Had the father inlaw who has dementia wander off the other morning without his phone and no breakfast for 2 or more hours which required a bit of driving around to find him. I have a family tracking app on his phone (Life360, this works awesome and basic functions are free) but that is no use when he does not take his phone with him (he really does not have a use for a phone as he calls no one).
So now moving to plan B and looking at getting a 4G smart watch instead to keep track of him. He is a watch wearer and likes to look at the time so this is something he will always take. Any recommendations.
The mains specs it needs are:
- Mobile connection (4G) - as tracking communication must work when he forgets to take his phone.
- Android App - my partner and I only have Android phones, and my MacBook to check his location.
- GPS - for location tracking
- Long battery life and low battery alert - Not much use if it goes flat all the time, he is not going to remember to charge it unless he gets reminders
- Easy to charge - needs a magnetic connection charger, even I have trouble getting the plug in my Garmin Instinct, he does not need that issue
- Waterproof- he will wear it in the shower like he does with his current watch (also probably good to wear in shower encase he falls in shower), my cheap Amazfit Bip had its screen fall off from during a hot shower :( .
- Fall Alarm - encase he falls over in the shower or comes off ebike
- Geofence - so we know when he has left our property or his retirement village
- SOS - handy if he can easy contact us when in trouble. No sure if he would remember this feature.
Other features that maybe of interest:
- Phone Calling/Voice Message - It would good if he could call us if needed on his watch when he does not have his phone.
- Background noise listening - might be good to work out what he is doing, and check he is not purchasing a 3rd iPad from the mobile shop this year.
- Inactivity Alarm - need a reminder to keep that body moving
- Pill reminder -
I have had a look around and read reviews. Sounds like the elderly do not like wearing tracking pendants (don't blame them) or just forget to use them so I think a watch is the best way to go.
The dementia specific watches look like high priced cheap Chinese smart watches and have poor battery life and are not waterproof, or have subscriptions i.e. https://awesomegadgets.nz/gadgets/autism-dementia-alzheimer-…
So, I am thinking a cheap Chinese elderly smart like
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004194057085.html?spm=a2…
Or going for a Samsung Galaxy Watch LTE or Apple Watch SE which have a lot of features he does not need, but these options should be reliable and have a longer battery life.
Any recommendations?
I think your stumbling block will be the battery life. With GPS enabled I think 1 day, maybe 2 at a stretch is about the max you will get.
The trick will be as you say to get one that he can simply put in it's charger/dock overnight so it's ready to go each morning.
I would go for an apple. Especially if he knows his way around an ipad. OS will be vaguely similar. You might regard this as a bad thing if it means he fiddles with it.
You could grab a second hand series 1 or series 3 for a trial run at least.
That way you are only down $150 to $250 and if it doesn't work out no problem to resell for the price you paid.
If you prefer android I'm sure samsung has a similar deal on older generations second hand.
As an alternative and if he is likely to be at a number of regular locations how about a straight bluetooth tracker?
If he always takes a wallet one of those slips in easily.
You don't get the wide tracking of GPS of course, but with something like an apple airtag or Tile you can get community searches to help find him when out of bluetooth range.
No battery life problems. You can get a year out of them.