Make a support walkthrough for a nontechnical recipient

Ask which device they have and which system version it runs. Apple’s instructions for finding it are simple to pass on: on iPhone or iPad, Settings > General > About; on a Mac, Apple menu > About This Mac. If your version differs, menus may be in different places. Record on a matching device if you can; if not, say at the start that their screen may look slightly different.

A screen recording is one-way. It does not give you access to their device, and can be delivered through a player or service they already use. Confirm that their device can actually play the file.

• Name every button by its label and location: “the blue Done button, top right”.
• Do one action at a time and pause after it.
• Avoid shortcuts and gestures they may not know, or show them slowly and say what you are doing.
• Use practice data, so they are not copying your account details or contacts.

After each stage, say what should be on their screen now. Then say what to do if it is not: “If you don’t see this, tap Back at the top left and try the previous step again.” A checkpoint lets them stop at the point things went wrong and tell you exactly where, instead of “it didn’t work”.

Split long tasks into separate short clips named Step 1, Step 2 and so on. A nontechnical viewer is more comfortable restarting a short clip than scrubbing a long one.

Record yourself doing exactly this on a matching iPhone, with checkpoints such as “you should see a red bar or dot at the top now”. Apple notes that if the Record button is missing, it needs to be added to Control Center first, so cover that in a short second clip.

1. Open Control Center using the gesture for their iPhone: down from the top-right corner on models with Face ID, or up from the bottom on models with a Home button.
2. To include their voice, touch and hold the grey Record button and turn on Microphone.
3. Tap Record, wait for the three-second countdown, then leave Control Center and do what causes the problem.
4. Tap the red indicator at the top of the screen, then tap Stop.
5. Find the recording in the Photos app and send it to you.

Reel records the iPhone or iPad screen with your voice and can show your face in a small overlay. For a relative, a familiar face can make instructions feel less intimidating. Keep the overlay away from the part of the screen you are explaining, and use Do Not Disturb to reduce interruptions, check its exceptions and inspect the finished recording for messages.

Send the clip through an app they already use for videos, and check its size if you are using email. Add the steps as text in the same message. If they get stuck at a checkpoint, ask them to reply with the step number.