Dexcom G6 with Smart Phones

Has anyone tried to use the Dexcom G6 with Android phones that are not listed on the Dexcom Android compatible list? The G6 Receiver and the compatible Smart Phones are all very large, don’t fit in his pocket. There’s a small android called “Palm” that is only available with Verizon. The Palm is about the same size as the G4 Receiver was, and is the size we’re looking for. Suggestions? Experiences? (Yes, we know the Dexcom website lists known compatible phones. When we called, Dexcom said they can’t respond because they don’t have any data.)

Why android? Get an iphone 8s and call it a day

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Get an iPhone SE for $150. Small bulletproof phone

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iphone 8s isn’t listed in Dexcom’s G6 compatible devices. The compatible iphones are 5S, 6, 6 Plus, 6S, 6S Plus, 7, 7 Plus, SE, 8, 8 Plus, X, XS, XS Max, XR.

Android - because all of our computers are windows, cell phone is android. But I’d bet if Apple came out with a small Palm sized smartphone, we’d be looking at that.

The SE would have been a contender, but it’s no longer made. And honestly, even if we can get one, we don’t want something that will not be supported sooner. A phone we have now that is only a few years old is not compatible with Dexcom G6.

I appreciate the suggestions.
Palm phone is 1.99 in width x 3.8 in height. Palm is roughly the size of a credit card.

I actually recently bought a new android phone through tmobile that wasn’t listed on the dexcom compatible device list and I wasn’t able to use the app at all I ended up returning the new phone.

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I’m still using G4 and receiver only. Check the TuDiabetes forum for what phones users find appropriate as well as alternative apps.

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Lilly @susanlily , rather than play hit-or-miss with various phones, why not go directly to DexCom to see what works.
Here is a link to all compatible phones:
https://www.dexcom.com/faq/what-devices-and-software-are-compatible-dexcom-cgm-apps

Dennis, did you bother to read my first post before giving advice?

Thanks, Missy! Good to hear that experience. I’m hoping someone with a very small phone that can still be purchased, and that is compatible with the G6, will somehow see this post and respond.

Thanks Jjmnav, I forgot about the TuDiabetes forum. I will definitely check there.

My new phone wasn’t supported when I bought it, and I waited a few months not able to use the app. Couldn’t find a way around it. I hope you find one you can work with!

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Our whole family has Android phones. My people are pretty tech savvy. My son had just gotten a new Android for his birthday, the week he was diagnosed, and did some research to find a fix.

You have to fill out the information, and then they send you a link. My son says make sure to click the “Yes” box that says “Do not run compatibility check”. (This is what will make the app work for you.) Otherwise use recommended settings. They will email you a link to download the “fixed” app.

We didn’t have to do anything special for the follow app, it works fine on Android, just my son’s for his phone he carries. It’s worked great without any glitches. We shared the link with our clinic so they could tell other patients about it too.

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A Apple phone can be used with a windows based phone… you do not need a Apple based computer… you just need to download iTunes for windows…

Also the Reason why the iPhone 8s is not listed is because it does not exist.
And the reason why NOT all android phones will work on Dexcom yet all Apple phones from 5s and up will is because Android phones are easily hackible and with Dexcom a medical device it was easier to go for Apple first as it was on manufacture one iOS then to android which has MANY manufactures and many iOS and SO ON… so you get my drift… so not all and nor will all android phones be compatible for medical devices and personally they should not be.

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Lora is spot-on. I used that same website to obtain a side-loadable Android .apk file that doesn’t run a compatibility check. My daughter wears the G6, and her phone is a Moto G6. She uses the Dexcom app on her phone (via the website Lora mentioned), and shares her data to the Dexcom servers, allowing her school nurse to see the data using the Share app. Has worked great during the last 7 months since diagnosis.

The Share app doesn’t work on my Moto G6 though. But that’s not an issue either. My wife and I use an app called NightWatch that accesses the Dexcom servers and provides all the same functionality. I also get weekly reports from Dexcom using the Clarity app.

The Dexcom platform is actually widely usable on Android. Dexcom can’t guarantee it though, because it’s an FDA device, and so it limits it’s app in the Playstore to only work on certain phones. The iPhone setup is clearly more straight-forward, but I personally like Android better, and this setup works great for us (admittedly has a steep learning curve).

NightWatch:
https://stephenblackwasalreadytaken.github.io/NightWatch/

And if for whatever reason you can’t get the Dexcom app to work, you can use xDrip:

My daughter liked the Dexcom app better than xDrip though, so we stuck with it.

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Were you ever able to get the Palm phone to work? I was thinking about the same thing to keep the small form factor.

I really like my old phone, but the Dexcom app wouldn’t load on my Galaxy 6+ Edge… so I loaded the Dexcom app on a compatible phone (Note9), and I used the smart switch app to transfer the app to my Galaxy Edge. The app is working just fine, and I’ve had no issues with the phone pairing with the sensor. Hope this is of some help to anyone with an incompatible device. :slight_smile: