So, I swear I saw some type of unfamiliar, “your transmitter is dying,” message on my Dex G4 last week while skiing. It was 12 degrees. I’d been outside for 6 hours. It was December 31st. I panicked and ordered a new transmitter that night in order to place the order before the end of the year because I was worried about a $1,000 deductible and transmitter failure during a time when I really, really needed my sensor.
But, now I wonder if it wasn’t just the cold. I don’t recall seeing such a message before. Should I send it back or keep it? I’ve had mine for a while, but dont want it to start warranty prematurely. I may be in a position in the next couple of months where I CANNOT be without a sensor, but am a little worried about a giant $1,000 expenditure of money.
I’ve heard that “when removed from package” for g5 transmitters too… but I see no activation mechanism within the package (and I’ve looked closely and dissected it)… is it actually “when removed from package” or when first paired via Bluetooth or what?
G5 - When session first starts. EDIT2: Or when transmitter snapped into sensor for the first time. Almost the same thing.
EDIT3: G5 does have battery drain on the shelf. But lower drain then battery drain after the transmitter is snapped into sensor and session started. So the G5 will NOT have as long of a shelf life as the G4.
Both of the above were investigated by various people pretty intensively. I am 100% sure of the above.
G6 assumed to be the same as G5. I am only 98% sure on that. Maybe 99% sure.
EDIT1 - Just to confuse the issue, Dexcom does print something on the G5 package about not removing it until you are ready to use it. Strongly implying it works like the G4. Which it does not.
My insurance uses ship date as date of service, so hope you got it covered in time.
On your G4 receiver, you can check device info. Will either show transmitter battery as ok or low. Low means you did get alert. I find it continues to work several weeks after low.
hmmm…transmitter device info is listed as OK. Maybe I got a low battery warning from being out in the cold. @Sam19, I think mine (G4) is the last model that doesn’t use Bluetooth. Thanks you guys, that’s ultra helpful information. Must be taxing to be A BOSS!
I recently had an early battery failure with a G4 transmitter that was removed from the package and put into service five weeks before. When I called Dexcom, they told me the warranty starts on the day it ships out the transmitter and ends six months later. The transmitter in question was shipped to me more than six months before it failed.
This is the first time that a G4 transmitter did not give me about 9 months of service. It makes me question the mechanism that protects the battery before it is removed from the box.
I use G4 and keep track of ship date and date I took out of box. So far I have averaged 9-10 months of use per transmitter, so usually order new one around month 8.
I am on the G5 and always have 1-2 spares and use the oldest one first, that has been sitting unused for several months after manufacture date. Transmitters last anywhere from 11 weeks to about 18 weeks after inserted into sensor. No rhyme or reason. If you look on the back of the transmitter box, you will see that there is a manufacture date and just under that SB, which is a ship by date and the difference between the 2 dates is about 8 months. That make me think that the transmitters are built to last at least 1 year from manufacture date.
@CJ114 - The G5/G6 transmitters (in USA) are warrantied for 3 months of active usage after 5 months on the consumer shelf after SB (Ship By) date which as you say is 8 months past manufacture date.
The Canadian warranty on the transmitter is even tighter than the US warranty.
The Dexcom G5 transmitter warranty for OUS (outside US) is only 3 months from date of shipment. No extra shelf time of 5 months as is given to US customers.
