My experience of the Freestyle Libre sensors, used with my Samsung Galaxy S5 Neo and the Abbott Industries App, has been very negative - although the first few hours were fun and gave me some great insight. The problem is that the sensors are just too easy to dislodge and they CANNOT BE RE-ATTACHED - not even once. I say that in CAPS because Abbott Industries don't want you to know that your £50 is wasted once the **** thing won't stick or gets the slightest knock in the shower. They will not refund because, get this 'the seal is broken'. How you are supposed to get it on to see if it works without breaking the seal, taking it out and sticking it on your arm, they failed to explain. My sensor only lasted a few hours before getting the slightest of knocks on the door frame as I walked through carrying a tray. The Freestyle Libre Sensors cannot be reapplied once they come out. I repeat. the Freestyle Libre Sensors CANNOT BE STUCK BACK ON they are single use, if it comes off your arm at any point in the 14 days (the could see I had only had mine ONE DAY) you have to give Abbott Industries another £50 for a new one!!!.
If it gets knocked out, Abbot Industries will, if they bother to answer at all - (they ignored my first three emails to customer services for a week despite a quoted 48 hour response time) simply quote their terms and conditions at you, saying that it's your fault for "damaging the item". The sensor was not and is not damaged in any way, it was still half stuck to my arm, but no longer gives readings and so is a £50 waste of money. So, inaccurate readings - don't know. Appalling customer service, definitely. Waste of £50 I can ill afford, yes.
It's a serious design fault and one that the company would appear to be aware of....
Why else turn away some £65,000 per user for a simple £50 refund?
1 diabetic using one sensor per fortnight @ £50 per sensor for 50 years is £65,000 revenue to Abbott Industries. Even a years use would be £1,300 to them - If these sensors stuck properly, they would hardly ever come off, refunds or replacements would be negligible in cost and so they would, sensibly, replace them in this rare event. If, however, as I suspect - they have a HUGE number of Libre Freestyle sensors coming unstuck and customers asking for replacements - it would be a huge cost. It must be a HUGE number for them to NOT offset it against the potential £65,000 per patient that they are likely to receive.
It's my belief that if they had to refund every faulty sensor and every sensor that gets knocked off / washed off / won't stick (the forums are full of tales of woe) that Abbott Industries would go bust and so they are now telling their previously allegedly very helpful customer services staff to refuse refunds.
Avoid the Abbott Freestyle Libre at all costs - it's a great gadget, with huge potential, but has a design flaw that the company won't take responsibility for and that is hugely expensive.