If you're not confident you can attend an online meeting, then this service might be good for you. We will send an iPad out that you can use to attend meetings. It connects through the mobile phone network and gets couriered back when the meeting has finished. This is a free service to help people connect.
What happens?
A modified iPad is delivered to you by courier and you can talk to us, attend the meeting, without having to do anything else.
This is helpful if you or someone else would like to attend the meeting but:
is not confident attending meetings online,
does not have a computer or internet connection available, or
is not familiar with video conference meetings or using a computer.
Why do we offer this service?
We know that some of us face barriers to being included in the digital world. We have developed a service to try and include everyone who wants to use our service.
To use this service, you will need:
to agree to receive an iPad by courier and agree to return it to us,
a quiet place where you can attend the meeting that has mobile phone coverage,
to agree to answer a survey about your experience with this service,
to request the service at least 10 days prior to your meeting.
If this sounds like something you would like to try, then give us a call on 0800 119 221 to talk to us about this.
Step by step guide to using our Digitial Inclusion Service
When you receive the iPad, you will have instructions that explain how it is used and photos to help. This makes it really easy, even if someone is not used to technology.
Step 1: Open the box which has the iPad
You’ll find a black case containing the iPad and the charger. You’ll also find a separate self-addressed return courier bag so you can send it back. Please keep the black case, the box and the return courier bag safe so you can use these to send the iPad back to us after your meeting.
Step 2: Learn how to turn the iPad on and off
Firmly Press and hold the power button on the corner of the iPad. Hold the button down for 1-2 seconds before releasing. Watch the front of the screen and wait for the iPad to start with the “Apple symbol”.
Step 3: Find the home screen
The home button is the circle on the front of the iPad below the screen. Pressing this will take you back to the home screen. The home screen is where you will join the meeting. If the screen goes to sleep (black) press the Home button again to wake it up. Once it has woken up you might have to press the Home button again to see the Home page.
Step 4: Join meeting
The meeting will be by video. To get to the video meeting, go to the home screen and click on the purple “Microsoft Teams” icon and it will open Teams. Click on the “calendar” at the bottom and you will see your meeting. To join the meeting, you click the “join” button and once you can see yourself click "join" again.
Step 5: After the meeting
Once the meeting is over and any agreement is signed, you’ll need to pack up the iPad. Please follow the checklist for packing this up. You will put the box inside the courier bag that you received and it will then be couriered back to us to be cleaned and reused.
People who use this service really like it
Nearly everyone who has used this service has given us good feedback. It has a 100% satisfaction rating and everyone who has talked to us after using the iPad has said that they would use this service again to attend online meetings.
We recognise that this may not be your preferred option but we encourage you to give it a try if you think it might help you access the meeting.
Keeping things safe
We take safety, privacy and security seriously. This means that the iPad will only work for Talk – Meet – Resolve meetings. This maintains privacy and security for everyone. We have control of the iPad so we can remotely fix most problems that happen. It connects to our computer system through the mobile phone network.