The Setup You’ll Do Over Christmas (and Fix Again by Easter)
Your parents want to video call the grandkids. Maybe they want to see photos without squinting at a phone. Or maybe you just want them to stop calling you about “the email that says they won a cruise.”
Either way, you’ve got an old iPad or Samsung tablet sitting in a drawer, and you’ve got a parent or grandparent who could actually use it. The hardware is free. The setup takes an afternoon. The tech support calls will last forever.
I’m kidding. Mostly. The trick is getting the initial setup right so there’s less to go wrong later. Here’s how to do it properly.
Pick the Right Old Tablet (Not All of Them Work)
If you’ve got multiple old tablets lying around, pick carefully. Grandparents need a tablet that’s old enough to be free but new enough to still run the apps that matter.
iPads: Anything running iOS 15 or later is solid. iOS 14 works but some apps are starting to drop support. iOS 12 or 13? FaceTime still works, but you’ll hit walls with other apps. Check by going to Settings > General > About and looking at the software version.
Android tablets: Android 10 or later is your sweet spot. Android 8 or 9 will handle the basics (video calls, photos, weather) but the Google Play Store will increasingly refuse to install newer app versions. Samsung tablets tend to hold up better than budget brands because Samsung actually pushed updates.
The honest answer: If the tablet is more than 7 years old, it might cause more frustration than it solves. A sluggish tablet that freezes during video calls isn’t a gift. It’s a punishment.
Strip It Down Before You Hand It Over
The single biggest mistake people make is handing over a tablet with 47 apps on the home screen. Your grandparent doesn’t need Garage Band. They don’t need the Stocks app. They definitely don’t need whatever games your kids installed three years ago.
On iPad:
- Delete every app they won’t use. Long-press, tap Remove App, Delete App. Be ruthless.
- Move the remaining apps to one screen. Nobody needs to swipe between pages to find FaceTime.
- Turn off the App Library (or at least explain that it exists, because they will accidentally swipe into it and panic).
On Android:
- Uninstall everything non-essential. Settings > Apps > tap the app > Uninstall.
- Use a simple launcher if the default home screen is cluttered. Simple Launcher is free and shows big icons with text labels. It’s designed for exactly this situation.
- Disable Samsung’s Bixby if it’s a Galaxy tablet. Your grandparent does not need a voice assistant popping up when they accidentally hold the wrong button.
The home screen should have somewhere between 6 and 10 apps. That’s it. If you can see the wallpaper between the icons, you’re doing it right.
Make Everything Bigger
This is the step most people skip, and it’s the one that matters most.
On iPad:
- Settings > Display & Brightness > Text Size: drag it up. Way up.
- Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size > Bold Text: turn it on.
- Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size > Larger Accessibility Sizes: turn this on too if regular large isn’t enough.
- Settings > Accessibility > Zoom: turn it on. This lets them double-tap with three fingers to zoom into anything.
On Android:
- Settings > Display > Font size and style: crank it to the biggest option.
- Settings > Display > Screen zoom (or Display size): bump it up at least one notch.
- Settings > Accessibility > Visibility enhancements > High contrast fonts: turn it on if available.
While you’re in Accessibility settings, also bump up the touch-and-hold delay. Older fingers sometimes linger on the screen and accidentally trigger long-press menus. Set it to “Long” and save everyone some confusion.
Set Up Video Calling (The Whole Reason You’re Doing This)
For most families, this is the point. Grandparents want to see the kids’ faces. Everything else is a bonus.
If your family uses iPhones and iPads: FaceTime. It’s already installed, it’s simple, and the call quality is good even on older hardware. Make sure they’re signed into their Apple ID and that FaceTime is turned on in Settings. Add your contact (and the grandkids’ contacts if they have devices) to Favorites so calling is one tap.
If it’s a mix of Apple and Android: Google Meet or Zoom. Both work on old tablets, both are free for basic calls.
- Google Meet is simpler. Install it, sign them into a Google account, and show them the “New meeting” and “Join with a code” buttons. That’s all they need.
- Zoom is what they’ve probably heard of. The interface is busier, but if Grandma already knows “join a Zoom,” don’t fight that muscle memory.
One critical step: Do a test call before you leave. Sit in another room and call them. Let them answer it. Let them hang up. Do it twice. The first time they’ll fumble. The second time it clicks. If you skip this, your phone will ring at 9 PM with “the screen went black and I can’t find the button.”
Set Up the Photo Stream
After video calling, photos are the thing grandparents actually want a tablet for. A big screen showing pictures of the grandkids beats a 6-inch phone every time.
For Apple families: Set up a Shared Album in the Photos app. You add photos from your phone, they appear on the tablet automatically. Go to Photos > Albums > tap the + > New Shared Album. Add your parents as subscribers. Show them where to find it.
For cross-platform families: Google Photos works on everything. Create a shared album, invite them, and new photos show up on their tablet. The free tier gives you 15 GB, which is plenty for years of grandkid pictures.
The photo frame trick: If you want the tablet to cycle through photos on a table or shelf, turn on the screensaver/display feature. On iPad, go to Settings > Display & Brightness > Auto-Lock > Never (while it’s plugged in), then use a slideshow app or just open the album and start a slideshow. For Android, Google Photos has a “Slideshow” option built in, or you can use an app like Fotoo that turns the tablet into a dedicated frame.
We’ve got a full guide to digital photo frames if you want to go deeper on this.
The Essential App List (and Nothing More)
Here’s what to install. Notice how short this list is. That’s on purpose.
- FaceTime / Google Meet / Zoom – video calling (pick one, not all three)
- Photos / Google Photos – pictures of the grandkids
- Weather app – the built-in one is fine
- A news app – Apple News (iPad) or Google News (Android). One source of news. Not four.
- YouTube – they’re going to watch YouTube whether you install it or not, so install it and set the text size to large in YouTube’s own settings
That’s five apps. Maybe six if they want email. Resist the urge to install more. Every app you add is another thing that can confuse them, send notifications they don’t understand, or ask them to create an account they’ll immediately forget the password to.
Handle the Password Problem
Write down every account and password on a physical piece of paper. Not in a notes app. Not in an email. On paper, in a drawer they know about.
- Apple ID / Google account email and password
- WiFi network name and password (they will need this when the router resets)
- Any app-specific passwords
Yes, password managers are better. No, your 78-year-old grandmother is not going to use one. Meet people where they are.
Lock Down What Needs Locking
You’re not childproofing. You’re scam-proofing.
- Turn on automatic updates so the tablet stays patched. On iPad: Settings > General > Software Update > Automatic Updates. On Android: Settings > Software Update > Auto download.
- Install an ad blocker for the browser if possible. Safari on iPad doesn’t support extensions on older iOS versions, but you can at least turn on Settings > Safari > Block Pop-ups and Fraudulent Website Warning. On Android, Firefox with uBlock Origin is your best bet.
- Set up Find My (iPad) or Find My Device (Android) in case the tablet goes missing.
- Talk to them about scam texts and emails. The tablet itself can’t prevent social engineering. A five-minute conversation about “if it says you won something, it’s a lie” does more than any software.
Before You Leave: The Three-Minute Lesson
Don’t give a 45-minute tutorial. They won’t remember any of it.
Teach exactly three things:
- How to make a video call (open FaceTime/Meet, tap the person, done)
- How to look at photos (open Photos/Google Photos, tap the shared album)
- How to get back to the home screen if they get lost (press the home button, or swipe up from the bottom)
That’s it. They’ll learn the rest by poking around, and they’ll call you when they get stuck. Which they will. That’s fine.
The Long Game
The real goal isn’t setting up a tablet. It’s keeping someone connected. A grandparent who can see the kids’ faces on a Tuesday evening, who can flip through photos of the school play, who can check the weather without asking anyone for help. That’s independence. That’s dignity.
And if they call you once a week because “the screen is doing something weird”? That’s just another excuse to talk.
