Very variable libre2 sensor quality ?

[MuttNJeff]

In the past I've moaned about how my sensor often lost contact with my phone. A few months ago, sometime long after the change to libre2, I noticed that my phone was almost always showing the readings. But more recently the signal has been frequently lost. With the current sensor I find it loses the reading all the time, e.g. scan sensor to get a fresh reading, hold the phone near the sensor while looking at something else, get back to the current reading and it has lost the signal again.

Occasionally that is the old "try again in 10 minutes" lark, but mostly it just seems to keep losing the signal. And when I do scan the reading is often up to 2 mmol higher than what later shows on the trend line. My gut feeling is that the quality of the sensors is very variable. But maybe it's only me.

 

[SimonP78]

No, I think you're right. The early libre 2 sensors seemed to work quite well, so well that I stashed my miaomiao somewhere thinking I'd probably not need it again. More recently (like in the last 6 months or so) I've had multiple comms failures (which are true failures, no BLE signals detectable, same phone, software, etc.) and now can't find my miaomiao, which is immensely frustrating as needing to change a sensor after only a couple of days doesn't give my other arm much time to heal.

 

[sgm14]

> My gut feeling is that the quality of the sensors is very variable. But maybe it's only me.

Judging by the messages I have read (here and on reddit) it is not just you and I have also see several people complain of bad batches (i.e. they that get four sensors at a time and find they all fail (or three out of four fail) and the new batch work fine)

Abbott did have serious issues with some Libre3 sensors and had to recall some sensors (which the FDA said was a recall of the most serious type.)

> "try again in 10 minutes"

The only time I have seen that message is when I scan with NFC and the sensor does not trust the readings.

I have a feeling what is happening is that when the figures are unreliable, the sensor stops sending the readings to the sensor, but the LibreLink app does not seem to know the difference between 'I have not got a reading recently because the bluetooth is not working' and 'I have not got a reading recently because the sensor is not working correctly' . If that is the case, then a dodgy sensor would cause more 'lost signals' than a good sensor.

 

[Rachox]

This article maybe interesting to those who’ve had problems with the Libre 2:

FreeStyle Libre 2 sensors will be phased out and replaced with FreeStyle Libre 2 Plus

The FreeStyle Libr

www.diabetes.org.uk

I self fund and switched to the 2 plus about six months ago and found them to be very reliable and more accurate than the 2. Having said that I did have to report one I put on this weekend this morning that kept losing signal 5 mins after scanning! They suggested a few things (basically switch it off and on again!) which didn’t work so they are sending a replacement.

 

[becca59]

Yet mine are very accurate and the extra one I am wearing for a trial matches my own. Using a reader with the trial one and phone with my own. Neither has had signal issues over the past week.

 

[Melgar]

@MuttNJeff I wondered whether it’s my phone. I have an old iPhone XR (same as an 11 I think) that’s the problem. In general I have found I have to keep checking it manually as it loses contact or else I get that 10 min wait message. I note that the sensor and app are communicating as there are no gaps in the data. Annoying.

 

[SimonP78]

> "try again in 10 minutes"

The only time I have seen that message is when I scan with NFC and the sensor does not trust the readings.

I have a feeling what is happening is that when the figures are unreliable, the sensor stops sending the readings to the sensor, but the LibreLink app does not seem to know the difference between 'I have not got a reading recently because the bluetooth is not working' and 'I have not got a reading recently because the sensor is not working correctly' . If that is the case, then a dodgy sensor would cause more 'lost signals' than a good sensor.

Agreed, if the sensor decides the values are suspect it seems to go offline for a bit then comes back online (sometimes with a new calibration) - I see this if I have very rapid blood glucose rates of change (whether +ve or -ve.)

I don't use the official app but it should know the difference between a lack of communications and a sensor error state, which is what I think usually results in the try again in 10min message (having seen that on my Libre2 reader when manually scanning the sensor) - I use Juggluco and there's definitely a difference between the two states there!

 

[Isladura]

Have had real issues for the past week with my sensor, getting lost signal messages every few minutes with mobile 6" away. I worry at night for this plus very annoying to get the constant reminders as if it's not getting the readings I will not get low glucose warnings.

 

[sgm14]

Agreed, if the sensor decides the values are suspect it seems to go offline for a bit then comes back online (sometimes with a new calibration) - I see this if I have very rapid blood glucose rates of change (whether +ve or -ve.)

I don't use the official app but it should know the difference between a lack of communications and a sensor error state, which is what I think usually results in the try again in 10min message (having seen that on my Libre2 reader when manually scanning the sensor) - I use Juggluco and there's definitely a difference between the two states there!

I could be wrong. Most of my expereince was with the patched v2.3.0 version of librelink which sent the data to xDrip and bluetooth issues are extremely rare. I tried the new version of librelink (the one which displayed the readings live) and had more bluetooth issues in the first few days than in the three years using the old v2.3.0 version. I also tried Diabox and Juggulco and xDrip's direct connection to the libre, but none came close to the reliability of v2.3.0 so I went back to using the old version.

Unfortunately Abbott seems to have blocked the old versions of librelink from uploading to LibreView.com meaning my endo/diabetic team don't get access to my data. So I have been forced to 'downgrade' to the newer version of librelink. Currently trying out Juggluco sending to xdrip with the official app just used in NFC mode to upload the data to LibreView.com.

I agree that the app should know the difference, but even Juggluco does not seem to initially tell you the difference. Below the reading it displays the serial number of the sensor which it sometimes changes the background colour to indicate that it has lost the signal and the more colour there is, the older the reading is. So that lets you know that the figure is not being updated, but it is at least five minutes before it tells you why.

 

[SimonP78]

Ah, but if there's a sensor error it says that immediately for me at least - I use Juggluco to talk to the sensors and it then emulates the patched LibreLink Intents which are picked up by XDrip+ which I use day to day (nicer UI, carbs logging and prediction curve.)

Irrespective, I have been having lots of problems with the more recent libre2 sensors (see linky in my sig for a table of my sensors and their failure modes)

 

[Ladybird1]

In the past I've moaned about how my sensor often lost contact with my phone. A few months ago, sometime long after the change to libre2, I noticed that my phone was almost always showing the readings. But more recently the signal has been frequently lost. With the current sensor I find it loses the reading all the time, e.g. scan sensor to get a fresh reading, hold the phone near the sensor while looking at something else, get back to the current reading and it has lost the signal again.

Occasionally that is the old "try again in 10 minutes" lark, but mostly it just seems to keep losing the signal. And when I do scan the reading is often up to 2 mmol higher than what later shows on the trend line. My gut feeling is that the quality of the sensors is very variable. But maybe it's only me.

 

[Ladybird1]

I agree, I've been trying to scan mine for over an hour. Just says wait for vibration then try in 10 minutes. Ten minutes could cause real problems. Its so frustrating when you get the signal loss, even when you're next to it. It's about time they looked into this and sorted it out. Great when it does work, what alternative do we have

 

[Owenn01]

I think there are a number of variables at play here which makes pinning the 'problem' down very challenging! To sum up my experiences to date:
1. Loss of signal - almost from the moment I put the sensor on which is very frustrating!
2. Loss of signal after a few days; it starts with the 'Scan again', then you get more of these to the point where it fails to pick the 'real time' scan up but will continue a scan by holding the phone over it,
3. Sudden device failure - no warning; just a dead sensor
4. It only works on my left arm.... Seriously! If I place it on my right arm it never, ever scans in RTM (real time mode)

The last item has been confirmed by my son (also Type 1 diabetic with a Libre 2 sensor) so it's not just me!

The issue with the failed RTM scan is that the iPhone keeps on 'pinging' the device via Bluetooth which drains the battery like crazy; I'm still using an iPhone 8 but I do wonder whether some of the issues are around the age of the phone and the software version it is using? Mine is kept up to date but with increasing age of the iPhone brings odd little 'features' which we all know Apple use to leverage the User to convert to the latest hardware etc.?

Not sure of this helps or not but Abbott need to pay attention to the User base and the consistency of these problems, as they could lose User satisfaction and good experience feedback if they're not careful. And these sensors are not cheap!

 

[MuttNJeff]

Update:

Last Monday evening I started a new sensor, no change. Yesterday (7 days later) I saw there was an update for my Samsung 14 (to November 24). Plugged the phone in to charge and ran the update. Came back an hour or more later when fully charged. Opened librelink and it showed a line of readings from a few minutes before, and continued to show a current reading. Two or three times during the night when I woke up there were gaps or lost signal (I'd moved too far away), so I scanned. But in general it now coninues to talk to the sensor. Not sure if the librelink has updated at all, it is now on 2.12.0.11314, phone is SM-A145R on android 14.

 

[stephiep6]

I have had similar issues with a recent sensor. I phoned Abbotts as the losing sensor ping was driving me insane! They talked me through a complex set of instructions on my iPhone 12 which fixed the issue. Maybe worth giving them a call as they should help you fix the problem or provide a replacement. This is especially important if you are paying for them and not getting the dress on the NHS.

 

[SimonP78]

@stephiep6 do you recall any of the steps? I'm curious as to what they were trying to achieve (which would not be achieved by restarting a phone or clearing cache, though one would hope the latter happens anyway with a restart). Thanks