Simple mobile phones for 80+ year old mum

[Angrymenopauser]

My mum would like to be able to send text messages - she has a very old clamshell mobile that she can make or receive calls with only and it’s quite complicated for texting,
Any recommendations for a simple phone that’s easy to use and text, she doesn’t want a contract ? Thank you

A few years ago I bought my mum the Doro smart phone but she couldn't manage it. I thought it was too complicated for her but I think it was her fading cognitive abilities. I bought this one recently but she couldn't manage it.

www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07Z6BW6GC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?psc=1&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&ie=UTF8

I'd look at Doro, on pay as you go. Do you just want text, ie no Internet, not a smart phone?

I've got one of these, OP. I have no interest in phones, and it's really easy to send and receive texts - it's the only phone I have, and I have it with me all the time. It is battered and bruised, as I ran over it with my bike, but it still works fine.

The other thing would be to use a suitable launcher / interface on an old phone, if you have one that works.

I got my mum a Doro clamshell non-smartphone and it wasn't too bad - very bright clear keypad.

We tried to keep her on the small Nokias she was used to, but the buttons were too small and the colour contrast too poor.

The Doro 6030 clamshell is easy to use, but you have to use the phone keypad for texting, it doesn’t have an onscreen full alphabetic keypad, so you’re back to “hit the a 3 times to get c”.

My mother is 91 and had an old Nokia until last year, when she bought herself an iPhone and has taken to it really quickly. Mainly just texting and calls, but she's now into WhatsApp groups and Facebook. Sometimes they surprise us.

My mum has the Doro 6030 and flatly refuses to move to anything else. She can text pretty well on it - I hadn't even considered she was having to do the 'press the number 1 3 times to get a C' thing until you mentioned it @MereDintofPandiculation!

It definitely is an attitude rather than age thing (my Mum is only in her early 70s and has always been like this with tech). During the lockdown I helped various people in their late 80s and early 90s get on line to be able to contact their families; one now does regular Facebook Messenger video calls with a friend on Australia.

It definitely is an attitude rather than age thing (my Mum is only in her early 70s and has always been like this with tech). Well, up to a point. My father has always been at the leading edge of technology in his field, but in the last few years his abilities have been declining, First his computer started to "have a mind of its own" and he lost the ability even to start an email, then his phone "started playing up". He was still deemed to have capacity and was living in his own home, doing his own shopping and what passed for cooking.

The doro looks good but I don’t know whether she’d manage to text with the phone buttons / might give it a try though - thanks all

Ooh the art form looks good too !

my parents have old style Nokias

it's what they've always had and they don't need internet

if your mum isn't using internet that might be the best option? They don't really text but use their phones to call for cabs sometimes.