Access to Ring Doorbell and Hive Heating controls

[Gilsp]

Hi,
My mum is 83 and currently has middle stage dementia. She lives alone with the support of carers who provide 5 hours of help per day which is invaluable as I live 80 miles away. I’m in regular contact with them. I have found an Echo Show to be invaluable as it allows me to see and speak to mum several times a day.
My brother, who lives locally to mum, has installed a Ring Doorbell and Hive heating controller which mum has paid for. Despite numerous requests he refused to give me shared access to these - no reasons given. From a safeguarding viewpoint it would be so beneficial to have access to the ring doorbell particularly. For example last week the carers phoned me to ask where mum was - she wasn’t at home and wasn’t answering her phone. Her sister had taken her out but it took a while to work this out which was concerning. With the Ring doorbell alerts I would have known. Is there anything I can do or say to persuade my brother that it is in mums best interests for both of us to have this information?
Thanks

 

[Jaded'n'faded]

Strange. I wonder why he won't give you access? That's what I'd be asking myself. I agree with you that it would be beneficial. For him to keep saying no and without giving you any reason... it would make me suspicious! What's he up to?

I'm also wondering why the carers rang you when your mum couldn't be found. Why didn't they call your brother as he is local and you are not?

 

[Gilsp]

Thanks for your reply. In my opinion it’s a control thing. I have questioned his actions before and he didn’t like it!! His communication with me is now virtually zero which is very sad for mum. He decides what to ‘keep me informed’ about.
I would be the first choice call of the carers as I’m in much more regular contact with both mum and them, despite the distance. I’m her emotional support - and she is mine! My brother could go for many days without speaking to mum. They did eventually phone him though and he knew who she was with - obviously!

 

[Shedrech]

hello @Gilsp
a warm welcome to DTP

it's good that tech is helping you support your mum

are LPAs in place for your mum and are you an And your brother Attorneys ... if so, you could point this out to him as showing your mum wants both of you to be equally involved in her care and support

does your brother have access to the Echo Show you set up ... maybe suggesting sharing both will help ... I'm not tech savvy so don't know about sharing these systems, is that facility available and allowed on the subscription?

(cross posted with your reply above)

In the end it's up to your mum what happens in her home ... is she able and willing to make her wishes clear? ... your brother might accept the suggestion from her

 

[Gilsp]

Thanks for your suggestions. Mum did appoint us both as POAs but due to the dispute referred to above a solicitor now acts as mums financial controller. I have been willing to meet to restore cooperation and communication in mums best interests but my brother has ignored this.
I purchased the Echo Show so I could communicate easily with mum given the distance between us and due to the concern that she may eventually struggle to use her phone. I thoroughly recommend it to anyone else in a similar situation as mum doesn’t have to do anything at all to answer my call.
My brother has shown no interest in the Echo Show. If he had requested access to it I would gladly share but as stated, he doesn’t communicate with mum very much anyway.
The other tech is essentially mums property - but it seems to be for his personal use only. I’ve asked twice, the solicitor has asked, it seems unlikely that he will agree in return for access to the Echo Show for which he seems disinterested.

 

[nitram]

The other tech is essentially mums property - but it seems to be for his personal use only.

Is the subscription being paid out of mum's account or his?

 

[Gilsp]

To my knowledge, he installed the internet which mum pays for on a monthly basis, and the equipment for the Ring and Hive which she paid for. Is there a further subscription charge for either of these?

 

[nitram]

I suspect that there is a subscription for anything other than a very basic use, members with them installed should be along shortly.
Solicitor will know of any direct debits.

 

[Hours Away]

I installed a Hive hub with a Hive thermostat for remote central heating control and it was also useful to check the room temperature as it shows an hourly day/week/month profile. There was no ongoing monthly fee unless you want to save security camera footage.

I logged onto the Hive account via a laptop but when I subsequently added motion detectors and a camera I had to move onto using the Hive phone app which only permits camera access if 2 factor authentication is switched on.

The app does suggest this "Tip: Want to give family or friends access to your Hive home? Ask them to create a Hive account, and add them to your home via the "People" link in the menu"

I think if you wanted your brother to share the account email and password with you and he was using the app rather than just a web logon he'd have to have 2 factor authentication disabled. Perhaps asking him to add your own account might be worth a try?

Or could you suggest using a separate poa email address for all things PWD related, including online access to the Ring doorbell and Hive (plus their alerts) so you'd both have visibility at all times?

If at some stage you needed to take over the Hive system yourself I think you'd just need to buy a new Hub (which is about half the price of the thermostat) and set it up again. Alternatively if online control isn't necessary you can take out the hub completely and reconnect it to just have control via the portable thermostat itself.

 

[Gilsp]

Thanks for your help. There are no cameras attached to the Hive, only the Ring Doorbell in this case.
The issue is not how to provide access (as I think it is fairly straightforward) , but rather my brothers reluctance to share the information. Maybe the title of the thread is misleading? I just wondered if there were any suggestions on how to resolve this issue.