Bedside

Bedside turns two phones or tablets you already own into a call bell for someone being cared for at home. The person in bed gets one big button. Tap it, and the carer's phone rings and vibrates until somebody answers — even when it's locked in a pocket or face down on a bedside table. The carer taps "I'm coming", and the person in bed sees who is on their way. Everything happens over your own Wi-Fi. There is no account to make, no internet connection needed, and nothing is ever sent to us or to anyone else. WHAT IT DOES • One big button by the bed — nothing else to get wrong. • The carer's phone alarms until it is answered, not just once. • The person in bed is told their call arrived, and who is coming. • More than one carer? Every phone rings, and answering on one stops them all. • More than one person to care for? One phone can answer several beds, and it tells you which bed is calling. • Losing the connection raises the alarm by itself. A call bell that has quietly stopped working is the thing we are most afraid of, so the app will not sit there looking fine when it isn't. • Vibrate-only option, so a call at 3am doesn't wake the whole room. • Free. No adverts, no subscription, no data collection. WHAT YOU NEED Two devices on the same Wi-Fi. One stays by the bed, ideally on a charger; the other is the phone you keep with you. Any phone running Android 10 or later works. The carer's device must be able to vibrate, so most tablets aren't suitable for that role. BEFORE YOU RELY ON IT — PLEASE READ Android is careful about letting apps wake you up, and by default some of those protections will silence a call for help. The app checks for this and shows a "Fix this" button whenever something is missing. Please follow it — it takes a minute, and it is the difference between a call getting through at 3am and not. On every phone: • Allow notifications. • Allow Bedside through Do Not Disturb. Bedtime and sleep schedules switch Do Not Disturb on overnight, which is exactly when you need to be woken. • Turn off battery saving for Bedside, so Android doesn't shut it down while the phone sleeps. On Xiaomi, Redmi and POCO phones there is one more step the app cannot do for you. Go to Settings → Apps → Manage apps → Bedside → Other permissions, and turn on "Show on Lock screen" (and "Display pop-up windows while running in the background"). Without it the phone still vibrates and shows a notification, but you have to unlock it before you can answer. On the same phones, set Settings → Battery → App battery saver → Bedside → No restrictions. Other manufacturers — Samsung, OPPO, OnePlus, Huawei, Honor — have their own versions of these settings under names like "unrestricted battery", "autostart", "run in background" or "display on lock screen". If a call doesn't wake your phone, look for anything on that phone that limits background activity or lock-screen display, and allow Bedside. Please test it before you depend on it: lock the carer's phone, press the button by the bed, and check that it wakes you. IMPORTANT Bedside is not a medical device and does not give medical advice. It is a convenience for calling for help in the same home, and it is not a substitute for professional care. Always keep a physical backup — a hand bell within reach costs nothing and never needs charging. Both devices must be on the same Wi-Fi network. Not guest Wi-Fi, and not one phone on mobile data.