Tablets To Call My Grandparents

January 25, 2026

Since I was younger, I tried my best to make technology easy for my grandparents. My first attempt was to use the numpad on an old Toshiba laptop with Autohotkey for macros, however, this automation was too rigid and only supported my grandparents for so long.

My family tries to call my grandma everyday. Sometimes she flips the camera on accident. Other times she can't hear what you said over the phone. Most times, we had no control over the device she was using, which was very annoying when all you want to do is talk to someone.

I bought a used, rugged Android Tablet (Samsung Galaxy Tab Active 3) to try to fix this issue.

This tablet

  • Is huge in comparison to a phone, allowing for a larger image when when she sees us, but also, makes it easier for someone with dexterity problems to hit large buttons instead of tiny menus.
  • Supports a mobile SIM in case the power goes out.
  • Has a replaceable battery for future repairability.
  • Has loud speakers that may damage your ears if used for anything but phone calls.

My Setup

  • Use Tasker for consistent automation triggers, AutoInput for UI interaction, and Teamviewer / Anydesk for remote management. An MDM solution was considered, however, I wanted to keep this tablet free.
  • On unlock or when reaching the home screen, tasker automatically sets the speakers to 100 percent, locks rotation, turns on wifi and connects to the trusted network, and opens Anydesk and Teamviewer subsequently to make sure RDP is always on and working.
  • When tapping a button on the homescreen, the WhatsApp contact is opened. When Whatsapp is opened, Tasker detects this and triggers AutoInput to automatically press the video call button, which starts a call.

This is what the UI looks like when remoting in from TeamViewer. It's a grid pattern- each red circle is a face of a family member that she can tap and instantly call. She woke me up at 5 am last week :D

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Tablet1

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Cost

2x Samsung Galaxy Tab Active 3 64 GB - $169.58

2x Tasker - $10?

2x AutoInput - Roughly around $4?

WhatsApp - Free

TeamViewer - Free

Closing Notes

So far, the tablets been really successful. Since all my grandma has to do is plug the tablet in with her phone charger, it's always ready for her to pick up and call someone, as opposed to unlocking a phone, opening whats app, digging through it to find who you want, and then pressing the tiny video call button.

And when something inevitably goes wrong, I can remote into it to repair the issue.