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Libre2 sensors with faulty bluetooth?

Westley

Well-Known Member
Messages
205
Type of diabetes
Type 1
I've had several problem sensors in a row now not connecting via bluetooth, so they can't give any alarms.
I normally start the sensor with the reader, then use DiaBox on my android. This has worked for me for a while and I can't think of anything I've changed.
The reader gets readings when I NFC scan but constantly shows the signal loss icon on the status bar, and alarms don't work.

I've also been unable to get DiaBox to connect to these sensors. When I scanned it would do the 60m countdown (even though the reader had finished the start-up and was giving readings), but then just continue showing the sensor status as 'starting' and not receive any readings. I tried turning bluetooth and location on and off, restarting, deleting and reinstalling the app, but it would just restart the countdown and repeat. I can't get DiaBox to even receive the readings via NFC when I do scan.
I don't think its a DiaBox issue though, since the problem is there with just the reader I'm suspecting the transmission is just not working on these sensors.

Has anyone had similar issues?
 
Yes, although I have a different setup I suspect we have the same issue - Bluetooth connection between Librelink & sensor. After the initial problems of the app update settled everything ran smoothly. I was wearing the same sensor I had on during the update. I had to change sensor on Saturday & since then I have had constant signal loss. My setup is L2, iPhone, Shuggah & Garmin watch. Abbott advise me to change sensor, which I have done twice but it hasn't fixed it. I tried deleting connections to all Bluetooth devices, switching off BT & restarting iPhone. No luck. I change some focus settings as advised by Abbott...no joy still. The helpline then advised they could not help me any further & would escalate to their tech team. I am still waiting for them to contact me. I suspect an issue has been created by they app update that affects the BT connection but they haven't identified it so far, or rather haven't built a fix. I anticipate an app update any day now. Until then we have only basic functionality to would seem.

Even if things go wrong, which they shouldn't to this degree with a medical device at a patient level, but if they do Abbott should be communicating much better. Have you reported this to them?

Best of luck
 
Hi @Mike88

Thanks, and sorry to hear you're facing the same issues.
Yes, I've reported and they're sending replacements. Hopefully these ones will work.

My guess is that it's a hardware issue of some sensors produced with dud BT transmitters, not software, because the problem happens even with just the reader device which hasn't changed.
 
That would explain it. I'm interested to hear how you get on. Would you mind posting back here with any updates?
 
I believe there was an issue with an upgrade to Android 13 where the Bluetooth spec changes from 5.1 to 5.2 and not all devices will work with the new Low Energy Bluetooth. i think it has been sorted now to include legacy devices again. Some Hearing aids stopped working for a while because of this.
 
Some sensors' Bluetooth also fails during the 14 day period (I've checked with a BLE scanner and the devices are no longer producing data at all but can still be read via NFC), though this happens much less frequently than it used to. My miaomiao therefore still has a use from time to time!
 
This is interesting. I have just downloaded a BLE scanner & it is picking up my sensor, which now makes me think the issue is the Librelink app.

Thanks for posting. Helped to eliminate one of the possibilities.
 
Make sure your Android phone has location services enabled and running (not turned off) since BLE needs this active. (check Settings menu).

BLE has recently been upgraded from 5.1 to 5.2 and requires BT hardware that supports 5.2. My hearing aids now require my phone to be running Android 12 (minimum) and support BLE 5.2. I am having to upgrade my mobile to a a new phone which I am about to order.
 
All working perfectly on my OnePlus8 running Android 13.1

Both LibreLink and xdrip running happily together with xdrip supplying data to the Oppo watch running wear OS.



 
After another long call with Abbott today they eventually admitted the BT issue is down to the app. This was the 'Digital Health Solutions' number 0800 612 3006, rather than the standard customer services number. Can't say there was much difference between the two. They said there will be an app update asap but wouldn't say when.

Has anyone given up & asked to be switched to Dexcom? If so, how are you getting on?
 
@Westley I now have rt-CGM running. I deleted LL, switched phone off/on, reinstalled LL, phone off/on again & boom. It deletes all data, except the previous 8 hours, within the app. It makes little sense as I have done this a few times this week which didn't help. I have given up on Shuggah for the time being, as the gain for me was not worth the price of losing rt-CGM.
 
This could still be an APP or OS problem. software often uses a construct called a stack. It is like an intray/outray, in that it is a temporary push down/ popup store. Normally software needs to ensure that what gets pushed onto the stack gets popped off later. But apps sometimes have a fault that leaves data in the store which is not cleared, Over time this forgottten data fills the store and the stack overflows, which can cause the app to crash or not work. the converse may also happen where the app pops too much info off the stack so that it underflows, and again messes up the works.

Blurtooth itself is handled through a stack that stores messages and responses on it, and sometimes this stack can gum up. Now usually starting the app from scratch can reset things so that the app works again for a while. But with the Bluetooth stack, it needs the phone itself to be deep reset by power cycle. Sometimes you may find that clearing cache memory on the phone is needed. Sounds like the installation of the app has done the reset but it is not cleared by the simple starting of the app each time. So the stack underflow/overflow may be overwriting something that is only initialised by the installation procedure.

I would not be surprised if this happens once in while as it can take weeks for a bluetooth stack to gum up. But the symptoms are compatible with this type of fault. I understand that Bluetooth hearing aids also suffer this problem so it may be an OS problem or a bluetooth handler issue.
 
Google are in the process of replacing their Bluetooth stack, I've no idea why, though one wonders if stability is an issue, however I find different phones exhibit different levels of stability in their Bluetooth connections (all of which were running the previous, rather than next [Android 12 and later iirc] stack so there is probably something to do with the chipset/low level drivers as well as the higher level stack affecting things).

My understanding (without having looked into it in detail) is that as Bluetooth is a fairly slow protocol with fairly complex handshaking, if there's interference present it has a greater tendency to fail than e.g. a wifi connection.
 
The early versions of the Google Pixel chipset did have a hardware issue with bluetooth, but that has now been resolved in Pixel 6 and 6a phones. Presumably the Pxel 7 is using the same chipset? I know Huawei and Honor phones have weak Bluetooth connectivity issues. It must be noted that the BLE version of Bluetooth (Low Energy version) V5.1 and V5.2 is only capable of communicating over 1 metre compared to classsic bluetooth at 10 metres. I do not know, but I suspect the Libre Sensor is BLE to give the sensor longer lifespan.
Is anyone using an IOS phone or tablet to communicate with the Libre sensors, and if so, are there any issues like the ones reported in this thread? Or is it only Android phones having this issue? Apple are the driving force for Bluetooth interfaces, and set the standard. Hearing aids have this same problem.
 
I’m using an iPhone 13 Pro to connect to the sensor via XDRIP4ios with no problems at all. So that suggests to me there may be an issue with librelink rather than the actual sensors.
 
Dear Wesley, I'm getting precisely the same problems after exactly the same process. Did you figure out any fix? Best regards Chris Hentschel
 
Hi Chris,
The sensor I was talking about back there never reconnected with Bluetooth to phone or reader for the rest of the time I had it on.

However, more recently when I was trying to get both apps working on a different sensor, both stopped connecting, but that time after deleting both apps, restarting the phone, and installing just LibreLink, I was able to get BT and alarms working again.
 
I've just had this exact issue. Restarted phone but no effect. I had started the sensor on libreview several hours earlier and also use Diabox. Exact same readings on Diabox as you report. Then decided to rescan old sensor (conveniently still attached to other arm! ) with Diabox and then rescan the offending new one. Same depressing starting message on Diabox but Bluetooth ble status now alight. 2 minutes later readings started appearing on Diabox and Libreview. Some sort of reset obviously but not sure what/why. Something for others to try I guess.
 
OK…? Diabox for me had been slowing down or unresponsive of late. Though still was kind of working.

So I checked out all the usual suspects. Kept having to constantly slap back a “Diabox unresponsive, wait or close” notification. Which was even popping up on Lock Screen & pretty much every time I picked up the phone?

So I started with clearing the cache…

Then librelink acted up. Could scan but no BT. Diabox would scan but hang fire in the startup phase.. There seemed to be no “Libre2 BLE” status of BT logo at all even though Bluetooth was on the device..

I was as if there was no BT signal coming off the Libre2.?
I’d even dug out the old bubble mini bridge & charged it? Diabox wasn’t even connecting with that…
Then it looked like both apps didn’t do Bluetooth.

The only thing I can think of is an app I had been fiddling with an app called “smart things” that I was exploring. (It comes with Android?) Some sort of NFC scanning BT control app.. (for smart homes?)

After deleting the LL & Dbox apps then reinstalling, then clearing the BT caches again.
I finally got a solid signal on both apps from the L2 with a fast responsive (no more painful lag.) with navigating Diabox. Or a “no show,” trying to open from the widget…
 
Nope… still get a notification from Diabox to “force stop” the other LL app..
beeping every 4 minutes.
Deleted librelink Find the onscreen at a glance widget & the calibration more useful day to day…
Though to be fair the libre is pretty close to my meter reading.

After downloading an app that does a BT scan. (On my Android phone.)
There also seems to be an array of Apple BT products quite close.
I only own an iPad mini I can also see our printer & TV. (Along with Alexa?) none of which my phone is hooked up to.
Well i occasionally use my phone as a mobile hot spot for data with my iPad. But I turn that off after use.

But I know my neighbour is an Apple guy.
A few years back I was getting WiFi drop out corresponding with being close to the “next door” side of the house.
Changed the channel on the router. No more issue.
A week later chatting with my neighbour, he boasted a new streaming set up for his opera.

In short. I need to work with what’s prescribed & if that means forsaking the Abbott app? So be it. I prefer the sensor over Dexcom (tried it.) Abbott need to start working with other developers on the real life of patient functionality with the app..
 
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