I am looking for a way that I can FaceTime with my 95 year old father that has never operated an IPad. Can I leave the IPad plugged in for battery and remotely access his IPad and visit with him everyday at the same time?

This method worked for other seniors I know. Set up his iPad with Face ID. Leave it plugged in at a table or other location where his face will automatically turn the iPad on. Set up your contact info - along with a picture - in his Contact list. Then instruct him to only answer if he sees your face.

A couple side items for his protection …

• Make sure you are the only in in his contact list.
• Then go into Settings > Phone > Silence Unknown Callers. This should block calls from anyone else.

Funny story … I set up something similar for my Dad a while ago. He loved it and it worked well … until it didn’t. Out of the blue, I’d get a call from him saying it was not working. I’d come over to discover that he had unplugged the unit and the battery died. I finally figured it was his way of saying he wanted more in-person visits. The more often I visited, the less often the “accidental unplugging” occurred. Never underestimate the power of a 90+ senior!

You can certainly leave it plugged in. However, he will need to answer your Facetime call just as he would a regular call. I know 95 year olds who have no problem with learning new technolgy and 55 year olds who struggle.

If you believe that your father will struggle with being able to answer, I would suggest that you consider a pair of Amazon Echo devices with screens. They have a feature called "drop in" where you can unilaterally start a call. If you have it set up correctly, all your father would need to do is be in front of the device at the agreed upon time. They also have an entire set of services to help care for a family member. I think it's called "Alexa Together". There is a fee attached to it but, it may be worth looking at.