GPS watch

jaquie · August 8

Hello…..My father is very strong and active and still wants to walk around the block. I am looking to purchase a watch with GPS for him to wear. He gets disoriented and I dont want him to get lost and he refuses to walk with the home health worker. I have researched and found some options but cant find one that has all I need. Waterproof, GPS, long battery life, affordable (around $300). Can anyone make a recommendation. Greatly appreciated.

M1 · August 8

An apple air tag placed in his shoe or wallet may work just as well…no personal experience but i've seen it mentioned. I think there are a number of devices, doesn't necessarily have to be expensive. there will come a time however, likely sooner rather than later, when anything short of direct supervision will not suffice.

dancsfo · August 9

https://alzconnected.org/discussion/comment/218553#Comment_218553

I agree with @M1 I think it may too dangerous for your father to walk about alone, even with GPS or Apple Airtag (which only works with other Apple mobile devices in its vicinity - so does that apply to you? It does work in well populated areas but not in deserted areas. And will you be sure that your father won't rip any GPS device off? Some people chose to sew & hide them in clothes, but it becomes a pain when washing.

So an effort to have him accept a companion (i.e. health worker) may be a better thing on the long-term.

harshedbuzz · August 9

We're an Apple Family.

I can track my mom's Apple Watch (SE starts around $250 but you can find deals). She has cellular service on it but I don't think that's necessary to track— I'd ask. Mom doesn't have dementia, and the watch is a compromise for fall detection.

It works pretty well, but sometimes it doesn't update in the moment, and I get a location from a past location (sometimes as far back as a few hours), sometimes the location is just wrong (hers sometimes shows her at an autoparts warehouse about a 1/4 mile away and sometimes I get a message that she's "somewhere within the circle" which could encompass her entire town.

Mom had Tiles for a time. These are similar to Air Tags which are supposedly better. I was really not dazzled by these. I used them when I needed to collect her from the train station, and they didn't update quickly enough about half of the time which made me late.

A watch doesn't replace supervision at some point. Some people have had better luck hiring a young man they describe as a "trainer".

HB

GPS watch

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