Arthritis in the fingers

Posted by dennismm @dennismm, Apr 23 8:56am

I have arthritis in the fingers of my right hand. Some fingers are even “slightly bent.”
How do I type on my iPhone when my fingers keep hitting incorrect keys? It takes me 10 minutes just to type a simple text! I can’t always use voice or an external key, so what’s next?

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Profile picture for willow5 @willow5

@joanland

In settings under “messages” there is an option to use a full keyboard instead of the keyboard on your phone. It’s under “hardware Keyboards.” It would only be convenient when you are home, but maybe there’s some kind of adaptive blue tooth key board you can find. I have a separate keyboard for my iPad and my iPhone, thought I don’t use it.

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@willow5
Thanks, tried stylus, voice dictation, external keyboard. Can’t carry external keyboard all over the place, too inconvenient. Apple can’t help!

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Thanks, appreciate your response!

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Profile picture for dennismm @dennismm

@bswpb
If you read my email you would have seen that my surroundings are usually too noisy to utilize voice dictation.

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@dennismm Your responses/suggestions were very kind.

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Dictation. Yes, I saw what you wrote. So why don’t you limit your typing to time where/when you can dictate? Also you can set urge settings so that dictation focuses on your voice and not the background noises. As the arthritis in my fingers has gotten worse, even though I fixed the pain by figuring out I had gout, and taking allopurinol, the stiffness and big joints can’t be worked around.. You we must adapt at a certain age, it’s that simple!

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Profile picture for loriesco @loriesco

Dictation. Yes, I saw what you wrote. So why don’t you limit your typing to time where/when you can dictate? Also you can set urge settings so that dictation focuses on your voice and not the background noises. As the arthritis in my fingers has gotten worse, even though I fixed the pain by figuring out I had gout, and taking allopurinol, the stiffness and big joints can’t be worked around.. You we must adapt at a certain age, it’s that simple!

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Thanks for taking the time to answer me.
How do I make my iPhone more responsive to voice that you mentioned?

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I havent read all the responses but I too have arthritis in my fingers , there is a pen shaped thing ( made out of some kind of metal ) that is used on phones if its too small for you to grip there are ways to wrap foam or some such on it to make it easier to grip.

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Profile picture for willow5 @willow5

@joanland

In settings under “messages” there is an option to use a full keyboard instead of the keyboard on your phone. It’s under “hardware Keyboards.” It would only be convenient when you are home, but maybe there’s some kind of adaptive blue tooth key board you can find. I have a separate keyboard for my iPad and my iPhone, thought I don’t use it.

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@willow5 I'm on the verge of getting a Blue-Tooth keyboard which will help when I'm using my desktop. My current (old) keyboard is wired in, and it is full size and comfortable with a full 10-key pad. I think it would be very difficult to have a larger keyboard to use with a cell phone if there isn't a monitor to see what is being written. I'm open to suggestions, which much accomodate an Android cell phone and a Windows computer. Lots of stuff that works with Apple products don't work with Windows and Android.

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Profile picture for sunflower2025 @sunflower2025

@joanland you can make the keyboard larger I have two bent fingers both are after my thumbs also I use my computer more than phone and also you can talk in texts and not type.. so type in search larger keyboard and that can help you..

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@sunflower2025 Hi Sunflower2025: I can make the keys taller on my cell phone but their width is still the same. Are you talking about an Android phone? It seems almost impossible to make the keys larger because making them wider would need a larger phone or adding lines to the keyboard, and cell phones are a fairly standard size.

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Profile picture for dennismm @dennismm

@joanland
Thanks I have an iPad, however my fingers still hit an incorrect key!

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@dennismm
Eleven years ago, I had an iPad but when it became obsolete I abandonded it. A year ago I received a tablet as a gift (android), but have not woven it into my routine. It sits in its box. I have thought of that as an alternate to the cell phone simply to have a larger keyboard but the learning curve has me stymied at this point.

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Profile picture for joanland @joanland

@willow5 I'm on the verge of getting a Blue-Tooth keyboard which will help when I'm using my desktop. My current (old) keyboard is wired in, and it is full size and comfortable with a full 10-key pad. I think it would be very difficult to have a larger keyboard to use with a cell phone if there isn't a monitor to see what is being written. I'm open to suggestions, which much accomodate an Android cell phone and a Windows computer. Lots of stuff that works with Apple products don't work with Windows and Android.

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@joanland if it were me, i’d have to get a stand for my phone, have it in landscape position. Do you want it for texting? I am guessing the phone could be synced with a monitor or computer. And I’m apple for phone and iPad and desktop. So guess i can’t be of much help. As with most things, persistence in searching will hopefully lead you to the results you are looking for!

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