During this COVID pandemic, the elderly are even more isolated as the risk of transmission and travel constraints limit their social interactions. This is particularly true when the elderly are not tech-savvy enough to independently use a smartphone or the Internet to interact with others in real-time.
This is a short writeup about how I enabled grandma to see her grandkids remotely with little to no expertise required of her. While there are multiple options for younger smartphone users, there were a number of technical and usage challenges facing grandma:
- Grandma is older and in a high risk category for Covid, limiting physical interaction
- Grandma would like to safely see and speak to relatives and friends, many of them may also be in a high risk category, therefore physically isolated
- Grandma is not very tech savvy nor on any social media platforms
- Grandma is in a remote location hours away from any hands-on technical help. Visiting to trouble-shoot the technology is not an option and close in-home contact with others may pose additional unnecessary Covid risk
- Grandma has an internet connected PC but does not know how to setup a video chat application or camera
- Grandma does not own nor know how to use a smartphone
- Grandma does not have good hearing and uses a hearing aid, so any communication device would need to be loud enough for her to hear
- Grandma does not always want to boot up a computer to have someone call her
- Grandma’s internet/cable connection was spotty and unreliable
- Grandma’s wifi connection was using dated wireless technology
Trade-offs in Technology
Ideally we have a system that addresses all of the above in a simple manner that enables grandma to speak and SEE her grandchildren in the safety of her own home. In this article I leverage two simple devices to enable grandma to stay connected. It can also be used to visually connect elderly to their friends while maintaining CDC recommendations of social distancing. Before going over the solution, we considered these options:
- Flying to visit grandma and setup an always on, stand-alone video camera
- Teaching her to use a smartphone or tablet and use a video application
- Setting up a stand-alone video camera on her internet connected PC
- Dedicated video connected device — “Smart Display”
For multiple reasons, I went with the “Smart Display”, which was setup without increasing the Covid exposure risk to Grandma or us. The options above are not mutually exclusive but we will only cover the “Smart Display” approach in this article.
Easy to Use, Cheap, Fast — choose 2
There are risks with any technology targeted for the elderly. The most common is their lack of technical competency to properly use the product. A product that is too difficult to use will not be used. Many current video calling products have too many functions and features that make it difficult for the elderly. Some of the complications include:
- Unintuitive User Interfaces enabling advanced options that are never used
- Low Volume or not Hearing Aid compatible
- Difficult gestures required, e.g. swipe, press-and-hold, control-alt sequences on keyboard, hover with mouse, etc..
- Fault intolerant — e.g. if the power goes out, the system may need to be manually reset
- Constant need for software updates and manual configuration or intervention
- Not always on — a laptop needs to be on to receive calls
- Lack of control over privacy — an always on camera does not allow grandma to decide when she wants to engage with others
- No simple visual connection to the remote party — enabling you to easily see each other is part of the magic of Internet access
I optimized for ease of use (“good”) and fast to setup and test. There was some cost involved but fairly nominal if this system successfully enables reliable video calling and safe social interactions.
Solved— Mobile Hotspot with Google Nest Hub Max
To address the internet connectivity while enabling video conference, I sent grandma two devices:
- A mobile internet hotspot (stand-alone device that has wifi and cellular connections)
- A Google Nest Hub Max (stand alone “Smart Display” device that is video-call enabled)
The connections and interactions are described below. Only one “Smart Display” is required, the other remote caller can be on any Google Duo enabled device.
Mobile Hotspot Device
A mobile hotspot is a small standalone device that enables internet connection via Wifi and leverages a mobile network for the internet connection. Many smartphones already have this capability, called “Personal Hotspot” or similar. While you can use an older mobile phone to mimic this same functionality, I chose to use one of the following to simplify the setup. A mobile hotspot can be bought with the service or bought used from online marketplaces for, at the time of this article, < $100. The below are some mobile hotspots that I acquired, many used, to ensure I had a hotspot that was compatible with all the mobile networks I was considering (AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon) along with MVNO mobile plan I would be using:
- AC797 for AT&T (and unlocked for use with MVNO’s)
- Franklin T9 for T-Mobile (and unlocked for use with other MVNO’s)
- Verizon Jetpack Mifi 8800L (and unlocked for use with GSM and other MVNO’s)
Using a dedicated mobile hotspot instead of an old mobile phone gives me the following benefits:
- Simple for grandma to set up (Just power On)
- More stable and fewer required updates (unlike mobile phone OS’s)
- Little interest from others to play with it and “optimize behavior”
- Small and always on, always powered (if plugged into AC power)
- Can be easily sent to Grandma via standard shipping
- Relatively low cost mobile internet connection (especially if using a MVNO)
- Can be easily tested from the safety of your home
- Can be easily moved to a new location (e.g. office) and tested
Drawbacks of using a Dedicated Mobile Hotspot
There are also some drawbacks with using a mobile hotspot versus a mobile phone hotspot or even an existing internet WiFi access point. I list them below but ultimately felt the simple remote setup was worth the time and effort. There are two aspects that I prioritized — simple for grandma to setup and use and simple for me to test.
- Risk of poor Mobile connectivity at grandma’s house. This could be an insurmountable obstacle and furthermore cannot be easily tested without being at grandma’s house. You should not continue this approach without understanding the risk of poor mobile connectivity at grandma’s house.
- Potential cost of using a mobile hotspot could be a factor but many ordinary data Phone plans from Mobile Virtual Network Operators are becoming more affordable. Occasionally modems are locked to a network operator but I have found many modems to be unlocked and suitable for use with MVNO phone data plans. If you run out of monthly mobile data limits that means grandma is likely using the network, which can be seen as a good outcome.
- Reusing her existing WiFi connection was an option but testing this connection would be difficult if I was remote. While I can set up a similar access point at home with the same password as at grandma’s house, there would still be additional risk in making it work. I felt the risk was not worth the effort.
- Mobile Phone hotspot can be easy for me to set up and test at my house but difficult for grandma to replicate. She would have to turn on the phone and ensure the phone would work as expected, always be charged, not reconfigured and no one would try to change the settings. This would be a good option for those who do not want to buy a cellular modem/hotspot. I felt a mobile phone with a configured hotspot was too complicated and also too tempting for others to interact with.
While having a second internet connection seems excessive, grandma’s internet connection was also unreliable and her wifi access point was using relatively dated technology. Both of these issues limited the usefulness of video calling and were addressed by sending a pre-configured mobile hotspot. Finally, being able to get this working without any in-person technical support, was a huge advantage of this approach.
Google Duo and Google Home Nest Max
A “Smart-display” is a video camera and video calling enabled internet device. For grandma I chose a Google Nest Hub Max to enable simple video calling via Google Duo. The below are some benefits of using a the Google Nest Hub Max, or similar dedicated Video-capable “Smart-display” device:
- Always on
- Automatic updates
- Simple Touch Interface to RECEIVE calls
- Easy to test and setup remotely (reduce in person contact)
- Small and easy to ship (greater importance during Covid)
- Easy to setup at grandma’s house by just plugging in (ease of setup)
The only main limitations I could determine was that callers must have a Google Duo account or app, which is somewhat less common than other video-enabled applications. Nonetheless, the device was meant to enable some of grandma’s grandchildren to connect and see her and that was the motivating factor for using this device. While I could have used a different Smart-display, the overall cost, simplicity and ease of use for grandma was the overriding factor in my decision to go with a Google Home Nest Max. Note there are other similar named Google devices but ensure the device is video calling enabled, the Google Nest Hub Max is one such “Smart Display ”.
Setup and testing at my House or Office
The setup was meant to be tested at my house and then sent to grandma’s house. The setup was relatively simple for someone relatively tech savvy. The main benefit of this approach was ease of setup once the package arrived at grandma’s house. The high levels steps are as follows:
- Setup a Google Duo Account for grandma on a laptop or temporary mobile phone or tablet and call it from your Google account using Google Duo. This ensures you can call grandma using Google Duo. This does not require a mobile device as it can be replicated with just two laptops and two different Google accounts. A Google Duo account is free and can be used to initiate video calls to other Google Duo accounts.
- Purchase and set up a mobile connection device (“Mobile Hotspot”). This requires a mobile connection subscription but many are available. I did not have to get a mobile hotspot dedicated service plan. I used a regular mobile data plan in the mobile hotspot device. I have multiple mobile hotspots and I could try my existing mobile phone plan/sim before actually sending out the mobile hotspot to grandma. This can be replicated by using a Mobile Hotspot, but for the reasons above, I used a dedicated mobile hotspot. I also verified the mobile hotspot could be always plugged in to AC power, so it would not rely on the battery for power.
- Setup Google Nest Hub Max using a temporary internet-capable device. More concretely, this meant I logged in as grandma on a smartphone to Google Duo and set up the Google Nest Hub Max as if I was grandma. The Google Nest Hub Max must be set up and configured with the mobile connection and grandma’s google account. The volume button Google Nest Hub Max was turned up so that grandma could easily hear the remote callers. For those worried about mobile network bandwidth usage, I also set the Google Nest Hub Max background screen default to a CLOCK setting to minimize the cellular data usage as the default is to show photos or other rich media. You can repeatedly test this connection and ensure the Google Nest Hub Max and temporary setup device is only using the mobile connection to the internet. I also did not use the “OK Google” voice key prompt to keep things simple but relied purely on touch interactions.
The main idea is that the Google Nest Hub Max and mobile hotspot can now be isolated from your home network and you can test it as if it was at grandma’s house. The temporary tablet or laptop does not need to be sent to grandma and can be reset to factory settings once you are done with the Google Home Setup. It is only used to setup the account and do some basic testing of Google Duo connections before acquiring the Google Nest Hub Max. Once you confirm this works, the set up comprising two devices, the mobile hotspot and Google Nest Hub Max, can now be sent to grandma.
Replicating calling a remote Google Nest Hub Max
Once you are comfortable with making Google Duo calls within your house from your Google Duo account to grandma’s Google Duo account you can do the following testing:
- Unplug the Mobile Hotspot (turn off the power)
- Unplug the Google Nest Hub Max
- Power off the temporary smartphone with grandma’s Google Duo account
The idea is to simplify the setup for grandma. Now wait several minutes, then everything should continue to work when you do the following:
- Plug into a power outlet and turn on the Mobile Hotspot. The hotspot should now be using AC power.
- Plug in the Google Nest Hub Max. The Google Nest Hub Max should now automatically connect to the mobile hotspot.
Before Packaging and shipping to Grandma
Once you have confirmed the setup works in your home, you can do the following to ensure everything goes well when it gets to grandma:
- Bring the Mobile Hotspot and Google Nest Hub Max to another location, away from your home internet, to test the setup. For example, bring it to another house or office and plug in the devices. You should now still be able to call grandma’s Google Duo account from your Smartphone using your Google Duo account.
- Turn up the volume on the Google Nest Hub Max to ensure grandma can hear incoming calls.
- Set the Google Nest Hub Max background to something simple such as a clock and configure it for grandma’s location. This will ensure it minimizes any unneeded data consumption via the mobile hotspot. Many Smart Displays have options to show photos on the device but I opted not to set that up but could be useful and a nice touch but it is more complicated.
- Configure the mobile network plan account to your email address and retain the password. Many mobile plans from ATT, T-Mobile, Verizon or other Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNO’s) require a text to the mobile plan to verify you are in possession of the SIM and data plan. This allows me to log in to the account, see data usage and renew the mobile plan with my credit card.
Ship and Setup at Grandma’s
The setup should be very simple and fingers crossed, should work. This is a difficult setup but definitely worthwhile if you can arrange and easily set up remotely at grandma’s. Once grandma has the package, call her over the phone walk her through these steps:
- Plug in the Mobile Hotspot to AC power, then turn on the Mobile Hotspot (‘ON’ button)
- After 1–2 minutes, plug in the Google Nest Hub Max to AC power. Once power is available, it starts automatically and connects to the Mobile Hotspot.
Once the Google Nest Hub Max shows the correct time of day on the display, it is now connected to the Internet via the mobile hotspot. There could be some issues with this step if the mobile network connectivity is poor at grandma’s house. In the case of poor mobile network connectivity, you have few options other than physically going to grandma’s house and setting up a reliable Internet service or using another mobile carrier for the mobile hotspot. Assuming the mobile network is reliable at grandma’s house, finally you can call grandma from your Google Duo!
When you call grandma, she will have to accept the call on the Google Nest Hub Max, ensuring she has control over when to take video calls. The accept call option on the Google Nest Hub Max is a simple touch of the touch screen and will allow grandma to easily and safely see her grandchildren.
Conclusion
While these steps may seem complicated, these steps are all well documented and can be easily replicated using slightly different devices. You can, for example, send a recent but unused mobile device to serve as a mobile hotspot. You can also use another “Smart-display” to do video calling but I optimized for grandma’s ease of use and setup. Given the unique nature of Covid and the lack of social interaction, there are limited safe options to keep grandma connected to her remote family and friends. I hope you can use this article and techniques to safely stay connected to the ones you love during Covid.
