I am currently in my first session with the Dexcom G6, and I am impressed with the accuracy of the readings. I linked it just with my iPhone 6S, and although I have had no major problems, I know that I am on borrowed time with the battery in this current phone. I want to upgrade to the iPhone XS; however, I have read that some people are having trouble with the XS, and I am not sure that Dexcom has officially approved the XS for use with the G6. Does anyone have experience with the G6 and the iPhone XS? Do you have any problems? Since the XS uses IOS12, does that operating system cause any problems with the G6? I would like to upgrade my phone, but I don’t want to pay $1000 for a phone that will not work (yet) with the G6.
Hi, SherryAnn. I don’t have answers to the questions you posted but I use the iPhone 6, an older model than your current 6S. A while back, I went to the Apple store inquiring about getting a battery replacement for my phone.
They did a quick check under Settings > Battery > Battery Health (Beta) and found my maximum capacity at 94%. If I understand this correctly, that means that I can only charge my battery to 94% of its charge capacity when new, degraded but relatively close to 100%.
I decided to buy an add-on battery pack instead of a new phone in order to be able to make it through a full day with my Loop screen almost always on. Now I know you might want the iPhone XS for other reasons but thought I’d ask the question, in case spending the money was also a factor. Do you know what your battery health percentage is?
I switched over to Apple 15 years ago and I’m always excited to get new stuff. I hope you can get some feedback to the questions you asked.
@SherryAnn
We plan to replace the battery in our phone for $29 before the end of this year. Sounds like a good deal.
https://support.apple.com/iphone/repair/battery-power
Dexcom does not currently support iOS 12. However this list is subject to change at any point so checking back is a good idea.
With that being said, we have upgraded to iOS 12 on the iPhone 7. Dexcom does NOT list this as compatible with the G6 App however it is running and so far no obvious problems.
When news came out that Apple slowed down iPhones with weak batteries, I measures my iPhone’s clock speed with Geekbench. My 6 was running exactly half speed. The $29 battery replacement doubled the speed (brought it back to what it should have been). All of a sudden my desire to buy a new phone was gone. My 6 felt like a new phone. $29 well spent.
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Hi, Terry4. I checked my battery health and found it at 100%. The battery is fine, but with the G6 running in the background all day, I find that I sometimes go down to the high 20s or low 30 percentile by the end of the day. I am very active, so I do not just sit around next to my phone while it is plugged in to recharge. I know that the battery life is better in the iPhone XS, so that was one of the key considerations for me to go to that phone. My husband has done some research, though, and finds that the battery in the XS is not as good as the iPhone X or the soon-to-be-released iPhone XR. For now, I probably will wait a few months to see how my current 6S works for me.
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Thanks for the reply, Tim35. I know about the battery program with Apple and will keep that as a back-up if my battery keeps draining like it seems to be doing with the G6 running in the background. I have alerts from Apple to upgrade to the iOS 12 but will probably not do so until Dexcom officially accepts it as an operating system. I am happy to hear that you have had no problems with iOS 12. Your experience makes me more comfortable with considering the upgrade in the near future or with buying a new iPhone XS which, of course, comes with iOS 12.
Helmut, I may have to make the three hour drive to the nearest Apple store to get the battery upgrade yet. For now, I will not purchase the XS until I know that Dexcom 1) lists it as a compatible device and 2) approves the iOS 12 operating system for the G6. Thanks for sharing your experience.
The compatibility lists for G5 and G6 are identical. I have to admit that I did not check them before buying the XS. XS works fine with G5. I already got the G6 starter kit. Just need to use up my G5 sensors.
There are some older versions of the OS and older models that are supported under the G5 but not the G6.
With the price of all this equipment, I fully understand. Please let us all know when you switch to the G6 if the XS still works for you. Thanks for the feedback.
Hi SherryAnn, I am on my last week of the g5. The accuracy of the g5 is really only accurate when there is nothing else rising or lowering bloodsugar. For example, when I tested through the night it was prettywell always on spot. Throughout the day I find it hard to trust. I would like to pick my finger less with the dexcom g6. You said you where surprised at the accuracy. Is that still the case? I hope so. Thanks.
Like most CGMs, the G6 has its wonky times and days, but for the most part I can trust it. I have gone some days with only one blood test just to make sure the G6 is still on track with my PDM. I trust it the least right after I change my OmniPod Pod. I tend to run high after a Pod change, so I always check. However, I rarely have to recalibrate the G6. The only other time I don’t always trust it is when I change the G6 sensor. I test then, but even if it is off, I generally wait a few hours. Usually it will settle down. You will love how easy it is with the G6 to change and insert the new sensor. Lately, I have been monitoring it both with my iPhone XR and with the Dexcom receiver. I find the actual receiver much more reliable than my iPhone. The phone loses signal much more often than the Dexcom receiver. Good luck with the G6. I think you will love it.
Thankyou for your reply. I am also considering changing the type of infusionset that I use.
When I first started pumping I was using the angled infusionsets. I couldn’t get the angle correct. I am thinking of going back to the angled infusionsets as I am hitting alot of veins and resulting in high blood sugars. I use tsure 90 right now. I am lean.
You can go into the apple store and have the battery replaced for around $60-$100. But, backup all your information on the phone first. So, plug phone into your mac computer and move all your photos onto a computer so they dont get lost, or save photos in icloud. Write down important contact phone numbers. Ooops, I see you already discussed this.
How about purchasing a couple extra chargers (one for your car) and keeping them in your purse?