Dexcom g6 and android phones

Parents
1

My daughter and I have Android Samsung S9+ phones. Her Dexcom g6 app is working fine. My dexcom g6 follow app stopped working about a month to a month and a half ago when an update occurred. Now instead of the alarm going off when she is high or low I get a ding. It just notifies me like any text. I have tried calling dexcom and Samsung. Is this happening to anyone else? It is hard to wake up to just a little ding.

2

Is it at all times or does it work on and off? She may need to delete app and redone load, then re-invite to get it back.

3

Summary of what’s working for us: Use Nightwatch instead of Dexcom Follower app.

Details:
My daughter was diagnosed with T1D 4 weeks ago. She’s had the Dexcom G6 for 2 weeks now. We are an “Android family.” No iPhones. I learned quickly that Dexcom puts little effort into maintaining Android compatibility for their apps. Here’s what I’ve had success with:

-Daughter has Dexcom receiver; used to start/stop sensors (and also to extend sensor life to 12 days :wink:).
-Daughter has Moto G6 phone, using Dexcom G6 App. (Funny, right? The Moto G6 phone and the Dexcom G6 CGM). The Google Play Store does not allow the G6 App to be installed on the Moto G6 phone. I had to side-load a modified version of the Dexcom G6 app. If your phone is not compatible with the G6 app, obtain a modified version here:

(it sounds like your phone is compatible though)

-I enabled sharing on the Dexcom G6 app on her phone.

-On Mom and Dad’s phones (we both have Moto G6 phones also), we are NOT using the Dexcom Follower app. We are using Nightwatch. Nightwatch logins into the Dexcom server and pulls in live CGM readings. The alerts are fairly easy to setup (Nightwatch, being an open source group effort, doesn’t have the best instructions that go with it).

Get Nightwatch here:

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4

Justin,
It is not that they don’t keep up with android. It is kind of difficult to make apps that are medical in nature for Android.
•Android phones are open source.
•Android has dozens of manufactures and models
•Android has many different OS’s.
•Android phones are not a industry secured phone (sad but true).

This is why a lot of manufactures of medical devices do Apple iOS first. Because:
•iOS is not a open source frame (unlike Android)
•Most iPhones run on the same iOS (with the exception of the older phones that can not upgrade)
•iPhone has 1 manufactures, even though many models, they all run iOS.
•IPhones are secure and encrypted (android is not, and that is why ONLY a select few Androids are on Dexcom list)
•Apple manufactures not only the hardware but also the software (and with androids it is peicemealed… aka many companies for hardware and many companies for software)
•IPhones have one of the strongest user bases and the iOS is secure. The Apps on the iPhone are also secure. No one can crack paid (and medical related apps, one of the conditions of getting FDA approval. (Android, on the other hand, has numerous ways of illegally hacking a paid app, making it a very discouraging choice for developers. And that is why it always takes months if not years to get a Android based medical app from anyone… It is because the iOS/iTunes is secure and encrypted and android can be hacked illegally).

Yes, I am a pro Apple/iPhone/AppleWatch/iPad user but I do NOT work for Apple.

This is 100% my opinion. No influence from anyone. Just my opinion. And I am just stating the facts.

5

iOS can’t be hacked. LMAO! Dexcom has a iOS bias and developers would work to make things available for android based first if they had any kind of sensibility. That would avoid people having to hack your devices and discount your hardware limitations that you set, which can also be hacked on iOS.

6

They’re biased towards Apple for a reason. Dexcom has to submit everything to the FDA for approval before they can release it to the public. This includes apps and every update to the app. As posted above, Apple iOS is much easier to develop apps for because the developers are not dealing with multiple phone manufacturers and a plethora of software versions that each carry their own set of requirements, like Android does. The FDA approval for Dexcom’s Android app came a year later than Apple’s approval because of the reasons listed here and above. It’s not that Dexcom doesn’t care about Android, but rather it is much more difficult and lengthy to push Android through the FDA approval process.

8

No such thing as a paid or premium Dexcom app.

9

@Jason1 That thing you were replying to was a spam bot. Replying to them is futile. It’s gone now. Cheers.

10

@joe I’m sorry. Didn’t know

11

No need to be sorry. I got up late this morning and missed one! My bad - not yours! Cheers

1 Like
12

How to activate it? I created it and then put it on internal storage.

13

duh, should have thought more before posting! I figured out how to install, I got the US version to work, but can’t register due to it thinking I am in the US. Redid it for international but now it won’t open. Phone is a Moto G5 using Android 7. thanks for any help

14

The simple fact is that Dexcom is woefully behind on Android support, and seems to place few resources, if any, on maintaining or updating their App to cater to Android updates. They just do not want to put resources into testing hardware. That’s why the compatible phones and Android OS versions are so far behind.

I think this is poor. I really don’t care that Dexcom have business agreements with Apple and Samsung. It’s appalling that Dexcom don’t care about a sizable portion of their patient base, and force their user base to have to use outdated phones and OS versions.

If they are so worried about the various Android OS flavors, why don’t they just focus on a ‘pure’ Android OS/phone combo such as those offered by the Android One and Pixel phones. It’s not that hard.

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