Turn an Old Tablet Into a Large Clock for an Elderly Parent

A free way to give a parent or grandparent a big, easy-to-read clock with the day and date, using a tablet you already have.

Large-display clocks for seniors work well, but if there's an old iPad or Android tablet in a drawer, you can make one that's even bigger in five minutes.

What you'll need

• Any tablet that can open a web page
• A stand or case that props it up
• The charger, plugged in, since the screen will stay on

Setup

1. Open onlineclock.app on the tablet.
2. Turn on Date so the day of the week and date show under the time. This helps with knowing what day it is.
3. Tap Theme until you reach Paper (black on white), the highest-contrast option. If the clock is in a bedroom, the red theme is gentler at night.
4. Turn on 12-hour if that's what your parent is used to.
5. Tap Keep screen on, then Full screen.

Keep it running

iPad: In Settings → Display & Brightness → Auto-Lock, choose Never. Then use Guided Access (Settings → Accessibility) to lock the iPad to the clock page so a stray tap can't close it.

Android: In Settings → Display → Screen timeout, choose the longest option, and use App pinning to keep the browser on the clock.

A few tips

• Turn brightness down a little at night, or use the red theme.
• Put the tablet where it won't get glare from a window.
• The clock uses the tablet's own time, which updates itself automatically when it's connected to Wi-Fi.