Today the smartphone is an everyday tool not just for young people but for every family: a video chat with grandchildren who live far away, reading an announcement in the mahalla group, booking a clinic appointment or checking pension details all happen on this small device. Many older people want to learn to use a phone, but tiny text, puzzling icons and younger relatives who explain things in a rush make it harder. This guide is written for two people: the parents and grandparents who are learning, and the children or grandchildren who are teaching them. It covers setting up the phone comfortably (large text, brightness, a simple home screen), the main tasks step by step, protection from scams, tips for the person teaching, a sample two-week learning plan, common mistakes, a practice exercise and a checklist.
One important point: age is no barrier to learning. Someone with life experience does not rush, learns thoroughly and is careful, and that is a very useful quality when it comes to safety. Each step simply needs to be shown clearly, with enough time given.
Setting up the phone comfortably
The phone should adapt to its owner, not the other way round. Even if you teach nothing on the first day and only set the phone up, that alone is a great help. The menu names below follow the English interface; depending on the phone model and system version, the names and layout may differ slightly. If you cannot find something, type “font” or “text” into the search box (the magnifying glass icon) inside Settings.
Making text and icons bigger
Android:
- Settings → Display → Font size (on some phones Font size and style): increase the size of the text.
- In the same section, Display size (or Screen zoom) makes icons and buttons bigger too.
- If needed, Settings → Accessibility → Magnification lets you temporarily enlarge part of the screen.
iPhone:
- Settings → Display & Brightness → Text Size: choose the text size with the slider. Turning on Bold Text here makes the lettering thicker and clearer.
- If you need even larger text: Settings → Accessibility → Display & Text Size → Larger Text.
- Settings → Accessibility → Zoom: enlarge the screen by double-tapping with three fingers.
Do not make the text excessively large: in some apps it stops fitting. Try it out together with the owner and ask, “Which size is comfortable for your eyes?”
Brightness and volume
Screen brightness is adjusted in the panel that opens when you swipe down from the top. Brighter outdoors in the daytime, medium indoors. Turn the ringtone up with the buttons on the side of the phone, and in Settings → Sounds (Sounds & Haptics on iPhone) switch on vibration as well, so a call is noticed even amid the noise of the bazaar.
A simple home screen and simplified mode
Keep only the apps that are needed on the home screen: Phone, Messages, Camera, Gallery (Photos), Telegram or WhatsApp. Move the rest to a second page or into a folder, but do not delete them. Press and hold an app, then drag it where you want it.
Many Android phones have a simplified mode: on Samsung, for example, it is Settings → Display → Easy mode; other manufacturers call it Simple mode. It enlarges the icons and simplifies the home screen. On iPhone, Settings → Accessibility → Assistive Access does a similar job (in newer system versions). Ask the owner before switching these modes on: some people prefer the usual look.
The main tasks step by step
Learn each task on its own and repeat it several times. The names in the examples below are made up.
Making a call and saving a contact
- Open the Phone app with the green handset icon.
- Tap Keypad, dial the number and press the green button.
- To save the number: dial it → Create new contact (or Add to contacts) → type the name → Save.
Give the contact a clear name: “Laylo granddaughter”, “Doctor Rustam”, “Neighbour Salima opa”. There is no need to add a surname; what matters is a name the owner recognises.
Favourite contacts
Add the 4–5 people called most often to favourites. On Android, open the contact and tap the star; it then appears in Phone → Favourites. On iPhone: Phone → Favorites → the ”+” icon. Then making a call means tapping one photo or name instead of dialling a number.
Video calls: seeing the grandchildren
In Telegram: open the chat → tap the name at the top → Video Call. In WhatsApp: open the chat → tap the camera icon at the top. When a call comes in, press the green button or swipe up.
During a video call, hold the phone at arm’s length and at eye level, with the light in front of you rather than behind you. There are more tips in the article on video calls, and a short explanation of the term in the glossary. Connecting to the home Wi-Fi is also worthwhile: video uses a lot of data.
Sending a voice message
For many older people, speaking is easier than typing. In Telegram or WhatsApp, press and hold the microphone icon in the bottom right corner of the chat window, speak, then lift your finger and the message is sent. To cancel, slide left without lifting your finger. If Telegram shows a camera icon instead of the microphone, tap it once and it switches to the microphone.
Taking a photo and sending it
- Open the Camera app, hold the phone steady and press the large white round button.
- To send the photo, tap the paperclip icon in the chat → choose the picture → the send arrow.
Sending a photo from a grandchild’s birthday straight to the family group is a good incentive to learn.
Voice search and voice typing
If you tap the microphone icon on the keyboard and speak, the phone turns your speech into text. With the “Hey Google” assistant on Android and “Siri” on iPhone, commands such as “Call my granddaughter Laylo” also work. The assistant does not understand every language: if Uzbek does not work, try another language chosen in the phone settings (Russian, for example). Voice search is handy for checking the weather, the spelling of a medicine name or finding an address.
Following channels on Telegram
Many people get news, mahalla announcements and messages from government bodies through Telegram channels.
- Open Telegram and tap the magnifying glass icon at the top.
- Type the channel name and pick the official one from the results: it often has a verification mark next to its name, or its address is listed on the official website.
- Tap the Join button at the bottom.
- If the channel sends too many messages, tap its name and choose Mute.
Be careful: channels are full of announcements like “free money”, “you have won” and “today only”. Do not tap the links in such messages. For relatives interested in starting a channel of their own, there is an article on the Telegram channel.
Safety: protection from scammers
This is the most important section. Scammers often target people who are trusting and can be pressured into hurrying. The main rule is simple: any call or message that rushes you and asks for money or a code is a warning sign.
Never tell anyone an SMS code
An SMS code from a bank, Telegram or a government service is like the key to your house. Do not tell it to anyone: not a “bank employee”, not an “operator”, not a “postman”. A genuine member of staff will never ask for this code. If someone asks, hang up at once. This is the whole point of two-step verification (two-factor authentication): only you know the code.
”We are calling from the bank”
A made-up example: Karim bobo gets a call saying, “Money is being taken from your card; to stop it, tell us the card number and the SMS code.” The right response is, “Thank you, I will ring the bank myself”, then hang up and call the official number printed on the back of the card. If in doubt, ask the children or visit a bank branch.
”Your relative is in trouble, transfer money quickly”
A scammer may pose as a grandchild, a police officer or a doctor and say, “Your son has had an accident, send money now and do not tell anyone.” Sometimes such a message even arrives on Telegram from a relative’s hacked account. The rule: hang up and call that relative directly, using the number saved on your phone. Agree on a family “secret word” that only you know, and ask for it during a suspicious call. Tricks like these are called scams and phishing.
Unknown links
Do not tap links in messages such as “You have won a gift”, “Your parcel is on its way” or “Your account has been blocked”, and do not open files sent with them. If something seems doubtful, show the message to a relative. There is more in the article on online safety.
Screen lock
If the phone is lost, the photos, messages and banking app must not fall into a stranger’s hands. Turn on the screen lock: on Android, Settings → Lock screen (or Security); on iPhone, Settings → Face ID & Passcode (or Touch ID & Passcode). Choose a password (PIN) that is easy to remember but is not a birth year or “1234”. Do not write the code on a slip of paper and tuck it into the phone case.
Emergency contact and the SOS feature
In Uzbekistan the single emergency number is 112. You can add it to favourite contacts too. Many phones have an SOS feature:
- Android: Settings → Safety and emergency (Advanced features on some models) → Emergency SOS. It is usually triggered by pressing the side button several times quickly.
- iPhone: Settings → Emergency SOS. It works by pressing and holding the side button together with a volume button.
Enter emergency contacts here as well, for example a son or daughter. Once it is set up, talk the feature through together, but do not trigger it just to test a real call.
Tips for the person teaching
For a son, daughter or grandchild, the most important thing is patience. “How many times have I told you?” kills the wish to learn.
- One topic a day. Today only calls, tomorrow only voice messages. Too much at once gets mixed up.
- Write it down on paper. Describe each task in large letters, draw the icons and keep the sheet next to the phone.
- Let them tap it themselves. Do not take the phone and do it yourself. You only show and explain.
- Use simple words. Not “update the app” but “tap this green icon”. Describe icons by how they look rather than by name: “the handset”, “the camera”, “the paper plane”.
- Repeat. Answering the same question again and again is a normal part of teaching.
- Make mistakes feel safe. Reassure them: “Nothing will break, there is a back button.”
- Praise. Every successful call is a small victory.
If you live far away, you can still help over a video call by showing your screen, or by taking a photo of the right place on the screen and sending it.
Eyes and comfort
Looking at a phone close up for a long time can tire the eyes. Every half hour, put the phone down, look into the distance and rest. In the evening, lower the screen brightness and turn on night mode: on Android, Settings → Display → Night Light or Eye comfort shield; on iPhone, Settings → Display & Brightness → Night Shift. Do not stare at a very bright screen in a dark room. If discomfort with your eyesight persists, see a doctor: this guide does not give medical advice.
Example: Karim bobo and Laylo, a two-week plan
The example below is made up. Karim bobo is 75 and lives in Samarkand. His granddaughter Laylo studies in Tashkent and gave her grandfather a smartphone during the holidays. They agreed to practise for 20–30 minutes a day.
Week 1:
- Day 1: switching the phone on and off, setting text size and volume, simplifying the home screen.
- Day 2: answering a call and making a call.
- Day 3: saving contacts and adding 5 people to favourites.
- Day 4: revision; grandfather calls three people by himself.
- Day 5: reading messages in Telegram and sending a voice message.
- Day 6: taking a photo and sending it to the family group.
- Day 7: a rest and time for questions.
Week 2:
- Day 8: video calls, first in the same room, then Laylo calls from another room.
- Day 9: voice typing and voice search.
- Day 10: joining two official Telegram channels.
- Day 11: safety, covering SMS codes and a “call from the bank” game: Laylo plays the scammer and grandfather practises hanging up.
- Day 12: screen lock, SOS and emergency contacts.
- Day 13: overall revision and updating the steps on paper.
- Day 14: Laylo goes back to Tashkent, and in the evening grandfather makes the first video call himself.
The plan is not fixed: if a topic proves difficult, give it another day.
Common mistakes
- Teaching everything in one day. As a result, nothing sticks.
- Taking the phone and doing it yourself. The learner only watches and does not practise.
- Handing over the phone without setting it up. Small text and a quiet ringtone are disheartening from day one.
- Putting off safety. A scammer may call in the very first week, so explain the SMS code rule in the first few days.
- Installing lots of apps. The home screen becomes confusing and unnecessary notifications multiply.
- Writing the code where everyone can see it. The screen lock code should be kept separately, somewhere safe.
- Laughing or getting irritated. It plants the thought “I can’t manage this” in the learner’s mind.
Practice exercise and checklist
Exercise for the learner (with a relative beside you):
- Increase the text size on the phone by one step yourself.
- Save a new contact and add it to favourites.
- Call someone in your favourites.
- Send a voice message in Telegram or WhatsApp.
- Take a photo of a flower or a teapot and send it to a relative.
- Make a video call to a relative.
- Have your relative call “from the bank” and ask for a code, and you hang up.
Checklist for the learner:
- The text is comfortable for my eyes and the ringtone is loud.
- The people I need are in my favourites.
- I can make a call, send a voice message and a photo, and make a video call on my own.
- I never tell anyone an SMS code.
- If someone asks for money, I first call the relative directly.
- I do not tap unknown links.
Checklist for the person teaching:
- Text size, volume, brightness and the home screen are set up.
- Screen lock, emergency contacts and SOS are set up.
- A family “secret word” has been agreed.
- The steps are written on paper in large letters.
- Each topic has been repeated at least twice.
- They know where to get help if something is difficult.
Learning to use a smartphone is a process that brings a family closer together. As a next step, read the articles on the basics of digital literacy and on using government services online together.
If you would like to learn to use a computer and a smartphone systematically with a teacher, take a look at our association’s free computer literacy programme and other training programmes. When you are ready, submit an application and our specialists will get in touch.