Is there an alternative to the Jitterbug phone?

Does he not have a landline? It seems as though a "regular" phone might be the easiest thing for him to handle and speak into right now.

I agree with BarbBrooklyn above, a landline is the best for someone to use. Plus the voice quality is soooooo much better than that of a cellphone or Smartphone. Much easier to use.... phone rings, one picks up the receiver... and no charging the phone :)

My mom has a landline with phone numbers of family that are programmed into the phone. At her SNF they have to dial “9” to make a phone call. The phone she has makes it easier.

You can also get landline phones where you can put a small picture of the person next to their speed dial button.

Linda, that's a great idea. Do you recall the brand and/or name and model no. of the phone?

First Alert makes one, as does RCA. Google "Big button landline photo phones"

This hits a nerve--
Mother lives in brother's home. He decided to go "all cell phone" for everyone in the family. Mother has what is considered the "best" cellphone for Srs....nope, she just can't use it! Can't answer it, can't call...nothing. One of the kids programmed the #'s in that she'd need and she still cannot seem to remember the "gentle touch and swipe" use of these devices. Gets a call and has a meltdown trying to answer.
She begged me to talk brother into reinstalling her landline. I guess he refused, and I can't override him on this b/c their internet, etc is all bundled with a major company and only he can make changes.

Also, one thing I've noticed--mother's eyesight is not great, and she always has sticky or dirty fingers--so her glasses, her phone, her TV's are all covered in guck. The touch screen will not work if you are trying to maneuver through gunk. I always clean her glasses and her TV's (I don't know why she has to touch those screens!) and her phone.

I love my landline. It ALWAYS works, The clarity and such are great, Personally, I know the world of high tech beyond my grasp, and I do have and use a smartphone, but we will always have a landline.

Barb, thanks. I'm checking it out now.

MyKid58 - Does your brother have POA or any other thing that would keep YOU from having a landline installed for your mom and paying for it, or having the payment come out of her bank account if she has one? I understand he wants the "bundle price", makes sense. However, doesn't he care enough about his own mother to help her with this issue?

Midkid, we still have a landline, although nearly everyone calls us on our cells. It's my FIL who calls us on the landline so we keep the line for his calls. The sound is better, there's no chance of calls dropping and with 3 handsets, at least one is always charged.

Cell phones are horrid for so many elderly people. My mom sometimes forget to charge it, and then when she charges it, it's still powered off. She can see the big buttons but can't read the tiny text on the screen. And to get the volume loud enough for her to hear means loud for the people around her. I can't imagine midkid's mom having to deal with a touchscreen.

Acquired a jitterbug cell phone.
Also have a landline without long distance.

Neither is perfect, but I am managing better now.
Especially if dH requires searching out at 10 p.m., was off at 9 p.m., or maybe not, and I have become a parking lot sitter once again.....

Place a plastic card between the opening to assist.  It just isn't a one-handed phone, imo.
Rickety speakers too.
Then, I keep placing my fingers over the hole and they cannot hear me.
Where does one hold these things anyway?

I keep imagining the cell phone flying out the car window someday soon.

Got same problems with my parents at AL...they can't operate their cells but won't get land lines. I think they like caring their phones around with them, maybe it makes them feel important and still in control of something in their life. I would hate to have to sit in my room to wait on the phone to ring but it seems more frustrating to not be able to get the phone open or operate it. My mom has a jitterbug and is always turning the volume down with her fingers when she's talking to me.

Consumer Cellular is recommended by the AARP for seniors .

I had to put the landline back in for DH, AT&T now has some cheaper rates available - and I got DH a CaptionCall phone for free! The sound quality is awesome.

Also, his son brought him some Delta Over-the-Ear "buds?" and it plugs into my iPhone and has been a blessing! Phillips makes them too - https://goo.gl/images/2oXYjD
is the link to share the image.
thegate.boardingarea.com/review-billboard-earbuds-delta-air-lines/old-delta-air-lines-headphones/

There should be a jack on the Jitterbug and then you will only need to show him how to put the earphones on. They fit over the hearing aids and DH is able to have a conversation with them on. He still prefers the receiver on a landline but sometimes we still use the headphones. I bought another 2 pair at eBay 'just in case.'

There is Jitterbug Smart which is not a flip phone. Also, Alcatel Big Easy, either flip or not.

Constant issues with a cell phone vs. the high cost of a landline?
Here is what I did....

AT&T was able to give my Mom what they call 'wifi landline.' With this set up, Mom can have her regular cordless phone in her room at the nursing home with the addition of a wifi modem AT&T will send you, at the same cost of a cell phone! No one has to go connect it and charge you for that as it is easy to do yourself.

Previously, her landline was around $45 only with local calls. Her cell phone was $20 with calling all domestic numbers except Alaska, Hawaii and some US islands.

Now, the 'wifi landline' is the exact cost as the cell phone was!
No more problems with turned off cell, forgetting to charge cell, losing cell, and me having to go almost everyday to resolve the issue.
She is happy now to have returned to her well-known "landline."
Check it out with AT&T....WIFI LANDLINE.

PS: Insist on speaking to a supervisor if the customer service person does not know what you are talking about. I shared this miracle with a friend for her Mom who is also at the nursing home, and it took her 3 calls to AT&T before someone was able to know about this new system.

If the facility isn’t set up for each room to have individual landline accounts to be activated & billable, then landlines are out & not an option.

I was told by my moms 2nd NH that they 86’d phones for a litany of reasons as residents..... left them off the hook..... used others phones..... ran charges up..... didn’t pay phone bills. If they wanted a phone, then they or thier family would need to arrange for getting their own cell phone or could use the phone in the cubby adjacent (& visible) to the nurses station. I don’t know how common this is but there may not be many options.

For so many in a Nh & on Medicaid, they do not have any extra $ to pay for a phone. If their monthly personal needs allowance is $35 or $50 or $ 60, a phone could use all of it at best. Then it becomes what’s a better use of thier limited $.... having mom get her hair done regularly or dad going to the barber regularly at the on premises beauty/barber shoppe or having funds available for an outing or the canteen at he facility OR a phone. 

Yes, Igloo, I forgot to add a very important point...thanks for the reminder:

The resident who was previously in my Mom's room had a phone jack installed into the room. Many rooms have one and others do not (you have the luck of the draw on this one!). So, when I got around to getting my Mom her 'wifi landline' there was already a phone jack in the wall so I did not have to pay to install it. All I had to do was to connect the small wifi modem to that line in order to decrease the monthly cost. Of course, AT&T always gives you the option off installing a phone jack in the wall should be able to take that cost on as a one-time payment.

However, I do pay for my Mom's $20-25 'wifi landline' monthly as I placed her number in my family plan. In this way, she does not have to diminish her monthly income and can get haircut, etc. with her funds. I can take that monthly amount on, but not $45 to $50 for a real landline or the one-time cost of installation for the phone jack.

My late husband was never able to manage a cell phone, even though he was relatively young and in good health when he got his first one in 2004. So we always had land line until he died. I think periodically of giving up landline, but my cell is a different area code and I don't think I can remember a new number.

Verizon also offers a home wireless system that uses a landline phone plugged into your phone jack. It's called Verizon Home Phone. My in-laws have it, and it's only $19.99 a month; including tax, it's $25.51. That's for unlimited calling. Not sure if it includes international. Look at vzw.com. They even kept their old phone # and moved the phone back & forth to their winter home in FL with the same #.

Check with his provider and see if Mom can getca landline in her name. This should not effect his buddling. She must get SS so the bill can be paid out of that. If they can't do it see about another provider.

Something to remember about cell phones only in homes - power failures. Earlier this year my father's community was w/o power for a little over 4 days. I had to find temporary shelter b/c of his oxygen equipment, but had he been home and relied solely on a cell phone, and had a newer phone w/ higher battery usage requirements, he might have been w/o phone service.

That's one reason why I wound never rely on cell phones alone.

What I like about landlines is that if I call 911, it automatically shows up on the dispatchers screen my name and address. Too many time when one is in a panic or a friend is visiting that they forget the address of the residence.

My sig other has a new Smartphone for the first time. I told him since it recognizes his finger print, if we are in a situation where I didn't have my own cellphone, I couldn't use his phone to call for help. Guess if he needs 911 medical help, I could try all of his fingers to see which one would open up his phone :P

One thing with landline old fashioned telephones is that the use of such a phone is ingrained in the elders brains.

My Dad tried the portable land-line phone but he would forget to put it back into the charger :(

FF, I'm laughing as I see you holding your SO's hand, finger by finger, touching the phone, rolling over the fingers as if he's being fingerprinted, hoping each one will connect!

Another problem with cell phones is that in older homes they tend to travel and explore...one day they just disappear and wander through the whole house before they turn up months later. Vagabond, traveling phones are not what I need!

Another problem I've had is calling 911 when I'm out of the area. When my house was burglarized, I stood outside my house and called 911. I got a community about 30 miles to the SE and the dispatcher refused to put me through to my local PD.

For me, cell phones are worthless for emergencies unless I also have the specific PD/EMS numbers.

So now I keep the local PD's number in my emergency contacts list b/c that's the only way I could get through quicker than going into the house if I came home to another burglary.

I got my mom the Verizon wireless landline setup also. Inexpensive and she can still use the old fashioned land line phone that plugs into it. She lost the ability to use her flip phone about a year ago, and as other folks said, it would go missing, not charged, etc.

Answer=Get him a new landline phone with large buttons that "speaks" the numbers dialed. My legally blind late mother owned one that could be programmed. Legally blind=central vision loss.