Experience of using MyHomeHelper?

[makethemostofit]

Hi @makethemostofit

No, I did not get chance to purchase one yet as had to go away for work for a while and things have been hectic since I got back, I still have some tech concerns so will be interested to hear how you get on. In my experience most electronic devices need system updates, re-boots or pop up messages at various times and its those type of tech things that worry me. I have a mobile phone, iPad, laptop and they are all problematic at times. I am not sure what the underlying operating system is on MyHomeHelper so not sure how it will behave. Will be very interested in you and your mother's actual experience of it if you don't mind sharing. I expect I will get one over the next month or so and try it out at home here before installing it at her house. At least I am lucky we are in the same county and country! Good Luck and thanks for sharing.

Hi there,
I also have an ipad, an android pad, an android mobile and laptop etc. in the house and am highly skilled to use them. Which is why, because of the concerns (e.g. updates), you mentioned, I have not purchased e.g. an iPad for my mother.
But this pad is different. It is on android OS. And installation update or problem-related reboots can be done from afar. I.e. requires no input from my mother, the tablet user herself. Even the video calls can be set up not to require action from the person with the tablet.
The system is not perfect by no means, e.g. calendar system is a tad clunky. But it seems great to me. Next week is the real test when my mother gets the tablet into her home.
I think this is a winner.
x

 

[makethemostofit]

Wow, that’s interesting..thank you. I had the impression that tax is very high, but that care is comprehensive, but it seems it is in theory, but in practice there is a shortage of personnel.

Hi,
Taxes are high, you are correct. They pay for myriad of things as everywhere.
There is a real aspiration to a holistic care for the elderly and especially at their own home.
Problems rise from not knowing whom to turn to, and the requirement of being in contact with several people instead of just one
who would do the fighting for you.
Also with such a small population, it is a stretch to find the personnel when needed. Which can then result in mere basic care, while other areas may have plenty of personnel to find time to activate and inspire the people requiring care.
This is why there are so many charities providing the assistance when gaps of services appear.

 

[Shm123]

Hi @makethemostofit

Are you able to give an update on how your trial of MyHomeHelper is working out? I really hope it is working well for you both

 

[BirdyC]

I’ve only just seen this post. I installed MHHelper at mums 18 months ago and think it is easy to operate and very helpful to me as I live 120 miles away. The tablet is on all the time at mums as a clock also showing if morning afternoon or night time, I’ve easily set photos to periodically go onto the screen plus news headlines to pop on and most valuable of all is the ability to ‘see’ mum via the screen. When I connect to her MHH tablet it makes a gentle noise and I call ‘Mum I’m in the kitchen on your screen’ and she potters in I can see her straight away -she can see me and she doesn’t have to interact with the tablet at all. I find it very helpful.

 

[Shm123]

Hi - thanks for that.

I have in the meantime now purchased one for my Mum and it went over to her today for the first time! We seem to be having some teething troubles - she has unplugged it now we are not there - not sure its a reflection of what she thinks of it, probably a long-term habit of always unplugging things, I will have to see tomorrow. She did seem fascinated by it when we put it in. We sense a possible frustration that the photo changes before she is ready and the calendar disappears as she is reading it, need to see how that works out. We did to a test call and it seemed to work OK although we did seem to have some signal issues. Its only day 1, so have to see how it goes. It is definitely easy to manage from my side and Kevin the guy who developed it is extremely helpful answering questions and even at taking on requests for change.

Fingers crossed Mum gets used to it!

 

[prodigal-son]

I found the technology behind myhomehelper excellent. Whether it’s right for a particular person is another matter. My Dad is a demon unplugger and I’ve given up on myhomehelper for the moment because I wasn’t able to solve that problem (a word more on that below). Here are some of my experiences up to March 2018.

The tablet itself seems rock-solid. Dad’s would switch off periodically because the battery was flat, but once his carer had plugged it back in again a single button press would restart it reliably. We never had an issue with the device freezing or losing Wi-Fi. Screen quality is OK and sound is good. The stand is simple and sturdy.

(I guess reliability could vary with future updates, and even the hardware offered will probably change over time. But this is a simple device running a small range of apps, so it should be pretty bombproof.)

The whole thing works well with absolutely no input from the PWD. My one comment here is that if they touch the screen it will read out what’s displayed – great for people with a visual disability but a bit unnerving otherwise.

You can also set it to get limited input from the PWD (“press the green button if you’ve taken your pills”) if they’re capable.

The calendar display and the website you use to control the tablet remotely both look a bit clunky but they work. Kevin, the developer, is an amazing guy but at the time I was using the system he was essentially a one-man band. The display of news headlines is a great idea, though not very well implemented at the time I was trying it.

Video calling was the main reason I bought the device, and it works pretty well. You can set it to answer automatically, so the person at the other end just needs to talk. It uses a third-party service – VSee at the time I was testing, but that had recently changed.

As I said, unplugging was an issue for my dad. The power supply is a “wall wart” that won’t fit into one of those protective socket covers. It’s also possible to unplug the power cable from the tablet, and quite fiddly to plug it back in. You can set the screen to dim automatically at night, but you can’t make it go black (unless Kevin has fixed that in the meantime). If it appeared to be switched off, Dad might not try to unplug it.

I want to resurrect Dad’s myhomehelper as soon as I’ve found a solution to the power issue (and found the device itself, which has gone walkies in the meantime). I’d love to hear how the rest of you are finding yours.

 

[Shm123]

Day of Mum having hers. Today it has remained plugged in (so far) since I re-plugged it in this morning. We suspected it was the frustration of the screen displays changing when she was not ready that made her unplug it. She would be trying to read the photo caption and the photo would change to something else. Be in the middle of reading a calendar entry and it would change to something else. I experimented with the custom timetable and left each display on there for several minutes in a row - but of course it depends when she first looks at it, it could still be as its about to change. You cannot keep a single photo there for more than 1 minute.

So, for today, it is set permanently to calendar week display and she seems to be happy with it.

We have tried a video call, but don't think she was in the mood for it. Will try again once she is more used to having it there. Would be helpful if the weekly view showed the time as well as the date - I will ask Kevin about that - he is always open to suggestions.

Great to finally be sharing experiences. I found it impossible to find anyone who had used it when I was considering it, but glad I went ahead anyway. Its a good device and I am sure I will find a way to make it work for Mum. Just having the week calendar there will be a big help as she obsesses over what is happening when!

 

[prodigal-son]

Hi @Shm123, good to hear your mum is up and running. I agree that controlling what's shown when can be challenging, and probably simple is best. Keep us posted!

 

[BirdyC]

Hope it works out for you - Kevin (the developer) is very helpful and quick to reply to queries.
Re unplugging - Mum did the same so I bought a label maker (handheld - creates long sticky strips) and have these taped across all plugs and radiator controls plus on remote contols, chargers etc with various messages eg ‘Mum Don’t Turn off- To turn TV on’ etc. I’ve just send mum a message using the messenger service just saying Goodnight lots of love - it stays in her screen for 45 mins ( can be set to stay on for as long as you want) and it helps me to feel closer even tho she may not see it!

 

[prodigal-son]

I bought a label maker (handheld - creates long sticky strips) and have these taped across all plugs and radiator controls plus on remote contols, chargers etc

I might try that to stop the TV remote getting confused with the phone! But labelling plugs (and taping over them) didn't work for us. I think the only solution for myhomehelper is to get a replacement power supply with a separate mains cable (like a typical laptop charger) so that we could use use a tamper-proof socket cover. But suitable power supplies aren't easy to find, and in any case the mains leads tend to be detachable…