Yes, we've gone through that with my mom, who was always a technophobe and of course it became worse, once her dementia emerged,

She had a Doro flip phone from Consumer Celllular, but the batteries kept failing, so I got her a different basic flip phone from Tracfone. She never uses it, but I keep it activated in case of emergencies. She just uses her landline phone now and sadly even that is challenge for her at this point.

No experience with a smartphone for seniors , I'm sorry to say.

There are other tracking devices instead of phone apps, aren't there? Things you use with an app on your own phone...?

My aunt has a phone from Consumer Cellular. She had it before her dementia emerged, so she was able to continue using it for quite since time.

My other aunt had some kind of Android smart phone but it was old so her son got her and himself the same iPhone. She just couldn't adapt to it, so she wants to get Consumer Cellular like her sister's. I hope you can put tracking on it.

We had the same issue with my MIL years back. She dutifully carried it around in her purse, with it turned off.

I would suggest multiple layers of devices. These days it is pretty easy to put a tracking device on a car. The Ring doorbell system has devices you can place around the house to monitor activity from your phone. Sure wish that had been available when MIL was alive.

The newer iPhones’ ”Find My” will work if the phone is off or the battery is dead. (magic!) Maybe other phones have the same feature? She’ll have to remember to carry it, which may be a problem.

There are bracelets that can not be removed that contain trackers, would she wear one of those? you’d have to research battery life.

My father was a ’walker’, trackers would have been a godsend for us. Luckily he was always friendly and people (including the police) were kind when he would often be found on someone’s porch.

We got a Jitterbug 2 smart phone for my 96yo MIL. She's always been pretty tech savvy. It's easy to use and has big icons. They are actually not icons but more like a big list! (look at the pictures to see what I'm talking about). This was much easier for my MIL. Everything she needs is on one easy to see and find screen. She likes it. She even uses the text function.

I don't have any advice on what to get, but you are smart to get it now. My mom can still use some of the tech that she was familiar with before her memory loss, but anything introduced after, she has not been able to remember how to use.

We went through this with my mom too. Even before she really had dementia, but was beginning to have dementia, I found it infuriating that I couldn't find a phone I felt was simple enough for her. With big buttons and an easy-to-read screen, etc. I wonder if an Apple AirTag would work for you as a locator device? Could you attach it to a bracelet that she would always wear? Or a lanyard?

Would she wear an Apple watch consistently? It would not only track where she is, but it would also call emergency services if she fell. I think you could keep the face set to just function as a watch. Of course, they have to be charged periodically (every 18 hours, I believe). Perhaps someone on here has an Apple Watch and can give more educated information. I’m buying one. I’m waiting for their activation ”deal” with AT&T.

Thank you so much for all of the suggestions! I didn't think about options other than phones, so I'm going to check into everything and see what I think will be the best fit and compare prices. You guys are great!

Not a help for tracking her, but for anyone needing an easy to use landline, I bought one of these for my house when I was frequently caring for my little toddler grandson. A cell phone was too complicated, should he need to call for help (I'm of an age and live where he would not be able to get help if he needed it). I think it would work great for seniors with dementia who've lost their ability to remember phone #'s.

picture phone

We have an AppleAirTag for our elderly cat. It works well. We can see where she is at at all times. We bought the hoop style holder for it to attach to her collar. I would think the holder could be fashioned to have a clip that one could attach to the parent's lapel or blouse at the start of the day. It's not obtrusive and the cat doesn't know she's wearing it. I would think for an adult person, it would be as carefree too.

Here's a great article about different technologies besides phones. The downside seems to be battery life is short. https://www.techenhancedlife.com/citizen-research/location-devices-and-trackers-dementia

I was looking to see if there was a cell phone equivalent to the landline phone I posted above and found this:

Picture cell phone

sorry for the multiple posts...this site is infuriating when trying to edit/add sometimes.

The picture cell phone is interesting. I haven't seen that yet in my searches.

Sorry you are going through this with your mom but seems like you are taking good steps and getting valid info here. I just had to comment because I remember your name from the decorating forums back when the place was quite different and I really enjoyed (and can remember) your posts and posting name! Nice to see you here.

My mom who was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's does not use any kind of technology now not even the land line even though she has known to use it for a long time. Thankfully she is not one to wander off, but I would think something like a bracelet or something that can't be removed would work best and allow her to get used to it. Unfortunately it would be too late to do this for my mom as she does not want to wear anything but soft clothes.

Thank you salonva. That's so sweet of you! Isn't it funny that this is the place I still return for random questions even though I'm not currently decorating my house :)

lyfia - There are times when I try to call my mom and her landline is busy. I think she must forget to hang it up.

For those of you that mentioned the AirTag, I didn't really understand what that was, but I just saw a picture on a FB page I follow where someone attached it to their dog's collar. It looks like they're around $29. That could be a good option. I like the idea of attaching it to her keychain or just putting it in the pocket of her purse. There are additional benefits to the phone, but one thing that worries me is that she will be startled by it if it rings when she's driving or she may feel like she's supposed to answer it right then. Thanks again!

A note on the AirTag it uses Bluetooth to locate it so needs to be within the location of a device it can communicate with to send a signal. I'm guessing this is any apple device that is connected to Find my network and not just your own, but if someone would wander off into the woods then it probably won't be useful unless there was an apple device it could communicate with nearby.

lyfia - So, my phone wouldn't necessarily have to be in a certain range of the AirTag, but anyone's iphone/device?

I mentioned upthread, we have an AirTag for our elderly cat who goes outside. She has been as far as three blocks away from home (where our router is and it doesn't have a long range) and shows up on the map. We've gone to where the map shows her to be and asked the homeowner if we could look to see if our cat is napping in their backyard. She was and we brought her home.

Dd, who runs this AirTag show through her cellphone was in Europe this summer and could not watch where the cat was while overseas. However, when dd is away from home, perhaps 60 miles away, the cat shows up on the map. Dd has asked me to look in X spot for the cat and she is there, so it's somehow working. The device might creep onto neighboring cell signals? How this works, I don't really know, but this is our experience. So far, it's working well. Dd says she would like to get one for me as I don't always take my cellphone with me, or I don't know where it is, or I am out of earshot for when she texts or calls me.

@msrose - yes someone's device needs to be in range to report the location of the AirTag - not your personal phone. It could be a stranger, but they have no access to the AirTag.

@SEA SEA - as long as a device is near to report the location of an AirTag it will be reported. A persons actual phone does not need to be near. So in a neighborhood with devices to report the AirTag it would show up. I'm guessing your daughter couldn't see it when in Europe due to different laws there. I've run into that on other things while traveling and not being able to access certain features/websites.

However, there was another thread talking about being afraid of someone wandering off out into the woods which may not be the best use case for an AirTag as it does rely on other devices to report it's location. In an urban area with devices around there shouldn't be issues.

Thanks for the explanation lyfia. Good to know. It seems like a magic nugget sometimes. :-)

I do think that if we are trying to keep track of an elder who is on the move, a Fitbit or Apple watch type of device would be better until we come up with something better. The airtag is good, but it has to be clipped onto the person. Or it could be fashioned into a necklace that perhaps the elder would not be tempted to remove. The Fitbit and Apple watch can also be removed by the elder, but I would hope it would become unnoticable after a while and they *might* not try to remove it.

It's a challenge. My mom, rip, used to galavant all over the place and get herself into all manner of trouble. I'd have to wait for the police to call me to come get her. It was stressful. It would have been helpful to have a tracking device so I could go wrangle her in before she hit the trouble stage.

My friend, whose DH has dementia, thought a way to put a tag in a shoe would be ideal. Wonder if you could take this AirTag holder and lace it onto a sneaker (minus the metal ring)?