Setting up a Mac for someone who is not comfortable with computers
· 5 min read
Setting up a Mac for a parent or a relative who finds computers stressful is a different job from setting up your own. The measure of success is not how capable the machine is. It is how rarely they need to ring you.
That points at a few decisions that are the opposite of what you would choose for yourself.
Use their own Apple Account, not yours
Tempting to use yours so you can manage it. Do not.
Their photos, messages and purchases end up mixed with yours, and untangling it later is genuinely unpleasant. If they do not have an Apple Account, make one with them, using their email, and write the details down somewhere physical.
Set up the recovery path at the same time: a recovery contact, which can be you. This is the single most valuable thing you can do, because a locked account is the failure that takes days to resolve rather than minutes. Two-factor authentication done properly covers it.
Make it readable
System Settings, Displays. Choose a scaled resolution towards Larger Text. This is more effective than any accessibility setting because it affects everything at once.
Then System Settings, Accessibility:
Display, Increase contrast. Makes buttons and boxes have visible edges, which removes a surprising amount of confusion about what is clickable.
Display, Reduce motion. Windows appear rather than animate. Less disorienting.
Pointer, larger pointer size. Losing the cursor is a common frustration and this fixes it.
Zoom, on with Control-scroll. Lets them magnify anything without changing settings.
Reduce what is on screen
The Dock should have the four or five things they use and nothing else. Right-click, Options, Remove from Dock for everything else. Applications still exist; they are just not in the way.
Turn off Show recent applications in Dock, so the Dock stops changing.
Set the Desktop to a plain background rather than a busy photograph, so icons are visible.
In Safari, set a home page they actually want, and add bookmarks to the toolbar for the handful of sites they visit.
Set up printing before you leave
Printing is the single most common source of calls. Add the printer, print a test page, and print something from Safari and from Mail so you know both work.
If the printer is wireless, note that a router replacement will break it. That call is coming eventually. A printer that worked yesterday covers the fix.
Give yourself a way to help
The most useful thing you can install is a way to see their screen.
macOS has screen sharing built in and it works well between Macs on the same Apple Account, or via Messages: start a conversation, then Details, then Share Screen. Set it up and test it once while you are together, because talking someone through enabling it over the phone is exactly the situation you are trying to avoid.
Make sure they know how to accept the request, and that it requires their permission each time, which is the right arrangement.
Turn on the things that prevent problems
Automatic updates. System Settings, General, Software Update. Turn on everything. A machine that updates itself needs you less.
FileVault. On, with the recovery key stored somewhere you can find it. If they forget their password, that key is the way back in.
Find My. On.
Time Machine. Connect a drive and turn it on. If they are unlikely to keep a drive attached, iCloud for Photos and Documents at least covers the irreplaceable things, with the caveat that sync is not backup.
What to leave alone
Resist configuring things they did not ask for. Every clever arrangement is something they did not choose and cannot troubleshoot.
In particular, do not set up complicated folder structures, automation, or anything that behaves differently from a default Mac. When they ring someone else for help, or search the internet, they need a machine that matches the instructions.
Write it down
One sheet of paper, kept near the machine: their Apple Account email, how to reach you, the Wi-Fi name, and the two or three things they asked how to do.
Not a manual. A reference card for the things they will forget in the first month.
Questions
Should I make them a standard account rather than administrator? Usually yes, if you will be doing the maintenance. It stops accidental system changes and installations. It also means you get a call for anything needing a password, which may or may not suit you. Standard, admin and guest accounts covers the trade.
Is a Mac a good choice for someone non-technical? Broadly yes, and consistency matters more than platform. Whichever they already half-know is usually the better answer.
What about Screen Time to limit things? Designed for children and it feels like surveillance applied to an adult. Do not, unless they ask.
How do I stop them installing something harmful? Gatekeeper handles most of it by default. A standard account adds a prompt. Beyond that, the effective protection is a conversation about the fake support call, which is the actual threat. The fake support call covers it.