Written by: The Phone Simplifier (Your Pocket Tech Translator)
Smartphones can be intimidating. You’ve got this device that supposedly does a thousand things, but half the time you’re just trying to answer a call without hanging up on someone.
Good news: you don’t need to know a thousand things about your iPhone or Android phone. You really only need about ten basics, and suddenly your phone goes from confusing to actually useful.
Think of it like driving. You don’t need to know how the engine works. You just need to know how to start it, steer it, and use the brakes. Same idea here.
Don’t want to read all this? We understand. Sometimes you just want someone to sit with you and walk through it in person. That’s what we do at Teach Me Tech OC. We come to your home anywhere in Orange County, or we meet online through Google Meet. We’ll go through these basics on your actual phone until you’re comfortable. Just reach out.
Quick Overview: 10 Essential Things About Your iPhone or Android Phone
- Answer and end calls without panic
- Take and find your photos
- Send text messages (with or without photos)
- Check and respond to email
- Connect to WiFi to save your data
- Adjust volume properly
- Charge your phone correctly
- Find and open your apps
- Use the back button to navigate
- Turn your phone off and on
Let’s break down each one.
1. Answering and Ending Calls
iPhone:
- Green button to answer
- Red button to hang up
- If phone is locked when it rings, swipe green phone icon right
Android:
- Tap or swipe up on green icon to answer
- Red icon to hang up
- Some phones want you to swipe instead of tap
Here’s what nobody tells you: take a breath before answering. The phone rings for a while before going to voicemail. You have time.
Look at the screen. See where the answer button is. Tap it deliberately. Don’t panic and start tapping everywhere.
If you accidentally decline a call, it’s fine. They can call back.
We worked with a woman in Laguna Hills who was terrified of her phone because she kept accidentally putting people on speakerphone. We practiced a few times, and once she realized she could take her time, the anxiety disappeared.
Pro tip: if you can’t see the buttons well when a call comes in, you need to make your text bigger. Those settings affect the call screen too.
Also, you don’t have to hold the phone to your ear immediately. Answer it, then bring it up. The call doesn’t disconnect if you take a second.
2. Taking and Finding Photos
To take photos:
- Open Camera app (looks like a camera)
- Point at what you want to photograph
- Tap the big circle button at bottom
- Done
To find photos:
- iPhone: Open Photos app (looks like a flower)
- Android: Open Gallery or Photos app
- Newest photos at top
- Scroll down for older ones
The camera is super useful, but only if you can find the photos you take. “I took a photo last week and now I can’t find it” is something we hear constantly.
Your photos are all there. They’re organized by date, newest first. Photo from five minutes ago? Top of the list. Photo from last month? Scroll down.
iPhones organize photos into categories automatically. Library (everything), Albums (organized collections), Search (type “beach” or “dog” and it finds relevant photos).
Screenshots get saved to your photos too. So if you see photos you don’t remember taking, they might be screenshots.
We helped someone in Dana Point who had 3,000 photos and could never find anything. Set up a few albums (family, garden, recipes). Now she finds things easily. You can do the same in your Photos app.
3. Sending Text Messages
To send basic text:
- Open Messages app
- Tap compose button (pencil or plus sign)
- Type person’s name or phone number
- Type your message
- Hit send
To send text with photo:
- Start a text
- Look for camera or photo icon near where you type
- Tap it
- Choose photo or take new one
- Type any text you want
- Hit send
Texting is just three steps: pick who, type what, send. That’s it.
The tricky part is picking who. When you start typing a name, your phone searches your contacts. If you never saved someone as a contact, you need their full phone number.
Our advice: save important people as contacts. Way easier than remembering phone numbers.
When typing a message, take your time. Nothing sends until you hit that button. Made a typo? Backspace and fix it. Changed your mind? Delete and start over. The other person doesn’t see any of this.
Sending photos in texts is incredibly useful. “Does this shirt match?” Send a photo. “Look what the grandkids did.” Send a photo.
We helped a guy in San Juan Capistrano who got frustrated because photos took forever to send. He wasn’t on WiFi, so it was using slow cellular data. Connected him to WiFi, photos sent instantly.
4. Using Email on Your Phone
To open email:
- iPhone: Mail app (blue with envelope)
- Android: Gmail or Email app
- New emails at top
- Tap any email to read it
To reply:
- Tap reply arrow
- Type response
- Send
To send new email:
- Tap compose button (pencil or plus)
- Enter recipient’s email
- Add subject line
- Type message
- Send
People tell us they have hundreds or thousands of unread emails and feel overwhelmed. Here’s the truth: you don’t have to read every email.
Most of it is junk. Ads, newsletters you never wanted, promotional emails from every store you’ve ever visited. Delete without reading. Better yet, unsubscribe so they stop coming.
Every marketing email has an “unsubscribe” link at the bottom in tiny text. Find it, click it, done. Takes seconds and then you never get email from them again.
For emails you do want to read, take them one at a time. Don’t try to clear everything in one sitting.
You can search your email too. Looking for something from your doctor? Search “doctor appointment” instead of scrolling through hundreds of messages.
5. Connecting to WiFi
How to connect:
- iPhone: Settings > WiFi > turn it on, pick network, enter password, connect
- Android: Swipe down from top, tap WiFi icon, pick network, enter password, connect
Your phone connects to the internet two ways: WiFi or cellular data.
WiFi is your home internet. Fast, doesn’t cost extra beyond what you already pay.
Cellular data is from your phone company. Works anywhere, but you have a monthly limit. Use it up and you either lose internet or get charged extra.
When you’re home, always use WiFi. Saves your cellular data for when you’re actually out somewhere.
How do you know which you’re on? Look at the top of your screen. Fan-shaped icon? WiFi. Bars or “LTE” or “4G” or “5G”? Cellular data.
Once you connect to home WiFi, your phone remembers it. Connects automatically next time.
We helped a couple in Rancho Santa Margarita who kept running out of data every month. Their WiFi password had changed with a new router, so their phones were using cellular data at home. Reconnected them to WiFi, problem solved.
6. Adjusting Volume
Volume buttons are on the side of your phone. Press up for louder, down for quieter.
But here’s the confusing part: there are multiple volume settings that work independently.
Different volumes:
- Ringer volume (how loud it rings)
- Media volume (videos, music, games)
- Call volume (how loud person sounds during calls)
- Alarm volume
When you press volume buttons, which one you’re adjusting depends on what you’re doing. Watching video? Media volume. On call? Call volume. Doing nothing? Ringer volume.
Go to Settings to see all volumes at once. iPhone: Settings > Sounds & Haptics. Android: Settings > Sound.
Common problem: people think their ringer is up, but they accidentally turned on Silent Mode. On iPhones, there’s a physical switch on the side. See orange in that switch? You’re in silent mode. Flip it so you don’t see orange.
A woman in Irvine kept missing calls from her doctor. She insisted her volume was up. We looked at her phone. That little switch was showing orange. She had no idea the switch existed. Flipped it, phone rang normally.
7. Charging Your Phone
Basic charging:
- Plug cable into phone
- Plug other end into wall or USB port
- You’ll see lightning bolt icon on battery
- Leave until 100% (or at least 80%)
Best practices:
- Charge overnight while you sleep
- Don’t let battery fully die regularly
- Use charger that came with phone when possible
Battery myths:
Myth: Let battery fully die before charging. Reality: Modern batteries don’t work that way. Better to charge before it gets too low. Keep it above 20%.
Myth: Charging overnight damages battery. Reality: Your phone stops charging at 100%. Overnight is fine.
Myth: Must use exact charger that came with phone. Reality: Any reputable charger that fits works fine. Just avoid sketchy cheap knockoffs.
If your phone isn’t charging when plugged in, check: Is cable fully plugged in on both ends? Is power source working? Is there lint in charging port (clean it out carefully with toothpick)?
Guy in Lake Forest thought his phone was broken. Wouldn’t charge. The port was packed with pocket lint. Cleaned it out, worked perfectly.
8. Finding and Opening Apps
Apps are just programs on your phone. Phone app makes calls. Messages app sends texts. Camera takes photos. Everything is an app.
To open apps:
- Find icon on home screen
- Tap it
- Don’t see it? Swipe left to see more screens
To find hidden apps:
- iPhone: Swipe down from middle of home screen, type app name
- Android: Swipe up from bottom to see all apps
To close apps:
- iPhone: Swipe up from bottom and pause, swipe up on any app
- Android: Tap square button, swipe apps away
Your home screen is like your desk. Keep your most-used stuff within reach. Phone, Messages, Email, Camera. Everything else goes on other screens or in folders.
To move apps:
- Press and hold until they wiggle (iPhone) or menu appears (Android)
- Drag wherever you want
Create folders to group similar apps. All your games in one folder. Shopping apps in another. Keeps things cleaner.
Here’s something important: closing apps doesn’t save battery or speed up your phone. Your phone manages apps automatically. Unless something’s misbehaving, you don’t need to constantly close everything.
We helped someone in Tustin who had apps across eight home screens and could never find anything. Organized most-used apps on screen one, everything else in folders on screen two. Eight screens down to two. Much better.
9. Using the Back Button
iPhone:
- Look for back arrow in top left corner
- Tap it
- Or swipe from left edge toward right
Android:
- Older phones: Tap triangle button at bottom
- Newer phones: Swipe from left or right edge toward center
Knowing how to go back is crucial. Without it, people get stuck and don’t know how to get out. They close the whole app and start over.
Think of apps like buildings with multiple rooms. Back button takes you to the previous room.
On iPhones, that back arrow in the top left is almost always there. The swipe gesture does the same thing.
On Android, older phones have three buttons at bottom: triangle (back), circle (home), square (recent apps). Newer Androids use swipe gestures instead.
The home button is different from back. Home takes you all the way out to your home screen. Back just takes you to the previous screen.
10. Turning Your Phone Off and On
iPhone:
- Hold side button and either volume button until “slide to power off” appears
- Slide it
- To turn back on, hold side button until Apple logo shows
Android:
- Hold power button until power options appear
- Tap “Power off”
- To turn back on, hold power button until screen lights up
Why restart regularly:
- Fixes random glitches
- Clears memory
- Helps apps run better
- Solves mysterious problems
You’ve heard “have you tried turning it off and on again?” There’s a reason. It actually works.
When your phone runs for weeks without restarting, little issues build up. Apps don’t close right, memory gets cluttered, things act weird. A restart clears it out.
We recommend restarting about once a week. Takes a minute, prevents lots of problems.
Restart fixes:
- Phone running slow
- Apps not opening
- Screen not responding
- Battery draining fast
- Calls dropping
- WiFi not connecting
A woman in Foothill Ranch called us panicking. Her phone completely froze. Nothing worked. She thought she needed a new phone. We walked her through a forced restart. Thirty seconds later, phone worked perfectly. “That’s it? Just restart it?” Yep.
Building Your Phone Skills
You don’t need to be a tech expert to use your phone. Just learn these ten simple things about your iPhone or Android phone, and everything else builds from there.
Take them one at a time. Don’t try to master everything today. Pick one thing, practice until comfortable, move to the next.
Start with answering calls without panic. Practice for a few days. Then photos. Then texting. Build gradually.
These ten things become second nature pretty quickly. Once you’ve got them down, your phone transforms from stressful to actually helpful.
Get In-Person Help with Your Phone
Reading about these simple things seniors should know about their phone is helpful, but sometimes you need someone to walk through it on your actual phone at your own pace. That’s exactly what we do at Teach Me Tech OC.
What we’ll do:
- Come to your home anywhere in Orange County
- Go through these ten things together on your phone
- Practice until you feel comfortable
- Answer any questions you have
- Go at your speed with as much repetition as you need
- No judgment, no frustration
Cities we serve:
- Irvine, Mission Viejo, Laguna Hills, Dana Point
- Aliso Viejo, San Juan Capistrano, Rancho Santa Margarita
- Lake Forest, Laguna Niguel, Newport Beach, Costa Mesa
- San Clemente, Tustin, Foothill Ranch, and everywhere else
We also offer online sessions through Google Meet if that works better for you.
The goal isn’t just showing you once. It’s helping you understand well enough to do it yourself going forward.
Technology should make life easier and keep you connected with people you care about. If your phone is doing the opposite right now, let’s fix that. Reach out to Teach Me Tech OC, and let’s get you comfortable with these basics so you can actually enjoy your phone instead of dreading it.