Using your mobile phone and tablet

Most mobile phones and tablets will have a display option in the settings. Here you can change some things to make your screen easier to read. You can:

Adjust the brightness of your screen

Do you find it hard to look at your screen for a long time, or to see the text on it? If so, you can make your screen darker or brighter to suit you. You can also use ‘automatic mode’. This works out how bright it is where you are, and automatically changes your display to match. So if you’re in a dark place, your device will lower the brightness to protect your eyes. If you’re in a light place, your screen will be brighter and easier to see.

Pick light or dark mode

Some devices will have a light and dark mode. This means you can change between white writing on a dark background, or dark writing on a white background – whichever you prefer

Adjust eye comfort settings

All devices use 'blue light'. This makes your screen easier to see, but it may also strain your eyes. If you struggle to sleep at night, it might be because you're looking at your screen too close to bedtime. The blue light convinces your brain it's still the middle of the day. Most devices now have a filter setting, to switch this on and off. You can also set 'night mode' to come on in the hours before you go to bed.

Change the text on your screen

You might find the text on your screen is too small to read. Maybe you're out and about and don't have your reading glasses. In your display settings, you can make text bigger or bolder and easier to read.

Adjust the display size

This affects how large things appear on your screen so you can see them better.

Pick a colour mode

Some devices let you change the colours on your screen to make them more or less vivid. This can help if you're finding colours too intense or struggling to see them.

Most devices have an 'Accessibility' section in their settings. These help to make your device meet your needs. There's no right or wrong way to use these settings. All devices are different, too. The best way to make the most of yours is to explore the different options and find out how they can help you.

TalkBack and Text-to-speech

This can help anyone who's blind, partially sighted or just finds it hard to see the screen. 'TalkBack' reads your screen content and features aloud, so you can use the device without looking at it. Perhaps you don't need this feedback, but you'd rather listen to than read text. Text-to-speech or Select to Speak options can help with this.

Visual aids

Just like your display settings, you can change how things appear on your screen to make them easier to see. You can make text larger, images bigger or change how text appears.

Audio aids

These help you change how you hear sounds on your device. For instance, you might struggle to hear in one ear. You can choose to hear sounds in only one headphone by changing your audio to 'mono'. This way, you don't miss any sounds. If you prefer or need to read because you can't access audio, you can also turn on captions.

Using the device

Most devices can work with switches. Switch access can help if you find it hard to operate the controls and touchscreen on your device. Other ways to help you use your device include changing what the buttons do or adjusting the touch sensitivity of your screen. You can also set shortcuts and gestures. For example, say you find it hard to use touchscreen to answer calls. You may be able to change your device to answer calls when you lift your phone to your ear, or press one of the bigger buttons.

Voice control is another useful tool to help you control your device if you find it hard to do it by touch. Like speech-to-text or dictation settings, you can say what you want to write instead of typing.

You'll find these in your settings menu. Adjust your privacy and security settings to keep your personal information and device safe and secure. You can control what information your apps have access to by giving or taking 'permissions' from them.

Keeping your software up to date is important. It makes sure your device is using the latest version of the software. Your provider will always be looking for new ways to improve your experience. This includes sending you updates to improve your security, or sending you updates to fix any security issues they find. These are all forms of software. It's what makes your device work. Most devices let you know if you need to download an update, but it's good to check it's always up to date.

Another way to keep your device safe is by setting up a lock for it. In your settings, you can set a password or code for your device. This will let you lock your device, open it and keep others out.

Most devices will also let you set up 'biometrics'. These are ways of locking your device that are unique to you and no one can copy. For example, your fingerprint, your voice or the shape of you face. If you lose your device, it adds an extra layer of safety on top of your password or code.

Finally, lots of devices have a 'Find my phone or device' setting. Once you set this up, you can use it to track the location of your device. So if it's lost or stolen, you can track it down more easily.