Update: iPhone 16’s are out in a week and we still can’t get an app that works for iPhone 15. Is it too much to ask that updates with general timelines for releases be provided?
I was extremely confused after I received an iPod after my DRG surgery last week since one of the selling points of Abbott is supposed to be the ability to control with an iPhone app. Like many others, I had no idea this app wasn’t kept updated and that if I wanted to stay pain free, I would have to carry around another device as I try to regain my very active lifestyle (I’m not great with remembering my phone let alone two devices…). Perhaps start investing in keeping the apps updated/less glitchy or add an app to Apple Watches to make it less cumbersome. Either way, honesty is the best policy- be upfront prior to surgery that most people will need to use the iPod.
My husband went out and bought me an iPhone 14 so I could have the most up-to-date iPhone the main reason he did. This was so that I could receive the patient control alarm that was available on the older iPhones. I traded it from a Google pixel to an iPhone 14 just for this purpose. However, the iPhone 14 is not compatible with this program. The iPad that I have is Ancient and has a hard time connecting with my generator constantly and it's probably the fact that the iPod is an ancient technology, so it does not receive the same signals as most things. Please update so that I only have to walk around with one controller and not have to keep up with an extra controller. As I said, he did this to make my life easier so that I was not carrying around two things. I have memory loss and it is hard for me to keep up with my phone much less a controller as well. Please Help.
Developer Response
Thank you for providing feedback regarding your user experience. This feedback has been captured under complaint# TS-2098689. In order to better assist you, please contact our Technical Service team at 1-800-727-7846 with additional details. For your own privacy, please do not leave your personal contact details in the comments.Thank you Abbott! Can’t tell you how fantastic it is to have control of my spinal cord stimulator(SCS) with my phone and not have to carry that $1k+ iPod Touch in addition to what I am already utilizing daily. The app on my iPhone 13 works perfectly and connects faster than the iPod touch did. Another note, I’ve had three different SCS’s and this one is night and day about the rest with the burst frequency. I’ve had 22 spinal surgeries to date and this makes a world of difference.
I’ve had the spinal cord stimulator since March 2022. It has been so helpful for my pain…. when it works. The app just randomly quits working. I have to check it daily to make sure it’s on and working. It also randomly changes the strength I have it set on. It is a garbage app and needs to be fixed ASAP. Oh, and now I’ve been contacted by Abbott about a RECALL because the app won’t stay in MRI mode? That would be comical if it wasn’t actually dangerous! The 73 people that have been injured by this would definitely not find it funny. This company needs to make some serious changes on the app before more people are injured. Shame on you Abbott! There have consistently been so many bad reviews on this app but no updates or changes have been made to fix the issues. What’s it gonna take to get it fixed and working properly? What is the threshold of injuries that is okay?
Developer Response
Thank you for providing feedback regarding your user experience. This feedback has been captured under complaint# TS-2231684. In order to better assist you, please contact our Technical Service team at 1-800-727-7846 with additional details. For your own privacy, please do not leave your personal contact details in the comments.
The previous review is spot on.
I wish I had done more research prior to getting the Abbott stimulator. It is working fine. The problem is with the poor instructions in the beginning. They gave me instructions while I was still sedated and I didn’t even remember the Abbott representative being there. It took a week before anyone contacted me with proper instructions. They then said they “were being nice to me to make up for the poor service they previously gave.” The I pod isn’t compatible with my I phone so I have to have both an iPod for the Abbott stimulator and my I phone.
It wasn’t working so I had to travel to another city on a plane without it. Upon arrival my nephew had to reach a customer service rep who walked him through connecting the iPod to the stimulator.
It took several reps to finally have the stimulation set up correctly.
Again no apologies.
Boston Scientific does a much better job with great customer relations.
I tell anyone who is interested to research all possible and not to use Abbott. Amen.
Developer Response
Thank you for providing feedback regarding your user experience. This feedback has been captured under complaint# TS-2194548. In order to better assist you, please contact our Technical Service team at 1-800-727-7846 with additional details. For your own privacy, please do not leave your personal contact details in the comments.Have to explain the title of this review: since Abbott refuses to update the app to run on modern iPhones, I have to control my neurostimulator with an iPod. Ridiculous. Yesterday my device rep asked me to turn off the devices as we were trying to adjust settings due to growing pain. That was a mistake as I went to lay down in my bed—which is upstairs. The pain became unbearable and I texted the device rep, who immediately told me to turn on the device. But the controller was downstairs. It took me 20 minutes to make it down the stairs to get to the iPod. Abbott: your failure to update literally caused me incredible pain—which is a greater liability than if you simply kept the app up to date. Shame on you. If I could do it over again, I’d choose another neurostimulator produced by a company other than Abbott.
Developer Response
Thank you for providing feedback regarding your user experience. This feedback has been captured under complaint# TS-2194534. In order to better assist you, please contact our Technical Service team at 1-800-727-7846 with additional details. For your own privacy, please do not leave your personal contact details in the comments.I’ve just gotten a Spinal cord stimulator that the program uses the IOS platform. However, either Apple or Abbott isn’t updating the IOS to match new phones that come out. My phone is a 13, and it’s not compatible with the app. I have to not only carry my phone as always, but now I have to also carry an IPod touch so I can access my device. This is truly ridiculous thatAbbott can not keep this app updated. The Abbott reps even tell you that “as long as you have an IPhone, you can access the program” but, they give you the iPod touch also. They know that the last update to add additional IPhone series hasn’t been released or updated. If I would’ve known this i. The beginning I would have gone to a different company all together. It’s so disheartening that a company as large as Abbott can’t or won’t update the app and keep it current.
Developer Response
Thank you for your inquiry. Our teams are working diligently to qualify new phone models and we understand the frustration. However, to ensure that the medical device works properly with the app, there is an extensive qualification/review process which takes some time. In the meantime you can use the supplied patient controller from your rep. To see the latest mobile device and iOS software compatibility, please click here: https://www.neuromodulation.abbott/us/en/mobile-device-os-compatibility.htmlMy husband went out and bought me an iPhone 14 so I could have the most up-to-date iPhone the main reason he did. This was so that I could receive the patient control alarm that was available on the older iPhones. I traded it from a Google pixel to an iPhone 14 just for this purpose. However, the iPhone 14 is not compatible with this program. The iPad that I have is Ancient and has a hard time connecting with my generator constantly and it's probably the fact that the iPod is an ancient technology, so it does not receive the same signals as most things. Please update so that I only have to walk around with one controller and not have to keep up with an extra controller. As I said, he did this to make my life easier so that I was not carrying around two things. I have memory loss and it is hard for me to keep up with my phone much less a controller as well. Please Help.
Developer Response
Thank you for providing feedback regarding your user experience. This feedback has been captured under complaint# TS-2098689. In order to better assist you, please contact our Technical Service team at 1-800-727-7846 with additional details. For your own privacy, please do not leave your personal contact details in the comments.The battery in the iPod my stim came with is failing. This is affecting my ability to connect to my stim to adjust to my activity level. This limits my ability to function, most especially on the days I’m more active and more in need of changing my stim level. This could, I am told, be addressed either by replacing the battery in my iPod or accessing the app from my phone. But the app isn’t compatible with my 12ProMax. So now I’m stuck debating spending $100 on an iPod battery in an ever worsening economy when the update that adds my phone could come at any time, making it a waste of money that we all know is already all too tight for people with disabilities. Alternatively, I can just keep on finding myself two hours from home by public transit, unable to change my stim settings, and having ever increasing difficulty being able to walk.
For the amount I’ve paid out of pocket for this implant and how I was told numerous times the iPod would no longer be needed once this new version of the app came out. I still can’t even use my old 12 pro max or even my new 14 pro max. I’ve gone through two iPods since my implant they don’t hold charge. They never connect and I have to lug around an extra charger and this ancient iPod. Get it together it the fda for clearance to allow for the max iPhones.
perfecting_procrastination_
Please Help!?!?
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