts and calls.

Just for info, you can text on a smartphone using an external keyboard. I've just dug an old Bluetooth keyboard I had for work out of a drawer, set my iPhone to allow keyboard access, paired the two, and opened up WhatsApp—it worked perfectly first try. I can sit up, though, it might too clunky to be workable if you usually have to send texts lying down.

 

[JemPD]

If so, maybe having both types of phone is the least worst option. You could stick a cheap pay-as-you-go SIM in a smartphone so that it will work, set the phone up with your home wifi password, enable wifi calling, and the phone won't even use any of the mobile data—any calls and texts sent whilst you're at home will go over wifi [edited to add: as will use of the internet for the apps].

thanks Kitty, yes its just the texting. I bought a stylus but have yet to try it to text on the old iphone 5 i was given, it might be ok, but i have to swap the sims &..... ugh its just been too much for me i not had the energy to spare to fiddle with it yet.

But yes i might just have to have 2 phones - 1 for apps - for example for audible etc it would be fine. but my concern is managing to keep both numbers, i do get very confused. I dont understand how it would work with for example the NHS app, or a banking app... if they were on my (use-for-apps-only) smart phone with one number, wont that be the number that they then use to contact me with texts or phone calls as well?

It sounds very thick i know but i dont really understand the difference between using it via wifi & the mobile network. never having used a phone to access the internet i dont understand it all, i dont understand for example how someone can call an ipad or call a phone without using its telephone number. I definitely could not cope with having 2 different numbers if any of the apps would just use those & try to ring me on the 'spare' number. It would have to be something i turned on occasionally in order to use the specific app & then turned off again. I dont relish the idea of 2 devices.

dumb mobile & laptop is more than enough to keep trakc of

 

[JemPD]

Hi @JemPD - So sorry that I completely missed your earlier post listing things that didn't work on the web.

And thanks for posting to add all those other examples!

I have run into cases where there's a cash bonus or credit for using an app (my reply is always "no thanks") but I have not run into any other examples. I don't use Audible, for example.

I'll keep my fingers crossed that none of my doctor's offices, or my pharmacy, suddenly require me to use an app on my phone. For example, I do video appointments with my cardiologist using my laptop.

I would hate to be forced to use an app. I'm not sure why the NHS requires an app to do certain things. But I think corporations like apps because they can collect more data and track the user's location.

I did a quick search and I guess I'm not the only one who hates to be told I need to download an app:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnko...ness-costing-brands-billions/?sh=6032db975da8

so glad i not the only one irritated by this. The ultimate in frustration would be to have to buy a ruddy device especially to use them on that i cant use for anything else!

can you use the apps on a smartphone okay?

sort of... i detest it all, with the swiping & the touch screen, but i think thats just because i dont really know how to use the touch screen things it took me about 20mins to work out how to delete a text on the stupid thing. I just missed the boat when everyone else was learning touchscreen devices about 15/20yrs ago lol

 

[Trish]

I am a relative newcomer to smartphones. Before that I just used a landline and never texted anyone.

I also had before the smartphone, and still have, a small tablet computer with a touchscreen that I have lots of apps on. When I got my smartphone my daughter set it up for me with the same apps. I can, for example, listen to an audiobook or a podcast on one device, then continue listening on the other one and they both know where I got up to. They are both Android devices.

So I don't need to have a smartphone to use apps, nor do I need to give my smartphone number to app providers.

My point is, in my general state of ignorance about such things, I don’t think having an app on a device requires it to be a smartphone.

 

[Wonko]

It doesn't.

Some tablets can also have a sim, as well as WiFi, primarily so that they can access the Internet when there is no WiFi available. These can also make and receive phone calls/texts, but as tablets with the ability to use mobile networks tend to be considerably more expensive, than WiFi only ones, they are relatively rare.

So.....in order to use apps, no phone number should be needed. Or sim.....unless you need to use them when not in range of WiFi. You may of course need a mobile number to register an app, or in the case of Internet banking to authorise a payment of 40p for a carrot, but in general....no.

 

[Simbindi]

I bought a smart phone some years ago (iphone 7 p1us) but never worked out how to use it. I fina11y got my daughter to update it with a pay as you go sim and it's been usefu1 for the banking apps as I can't 1og in to them on this 1aptop (due to the fau1ty key...).

I've never managed to text on either the o1d or new phones. I don't use the 1and1ine phone at a11 (except for my daughter occassiona11y). My banking apps are set up to emai1 me (for examp1e when I make a transfer). They've been very usefu1 to have on the smartphone for the new on1ine security measures as they can be authorised via the smartphone, I just need to 1og in to authorise any payment (for me it's usua11y just Amazon and the supermarkets). I have no memory of how I origina11y set up my on1ine accounts though!

One of them does require a mobi1e phone number. I have no idea if they've been sending me texts I confess. Never rea11y thought about it unti1 reading this tread. I may have a few hundred on my phone unread...

 

[Kitty]

One of them does require a mobi1e phone number.

Some apps do require a number, but it doesn't have to be the number of that device—just enter the number of the phone that you use for calls. I can't remember what it was now, but I once had to install an app temporarily for work where I didn't feel I should have to disclose my phone number, so I made one up. The app worked fine.

Apps don't usually send texts, but they do send in-app messages. They're usually for information, e.g. 'mobile banking will be unavailable overnight on X date', or for promotion purposes. I can't think of one I use that even has the facility for a user to reply to a message.

 

[Kitty]

But yes i might just have to have 2 phones - 1 for apps - for example for audible etc it would be fine. but my concern is managing to keep both numbers, i do get very confused. I dont understand how it would work with for example the NHS app, or a banking app... if they were on my (use-for-apps-only) smart phone with one number, wont that be the number that they then use to contact me with texts or phone calls as well?

It sounds very thick i know but i dont really understand the difference between using it via wifi & the mobile network. never having used a phone to access the internet i dont understand it all, i dont understand for example how someone can call an ipad or call a phone without using its telephone number. I definitely could not cope with having 2 different numbers if any of the apps would just use those & try to ring me on the 'spare' number. It would have to be something i turned on occasionally in order to use the specific app & then turned off again. I dont relish the idea of 2 devices.

As @Wonko says, you don't need to remember the smartphone's number to use apps. You give the organisation the number of whatever phone you want to use for calls, and whichever email address you prefer. (If you ever lost the number of the smartphone there is a way to find it out, and you don't have to remember how to do it—just Google it.)

As for the wifi and mobile data, they're different systems and most people pay for them separately. But the phone may not work without access to a mobile network, and a prepaid SIM will give you that access. However, prepaid data is expensive, and by setting your phone up to use your home wifi instead, you won't actually use up any of the prepaid data. This means you won't have to keep topping up the SIM with more money.

I wouldn't worry too much about how to call someone without a phone line. It's easy enough to do—you call over the internet instead, using an app like Face Time or WhatsApp—but unless you're phoning someone abroad where the call would be expensive, there's no need to do it. Just use whichever phone number you prefer.

 

[Simbindi]

My phone is with EE, and I do have to buy a ro11ing month1y top up to keep it working with my home WiFi. I pay the minimum £5 top up a month - I never reach that amount of inc1usive ca11 minutes or texts, so I'm rea11y just paying for the convenience of having a working smartphone to access the internet via broadband. I don't actua11y have a mobi1e signa1 in my house, so it wi11 on1y work with the Broadband Wifi.

I think EE has brought in a socia1 tariff now, but 1ike most of these, it's income re1ated. But it's more than the £5 I pay and as I'm homebound I don't need to be ab1e to connect to the internet when out.

 

[Simbindi]

Some apps do require a number, but it doesn't have to be the number of that device—just enter the number of the phone that you use for calls. I can't remember what it was now, but I once had to install an app temporarily for work where I didn't feel I should have to disclose my phone number, so I made one up. The app worked fine.

I seem to reca11 when I first set up the on1ine on1y bank account I did have to authorise the device from a received text. I wou1dn't have wanted to give a random mobi1e number for a bank account, that rea11y wou1d be risking the security of the account.

 

[Simbindi]

When I first bought my smartphone it didn't seem to recognise my touch. Even just turning it on caused me prob1ems. I'd intended to buy a sty1us pen to see if it wou1d reso1ve the issue. But I put the phone away in a drawer for a few years unused before getting around to doing so and when I tried using it again it didn't have the issue. Maybe my body chemistry had changed in the intervening time, I have no idea! But now it recognises my touch just fine!

 

[Kitty]

I seem to reca11 when I first set up the on1ine on1y bank account I did have to authorise the device from a received text. I wou1dn't have wanted to give a random mobi1e number for a bank account, that rea11y wou1d be risking the security of the account.

Yes, with banking I often have to use two-factor authentication as well, but that's mainly because I don't use banking apps. Most of the 3rd party stuff on my phone is for use only when I don't have access to a laptop: wildlife surveys, maps and GPS, parking, taxis, etc. None of them need a phone number.

I think the one where I just made it up was for a hotel and conference centre, though I can't for the life of me remember why they wanted us to use an app! Maybe it was access to certain spaces or something—anyway, the event had been set up using my business info, and I didn't see why I should have to give them my private contact details as well.

When I first bought my smartphone it didn't seem to recognise my touch

I get this a lot, lengthy exposure to water or using something abrasive temporarily alters fingerprints. It's a right pain, specially as I have at least five set up and sometimes it doesn't recognise any of them!

 

[Wonko]

For me it's not exposure to water, it's my health. When more ill than usual I can't get my smartphone to work properly. If I can even get into it, as the fingerprint sensor says I am not me, and, what with the screen being 'unpredictable', it can be more trouble than it's worth to get it to accept the phones password.

Other infuriating, and impossible, things go wrong, things that I couldn't do if I tried to (like the phone switching to camera mode whilst I am attempting to compose an email, when there is no camera button, nor icon, on the email screen), and completely closing the email app, losing what I may well have spent hours trying to compose, but basically, neither the phone, nor cats, like me much when I am ill ill.