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Is My Sd Code Free Dying

Rachox

Rachox

Oracle
Retired Moderator
Messages
17,554
Location
Oxford
Type of diabetes
I reversed my Type 2
Treatment type
Tablets (oral)
I bought a Code Free when I was diagnosed 13 months ago and it has been my constant companion. However lately it’s been forgetting the time despite trying new batteries. This in itself doesn’t bother me as I feed my readings into MySugr so have a record of my readings with correct time stamps, but I’m just worried it’s a sign the meter is about to die. Has anyone else run a Code Free with the wrong time but everything else is ok for any length of time?
 
Sorry to read.
I had one and it lost the plot big time no matter what I tried... in the end I took a "freebie" from Bayer, more expensive strips no doubt but a better bit of kit..
 
No quite sure what you mean by forgetting the time. I have never set the time on mine
 
Yes it happened to me. I wonder if its the contacts that connect with strip get worn. When you insert the strip it wakes up the meter. Anyhow, I put it in the car as a backup and ordered a new one.
 
Pinkorchid said:
No quite sure what you mean by forgetting the time. I have never set the time on mine
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I set the time correctly then the next time I switch it on it is showing some random incorrect time though strangely the date stays right.
 
hankjam said:
Sorry to read.
I had one and it lost the plot big time no matter what I tried... in the end I took a "freebie" from Bayer, more expensive strips no doubt but a better bit of kit..
Click to expand...
I do have a spare free one at home (I’m currently away). So atleast I have a backup with 10 strips if it dies completely.
 
Yes, I had the same problem with my first one after about 9 months. I contacted Home Health and they replaced it for me. I think for free but am not 100% sure. I used my second one a lot longer than 9 months and as far as I know it is still working after nearly 4 years, although I only use my Accu Chek these days.
 
Ring Home Health or email. I found them very helpful and responsive when I had a test strip problem.
 
Both my husband and I are T2 so have two Codefree's both are over two years old and still going strong only had to change the battery in one very recently but I have never set the date or time on them as we are only interested in the test result
 
Rachox said:
I bought a Code Free when I was diagnosed 13 months ago and it has been my constant companion. However lately it’s been forgetting the time despite trying new batteries. This in itself doesn’t bother me as I feed my readings into MySugr so have a record of my readings with correct time stamps, but I’m just worried it’s a sign the meter is about to die. Has anyone else run a Code Free with the wrong time but everything else is ok for any length of time?
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Yes I get this from mine, I get forgetful as I get older, but then I have more miles on my clock compared to my SD. There does seem to be a problem, but difficult to think what is causing it.

Not a battery problem, but my SD is also losing readings not just time. Must be a memory chip dying. I was an electroncs designer, and we used Flash Memory chips, and these have a lifecycle limitation in that like my IR probs in my body, these memory chips need to be increasingly overwritten to get the info to be stored. Basically, cheap commercial memory chips have a limited number of times you can write to them. There are design techniques to extend their life, but that would need an OS change to the meter.

Think there will be a time to retire these meters, and it seems to be they last a year then start to fade.
 
Rachox said:
I do have a spare free one at home (I’m currently away). So atleast I have a backup with 10 strips if it dies completely.
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You may find that the test strips are time limited, and may not retain their accuracy if past their expiry date. Batteries also self discharge and lose their oomph without actully being used.
 
Bluetit1802 said:
Yes, I had the same problem with my first one after about 9 months. I contacted Home Health and they replaced it for me. I think for free but am not 100% sure. I used my second one a lot longer than 9 months and as far as I know it is still working after nearly 4 years, although I only use my Accu Chek these days.
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lucylocket61 said:
Ring Home Health or email. I found them very helpful and responsive when I had a test strip problem.
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I bought mine from Amazon when Newly diagnosed, but have used Home Health since for supplies, and yes I agree @lucylocket61 they helped me out with a rouge set of testing strips. I think mine’s out of warranty so may just order a replacement ready for if/when my current one dies.
 
Rachox said:
I bought mine from Amazon when Newly diagnosed, but have used Home Health since for supplies, and yes I agree @lucylocket61 they helped me out with a rouge set of testing strips. I think mine’s out of warranty so may just order a replacement ready for if/when my current one dies.
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amazon is just the platform which Home health sell on. I would contact them and see what they suggest.
 
Oldvatr said:
You may find that the test strips are time limited, and may not retain their accuracy if past their expiry date. Batteries also self discharge and lose their oomph without actully being used.
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I only got it fairly recently and the strips are ok til Nov, but yes I’ll bear that in mind, thank you.
 
lucylocket61 said:
mine is 6 years old and still going strong, except for a new battery needed after 3 years.
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The memory chip problem I suspect will depend on how often you use the meter. A commercial grade chip has a guaranteed life of 1,000 write cycles, which will last 3 years at least if only testing once a day, but last 1 year or so if testing 3 times a day. The chips I used to specify were military grade, and had a life in excess of 10 million cycles.

If the timer is also using the same memory chip for storage then of coure it is running all the time even when the meter is turned off, and there are ways of mitigating this, But it may explain why the time function seems to die first.
 
lucylocket61 said:
amazon is just the platform which Home health sell on. I would contact them and see what they suggest.
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Ah so the Code Free is Home Health’s own product, I’ll do that then thank you as it’s only a month out of warranty.
 
Oldvatr said:
The memory chip problem I suspect will depend on how often you use the meter. A commercial grade chip has a guaranteed life of 1,000 write cycles, which will last 3 years at least if only testing once a day, but last 1 year or so if testing 3 times a day. The chips I used to specify were military grade, and had a life in excess of 10 million cycles.

If the timer is also using the same memory chip for storage then of coure it is running all the time even when the meter is turned off, and there are ways of mitigating this, But it may explain why the time function seems to die first.
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I test several times a day, up to 6 times, so i think maybe i have been lucky with this meter?
 
Oldvatr said:
last 1 year or so if testing 3 times a day.
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can you just clarify? are you saying that, if someone were testing 6 or 7 times a day, this meter chips is only made to last 6 months? that seems odd, given that it has a 12 month guarantee and is made to be used by all types of diabetics.
 
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