Dexcom: Latest G5 Update is worrisome and troubling

The good news about the new update is that there is an automatic synching with the Clarity app (you may have to delete and download again) so that the username and password is read from the G5 app and a code can be generated. This was a huge issue in clinic.

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Unfortunately, I only back up to the Cloud. Dexcom already did suggest that to me.

The bit about the FDA is not true. They don’t get FDA approval for their app because their iPhone app and interface is not FAD approved. That is why the FDA requires them to ship you a physical receiver with the G5. They cannot maintain a reliable connection with the phone, so the FDA won’t approve nor control their device.

They admitted to me that they messed it up. And I don’t know about the rest of you, but setting the Alert settings to Vibrate does not stop the audible alerts for me. I still get full volume (regardless of my volume settings) alerts for everything.

I have too much experience with iOS apps, and know some of the Dexcom engineers who work/worked on the G5 app to know better. One of the guys who wrote the original G5 app works for me.

If what @kmichel says is true, it’s ridiculous this has gone on almost a week without a fix released. It’s a simple thing to change in the code, and I feel confident saying that without having seen the code at all.

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Dexcom first rolled out this awful change on November 1, @Dave26. That’s 20 days of different stories to different people. As a firmware manager at a medical device company, I wouldn’t stand for this from my team.

I just noticed that if I put my iphone on silent, the notifications from dexcom will not be forwarded to my phone. Actually, the visual ones will, but not the sound/vibration. I can hear the phone vibrate, but the watch is dead silent. Strange.

Yes, this is also happening to me. This release is really bad and I hope they fix it soon. Whats the point of the watch if it doesn’t even notify you when it should? The last version worked so well why did they change it.

Dexcom please fix this.

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Just spoke to the guys at Dexcom. They are working diligently on a fix, and hope to have a new version out “soon.” I couldn’t get a more firm commitment from them on this. It was kind of amazing that I had to tell one of their guys how to roll back a version to prevent the problem on his device :slight_smile:

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What’s the easiest way for us to roll back to the old version on the iPhone?

The easiest way is if you have an iCloud backup. If you do, and it is from October 31 or before, you go into Settings, General, and Reset. You then restore your device from your old iCloud backup. But it is a one time thing. Once you do this, your old backups will disappear forever.

You can also do the restore from a backup that has been saved on your computer. Those backups stay which gives you a chance to save backups long term. This is why I always recommend backup up to your computer on a regular basis.

The downside of doing this, as fair warning, is that if you restore to the previous version of the App, and you use the Apple Watch, you also get the previous version of the Apple Watch. That is OK as long as you do NOT subsequently update your phone to iOS 10.1.2 or later, which uses a new update interface. If you do update to the new iOS, your watch will no longer update the glucose readings on a regular basis.

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Thank you for the update @kmichel. Much appreciated. I just hope they fix all the issues I found - I found several in the latest update, not just one.

As a side note: Do not update to iOS 10.2 or Watch OS 3.1.1 at the moment. Though the new phone app will run on iOS 10.2, the new Watch App will not load with this combination. It will spin for a few seconds, and drop out to the watch face. The previous phone and watch app will run, but the watch app will not update. Dexcom has been notified.

What a giant CF (if you know what it means, you’re salty enough not to be offended :grin:)

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If you don’t have an iPhone 7, the easiest way to mute all alarms is to out in a headphone set. I have a set from the dollar store that is just the jack, headphones cut off, that I use. Mutes everything when I want it to. With a 7, not a clue as it doesn’t have a headphone jack hole apparently.

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[quote=“Judi4, post:54, topic:57368, full:true”]
If you don’t have an iPhone 7, the easiest way to mute all alarms is to out in a headphone set. I have a set from the dollar store that is just the jack, headphones cut off, that I use. Mutes everything when I want it to. With a 7, not a clue as it doesn’t have a headphone jack hole apparently.
[/quote]To the astonishment of the iPhone crowd.

Yes, but that’s we always have the real stuff first and you have to fiddle around with xDrip :slight_smile:

:laughing:

Touche! However, at least I CAN mess around with xdrip… if this same situation occurred, I’d just fix it, build, and put it on my phone. The problem would have been solved within 24-48 hours :grin:

All kidding aside, one interesting thing I’m finding with xdrip is it seems to be more accurate tham Dexcom’s vaunted 505 firmware, and requires less calibration to stay accurate. How can that be?

I mean, the developers working on various pieces and parts of the We’re Not Waiting movement are simply hacks like me – not PhD physiologists with major degrees in biochemistry or something.

Yet, I get better results with xdrip (i.e. more consistent with my Freestyle meter) than I do with the Dexcom receiver. Further, I only calibrate once a day now, as that’s consistently been more than good enough for the several weeks I’ve been using it. So, while we wait for the next generation and the awesome ability to only calibrate every 24 hours, seems the technology is already there with the G5, at least for me, with the right software interpreting the data from the sensor.

IMO, if Dexcom had a modicum of business intelligence they’d be on the developers of xdrip like white on rice, hiring them outright, or getting into some sort of formal contract arrangement to bring the technology into their product.

Too often pride gets in the way of innovation. Truly smart companies don’t let this sort of thing get in the way.

While Dexcom seems to be ignoring this effort (as far as I can tell), Apple was very smart and hired the creator of Loop (one of the open-source APS projects).

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Wow, that’s so simple and smart! Pretty sure I have some old/barely functioning headphones around somewhere I can sacrifice to the cause.

I fully agree. xDrip also gives an opportunity to continue to use the transmitter even after the official expiry on the G5-app(?).
Dexcom definitely needs more developers on site, since the updates are too slow, the European versions of the app have no Apple Watch extension or Clarity service, and, of course, there is no Android solution offered at all. In other words, you are closing the door for half of your potential clients, or you are at lease causing them a big expense for no reason at all.

It would be great if Loop would be converted into an Android version as well, that would be a real gamechanger.

Dave,

I’ve followed your writing on these forums. Thank you for the descriptive writing. I’ve been a user of G4 and G5 and have fantasized(sorry for the strange description) about having my CGM data on a wrist watch. In addition, I’d prefer to gather the collected data and be able to transfer that data to a program I write for further analysis, staying out of the proprietary Dexcom cloud.

I prefer the open ecosystem of Android.

Based on your previous writings, I understand all might be possible with the following setup;
G4 transmitter --> xDrip|xDrip+ (running on droid ware watch).

If the aforementioned is correct, regardless of cost, please recommend a droid ware watch(s) and the OS ver. requirement for xDrip|xDrip+.

I’d prefer to collect the data landing on the watch. Is the transferred data text (CSV)?
Can I move the data off the watch to another environment (workstation, tablet, etc)?

Thank you.

In good health,

Jasone