Staying close
If getting your mom or dad on a video call has become a weekly struggle, you're not doing anything wrong, and neither are they. Here's what actually works, from simplest fixes to the one that removes the phone entirely.
You just want to see their face. But the call turns into a phone lesson: "Tap the green button. No, the green one. Now hold it up so I can see you." By the time it works, the moment's gone, and you both feel a little worse. If that's familiar, you're in good company. Millions of families hit this exact wall.
Every video app was designed for someone with sharp eyesight, steady hands, and no trouble with menus and passwords. For an aging parent, one call quietly asks for a dozen small skills at once:
Add arthritis, low vision, a tremor, or memory changes, and any one of those steps can end the call. The problem was never their willingness. It's that the tool asks too much.
Turn on the largest text and highest contrast, delete every app you can, and put one big "Call [your name]" shortcut right on the home screen. Some phones have a "simple" or "easy" mode built in. This is free and can be enough, if they can reliably find and unlock the device.
Some tablets are made for older adults, with big buttons and auto-answer for approved callers. Better than a regular tablet, but it's still a small screen they have to find, charge, and hold, and charging and "where did I put it" are where these often fall apart.
Here's the shift that changes everything: instead of teaching them a new device, use the one they already know. A small box connects to almost any TV and turns it into a video phone. You call from your normal phone, and it appears on the big screen, often answering by itself. No unlocking, no holding, no tapping. They just look up and there you are.
The television is the one screen almost every older adult is still completely comfortable with. It's big, it's bright, the sound is loud enough, and turning it on is already a habit. Meeting your parent where they already are beats moving them to a device built for someone thirty years younger.
That's the whole idea behind HomeTogether. It plugs into the TV your parent already uses, and family video calls come right to the screen, no smartphone needed on their end. A privacy shutter physically covers the camera when no one's calling, so it only ever sees them during a call they're part of. For families spread across the country, it turns "we should really call more" into something that actually happens.
HomeTogether brings family video calls to the TV your parent already uses. No smartphone, no tapping, no lessons. $99/month, free shipping, 30-day money-back guarantee, cancel anytime.
See how HomeTogether works →Skip the phone. Use the TV they already turn on daily. A TV-based device like HomeTogether puts your call on the big screen and can answer on its own, so there's nothing for them to unlock, tap, or hold.
Regular apps assume good vision, steady hands, and comfort with menus and passwords. For someone with arthritis, low vision, or memory changes, that's a lot of small steps, and any one can end the call. Removing the steps is what fixes it.
Yes. A small device connects to almost any TV and turns it into a video-calling screen. You call from a normal phone app, and it appears on the TV, often answering automatically.
This guide is general information to help families stay connected. Product details reflect HomeTogether at the time of writing.