The Questions Readers Ask Us Most

For most readers, the iPhone 15 if your family uses iPhones, or the Google Pixel 8a if they use Android. Full comparison in our buying guide.

From Apple's own certified-refurbished store, yes. From third parties, careful. The full skeptical version.

Manufacturers stopped including them around 2020. Buy a 20-watt USB-C plug separately. What's in the box.

iPhones get about 6 years of updates; new Pixels get 7; new Samsungs get 5–7. Plan to replace every 4–6 years.

Settings → Display & Brightness → Text Size, push it up. Then turn on Bold Text. Then if needed, Larger Accessibility Sizes. Full walkthrough.

FaceTime if everyone's on iPhone, Google Meet for Android, WhatsApp for mixed. The three-app guide.

Blue means both sides have iPhones (iMessage). Green means at least one side is Android. Both work; iMessage has more features.

Mute it. Nobody else can tell. Check it twice a day on your schedule. Full survival guide.

Open the photo, tap the share icon (square with up arrow), pick Messages, pick your daughter, tap Send. More photo questions answered.

Plug the phone into the computer with a USB cable, the computer asks if you want to import photos, say yes. For wireless, both iPhone (iCloud) and Android (Google Photos) sync automatically once configured.

Hang up. If you think it might be real, call the company back at their official number. Eight red flags.

If you didn't enter any information after clicking, almost certainly nothing. If you entered a password, change that password immediately on the real site. If you entered a credit card, call the bank. Don't click any further links the same message offers.

Three random words plus a number is stronger than most "complex" passwords. Different password on each important account. Write the important ones in a notebook at home. Full password piece.

A six-digit code texted to your phone in addition to your password. Turn it on for email, bank, and your phone's main account. Explained without jargon.

Find My on another device, lock it remotely, call your carrier, call your bank. The five-step plan.

Yes, when you've installed the bank's real app and set up Face ID or fingerprint to open it. Safer than online banking on a desktop.

Yes. Tap-to-pay through the phone is safer than handing your card to a stranger because the merchant never sees your real card number.

Through your bank's bill pay, not through each utility company's AutoPay. Keeps you in control. Bill pay piece.

Settings → your name at top → Subscriptions (iPhone) or Play Store → profile → Payments & subscriptions (Android). Review periodically; cancel what you don't need.

Open the App Store (iPhone) or Play Store (Android), search, tap Get or Install. Verify the developer is the real company (Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., not "WellsFargoApps").

So you can decline if it shouldn't need it. The general rule: does the app obviously need this for what it does? If not, say no. Permission categories explained.

Both phones can do this automatically overnight on Wi-Fi. Turn on auto-update in App Store / Play Store settings.

Hold a finger on the app icon until it jiggles (iPhone) or a menu appears (Android), then tap the small X or "Uninstall."

Call a trusted family member. Failing that, your nearest public library probably runs free tech-help sessions for seniors. Remote help options.

Yes, with screen sharing on FaceTime or Google Meet. Screen sharing piece.

Make the text bigger. Adjust the day-one settings. Set up the calendar app. Don't try to learn everything. Most readers who get good with their phones do it over a year, not a weekend. Start with the things you actually want to do, ignore the rest, and let the rest come slowly as you need it.