Your phone, step by step

This lesson is about getting comfortable. We will find the buttons you use most, learn the small gestures that run everything, and make the screen easier to read. Take your time. You cannot break your phone by tapping.

Phones differ. We say "iPhone" or "Android" where the steps are different. If your screen looks different from our words, search the Settings for the word in bold.

The three gestures that do almost everything

1. Tap: touch the screen once, lightly, with the pad of your finger, not your nail. This is how you open things and press buttons.
2. Swipe: touch the screen and slide your finger up, down, left or right, like turning a page. Swipe up to scroll down a long page.
3. Press and hold: touch and keep your finger still for a second. This often opens extra choices, such as copying text.

If nothing happens, you may be pressing too hard or too softly, or your finger may be dry. Try again calmly. A double tap that is too slow counts as two single taps, and that is fine.

Finding your way around

The main screen is called the Home screen. It holds small pictures called apps. Each app does one job: Phone for calls, Messages for texts, Camera for photos.

• iPhone: to go home from anywhere, swipe up from the very bottom edge, or press the round button if your phone has one.
• Android: tap the circle or swipe up from the bottom edge. To go back one step, swipe from the side edge or tap the arrow.

If you ever feel lost, going Home is your safe exit. Nothing is lost when you do that.

Make it easier to see and hear

1. Open Settings (the grey gear icon).
2. iPhone: tap Display and Brightness, then Text Size and drag the slider to the right. Android: tap Display, then Font size and style.
3. Choose a size that is comfortable at arm's length, then also turn on Bold Text if you like it.
4. Go back and find Sounds (Android) or Sounds and Haptics (iPhone) to raise the ringtone volume so you do not miss calls.

Three safe habits from day one

• Keep a screen lock. A PIN or fingerprint keeps strangers out if you lose your phone. Pick a PIN that is not your birth year.
• Do not tap links in surprise messages. A real bank or delivery company will never need you to rush.
• Keep it charged. Plug in overnight, or whenever it falls below about 30 per cent.

When something goes wrong

If an app freezes, go Home and open it again. If the whole phone freezes, hold the side button and the volume button together for about 10 seconds, or ask a family member to show you your phone's restart method. Restarting fixes a surprising number of problems and does not erase anything.

What to remember

• Three gestures: tap, swipe, press and hold.
• Going Home is always safe.
• Bigger text and a screen lock are worth setting up today.

Next, we make a phone call and save the numbers that matter.