How to set up an iPad for grandparents (with Assistive Access)
Whether a tablet gets used or ends up in a drawer often comes down to a handful of settings you change before handing it over. Back it up, sort out the account, simplify the screen, make the text bigger, block accidental purchases and plan how you'll help from a distance.
Plan two hours for it, together, and not the day before you leave. Most people over 65 already go online in some way. In the UK, Age UK's 2026 analysis of ELSA data classifies 1.6 million over-65s in England as digitally included and 1.4 million as digitally excluded, with the majority, 7.9 million, somewhere in the middle. In the US, AARP's 2025 tech trends survey found that 62% of adults 50 and older own a tablet, and Pew Research Center's 2025 data shows that 90% of adults 65 and older use the internet.
We'll write about your mum. It works the same for your dad, or anyone you're setting up a tablet for.
Back it up before you change anything
Without a backup, a tablet that has to be reset loses everything that was only stored on it. So this comes first.
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On an iPad, go to Settings, tap her name, then iCloud and iCloud Backup, and tap Back Up Now. Stay on Wi-Fi until it finishes. Apple says automatic backups only run when the iPad is charging, on Wi-Fi and locked, with enough iCloud storage.
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On an Android tablet, go to Settings, Google, All services, Backup and restore, Backup, and tap Back up now. The names can vary slightly by manufacturer. Google also points out that not all apps can back up or restore all their settings and data.
Check the date of the last backup whenever you visit.
An account in her own name
The Apple Account or Google Account is the tablet's identity: backups, apps, purchases and locks all hang off it.
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If she already uses an Apple Account or Google Account, keep it. Starting a new one means leaving behind the photos, contacts and purchases tied to the old one.
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Don't sign her tablet in to your own account. Your messages, photos and purchases would mix, and a password change on your side could sign her out.
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Decide together who manages it. Whoever has the account password can sign in and see what's stored there, so say that out loud once.
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Don't rely on Family Sharing to stop purchases. Apple's Ask to Buy is designed for children, not for adults in the family group.
Assistive Access: a simpler iPad
Assistive Access is a simplified way of using the iPad: only the apps you choose, a pared-back interface, and a choice between a list and a grid. Apple built it for people with cognitive disabilities and suggests a trusted supporter, such as a family member, helps set it up. You don't need any reason beyond "the full iPad is too busy". It changes how the whole iPad looks and works, though, so decide on it together. It's available on iPads running iPadOS 17 or later.
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Go to Settings, Accessibility, Assistive Access, and tap Set Up Assistive Access.
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Choose the apps she'll actually use, such as Calls, Photos and Camera.
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Choose Rows, an easy-to-read list, or Grid, with bigger items.
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Confirm the iPad's passcode, then create a separate Assistive Access passcode. Keep it with you.
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To start it, go to Settings, Accessibility, Assistive Access, tap Start Assistive Access and enter that passcode.
The Calls app in Assistive Access handles voice and FaceTime video calls. Set Receive Calls From to favourite contacts only, and callers who aren't on her list won't get through.
How to exit or turn off Assistive Access
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To leave it, triple-click the Home button (on iPads that have one) or the top button, tap Exit Assistive Access, and enter the Assistive Access passcode. Apple's page on entering and exiting Assistive Access shows both.
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Forgotten the passcode? Apple says you can use her Apple Account to exit and reset it.
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To add or remove apps later, exit first, then go to Settings, Accessibility, Assistive Access. Appearance, volume and text size can be changed without leaving: triple-click, tap Settings and enter the passcode (Apple).
On Android: a simple setup by hand
We couldn't find one switch like Assistive Access in Google's own Android help, so build the simple version by hand: four to six apps on the first home screen, everything else in a folder on page two. Then give the tablet a fixed spot with its charger, ideally on a stand.
Bigger text and a magnifier
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On an iPad, go to Settings, Accessibility, Display & Text Size, then Larger Text. Apple warns that very large text can make some buttons in apps harder to tap, so find the size that works on screens she uses daily.
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On Android, search Settings for Font size and Display size. Bold text sits under Accessibility, Display size and text. Google notes that some apps won't use these settings.
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Android's Magnification, under Settings, Accessibility, zooms in up to 8 times. Turn it on together and practise, so it doesn't take her by surprise the first time it zooms in by accident.
Stop accidental purchases
The simplest protection is not to add a payment method at all.
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On an iPad, in Screen Time, go to Apps and Websites, then App Store, tap In-app Purchases and choose Blocked. Menu names change between iPadOS versions, so follow Apple's current steps.
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On Android, open the Play Store, tap the profile picture, then Payments and subscriptions, and set purchase verification to Always. Menu names can vary by country and Play Store version. It adds a confirmation step to every purchase, which stops accidental ones but not deliberate ones.
A screen lock she can open on her own
A screen lock protects her email, photos and accounts, but only if she can open it herself. Set the code together. On Android it's under Settings, Security, Screen lock.
Then do the test that matters: turn the tablet off and on again, and let her unlock it alone. After a restart, the tablet may ask for the code rather than a face or fingerprint. Better to find that out now than when you're miles away.
Plan remote help now
The call comes on a Tuesday evening: "There's a box on the screen and I can't get rid of it." What helps then is what you prepared.
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On an iPad, she can use Screen Sharing in a FaceTime call to show you her screen while you tell her where to tap. You need an Apple device too, because screen sharing isn't available in FaceTime on the web.
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On Android, in a Google Meet call, she taps the screen, then More, Share screen and Start sharing, and Stop sharing when you're done (Google).
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Practise starting and stopping the share once, while you're in the room. Photograph her main screens too, so on the phone you can say "the blue icon, bottom left".
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Keep a short device sheet for yourself: model, account email, where the password is kept, the unlock code and the Wi-Fi name. Keep it with you, never on a note beside the tablet.
Give her one rule to go with it: she only shares her screen with someone she called herself. If a caller claiming to be the bank or tech support asks her to share her screen or install something, she hangs up and rings you, ideally from a different phone, since Age UK warns that scammers can keep a line open. Age UK also describes this scam, where a caller claims a device has a virus and asks you to download software that is actually spyware. In the US, the Federal Trade Commission puts it plainly: legitimate tech companies won't contact you by phone, email, or text message to tell you there's a problem with your computer.
For the first call itself, see our guide to video calling for grandparents.
When using it, not setting it up, is the hurdle
Some families set everything up with care and then find the hurdle was never a setting. It was using the tablet at all. Amara Home, which we build in Berlin, takes a different approach: she says who she'd like to see and the video call starts, with no address book to search and no login before each call. If the steps above work for her, she doesn't need a second device. If you're still choosing one, our guide on which tablet to choose for Grandma covers what matters.
Image note: the photographs on this page were generated with AI. They do not show real people.