I generally get 5 to 6 months transmitter life on XDrip+. When the G5 receiver cuts out, XDrip+ usually says I have 27 to 28% battery left. the 105 days on the G5 receiver is strictly a software block which I assume is to “guarantee” a good transmitter can be shelved and sold long after the use by date. It also creates a recurring income stream fro Dexcom.
JMHO
Doesn’t the G4 & G5 use same battery? If so, BlueTooth is is an energy guzzler, using twice the battery than G4.
I believe it is more complicated than that. It is a significant difference in the transmitter technologies.
There are YouTube videos of people taking these apart if you want to see what is actually inside.
What I can find is that the technology difference is the transmission type. The only ‘sales’ point is “BlueTooth”.
Since the same sensor is used, I must assume that the transmitters are the same size and fitted with 2 batteries in each to provide the circuits with 3 volts. Apparently G5 uses larger batteries and is hungrier than I thought.
G4 uses 391 size battery - 2.1mm x 11.6mm, 1.55 v @ 55mAh
G5 uses 389 size battery - 3.1mm x 11.6mm, 1.55 v @ 80mAh (ie 160mAh in 2 transmitters)
(Good research, when I attempt replacing batteries in a G4, I will try fitting with 389s.)
Therefore; assuming that 2 G5s will last 6 (or even 10 to 12) months while 1 G4 lasts same amount of time, the G5 uses 3 times the power of the G4. (My experience of average 12 months with G4 would then indicate G5 uses 6 times the power.) Similar to my truck using 3 times the amount of gasoline that a compact might use to make the same 200 mile trip down the road.
@JJM1 - If you search on this site for posts regarding the G4 and G5 you will find good discussions about them as well as a decent selection of people who have compared the two versions of the Dexcom and decided the G4 was the better choice for them.
We prefer the G5.
I doubt the difference from a “sales” perspective would equal the difference from an “engineering” perspective.
As you correctly mention, both the G4 and G5 use the same sensor. As @Laddie has mentioned in the past, the G4 and G5 have the same accuracy with the exception of an older version of the G4 or an older G4 Pediatric - I forget which.
So at this point it would appear that Dexcom is allowing you to pick which system (G4 or G5) will work best for you.
The three month lifespan of the G5 battery is very disappointing. I seems about making more money for Dexcom. The G4 battery lasted ages longer.
@southerncross you can bypass the 3month/3week/3day software block by using XDrip+. There is a plethora of info on this blog by many users documenting the extended battery life using XDrip. There are also some people like myself who have replaced the batteries on dead transmitters and re-used them on XDrip . If you are interested in the replacement, there are several excellent How-Tos on YouTube. Batteries for the transmitters (you need 2) cost ~$2 each on Amazon.