Setting up phones

Protect & Assist uses two kinds of phones: the phone of the person you're protecting, and the phones of the family members who look after them. Here's how to set up each one.

Two kinds of phones

When the app opens for the first time, it asks Who will use this phone? Each phone is one kind or the other.

The person being protected

The phone of the person Protect & Assist looks after, like Mom or Grandpa.

Calls from unknown numbers go to Protect & Assist first.
Medicine reminders ring as an alarm.
It connects with a 6-digit code. There's no account or password on it, and it can't see the family's dashboard, billing or settings.

A family member or caregiver

Your own phone, and the phone of anyone else in the family who helps.

Sign in with your Protect & Assist account.
Get alerts when something needs a family member.
See calls, and change settings.

Before you start

Someone in the family has a Protect & Assist account, with a plan and a Protect & Assist number. That person is the account owner.
The Protect & Assist app is for Android phones.

Get the app on Google Play

Is their phone an iPhone or a basic phone? Then there's no app step for their phone: the phone's own settings and the carrier's call forwarding are used instead. See Will this work with their phone?

Set up the protected person's phone

About 10 minutes. Have their phone in your hand and your own phone or computer next to you. Only the account owner can do step 3, and they can do it from anywhere: they can read the code to whoever is holding the phone.

On their phoneInstall Protect & Assist from Google Play and open it.
On their phoneChoose The person being protected.
On your phone or computerOpen Protect & Assist and go to Settings → Phone → Their phone. Press Get a pairing code.
On their phoneType the 6-digit code and press Connect.
On their phonePress Turn on call protection. When Android asks which app to use for caller ID and spam, choose Protect & Assist.
On their phonePress Allow reminders, and Allow when Android asks, so medicine reminders can ring. Ring a test reminder shows what one looks like. Then press Continue.
On their phoneTurn on call forwarding: press Turn on forwarding now (on some phones, Open the dialer with the code, then the green call button). Wait for the beep or short message, then press Check that it worked: a test call takes about a minute.
On their phonePress Finish. Their phone shows Your phone is protected.

Good to know

A code works once, for 15 minutes. Getting a new code cancels the one before.
Only the account owner can get a code. Other family members can see their phone's status, but not the code button.
After setup, the settings on their phone are locked. To change them later, the account owner gets a new code and types it on their phone under Settings (needs a code from your family).
Skipped call protection? Their phone's home screen shows Turn on call protection. No code is needed to turn it on.

Set up your own phone

For the account owner, and for every family member or caregiver who should get alerts.

Install Protect & Assist from Google Play and open it.
Choose A family member or caregiver.
Sign in with your email and password.
When it asks, press Turn on alerts, then Allow. Alerts now come to this phone.

Good to know

Invited by email? Accept the invitation first: open the email, press Accept the invitation, and sign in or create an account with the same email address. Then sign in to the app with that email.
Missed the question about notifications? Go to Settings → Family → Notifications and press Turn on alerts here.
Have an iPhone? Alerts come by text message instead: see On an iPhone, just below.

On an iPhone

The app is for Android phones, so on an iPhone, alerts come by text message. Two things turn them on:

On your iPhone, open portal.protectandassist.com in Safari and sign in.
Go to Settings → Family → Family phones. Make sure your mobile number is there, with Gets alert texts on. If you can't change the list, ask the account owner to add you.
Go to Settings → Family → Notifications → SMS Alerts. Type your mobile number, tick the box and press Turn on text alerts. (Texting START to the Protect & Assist number does the same.)

Questions

The code doesn't work

A code works once and lasts 15 minutes, and getting a new code cancels any older one. Get a new code and type it on their phone right away. After many wrong tries, wait a few minutes before trying again.

I don't see "Get a pairing code"

Only the account owner can connect their phone. If you're not the owner, ask them to do it. If you are, check that you're looking at the right account and that their Protect & Assist number has finished setting up.

They got a new phone

Set up the new phone the same way, with a new code. Then, on your phone, go to Settings → Phone → Their phone and press Remove this phone on the old one, so reminders stop ringing there.

I chose the wrong kind of phone

Not connected yet? Press Go back on the code screen, or the phone's back button, and choose again. Already connected as the protected person's phone? The account owner presses Remove this phone in Settings → Phone → Their phone. That phone then says it was disconnected: press Go back and choose again.

Their phone has an older version of Android

Call protection needs Android 10 or newer. On an older phone, medicine reminders still work, and calls nobody answers still go to Protect & Assist once call forwarding is on.

Can more than one family member get alerts?

Yes. The account owner invites each person in Settings → Family → Family Access. They accept the email invitation, then set up their own phone as shown above.

Does the protected person need an account or a password?

No. Their phone connects with the code and has no sign-in. It doesn't show the family's dashboard, billing or settings.

Still stuck? Ask the assistant, or contact us. Protect & Assist is not an emergency service. In an emergency, call 911.