12 Smartphone Settings to Adjust on Day One

A brand-new smartphone is configured for an average user — which usually means someone in their thirties with perfect eyesight, a high tolerance for buzzes and chimes, and a willingness to accept whatever the default colour theme happens to be. The twelve adjustments in this guide take about thirty minutes total and transform a generic new phone into one that suits you specifically. Do them in order. None requires technical knowledge.

1. Text size

The single most useful change. On iPhone: Settings → Display & Brightness → Text Size, drag the slider to the right. On Android: Settings → Display → Font size, drag the slider. Most seniors land at the second or third position from the largest. For a full walkthrough including bold text and "Larger Accessibility Sizes" (which goes bigger than the standard slider allows), see our dedicated text-size guide.

2. Screen brightness and night mode

Brand-new phones often ship with brightness around 60%. For older eyes in daylight, push that up to 80–100% and turn on auto-brightness so the phone adjusts down at night. On iPhone: Settings → Display & Brightness → Brightness slider, then turn on Automatic. On Android: Settings → Display → Brightness and toggle Adaptive Brightness. Also turn on Night Shift (iPhone) or Night Light (Android) to warm the screen colour after sunset — easier on the eyes when reading in bed.

3. Ringer volume and vibration

Default ringer is often too quiet for a phone left in another room. iPhone: Settings → Sounds & Haptics, drag the Ringer slider all the way up; turn off "Change with Buttons" so the volume rocker doesn't accidentally silence the ring. Android: Settings → Sound & vibration → Ring volume, all the way up. Also pick a ringtone you can recognise from across the house — a long, distinctive ring is better than a short tweet.

4. Bold text and high contrast

iPhone: Settings → Accessibility → Display & Text Size, turn on Bold Text. While you're there, turn on "Increase Contrast." Android: Settings → Accessibility → Visibility enhancements → Bold font and High contrast fonts. The difference between a phone with bold text on and one without is dramatic — it's the change readers most commonly tell us they wish they'd done sooner.

5. A calm wallpaper

The default wallpaper on new phones is often a colourful pattern that makes app icons hard to find. Replace it with something darker and simpler. iPhone: Settings → Wallpaper → Add New Wallpaper → Colour, pick a dark blue or charcoal. Android: long-press on the home screen, tap Wallpapers, pick a solid colour. Your apps will stand out instantly.

6. Do Not Disturb at night

Most seniors don't need their phone buzzing at three in the morning. Both platforms offer a "Do Not Disturb" scheduling feature. iPhone: Settings → Focus → Do Not Disturb → Add Schedule, set 10:00 PM to 7:00 AM. Crucially, in "People," allow calls from family members so a genuine emergency still rings through. Android: Settings → Sound & vibration → Do Not Disturb → Schedules, set the same hours, and add favourite contacts to "Exceptions."

7. Screen timeout

The default screen timeout (how long before the screen goes dark) is often 30 seconds. That's too short when you're reading slowly. Push it to 2 minutes. iPhone: Settings → Display & Brightness → Auto-Lock → 2 Minutes. Android: Settings → Display → Screen timeout → 2 minutes.

8. Auto-rotation

This one's a preference question. If the screen accidentally turning sideways frustrates you, turn rotation off. iPhone: swipe down from the top-right corner, tap the lock-with-arrow icon. Android: pull down from the top, tap the "Auto-rotate" tile to off. You can always turn it back on for watching a video.

9. Quieting the notification flood

Every app wants to ping you. Most of those pings are not worth hearing. Go through the notification list and turn off everything except phone calls, text messages, and your calendar. iPhone: Settings → Notifications, tap each app and set "Allow Notifications" off for the noisy ones. Android: Settings → Notifications → App settings, same idea. A quieter phone is a phone you actually pick up when it matters.

10. Emergency contact

Set the person you'd want called if something happened. iPhone: open the Health app → Medical ID → Edit → Add Emergency Contact. Android: Settings → Safety & emergency → Emergency contacts → Add contact. These contacts are reachable from the lock screen without needing your PIN. We cover this in depth in our emergency-features guide.

11. Family location sharing (optional)

If you want trusted family to be able to see where you are — useful for caregivers and for peace of mind — set this up now while you're already in settings. iPhone: Find My app → People → Share My Location → choose family member. Android: Google Maps → tap your profile photo → Location sharing. Only share with people you'd trust with a house key.

12. Automatic backup

The day a phone is dropped in a swimming pool is too late to wish you'd backed it up. iPhone: Settings → [your name at top] → iCloud → iCloud Backup → On. The first backup runs overnight when plugged in and on Wi-Fi. Android: Settings → Google → Backup → On. Backups protect your contacts, photos, and most app data automatically.

The thirty-minute investment

Those twelve changes take about thirty minutes total. In our experience teaching seniors at the library, they account for roughly eighty percent of the "I wish I'd known about this sooner" comments we hear in the second week. Make them on day one and the phone will feel much more like yours.

Frequently asked questions

Written by Margaret Holloway. Reviewed by David Chen. Last verified 12 June 2026.