Imagine you are on a call with a senior citizen who cannot connect their smartphone to Wi-Fi. Walk me through how you would assist them.

Situation

Last year, my 70-year-old aunt bought her first smartphone and could not figure out how to connect it to our home Wi-Fi. She was frustrated because the screen kept saying 'wrong password' even though we were sure the password was correct. She lives alone and relies on video calls to talk to her children abroad.

Task

I had to guide her over a voice call, without being able to see her screen, and make sure she successfully connected. I also had to explain everything in simple, calm Filipino because she is not fluent in English.

Action

First, I told her not to worry and that we would do it step by step. I asked her to unlock her phone and find the icon that looks like a gear, which I called 'Settings.' I had her describe what she saw. Then I told her to look for the word 'Wi-Fi' and tap it. I spelled it out: 'W-I-F-I.' When she saw the list of network names, I asked her to find ours. She got stuck because our network name had capital and small letters. I said, 'Tignan mo yung maliliit at malalaking letra, tita; dapat parehong-pareho ang pagkakasulat.' We entered the password one character at a time, and I had her read each character back to me before typing it. It took about 20 minutes.

Result

She connected successfully. She was so happy she could video call her daughter that same day. She told me I was very patient and clear. She even took a screenshot and sent it to me on Messenger later to show it was working.