I've had my dex g4 for one year and 2 weeks (so of course it is now out of warranty) and it has suddenly stopped taking a charge and will not load data into software (computer says device malfunction). I have ordered a new one, but it won't arrive for three to five days and the battery has only a couple of hours charge left. I have called Dex and they say there is nothing that will fix it.
I can no longer imagine life without dex, even for a few days - it warns me of highs and lows multiple times a day.
Anyone have the same technical problems and if so did you find anything worked to breath new life into it?
Word of advice to other users - if you have insurance and Dex is covered you may be able to order a new one as soon as the warranty expires even if your current Dex is still working. My insurance company approved my new one right after the warranty expired (lucky for me that new one is on its way or I would be facing a much longer period without one)
So, your receiver battery will no longer accept a charge. Is that right? I received a 2nd G4 kit one year after the first one. I'm still using the first receiver and it seems to be chugging right along. Did your failure surprise you? Were you getting less and less time between charge sessions?
I know what you mean about becoming so dependent on the CGM. It is really a great tool, even with its inaccuracies!
The failure was a surprise, there was no warning signs or messages - it just stopped taking a charge all of a sudden, The last charge was about 2 days ago and was normal but then it didn't last and computer can't even load data, Good thing I got my new one before losing my health insurance under Affordable Care Act.
Ours still charges but suddenly stopped transmitting after giving (I think) two days' warning. I second the "get a new one as soon as you can" based on your insurance. I wish we had a back up. The holiday meals and the vacation schedule are not good for my 13 year old without the DEX!!
I know how you feel Natasha, I feel really stressed not having my dex and I know my bs won't be as good. I was hoping the new dex would be my back-up. I didn't expect the current one to die so suddenly (and before the new one arrived).
Have you tried doing a hard reset? I had one that froze up and would not respond, had to hard reset about 4 times but finally did come back to life. I also found that it was sensitive to the type of charger I was using. I have many micro usb chargers that will work but it heats up more when I use anything other than an old kindle charger. It takes longer but seems to give me less trouble. To do the reset, place on a charger for about 15 minutes, then push a pin in the tiny little reset hole in the back until you get a vibration, then leave it on the charger for a while, until fully charged. For me it was saying it was charged but when it froze and I was able to reset it really did need to charge.
That was about 2 months ago, still going strong. In fact I have two receivers now and run them both so I can overlap and avoid the 2 hour drop out with sensor changes. In act if you just change the sensor but do not stop/start a session you will get numbers before the 2 hour warm up period. You will get ??? for a while but it will go away quicker than the usual 2 hour wait. Will be getting a new transmitter shortly to have on hand since the 6 month window will be up in the near future, although I hear many last much longer than the listed time frame.
thanks for advice - I will try it. the device isn't frozen it just won't take a charge, Dex said a hard restart wouldn't help, but you never know its worth a try.
Never realized you could avoid the 2 hr restart with just putting in the new sensor - does it affect the accuracy? How do you avoid the device demanding a restart?
I have it plugged in all the time now and it seems to be keeping it at a VERY low charge, but at least it is still limping along. Wishing I had gotten the new one sooner
It will still demand a reset at the end of the week but with two receivers you can stagger the timing so you still have one that will give you a reading. As long as you can get it to track a decent calibration it is still good to go. I can run mine for at least three weeks before it starts to get erratic and even then the trend will be correct even if the actual number is not. I still FS to confirm if I do not believe the CGM number or are planning on a big correction dose or if it is a new sensor in the first week. Also need to calibrate more frequently in the first day or two of a "fakeout reset" before it settles back in.
I keep mine in the upper arm, and alternate sides when I need to actually replace the sensor. Don't roll over and sleep on it as much, and don't knock it as much while working. Will be reaching the six month point where insurance will cover a replacement transmitter, so will be getting one for the stores, With two receivers, I may play with staggering/alternating receiver/transmitter combos so I can always have coverage.
Like you I have gotten very used to the info the CGM provides and I feel naked without it. With my pump I will micromanage my insulin delivery to try to stay below 140 without going low. Doesn't work all the time since life happens, but I've been able to get to an A1C of 5.8 with out going below 65. Hoping that in the long run it will minimize complications.
wow - impressed with your numbers - it has taken me a year but went from aic of 11 to 6.8 with CGM but can't seem to get lower then that. my dr tells me not to try for lower. Although now that I lost my dr under Affordable care act I am on my own for now. Do you get most help from endo or diabetes educator?
I use my endo and pump nurse for official waving of hands to keep insurance coverage for my tech toys. I have found that "pumping insulin" is my go to when I have a problem. I'm aggressive with my targets as well as my basal testing. I review each segment of the test on a regular basis. I have found that if I set my target at 85 that I have a lot more success in staying under 140 post meal than if I use the 100 that my endo/CDE/pump nurse recommend. I did not just jump to that target but worked down to it over time. It was the number that I did best with while doing MDI. For some reason it worked best with the Glucool app I was using to calculate my doses. Don't know if it I'll work for you or wether it was related to my intuition on carb doses at meals.
Once I went to tslim the bolus calculator works better for me with the same target. Took some playing with To get to that setup, as well as dialing in my basal rate changes for time of.day. I have a busy active work day and need several basal changes for time of day vs activity level. On weekends and holidays I run a basal rate of 120% of my workdays.
Now the fun is to work heavy lifting, prolonged cardio, plus hiking, climbing and backpacking back in so I can do all the things I enjoyed before my dx.
Mine died the other day while I was traveling. I keep hoping it will start to work again, but the battery says it's low and it's been a year. I'm just now recovering from an extreme low and afraid to go to sleep. I'm beyond Dependent on my CGM. It's a part of me. arg/ I will call them in a few hours to see if I've been approved for a new one. I wish we just needed to purchase a battery for the unit. That would be simple.
I can't believe this, I had exactly the same thing happen to me yesterday. The receiver worked perfectly fine in the morning, I downloaded the data. Then in the afternoon I plugged it in to the computer to recharge it and got the device malfunction message. I am going to try the hard reset that 2hobbit1 suggested and maybe get some more time out of it. I called Dexcom yesterday and they offered me a new charging cord but said they didn't think it would do any good. Naturally this is out of warranty as well and I have switched doctors so now have to get the new endo to send in the certificate of medical necessity. Thankfully the receiver still has plenty of charge because everyone seems to be on vacation until Thursday. The thing that really bugs me is this receiver was brand new in August but only warrantied for 3 months because it was a replacement.
IT WORKED, THANKS 2hobbit1 MY RECEIVER JUST DOWNLOADED TO MY COMPUTER AND IS CHARGING AGAIN ! I AM GOING TO ORDER ANOTHER RECEIVER ANYWAY BUT AT LEAST NOW I DON'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THIS ONE DYING WITHOUT A REPLACEMENT.
Good to hear Clare - I'm sure it is a big relief to get the DEx going again. So far I have kept mine alive by keeping it plugged it, which of course keeps me tied to the house so it can stay plugged in. It doesn't actually increase the charge, but keeps it at the tiny charge it has. Will try the hard restart
Dex told me the same thing - can send new cord but didn't think it would help.
I would definitely try the hard start - it can't really hurt and it might just fix the problem. It may take more than once, but I was talking to another Dexcom user who had a strange error on her receiver which directed her to call Dexcom technical support. When she called they instructed her to do the hard restart, but they didn't tell her to plug it in to the power source before the hard start. I don't know if this is a secret or if I need to RTFM again but yes it is a big relief to get it working properly again. I just looked over the manual online and naturally there are no instructions for hard starting anything.
For me the trick seemed to be to plug it in for at while and do the hard reset while it is plugged in and then leave it plugged in while it goes through the reset process. I tried just doing a reset without it being plugged in and it would get part way through and lock up /crap out again. It took a couple of tries but it finally did reset properly. It is still working properly almost 3-4 months later. That is why I have two receivers now, I never sent the "problem" back when I received the replacement....
