What is the best phone for someone with dementia?

It depends on what they can still do. For someone who still uses their smartphone, simplifying it is often enough. For someone who can no longer manage a normal smartphone screen or answer calls, dedicated phones such as the RAZ Memory Cell Phone (one screen of picture contacts, hidden keypad, auto answer) or KISA (physical buttons, no screen) are designed for that.

Can I make a normal Android phone dementia-friendly?

Yes, in most of the ways that matter. Use Easy mode (Samsung) or Simple View (Pixel) for the screen, put key contacts on the home screen, set Emergency SOS to touch and hold, block unknown incoming callers in the Phone app, and use an outgoing call blocker to limit repeated calls and calls to unknown numbers.

How do I stop a parent with dementia from calling scammers back?

Blocking incoming calls doesn't stop it, because they dial the number themselves. Block all outgoing calls except a short list of allowed numbers, or set the phone to ask before calling, so a number from a pop-up or a text won't go through on the first tap.

Are emergency calls affected by these settings?

No. Common emergency numbers can't be added to NoDial, and any call Android recognizes as an emergency call always goes through. Emergency SOS set to touch and hold still calls for help; it just needs a deliberate press.

What if they turn the restrictions off?

With NoDial, settings can be put behind a 4-digit PIN lock, and switching off blocking for a number takes effect only one hour later. There is no remote management yet, so changes are made on the phone itself.

Does this work on an iPhone?

NoDial is Android only. On an iPhone, Screen Time lets you choose who can be contacted in Phone, FaceTime and Messages; see Apple's help page for the current steps.

Family & seniors

Phone for Dementia: Buy a Special Phone, or Set Up the One They Have? (2026)

NoDial Editorial ／ 2026-11-1214 min read

When a parent or partner with dementia starts struggling with their phone, the first search is usually for a "dementia phone." There are good ones, built around picture buttons, a hidden keypad and caregiver controls. But many of the problems families describe (too many options on the screen, calling the same person over and over, calling back a number from a scam message) can also be handled on the Android phone the person already knows. This guide covers what makes a phone dementia-friendly, what dedicated dementia phones actually do, how to set up an existing Android phone step by step, and when buying a dedicated phone is still the better choice.

NoDial: Block Outgoing CallsBlocks calls to numbers you choose

NoCall: Blacklist Call BlockerBlock unwanted calls before they ring.

This article is written for family caregivers and describes settings on phones and apps as of November 2026. It is not medical advice. If a change in phone use comes with new confusion, distress or a sudden change in behavior, contact the person's doctor or care team.

1. The short answer

For many families, simplifying the phone the person already uses can be quicker than teaching them a new one. A familiar Android phone can get a larger, simpler home screen, the people they call most on that home screen, a safer emergency button, and limits on outgoing calls. A dedicated dementia phone is the better choice when the person can no longer manage a normal smartphone screen, needs calls to be answered automatically, or keeps calling emergency services, or when a family member who lives elsewhere needs to change the settings from their own phone.

KEY POINT

Start from the problem, not the product. "The screen is confusing," "they call me twenty times a day" and "they called back a scam number" have different fixes, and only some of them need a new phone.

2. What makes a phone dementia-friendly

Use this checklist for any phone, dedicated or not:

Few choices on the screen. Large icons and text, and only the apps that are actually used.
The right people, one tap away. The people they call most, shown by name (and, on dedicated phones, by photo) instead of a keypad.
Calls only where they should go. Fewer calls to old contacts, wrong numbers or strangers.
A pace for repeated calls. Calls to family stay possible, but not twenty in an hour.
No calling back scam numbers. A number from a pop-up, a text or a missed call should not be one tap from being dialed.
Emergency calls always work, and are hard to start by accident.
Unwanted incoming calls are filtered. Especially private and unknown callers.
It is still their phone. Familiar is easier than new, and a phone that feels taken over is more likely to be refused.

3. Dedicated dementia phones: what they do

These three phones come up when you search for a phone for dementia. Each one solves part of the checklist above.

RAZ Memory Cell Phone

Built for people living with dementia. According to RAZ's user guide, the screen shows contacts as pictures with names (six by default, expandable to fifty), and the keypad is hidden unless the caregiver turns on "Show keypad," so by default the person can call only the people shown, plus 911. A caregiver manages the phone's settings from the RAZ Care app on their own phone, including:

Control repetitive calling: a limit on how many calls the person can make over a period the caregiver chooses.
Quiet hours: times of day when calls to chosen contacts are not placed; the person hears an announcement instead.
Limit incoming calls to contacts and an allow list, an optional call confirmation screen, and auto answer.
911: reachable through an Emergency 911 button, a 911 contact or the keypad, with a confirmation step when the 911 button or contact is pressed. RAZ also sells an optional emergency service aimed at people who call 911 repeatedly, where a private dispatcher answers and up to three caregivers can be sent a text.

Jitterbug Flip2 and Jitterbug Smart4 (Lively)

Phones made for older adults rather than for dementia specifically, often recommended in senior phone roundups. The Flip2 is a classic flip phone with large buttons; the Smart4 is a smartphone with a simplified menu system and is compatible only with Lively's own plans. Urgent response features are optional extras on Lively's service.

KISA Phone

An Australian phone with no screen at all: contacts sit on large physical buttons that can show a name or photo, with a separate mechanical SOS button. KISA describes it as most useful from the early through the moderate stages of dementia, and the phone ends non-emergency outgoing calls after 15 minutes.

What these phones have in common is that they are simple from the start, and on RAZ and KISA a caregiver can change the settings remotely. What they ask in return is a new phone to learn, and a new device and service to buy.

4. Setting up the Android phone they already have

The steps below follow the checklist in order, from the lightest change to the strongest. Do them together with the person where you can.

Step 1: Make the screen simpler

Samsung Galaxy: Settings → Display → Easy mode. Samsung says it enlarges icons, fonts and spacing. Samsung's guide lists the Galaxy S24, S25, S26, Z Fold, Z Flip and A series.
Google Pixel: Settings → Accessibility → under "Quick Access," Simple View → Use Simple View. It enlarges text and icons, simplifies the home screen and the three-button navigation. If you turn it on during the phone's first setup instead, Google says it also adds shortcuts for Contacts, Clock and Weather, a high-contrast wallpaper, a 4x4 app grid and locked suggested apps.

Then remove apps they no longer use from the home screen, so the phone shows only what they actually open.

Step 2: Put the right people on the home screen

Clean up the contact list first: delete old numbers and duplicates, and keep the people they really call. On a Samsung phone, Samsung's guide describes a Contacts page on the home screen: swipe across the home screen to open it, tap Add, and choose the contact. On a Pixel, turning on Simple View during the first setup adds a Contacts shortcut to the home screen.

Step 3: Set up Emergency SOS so it helps, not surprises

On Android 12 and later, Settings → Safety & emergency → Emergency SOS starts emergency actions when the power button is pressed five times or more. Google offers two ways to start: an automatic five-second countdown, or touch and hold inside a red circle for three seconds. If accidental emergency calls are a worry, the touch-and-hold option asks for a deliberate action while keeping emergency help available. Google notes that Emergency SOS doesn't work in airplane mode or with Battery Saver on. Menus on Samsung and other brands can differ, so check the phone's own settings.

Step 4: Filter unwanted incoming calls

In Google's Phone app, tap More → Settings → Blocked numbers and turn on Unknown. Google says this blocks calls from private or unidentified numbers. Before turning it on, remember that some legitimate callers also hide their number. More options are in how to block unknown and private numbers on Android.

Step 5: Limit outgoing calls

This is the step Android's everyday settings don't cover. Google's call blocking only declines calls coming in. The built-in options for outgoing calls are blunt: Fixed Dialing Numbers (FDN) limits calls to a list stored on the SIM and needs the SIM's PIN2 code, whose default depends on the mobile operator, and call barring, where the carrier supports it, blocks whole categories such as all outgoing or all international calls. Neither can pace repeated calls to one person. An outgoing call blocker on their phone fills that gap. With NoDial, for example, you can:

Limit calls to one number to a set count per hour, day, week or month (for example, two calls an hour to a daughter), with a notice that says when the next call is allowed.
Block a number at set hours on chosen days, for example overnight.
Block all outgoing calls except up to 20 allowed numbers, which keeps calls to family and known services and stops calls to strangers.
Ask before calling a chosen number, with a 10-second wait before the call can go through.
Put settings behind a 4-digit PIN lock, so changes need the PIN. Switching off blocking for a number also takes effect only one hour later.

Common emergency numbers can't be added to NoDial, and any call that Android recognizes as an emergency call always goes through. NoDial doesn't block incoming calls, and it doesn't yet offer remote management: settings are changed on the person's phone itself. For details on setting a per-number limit, see Parent With Dementia Keeps Calling? What Helps, and for every way to restrict calls (carrier, basic phones, Fixed Dialing Numbers), see How to Restrict Outgoing Calls on a Parent With Dementia's Phone.

5. Calls to scammers: the part most guides miss

The scam protection we found, on dedicated senior phones and in Android's own call blocking, works on calls coming in. But many scams only work if the person calls out:

One-ring calls. The FCC says that for these callers "the goal isn't always getting you to answer. Sometimes, it's getting you to call back." See Wangiri (One Ring Scam).
Tech support and fake renewal scams. The FTC describes fake pop-ups that urge you "to call a phone number to get help," and fake renewal notices that ask you to call within 24 hours. It notes that real security warnings "will never ask you to call a phone number."

Blocking incoming calls does nothing against these, because the person dials the number themselves. Two outgoing settings do help:

Only allowed numbers. If every outgoing call is blocked except family and known services, a number from a pop-up or a text simply won't connect.
Ask before calling. A pause before a call goes through gives a moment to stop. See how to get a confirmation before calling on Android.

6. Dedicated phone vs. their own phone

	Dedicated dementia phone (e.g. RAZ Memory)	Their own Android phone, set up
Learning something new	A new phone and a new screen	The same phone, simplified
Calling the right people	Picture buttons; keypad hidden by default	Contacts on the home screen; outgoing calls limited to allowed numbers with an app
Repeated calls	Control repetitive calling, quiet hours (RAZ)	Per-number limits and set hours with an app
Calling back scam numbers	Hidden keypad limits it on RAZ	Allowed numbers only, or ask before calling, with an app
Unwanted incoming calls	Limit to contacts and an allow list (RAZ)	Block unknown callers in the Phone app
Managing from a distance	Yes, from the caregiver's app (RAZ, KISA)	Changes are made on the phone itself
Auto answer	Yes (RAZ)	Not covered in this guide
Emergency calls	Dedicated button; optional emergency service	Always allowed; Emergency SOS with touch and hold

7. When a dedicated phone is the better choice

A normal smartphone screen no longer works for them. A phone with physical buttons and no screen (KISA), or a single fixed screen of pictures (RAZ), may be easier to manage.
They need calls answered for them. Auto answer on RAZ answers incoming calls automatically on speaker, so a call connects even if they can't press the Answer button.
They call emergency services repeatedly. Emergency calls must never be blocked on any phone. A service such as RAZ's optional emergency service is designed for exactly this situation, and it's also worth asking the local emergency line how they handle repeated calls from a person with dementia.
The settings need to be changed from somewhere else. If no one is nearby to adjust the phone, a phone managed from the caregiver's own app is the more practical choice.

8. Keeping their phone, not taking it away

A phone can be how a person with dementia stays in touch, and replacing or removing it can feel like losing that. The Alzheimer's Association and the Alzheimer's Society both describe repeated behavior as coming from memory loss or anxiety, and suggest responding to the feeling behind it. A light restriction that was agreed together ("two calls an hour, and I'll call you at six") may be easier to accept than a phone that suddenly stops working. Start with the smallest change that solves the real problem, and add more only if it's needed.

9. FAQ

What is the best phone for someone with dementia?: It depends on what they can still do. For someone who still uses their smartphone, simplifying it is often enough. For someone who can no longer manage a normal smartphone screen or answer calls, dedicated phones such as the RAZ Memory Cell Phone (one screen of picture contacts, hidden keypad, auto answer) or KISA (physical buttons, no screen) are designed for that.
Can I make a normal Android phone dementia-friendly?: Yes, in most of the ways that matter. Use Easy mode (Samsung) or Simple View (Pixel) for the screen, put key contacts on the home screen, set Emergency SOS to touch and hold, block unknown incoming callers in the Phone app, and use an outgoing call blocker to limit repeated calls and calls to unknown numbers.
How do I stop a parent with dementia from calling scammers back?: Blocking incoming calls doesn't stop it, because they dial the number themselves. Block all outgoing calls except a short list of allowed numbers, or set the phone to ask before calling, so a number from a pop-up or a text won't go through on the first tap.
Are emergency calls affected by these settings?: No. Common emergency numbers can't be added to NoDial, and any call Android recognizes as an emergency call always goes through. Emergency SOS set to touch and hold still calls for help; it just needs a deliberate press.
What if they turn the restrictions off?: With NoDial, settings can be put behind a 4-digit PIN lock, and switching off blocking for a number takes effect only one hour later. There is no remote management yet, so changes are made on the phone itself.
Does this work on an iPhone?: NoDial is Android only. On an iPhone, Screen Time lets you choose who can be contacted in Phone, FaceTime and Messages; see Apple's help page for the current steps.

10. Summary

SUMMARY

A dedicated dementia phone is simple from the start, and some (such as RAZ) let family change the settings from afar. Setting up the person's own Android phone keeps what is familiar: a simpler screen, the right people on the home screen, a safer emergency button, and outgoing call limits that stop repeated calls and calls back to scam numbers.

Simplify the screen: Easy mode (Samsung) or Simple View (Pixel).
Put the people they call most on the home screen, and clean up old contacts.
Emergency SOS with touch and hold; emergency calls are never blocked.
Android's call blocking covers incoming calls only. For outgoing calls, use per-number limits, set hours, or allowed numbers only.
Choose a dedicated phone when a normal smartphone screen no longer works, auto answer is needed, emergency calls are repeated, or settings must be managed from elsewhere.

NoDial — limit repeated or unknown callsPer-number limits, set hours, allowed numbers only.