How to turn an old iPad into a family calendar

Wipe it, dedicate it to one job, keep it plugged in, and mount it somewhere visible. That's the whole hardware side. The app you put on it is a separate decision, and it matters less than people expect, since the iPad itself is doing most of the work just by existing on the counter.

Check what it can still run

Settings > General > Software Update tells you the newest iOS it's eligible for. Most calendar apps track current or near-current iOS, so this is the real ceiling on what the iPad can do, not its age in years. An iPad that still gets security updates is almost always fine for this.

Wipe it and start clean

Old photos, old app clutter, someone's old Apple Account still signed in, all of it gets in the way of a device meant to do one job. Settings > General > Transfer or Reset iPad, then Erase All Content and Settings. Set it up fresh, ideally with an Apple Account made for this purpose rather than anyone's personal one.

Lock it to one job

An iPad that can be swiped out of the calendar app and into games or Safari stops being a family calendar within a week. Guided Access (Settings > Accessibility > Guided Access) locks the screen to a single app, triple-click the side button to start it. It's built for exactly this and takes about a minute to set up.

Keep it plugged in, permanently

This is an always-on device, not something anyone charges and puts away. A cable run behind a stand or through a wall mount, left connected, is the difference between a family calendar and a tablet that's dead by Wednesday.

Mount it somewhere it gets looked at

A basic countertop stand works for a shelf or kitchen counter. For a wall, a low-cost tablet wall mount with the charging cable run behind it keeps the setup tidy and out of the way of daily traffic.

Then pick the app

Plenty of calendar apps will run on a prepared iPad like this. What to look for: something with an actual always-on display mode, not just a calendar view you have to keep waking up, and something that pulls in every household's calendars rather than just one person's. The Solution's Kitchen Mode is built for exactly this setup: plug in, connect your Google Calendars, and it stays on, shows the week ahead, and wakes with the room. More on how Kitchen Mode works.

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