What are the best cell phones for an elderly person with dementia?

gladimhere, my parents confuse the phone with the tv remote, too.
They also believe the cordless phone is a cell phone and try to take it with us when we go out out in the car.

Use a landline.

No to cell phone unless you can get one like she has now. My nom never woyld have been able to figure out a cell phone, and has not been able to use a land line for about three years now. Confuses phone for tv remote nearly always.

My mom was "suckered" in buying a G4 cell phone from Verizon. She has no clue how to use it and is trapped by a contract. She is 89 and has no clue and can't understand on how to use it. Is there anyway that we can get her out of the contract or at least get her something that she will be able to use?

Another we need to think about before buying a cellphone for an elder, will they remember to charge it?

I had given my Dad a portable landline phone but 9 times out of 10 the phone was dead because Dad never remembered to put it in the cradle. Which I could understand as elders never had to "charge" a regular landline phone.

My husband had not had a cell phone prior to his dementia, but he did manage to learn (sort of) to use the simple Jitterbug phone. Someone who already knows how to use a cell phone would have an advantage. There are now a handful of other brands specifically aimed at this market segment. Search for Cell phone for seniors.

Do you think this is a better option than a landline in her room?

My husband used his when he could still run errands on his own on his scooter. I'd make sure it was on. Go over the directions again for using it, put it in his pocket at hope for the best. If he wasn't home "on time" I'd call him twice (it took him that long to get the phone out of his pocket), he'd answer, I'd ask how things were going and whether he finished his errand, and he'd tell me that his errand went well and he decided to stop on his way home for a Dairy Queen. :) The scooter gave him an exhilarating sense of independence, and the phone gave me some reassurance. I think he called me once on it. Also, we each had our phones when we got separated at a very crowded state fair and I was able to call him and figure out where he was from descriptions of the surrounding food vendors. :)

Your loved one's needs are a little different than out, but simple is good!

Use that phone which they can handle easily.

Phones and dementia just don't work out. You may find some gizmo, phone, I pad etc, spend hours setting it up and teaching mom and dad but it won't stick. My Dad has dementia and can dial 911, maybe. Mom does not have dementia but at 85 she just cannot adjust to her new, very simple cell phone. She turns it off and can't remember how to turn it on. Or she has somehow turned the ringer off or turned the volume down too low. It just drives me nuts.

I tried it with my mom when she was kind of losing it. I don't know if it was her stuborness or dementia. I'm sorry. They are just not 'wired' that way.

Jitterbug worked for a while for my mom, but she eventually lost the ability to dial correctly and it was upsetting. We cancelled the monthly billing but left it nearby so she would not worry that it was gone, and I gave it to the nursing home to use for someone else after she went to a hospice facility.

If a person who is not cognitively able to understand a contract is suckered into one, SOMETIMES you can talk to management and get it cancelled, sometimes a call to Better Business Bureau or Atty General will get it done, but not always. If not, maybe someone else can use the phone and get her something much simpler on their plan if they have the flexibility.