I know the warranty for the G4 Receiver is one year, but does anyone know the actual expected life of the G4 Receiver. I pay out of pocket for my G4 devices and need to stretch them for as long as possible. Any information would be helpful.
Thanks
I had one last 2 years, and was told by a Dexcom rep that 2 years was surprisingly long. So, 1-2 years should be expected. Anything less is on warranty, and anything more is very unlikely.
My first receiver worked great for just over 18 months before the charging port broke. I’m sure it would have lasted much longer if I had been able to keep charging it 
I hate micro-usb plugs/ports. I personally think their purpose was to break easy to you'd have to pay to replace the device. Kind of a planned failure on purpose.
Most insurance should cover the receiver replacement in a scheduled time. Mine was a new receiver in 1 year. My old one would have worked, but the buttons were getting flakey so I was glad to get a new one at 1 year. General wear and tear is the biggest issue. It uses a Li-ion battery, which is good for 500 recharges, so that should not be the thing that normally makes it unusable.
My Receiver just melted (I think) on me this last Thursday evening. I'd had it since December 2013. It was strange how it died or I'm guessing melted. It was hot to the touch. I just paid $495 for a replacement. Dexcom was curious why I didn't purchase the $500 transmitter at the same time. I said I wanted to save money and I hoped that it would give me a warning before it dies. I think I did something to the port on Thursday evening to cause it to burn up like it did. It was strange.
Scott I plug my receiver into my computer every night to get the readings and then I just unplug in the morning. Do you think this may have caused my problem? I'm just wondering. It seemed to charge through my computer so I stopped charging in an outlet.
It only needs somewhere around 15min per day to keep it charged, so leaving it connected 8+ hours only increases the chance for electric issues. Though if you have your computer off during that time, it's not going to be charging either.
Okay I think I really did burn my unit up.
After about 18 mo I got a failure code "hwrf"..tech support had me reset it using a paperclip in the hole in the back...dexcom offered a cash price around $500 for a new one ..my insurance paid for a new one minus copay
I had one that lasted 18 months and was still working when I got a new one because insurance paid for it.
I did have to do a hard reset on it when it failed literally one week before the warranty expired. Dex support who helped me through the reset said that if it stopped working again and it was the same problem they would still replace it even if it dies after the warranty expired - so long as the original problem with it was reported and happened before the warranty expiration.
I think if you luck out and take really good care of it you can probably get more than a year out of it (it comes with 1 yr warranty)
My transmitters have all lasted way more than 6 months - one lasted a year.
Hmm, why it shouldn't last about 4-5 years? You only have to be careful with pluggin in the usb cable.
18 months is the life expectancy for a $500 product?? Ouch. I wouldn't accept that with a phone!!
I just purchased the G4, and now they are sending me the "Share" one, so I guess I should put my first one aside as an 'extra' for when the Share one dies??
I have been trying to find a Micro adapter to plug into the G4 Receiver to avoid plugging the cable directly into the receiver, but I have had no luck. Does anyone know of a source to get a Micro female/male adapter on the internet?
Keep in mind that millions of phones are produced. How many Dexcoms have been made, 20,000? There's just a different level of economy of scale here.
If you think $500 for 18 months is bad, don't think about pumps at $7000 for 4 years! Or $30 pump sites that only last 3 days.
I just gave away one that was 2 years old an working perfectly.
That's why I don't use a pump. . . well really it isn't the expense itself, it's the fact that I do not want insertion sites or something that is attached to me with tubing.
Lawdawgz I agree with you 100%. In fact, the reason I am getting the pump is to defer the cost of my I-Port that I use with my Novolog pens. My insurance Humana(Medicare) won't pay for them so I am getting a pump and my insurance will then pay for the insets that will replace my I-port, lol. I then will replace my pens with the pump for my bolus and correction needs. My insurance screw with me and I do everything I can to get even with them.
Good for you!!
I have had mine for 2 years now. The cover broke over the USB but I kept it in a case and let it fully deplete then charged it overnight when it did - seemed to help the battery last very well.
The G4 receiver made it, I just got a Vibe yesterday :) Worth the wait
I’ve had my receiver since Jan 2013 (2.25 years) and haven’t had problems with it. I do keep it in a case though and only upload/charge ~2-3x a week.
My first 2 transmitters each lasted just over a year… I’m wondering how the new smaller transmitter will compare, though.