Home Technology for an Elderly Parent: What Helps

The short answer

Start with the worry, not the gadgetThe most useful piece of technology is whichever one answers the thing that keeps you up at night, not the newest device in a shop.
Check an old alarm survives January 2027Pendant alarms and sensor mats that run over the ordinary phone line stop working when it is switched off, unless upgraded first.
GPS trackers help with wandering, but ask firstA wearable tracker or phone location sharing works well for a parent who might get lost, and they should agree to it before it is switched on.
A council can often lend equipment for freeMany councils fund or lend telecare, sensor mats and basic equipment after a needs assessment, before you spend anything privately.

None of this replaces company. Companionship carers on PrimeCarers charge £15 to £20 an hour with our fee included, for the days when a visit does more than a screen or a sensor can.

Start here

Start with what worries you, not with what is for sale

Shops and gift lists both push whatever is newest, but the better question is which worry keeps coming back. Find it below and go straight to the section that covers it properly.

“I cannot tell if they are safe when I am not there”

A personal alarm or sensor mat

A pendant or wrist alarm calls for help at the press of a button, and a pressure mat by the bed or front door raises an alert if someone gets up and does not settle.

“They might wander off and not find their way back”

A GPS tracker or location sharing

A wearable tracker or a phone with location sharing switched on lets you see where they are and get an alert if they leave an area you have agreed.

“I want to know who is coming to the door”

A video doorbell or door entry system

They can see and speak to a visitor from a chair or a phone before opening the door, without having to get up quickly.

“They are lonely, or cannot always get to the phone”

A voice-controlled smart speaker

A speaker in the room they use most lets them make a call, hear the radio or ask a question without finding a handset or their glasses.

“Housework is getting too much for them”

A robot or lightweight cordless vacuum

A robot vacuum runs on a schedule with no lifting involved, and a cordless upright is far lighter than an old corded one for the days it needs a proper clean.

“I cannot visit as often as I would like”

A smart TV or tablet for video calls

Most smart TVs and tablets bought in the last few years can make a video call with one button once it is set up, so a visit does not depend on a car journey.

None of this is an instruction to buy everything on the list. Most families find one or two of these answer the worry that matters most, and the rest can wait.

Voice and smart speakers

What a smart speaker can do for someone living alone

A smart speaker sits on a table and answers to a name, which suits somebody who finds a phone screen or a remote control fiddly. It will not replace a visit, but it removes some of the small daily friction that makes living alone harder than it needs to be.

Calling and being heard

A voice command starts a call to a saved contact without dialling or finding reading glasses first, and most speakers can be set up to call a short list of family members only.

Hands-free

Reminders and the radio

Setting a reminder for medication, a GP appointment or bin day, or asking for a favourite radio station, all work by voice and do not need a screen to be read.

No screen needed

Lights and simple routines

Turning a lamp on before getting out of a chair, or a single phrase that turns off several lights at once, suits somebody who finds walking round the house at night harder than it used to be.

One phrase

What changed with Alexa

Amazon closed its Alexa Together caregiving subscription in 2025 and replaced it with Alexa Emergency Assist, a paid call-for-help feature rather than a family activity feed. Check what a device does today before buying one on the strength of an older review.

Since 2025

If a parent already owns a smart speaker, using Alexa to make everyone's life easier goes through the setup in more detail, including the routines and calling lists worth building in the first afternoon.

Doors, doorbells and cameras

Seeing who is at the door, and the law on filming

A camera or a video doorbell answers a specific worry: knowing who is outside before opening the door. It also raises a question families often do not think about until afterwards, which is what the law says about filming a carer or a visitor inside the home.

Video doorbells

A camera in the doorbell lets your parent see and speak to whoever has knocked from a chair or a phone, without walking to the door and back.

See before you open

Remote-controlled doors and entry systems

A door that unlocks remotely, or a voice entry system that can be answered without getting up, suits somebody who struggles to reach the door quickly.

For limited mobility

Indoor and outdoor security cameras

Cameras covering the house are affordable and footage is usually reviewed from a phone. If a carer or a regular visitor comes to the house, tell them the camera is there, in writing if you can, rather than leaving them to notice it.

Tell anyone who visits

Monitored CCTV

Some providers monitor a camera system remotely and can alert the police if something is seriously wrong, which also creates a record of what happened.

A record if something goes wrong

Recording inside your own property for your own household's safety is generally straightforward, but the position is less simple once a camera also covers a shared hallway, a neighbour's garden or the street, and there is more to think through once a paid carer is the one being filmed regularly. Is it illegal to film carers in your home? sets out where a family stands, and what to tell a carer before you start.

Falls, alarms and the 2027 switch-off

Personal alarms and sensor mats, and a change coming in 2027

A pendant alarm or a mat by the bed answers the worry that a fall or a bad night happens when nobody is there to see it. Most of these devices call for help down the ordinary phone line, and that line is being switched off across the UK.

Before you buy, or keep, a personal alarm

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What each type does

A pendant or wrist alarmWorn at all times, it calls a monitoring centre at the press of a button, and an operator on the line decides whether to contact a family member or the emergency services.
A sensor or pressure matPlaced by the bed, the front door or on a chair, it raises an alert if someone gets up and does not settle again, without needing them to press anything themselves.

What to check before January 2027

Whether the alarm uses the ordinary phone lineThe old analogue telephone network is being withdrawn across the UK by January 2027, and any alarm still running over it will stop working unless it is upgraded to a digital, broadband-based version first.
Whether the provider has already been in touchTelecoms providers have committed to Ofcom not to move a telecare user onto a digital line unless their alarm is confirmed compatible, so a provider that has not contacted you yet should be asked directly rather than assumed to have it in hand.
Whether it has its own battery backupA digital alarm needs power for the broadband router as well as the base unit, so check it keeps working for several hours in a power cut.

Ways to get one

Ask the council for a needs assessment firstMany councils fund or lend telecare, including alarms and sensor mats, free of charge once an assessment confirms it is needed, before you have to buy anything privately.
Buy directly if you are not waiting for an assessmentIndependent alarm and telecare companies sell digital, switchover-ready alarms directly, usually alongside a monthly monitoring charge.

Mobility and falls care covers the wider picture, from grab rails to what causes a fall in the first place, and how to deal with elderly falls is the right page if a fall has just happened and you are not sure what to do next.

Keeping track without watching everything

GPS trackers, and what they do and do not solve

A GPS tracker answers a specific worry, that your parent could get lost or wander off and not be able to say where they are. It is a narrower job than it sounds, and it works best alongside other precautions rather than instead of them.

Wearable trackers

A tracker worn on the wrist, round the neck or tucked into a shoe lets you see your parent's location from your own phone, and set an alert if they leave an area you have agreed together.

Watch, pendant or shoe insert

Location sharing on a smartphone

If your parent already carries a smartphone, switching on location sharing with a trusted family member does much of the same job without buying anything new, as long as the phone is charged and carried.

No extra device

What it cannot do

No tracker works perfectly indoors or in every location, and none of them stop somebody leaving the house. A tracker helps you respond faster; it is not supervision.

Worth knowing

Ask first, where you still can

A person should agree to being tracked before it starts, wherever that conversation is still possible, and it is worth revisiting as understanding changes.

Consent matters

If wandering has become a regular worry, Alzheimer's Society's guidance for a person who walks about covers this alongside movement monitors and pressure pads, and dementia care is the fuller guide if memory rather than mobility is behind it.

Everyday helpers

The smaller changes that save time and worry

Not everything worth having is dramatic. A few ordinary changes reduce daily strain without anyone having to learn much that is new, and buying nothing is sometimes the right call too.

1
A robot or lightweight vacuum
Reduces lifting
A robot vacuum works to a schedule with no lifting involved, which helps anyone with limited mobility or a fear of falling while cleaning. A cordless upright is the cheaper option and still far lighter than an old corded model, with a lower trip hazard too.
2
A smart TV or tablet for video calls
Often no new device needed
Most smart TVs and tablets bought in the last few years can make a video call with one button once it is set up. Doing the setup together on one visit is usually enough for your parent to manage it alone afterwards.
3
Try before you buy, where you can
Ask first
A council's community equipment service, a Disabled Living Centre or an occupational therapist can often let you try equipment before committing, and some items are lent free after an assessment rather than bought outright.
4
Set it up together, not for them
Sits better
Technology chosen and set up with your parent, rather than presented as a finished decision, is more likely to still be switched on in a month. Ask what they find fiddly before buying a solution to it.

None of this replaces a person calling in. Companionship carers on PrimeCarers charge £15 to £20 an hour with our fee included, for the days when a visit does more than a screen or a sensor can. Activities to try with a companionship carer has more on what that looks like in practice.

Questions

Questions families ask about home technology

It depends on the worry that keeps coming back, but a personal alarm is usually the first thing most families choose, because it covers the most common emergency: a fall with nobody there to help. See personal alarms and the 2027 switch-off for what to check before buying one.

Only if it still relies on the old analogue phone line, which is being withdrawn across the UK by January 2027. Providers have committed to Ofcom not to move a telecare user onto a digital line unless a compatible alarm is confirmed first, so contact the provider now if you are not sure which type your parent has.

It can help you find someone faster if they wander, but no tracker works perfectly indoors or replaces supervision. Where the person can still take part in the decision, it is worth agreeing to it together rather than switching it on without saying so.

Recording inside your own home is generally straightforward, but a carer who works there regularly should be told a camera is in use. Is it illegal to film carers in your home? sets this out in full.

Start with whichever single device solves the worry that bothers them most, set it up together rather than presenting it as decided, and address what feels intrusive directly, particularly with a camera. Refusal usually softens once they have seen it solve one specific problem.

Yes, in many areas. Councils commonly fund or lend telecare, alarms and basic equipment once a care needs assessment confirms it is needed, so it is worth asking before buying privately.

No. It answers specific worries, a fall, a location, a lonely afternoon, but it does not cook a meal, help someone dress, or notice a change over a week the way a person visiting regularly does. Companionship carers on PrimeCarers charge £15 to £20 an hour with our fee included, and hourly carers from £18 to £25, both with our fee included, for the parts of the day technology cannot cover.

Which home technology is worth buying for an older parent?