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Technology Help

Technology can be confusing because it is often badly explained. You are not expected to know everything. We can go one step at a time.

Everything here works the same way on tablets and iPads — a tablet is a phone with more room.

Which of these sounds like today?

My phone has changed

That’s completely understandable — phones update themselves from time to time, and things can look different afterwards. Nothing has been lost, and it isn’t anything you did. Updates keep the phone safe; they sometimes move the furniture.

  1. Take a slow look at the screen. Most of your apps are exactly where they were — often only the colours or shapes have changed.
  2. If an app seems to be missing, swipe the screen left and right. Apps sometimes shuffle onto the next page.
  3. Still can’t see it? Swipe down from the middle of the screen and type the app’s name in the search box that appears.
  4. Once you find it, you can leave it where it is — or ask a family member to put your favourites on the first screen together.

You should see your familiar apps again, perhaps wearing a slightly new look.

I don’t know what this button means

You’re not alone in feeling this way — phone symbols are rarely explained anywhere. Here are the ones that matter most, in plain words.

  1. A gear or cog ⚙️ means Settings — where you change how the phone behaves, like text size and volume.
  2. A little house, or swiping up from the very bottom, takes you Home — your safe starting point, always.
  3. An arrow pointing left ← means Back — one step backwards, nothing lost.
  4. Three short lines ☰ mean Menu — a hidden list of choices. Three dots ⋮ mean “more options”.
  5. A magnifying glass 🔍 means Search. A cross ✕ closes whatever you’re looking at.

Next time one of these appears, you’ll know it’s just a signpost — not a trap.

I need help with email

Email is like sending a letter that arrives in seconds. Nothing is sent until you press Send, and reading a message can never cause any harm.

  1. Open your email app. The Inbox is where new messages wait — like your doormat.
  2. To write one, look for “Compose”, “New”, or a pencil symbol ✏️.
  3. In “To”, type the person’s address — the one with the @ in the middle. In “Subject”, a few words about what it’s about.
  4. Write your message in the big space, then press Send.
  5. If an email from a stranger asks for anything at all, it’s fine to simply delete it.

After sending, the message quietly files itself away in “Sent” — your proof it went.

I want to understand passwords

A password is the key to your own front door online — that’s all it is. It proves you are you.

  1. Three random words joined together — like TulipCarpetOtter — make a strong password that’s easy to remember.
  2. Give your email and your bank their own passwords. Those two doors matter most.
  3. Writing passwords in a notebook kept safe at home is perfectly sensible — far better than using one password everywhere.
  4. No genuine company will ever ring or email to ask for your password. Anyone who does is not genuine.

When a screen asks for a password, it’s simply asking “is this really you?” — nothing more suspicious than that.

I’m worried about pressing the wrong thing

Many people feel this — and here’s the truth that helps: modern phones are built for wrong presses. Exploring cannot break the phone, and almost everything can be undone.

  1. Remember your two safety nets: the Back arrow ← undoes a step, and going Home is always safe.
  2. Nothing involving money ever happens from one accidental tap — payments always ask you to confirm, usually more than once.
  3. If a pop-up appears that you don’t like the look of, pressing ✕ or Home costs you nothing.
  4. Try this today, just once: open any app, look around, and press Home. That’s practice — and practice is how confidence grows.

The more you press, the more the phone becomes yours. Curiosity is safe here.

I need help updating something

Updates sound technical, but they’re simply the maker posting improvements and security fixes to your phone. Saying yes to them keeps you safer.

  1. When the phone offers an update, it’s fine to choose “tonight” or “later” — you’re allowed to pick the moment.
  2. The easiest habit: charge the phone overnight while connected to your home Wi-Fi. Most updates then happen by themselves while you sleep.
  3. Apps update through the App Store (iPhone) or Play Store (Android) — look for the word “Update” and tap it.
  4. An update may take some minutes and the phone may restart itself. That’s normal — no need to press anything while it works.

Afterwards everything is where it was, occasionally with a fresh look — and the phone is safer than it was yesterday.

The screen keeps asking me about cookies

Those pop-ups puzzle almost everyone. Cookies are small memory notes a website keeps — like a shopkeeper remembering your usual order. They are not viruses and they can’t read your files.

  1. When a cookie box appears, look for “Reject all” or “Only necessary” — a perfectly good choice, and the site works fine without the rest.
  2. If the box is confusing, pressing “Accept” is not dangerous — it mainly means the site may remember you and show tailored adverts.
  3. The main thing: the pop-up is routine, not a warning. Answer it either way and carry on.

Once you’ve answered, the box goes away and the page behaves normally.

An app is asking for permission

Apps must ask before using your camera, microphone or location — that pop-up is your phone protecting you, not accusing you.

  1. Ask one question: does the request make sense for what the app does? A photo app asking for the camera — sensible. A torch app asking for your contacts — say no.
  2. “Don’t allow” is always a safe answer. If the app truly needs it, it will simply ask again when you use that feature.
  3. You can change your mind any time in Settings ⚙️ under “Privacy” or “Apps”.

The app carries on working; it just can’t use the thing you declined.

The writing on the screen is too small

You’re far from alone — phones arrive set up for young eyes, and nobody tells you it can be changed. It can, in under a minute, and it stays changed.

  1. Open Settings — the gear symbol ⚙️.
  2. On an iPhone or iPad: tap “Display & Brightness”, then “Text Size”, and drag the slider to the right until it reads comfortably.
  3. On an Android phone or tablet: tap “Display”, then “Font size” or “Display size”, and do the same.
  4. While you’re there, you can also make everything bolder — look for “Bold Text”.

The words grow as you move the slider — set it wherever reading feels effortless. This is your phone; it should suit your eyes.

I need to get on the Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi is simply the internet in your home, sent through the air from a little box called a router. Connecting is a one-time job — the phone remembers it forever after.

  1. Find the sticker on your router box — it shows the Wi-Fi’s name and its password.
  2. On the phone or tablet, open Settings ⚙️ and tap “Wi-Fi”.
  3. Tap your Wi-Fi’s name in the list, type the password from the sticker exactly, and tap “Join” or “Connect”.
  4. In a café or a relative’s house, the steps are the same — ask them for the Wi-Fi name and password.

A small fan symbol 📶 appears at the top of the screen. That’s you, connected — from now on it happens by itself at home.

I want to make a video call

A video call is simply a phone call where you can see each other — one of the nicest things a phone can do, especially with family far away. An app that does it is very likely on your phone already.

  1. The common apps are WhatsApp (on most phones), FaceTime (on iPhones and iPads), and Zoom. Any one is fine.
  2. The easiest first go: ask a family member to video-call you. When the screen lights up, tap the green answer button — that’s the whole job.
  3. Hold the phone out at arm’s length, or lean it against something steady, so they can see your face.
  4. To call them another day: open the app, tap their name, then tap the camera symbol 📷.
  5. To finish, tap the red button. If the buttons vanish mid-call, one gentle tap on the screen brings them back.

Their face on your screen, your face in a small corner window — and that’s a video call.

I want to take and share photos

One of the happiest things a phone can do — and you can’t get it wrong. Photos sit quietly on your phone until you decide otherwise; nothing is ever shared unless you share it.

  1. Open the Camera app — the icon looks like a little camera. Point the phone and tap the big round button. Taken and saved, all by itself.
  2. Take plenty — ten of the same flower is normal, and deleting spares later is allowed.
  3. To look at them, open “Photos” (or “Gallery” on some Androids) and swipe sideways to browse.
  4. To send one: open the photo, tap the share symbol — a square with an up arrow ⬆️ on iPhone, three joined dots on Android — choose WhatsApp or Messages, pick the person, send.

Their reply, usually. Grandchildren treasure an out-of-the-blue photo of the garden more than they ever admit.

I want this app on my home screen

Good idea — this gives Kindred Compass its own button on your phone, like any other app, so you never have to type an address again. It’s a one-time job, and a lovely thing to do together with a family member.

  1. Open Kindred Compass in your phone’s web browser (you’re probably there now).
  2. On an iPhone or iPad, in Safari: tap the share symbol — the square with an arrow pointing up ⬆️ at the bottom — then scroll the list and tap “Add to Home Screen”, then “Add”.
  3. On an Android phone or tablet, in Chrome: tap the three dots ⋮ in the top corner, then “Add to Home screen” (some phones say “Install”), then confirm.
  4. Press your Home button. There it is — the little compass, ready whenever you need it.

A compass icon labelled “Kindred Compass” on your home screen. One tap opens it from now on.

I need help with my computer or laptop

Good news first: almost everything you know (or are learning) about phones applies to computers too. The internet is the same internet — email, websites and passwords all work the same way, just on a bigger screen. And the same golden rule holds: you can’t break it by looking.

  1. Closing things is always safe. Look for the ✕ — top-right corner on Windows, top-left (a red dot) on a Mac. Closing a window never deletes your things.
  2. If the computer freezes or misbehaves, restart it — the Start menu (Windows) or the menu (Mac), then “Restart”. It’s not defeat; it fixes more problems than anything else.
  3. Can’t find a file or photo? Use search: the magnifying glass by the Start button on Windows, or press the ⌘ and space keys together on a Mac, then type what you’re after.
  4. When it offers an update, that’s the maker keeping you safe — “tonight” or “when I shut down” is a fine answer.
  5. And everything in our other guides — email, passwords, cookies, safe browsing, scams — works exactly the same on a computer.

A machine that behaves — and the quiet knowledge that closing, restarting and searching are always safe moves.

Staying safe while browsing

Browsing the internet is like window-shopping — looking is safe. A few calm habits keep it that way.

  1. Type website addresses yourself, or use your own saved bookmarks, rather than clicking links from messages.
  2. Stick to names you know — the BBC, the NHS, your bank’s own site, shops you already trust.
  3. If a page shouts at you — flashing warnings, prizes, “your phone is infected!” — close it with ✕ or press Home. Those pages are adverts dressed as alarms.
  4. Never feel you must download something a website insists on. Genuine sites don’t insist.

A calm page that lets you read at your own pace — that’s what normal looks like.

Would you rather talk it through? The Guide Finder can explain any of this at your pace.

Try the Guide Finder instead

One clear next step

Choose the one situation above that matches today, open it, and try the first step only. One step is a real win — you can stop at any point.

Did you give it a try?

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