The latest issue with DHin hospital, can you help?

[Toorapid]

People have been so helpful.

He's still in hospital, still very confused but a bit more lucid if you catch him at the right time.

However, he's managed to lock himself out of his iPhone.

The McMillian nurse, who admitted IT is not her thing, says it's asking for his Apple ID. I don't use Apple and haven't a clue. DS1 has managed to get into his apple account using some guesswork, but to unlock it needs to get into his work emails, which none of us can do.

DH has his work laptop with him, a week ago he was using it and checking emails from his hospital bed, but now doesn't seem to be able to open it. He's getting very cross with himself because he can't make it do what he wants.

So our only way to contact him is via the bedside phone, which is extortionate and most annoyingly has a long message,which you're paying for, before you even get put through to the phone. Plus we can't send him texts etc. Which has been a way to let him know we're thinking of him (whether he knows it or not) when he hasn't been well enough to talk.

Any ideas how we get this phone unlocked?

There are two types of six digit code it can ask for. One is the normal pass code (used to be 4 digits on the old phones but 6 is more secure)

The second reason we get asked for a six digit code is when you try to log into a “new” phone/iPad with the appleID. When this happens you get a message to the pre-set method, which can be an email address.

For data protection reasons work won’t auto forward all his messages to a different email, this would potentially cost them a lot in fines.

I would ask his company’s IT team to set up a forward rule. If an email comes in from the Apple email account for the verification (which you might have to find out) the rule forwards that email to another email address (yours). If IT are good, they should be able to look at his inbox and pick up the sending email address to enable them to setup the rule.

Then, when the message arrives at his email it will get to yours an£ could then be typed into the iPhone by PALS.

If he hasn’t locked himself out (10 attempts usually for the pin) he might just be able to use his fingerprint on the home button (round one at the bottom). Usually it’s your dominant hand, thumb or index finger most people use. He could try that. I’m so sorry you are having such problems

The least complicated option is a new phone with just your number in it.

Then I would think a staff member could press the buttons for him.

I think a work related locked iPhone is not a good use of your time.

Sorry OP. When are you allowed to go in? I know different hospitals are operating different rules.

In my trust its free calls to landlines, there is a number linked to the bedside phones that you can use once you have it, hope you get sorted.
As a HCA I spend alot of time ensuring communication between families. It definately helps the patients.

Hmm, the McMillian nurse told me it was asking for a 6 digit Apple ID, but his Apple ID is an email address and the password is more than 6 digits

That's probably the passcode to unlock the ipad, I have an email address for my Apple ID, a password when I want to buy an app and then a passcode to unlock the ipad when it's locked to prevent access - it's either a passcode or a fingerprint depending on how he's set it up.

Get him a cheap PAYG phone and a SIM card. You could do a 30 day rollomg one like VOXI so it gives you a certain amount of data, minutes and calls a month for £10 or £15 so you don't need to worry about when it runs out of credit.

I've got DPs old Samsung smart phone I think it's an A5 or A6. The back camera is a bit cracked but other than that it works okay and I think its unlocked to any network, I could post it to you and you could set it up for him xx

Those 6 digits will have been mailed or texted to him, or else sent to another device (pita because it sometimes sends them to ones that are defunct). That's what he will need access to his email for.

If he's in hospital he needs another phone that's cheap (second hand will do) with an unlimited data contract on a PAYG basis. Otherwise the data will use up really quickly. I think you can get some with unlimited for about £30 per month.

Bedside phonecalls are free to 01 02 03 and mobiles. If its a hospedia unit. I have sent a link. This info does come up on the tv screen if its turned on and its just a regular phone. One of the ward based staff should be able to help. A visiting mac nurse may not be familiar with it. He will also have a dedicated bedside phone number if you want to call him and it lights up when calls come in. Someone may need to help him set up the unit with his ward name, bed number l, hospital number or date of birth.

I'm sorry you are in this situation but you seem to be accusing the staff of keeping a dying man from his family, which is grossly unfair.
On my ward we have 2 phones, one is a cordless phone which can be taken to patients if family phone and we have an iPad for facetime. Having a bedside phone i'm assuming your husband may be in a single room, is it all single rooms. Maybe they dont have a phone to take to the bedside or an ipad for patient use, have you asked.

We're not all tech savvy. I'm sure at least one staff member will have tried to help, it would be heartless not to, and you would be pretty unlucky to have 100% of staff not willing to help.

In your shoes I would just get a PAYG mobile for him. I could be wrong but I don’t think it matters if he runs out of data as you can still ring him. And I wouldn’t bother with a Lock Screen or anything. It could go missing it if it is only a cheap phone it shouldn’t be that attractive for theft and will stop the problem happening again if he is struggling to remember things.

Order a giff gaff sim tonight & get another phone / the monthly bundles are cheap-I use £6 or £8 per month & it's good

No one wants extra techy stress right now so go for the easiest option. Hope your dh is doing ok

I've found an old handset. No idea if it works, have put it on to charge to find out.
He can use hospital wifi, assuming someone will help him put the password in, although atm, I'm not sure what he'd use it for.

What on earth to do about his work is my next headache. Last week he was hoping to continue wfh once he got home from hospital.

How do I find out if my old phone is unlocked, I.e will work with a Giff Gaff sim?

Sounds awful, and so much to deal with. It is definitely the seemingly smaller things that break you when under stress.
When a relative of mine had a urine infection he was hideously confused, and just not able to function. Once the infection was under control, the improvement was incredible.

Here’s hoping you get the phone working, and find a better solution for you all.

try a couple of sims in it first to see if they can connect

OP giffgaff have a page where you can check this

www.giffgaff.com/unlock

I find them good.

I did wonder if your DH would be better with a non smartphone though.

From your previous thread, I didn't think he would return to work for a while, doesn't he need more recuperating time?

Until the beginning of last week he was immobile, but himself in every other way and hoping to continue wfh for a while (as he put it, he won't be able to do much else) but that seems a pipe dream now, although we obviously hope the infection will resolve and he'll go back to how he was.

Thank you, I'll have a look at that link.

I don’t there is anything the staff can do if it’s asking for a security code. Could you go and pick all the tech up if you have passwords and have a look at it? I must admit I’d be tempted to buy a new one. If you have an Apple device yourself you could try logging into his Apple account and see what email etc is registered. You could load his account onto your phone maybe and you have the payg?

His Apple ID (usually email address)and password maybe automatic. If he signs in using the email bit, password may appear as asterisks below it. Or try keychain. Could be there. If not Apple Support.

Good luck, even the FBI couldn’t break into someone's phone without Apple.

OP just sending you lots of love . Recognise this scenario many many times with confused/very very ill patients whose families need me to open their iPhone and can’t . Very difficult all round and must even be more so now with covid . Definitely recommend a cheap simple mobile, wed have always tried to work to find a solution .

I can't help about the phone problem but I am sure you will be able to learn on the hospital website or via Pals what the system is for people such as your husband 're communication during these difficult times; ward staff/Macmillan are maybe not the best point of contact. I am very concerned that you are worrying about his work obligations; they surely just need to be told he is very ill, is this a problem?

The code it will be asking for may be one that comes up either via iCloud on his laptop or on another Apple phone or iPad if he has one.

Mine asks me for a code that comes up on my iPad sometimes if I have reset my Apple ID password. It will look like this photo.

They know he's very ill, they don't know he won't be back

@Toorapid

Ok, so it's his pin he needs and he should be used to putting that in every time and now he can't remember it, doesn't even know what it's for

DS locked himself out of an iPad once by mistyping the pin a few times and somehow resetting it then not remembering the new number . We ended up having to reset the entire iPad and it took weeks for DH to sort out

If he has reset his access pin number somehow, this is NOT an easy fix ..When my elderly mother with dementia and bad arthritis was in hospital , we bought her a basic dumb flip phone . She could easily answer it by ust opening it and she could read texts though that was more tricky for her. She couldn't send text but she could dial me and my sister as we programmed our number so that dialing 1 was my sister and 2 was me