A few months ago, my daughter’s Dexcom G5 receiver was caught in a reboot cycle. The unit would vibrate, the ‘boot-up’ screen would come up, and then turn off. The cycle would repeat every 90 seconds. Resetting with a paperclip did not stop this. We called Dexcom and they shipped out a replacement as the receiver was still under warranty.
Last night, the same reboot loop issue happened again. When calling Dexcom, the representative said it was a known issue that if you stop a sensor session and then turn off the receiver within 15 minutes of stopping the sensor, the unit can get caught in this reset loop. This is exactly what had happened to my daughter. Her sensor had come off at bedtime, and she was going to insert a new sensor in the morning, not wanting to stay up another two hours to wait for calibration. Turning off the receiver to save battery was mistake I guess.
So - just an FYI for anyone else using the G5 receiver.
Thanks for the heads up…Coincidentally, my receiver became stuck on the same reboot cycle this morning. I did not shut it down, only used the “stop sensor” command. Will get in touch with Dexcom and see what the next steps are.
We almost never restart a sensor when my son, Caleb changes it. That probably sounds a little nutty, but the intent is to minimize the amount of time he is in restart. We pull sensors when we think they are not giving good information. So, if Dexcom says - “a week is up, time to change and restart,” we restart, but don’t change the sensor if it’s giving good data. When it starts to give unreliable data or ???, Caleb inserts a new sensor, but no restart. Within 30 minutes or so, the new sensor will start providing data. We definitely confirm with a finger stick when we start a new sensor - and continue to a little more often on the first day - but we’ve avoided that two hour blind period for a little longer.
Thanks for the info but not sure I understand. Do you mean you never hit the “stop sensor” command on receiver when either restarting a 7 day old (but still good) sensor or stopping a bad sensor/ inserting a new sensor/ starting that new sensor? Do you use stop/start sensor commands only on the iPhone?
Just a heads up that I am trying a work around to see if it will bring my G5 receiver back. I am putting it away for a week to let the battery die completely, then will charge it up and see if the firmware resets itself. Spoke with technical support who agreed its worth a try although they are not optimistic.
Although I’m quite happy with Dexcom I do have a beef with them on this issue…they say that if I send the receiver to them there is no way for them to reset the firmware and send it back to me. For a $600 device with a known firmware problem I would hope they come up with a way to offer this type of repair, maybe for a small charge to the consumer? The specifics of my receiver: 15 months old, warranty expired 3 months ago.
I really like Dexcom - the technology and the company.
But it is hard to argue your point. If this is a known issue then they really should provide an extended warranty for any receiver which gets caught up in this particular defect. I hit this issue and spent about 4 hrs with Dex Tech Support on the phone. We were unable to get past it. I like your idea of waiting for the Receiver battery to die. I would be very interested in the results whether successful or not.
I’m confused. The warranty on a G5 is 3 years, no? I just saw a page on line from dexcom stating 1 year, but I’m sure they told me the one I got on Medicare is covered for 3 years (or is it 4?)
@Dave44 - Putting Medicare aside for the moment, no. The Dexcom standard Warranty on the Receiver is 12 months.
So pulling Medicare back into the question (which I assume you had in mind?) - good question if that changes at all.
EDIT: I double checked the wording on the Medicare initial statement that approves the CGM:
“A receiver (or type of monitor) for a therapeutic CGM that has an expected life of at least 3 years and is the component performing the medically necessary function of accurately monitoring the trends of the patients’ blood glucose levels so that he or she can make necessary diabetes treatment decisions meets the 3-year MLR [minimum lifetime requirements].”
So, potentially the phrase “expected life” perhaps does not equate to “warranty” ??
As with all things Dexcom and Medicare, my guess is the first person to try this will find out the real answer and hopefully post how it all went.
Although if Dex just started shipping the Medicare orders a few months ago, it will be some time before those initial Dexcom/Medicare Receivers are older than 12 months and by that time - who knows how much else might have changed anyway?
I don’t want the warranty to be too long, because that locks me out of getting a newer model CGM. Same thing with my pump. Its warranty is too long, IMO (Medtronic)
Medicare has started to cover Dexcom G5 because they have categorized the receiver as DME with a 3-year life. In the past all of our receivers were warrantied for 1 year. In the days before smartphone use, few of my receivers lasted a year. I assume that those of us on Medicare will get receivers replaced at no charge during the first 3 years, but I don’t think that I’ve seen anywhere that our warranty is 3 years. They are contracting with Medicare on a subscription basis and my understanding is that they will need to supply us with what we need every month.
No one has come out and said what will happen when the new touchscreen Dexcom receiver is released. I have always been told that Medicare beneficiaries are not allowed to participate in product upgrades. Does that mean that Medicare people who are currently receiving the old style receivers will be stuck for 3 years? I am still using pre-Medicare supplies and am postponing as long as possible getting sensors under Medicare. In my perfect world, I will be cured of diabetes. In a slightly less perfect world, smartphones will be allowed by the time I use Medicare for Dexcom supplies. In an even less perfect world, I will get the new touchscreen receiver. And very likely, I will get an old style receiver for the next 3 years.
It will be what it is and I am not losing sleep over it.
I was told by Dexcom that there is a one time fee of $200 for a broken/lost receiver. After that, it’s full price. I’m not talking about warranty defects, but breakage & loss.
I asked about the touchscreen receiver–Dexcom couldn’t give a definitive answer but my WAG is there will be no upgrade during the 3-year period. Only warranty replacements of like-receivers.
I’m not thrilled with all touchscreen interfaces. My Camry drives me nuts when using the TS for changing channels or apps. I wouldn’t want a Tesla for that reason. Turning on the wipers is a major ordeal on the Tesla, as just one example of interface issues on that brand. I like analog knobs. Doesn’t mean I don’t love my smartphone, though–I’m on it a LOT.
Caleb’s restarts a sensor (typically an existing sensor, not a new one) only when prompted to do so. He inserts a new sensor when one wears out. The restart on the receiver (actually just his phone bc he does not use a receiver) typically has nothing to do with him physically changing a sensor.
@John58 - I actually just found an old (ie - Before the Dexcom/Medicare existed) posting about Dexcom providing a “one-time” replacement on the receiver for lost/broken for a $200 fee.
I never heard of this before. But then again - it never would have occurred to me to ask.
The 7 day test was not successful…the battery seemed dead, plugged in and recharged, powered up and had the same endless reboot bug. My replacement arrived today and I am shipping the broken receiver back.
