Great but needs some attention
Really like this system and has helped my averages come down for once in the 40 years of being type 1. Thank you! So what it really needs is constant updating! In this day and age Dexcom needs to keep up with phone updates and adding new easy to view ways. The widget on iPhone has been missing for a while now.. come on! Apple Watch reading on Lock Screen is so tiny since an Apple update ages ago.. think Dexcom and sort it for the guys with bad eyesight… I have glasses and I can’t read it hardly! We are having to use work around all the time which is silly when you have the tech and know how to sort these things! Permanent view on Lock Screen of iPhone please! It may seem insignificant to you but to us diabetics it means quick action can be taken. Let’s catch up please Dexcom and keep ahead of competitors. Both you and Apple need to stop blaming each other and put your heads together !
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Response from developer
Hi there, thanks for getting in touch and your great feedback. Our team of experts are best placed to discuss this with you. Please give us a call on 0800 031 5761
Good but could be better
On the whole this is a good system, it seems to work reliably most of the time, it’s clear and easy to understand. It integrates with Apple Health and has a lot of data available (albeit on a separate app).
Improvements that need to be addressed in my view are, I constantly get a message saying that Dexcom are still testing the app on my latest software version (ever since I updated to iOS 17). This should be prioritised and Dexcom should be all over software updates, both their own and iOS.
It takes a longer time than I’m comfortable with to reconnect when I’m out of range of my phone for any reason. A manual check button or a force reconnect button would be helpful.
I also find that I get low blood sugar soon alerts too late, for example, I may be 7.0 with rapidly falling arrows yet it doesn’t notify me until I’m almost at 4.0, it would be better to be warned more in advance, luckily I have good hypo awareness but some may find this an issue.
The 2 hour warm up period is quite lengthy too at 2 hours, Freestyle Libre is just an hour which is a big difference.
Improvements that need to be addressed in my view are, I constantly get a message saying that Dexcom are still testing the app on my latest software version (ever since I updated to iOS 17). This should be prioritised and Dexcom should be all over software updates, both their own and iOS.
It takes a longer time than I’m comfortable with to reconnect when I’m out of range of my phone for any reason. A manual check button or a force reconnect button would be helpful.
I also find that I get low blood sugar soon alerts too late, for example, I may be 7.0 with rapidly falling arrows yet it doesn’t notify me until I’m almost at 4.0, it would be better to be warned more in advance, luckily I have good hypo awareness but some may find this an issue.
The 2 hour warm up period is quite lengthy too at 2 hours, Freestyle Libre is just an hour which is a big difference.
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It’s almost there - just add a Lock Screen widget!!!
I’ve had diabetes for over half my life now and Dexcom has made my life significantly better. The fact I can just look down and see my blood sugars on my apple watch rather than making myself bleed every time is 1) a massive time saver 2) stopped my hands from getting destroyed 3) has meant I don’t have to be embarrassed to check my bloods and 4) has given me better control, which is good for my health and mental health.
The only thing I am genuinely surprised the devs haven’t added is a widget for the Lock Screen that displays your blood sugars- much like the one on the watch. I know it might not seem like it would save a lot of time, but especially with always-on displays all it would take would be a quick glance at your phone, rather than having to open it up.
For me the speed is something I didn’t realise would be such an important benefit of Dexcom, but adding a widget could decrease that time one needs to be reminded they are diabetic massively over an extended period.
The only thing I am genuinely surprised the devs haven’t added is a widget for the Lock Screen that displays your blood sugars- much like the one on the watch. I know it might not seem like it would save a lot of time, but especially with always-on displays all it would take would be a quick glance at your phone, rather than having to open it up.
For me the speed is something I didn’t realise would be such an important benefit of Dexcom, but adding a widget could decrease that time one needs to be reminded they are diabetic massively over an extended period.
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Bailey,
Hi, i think dexcom is great and was the best type of monitor to go for. The only problem was when i update my iPhone software i have to wait for Dexcom to update before hand, which isn't much of a problem, i hadn't known this and updated my phone to the newest version. Sadly when i did so the Dexcom app wasn't up to date with the newest version, which means it could take from 7 days to a couple months for the app to update. So the only suggestion is that they try and update the app as soon as possible!
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Response from developer
Dexcom apps are classified as medical devices and we're required to test all mobile devices used with Dexcom systems. Here's a useful list of devices and apps that are currently compatible with Dexcom products https://www.dexcom.com/compatibility
Urgent low alarm only every 30 minutes? What!?!?
The overriding primary purpose of a CGM is to ensure the user is aware of life threatening low blood sugar levels.
Instead of this, if you are having an urgent low, below 3.1 mmol/L, the app will play an alert every 30 minutes. As the user is likely to be deep asleep when they need this most, this is an incredibly stupid setting. The user could literally be falling into a low blood glucose coma and needs all the alarming and waking up they can get!!! Why isn’t this alarm continuous? Until the user is woken and responds? Why doesn’t the alarm say “Take sugar now!”
Of the many failings of this app, this is the worst.
Instead of this, if you are having an urgent low, below 3.1 mmol/L, the app will play an alert every 30 minutes. As the user is likely to be deep asleep when they need this most, this is an incredibly stupid setting. The user could literally be falling into a low blood glucose coma and needs all the alarming and waking up they can get!!! Why isn’t this alarm continuous? Until the user is woken and responds? Why doesn’t the alarm say “Take sugar now!”
Of the many failings of this app, this is the worst.
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Great App
App does what it needs to. The customisation for the alarms is good. I absolutely love the Apple Health integration, having my blood glucose recorded there as well is extremely helpful. Really grateful that there is a companion Apple Watch app, this was a game changer for my diabetes being able to check my blood glucose at a glance any time of day on my watch Home Screen.
I would really like to see some more iOS integrations like modern widgets so I can put it on my Lock Screen and on my iPhone Home Screen.
It would be really helpful to see more information in the app about the Dexcom transmitter. I get one or two notifications when the battery is due to run out but these are weeks in advance and it’s very easy to loose track of when the transmitter is due to expire and if there is enough time left to start another sensor
I would really like to see some more iOS integrations like modern widgets so I can put it on my Lock Screen and on my iPhone Home Screen.
It would be really helpful to see more information in the app about the Dexcom transmitter. I get one or two notifications when the battery is due to run out but these are weeks in advance and it’s very easy to loose track of when the transmitter is due to expire and if there is enough time left to start another sensor
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Response from developer
Thanks for sharing your thoughts about our product, we always love to hear feedback from the Dexcom community!
It’s ok, however needs improving
I have recently changed from Libre 2 to the G6 - in which is amazing as it checks my levels all the time. However, I’m having issues with the alarms - they’re not going off. I’m receiving the notification but no sound, so when I’m at work my phone is on silent and at night I have the focus ‘do not disturb’. Whereas on the Libre, when my phone was on silent or do not disturb, my phone would alarm me if my sugars were high/low. Please could you look at improving this as I have noticed, on the Libre notification settings, there is an option for Critical Alerts where this will sound even on silent and in any focus setting?
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Response from developer
We're sorry to hear that. Please contact our Technical Support Team who will be happy to help you resolve this issue https://dexcom-intl.custhelp.com/app/support_request/
Great, but..
It’s amazing but there are some issues. I was diagnosed with diabetes a few years ago, and was finger pricking at first. After a while of having my diabetes, I was given a Libre. It was alright, but there where some issues, so I started on the dexcom. At first it was great, no issues at all. But after a few changes, I started noticing some problems. Firstly, whenever I change the sensor, there can be signal loss for hours, even after the sensor warmup has completed. Secondly, if my phone dies, it can take awhile just for my readings to show up again, which can be quite frustrating. Overall, dexcom is great but can use some improvement.
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Response from developer
We're sorry to hear that. Please contact our Technical Support Team who will be happy to help you resolve this issue https://dexcom-intl.custhelp.com/app/support_request/
Generally can’t fault it
Really superb app; having been through everything else this is the best glucose monitor I have used. Love the green-ness of the fact that the transmitter is reused moving from sensor to sensor for three months. Others become expensive junk after a couple of weeks. only thing for improvement is that you can’t snooze the alarm for an hour - say - when you have a high alert and you have taken insulin and want to go to sleep. It will wake you up every 5 mins until the sugar level falls even if you have done everything you should do.
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Response from developer
Thanks for sharing your thoughts about our product, we always love to hear feedback from the Dexcom community!
Fantastic once bugs are fixed
I’ve had Dexcom for a few years and it’s worked perfectly and helped me to keep within range at the gym and before sleep etc. being able to see the trend of my blood glucose on the graph.
My issue with this app at the moment is the fact that I’ve gone through 2 transmitters in a week because the app says it is no longer working properly and to reinstall (which doesn’t fix the issue). I was wondering if this is a wider issue or isolated to myself?
My issue with this app at the moment is the fact that I’ve gone through 2 transmitters in a week because the app says it is no longer working properly and to reinstall (which doesn’t fix the issue). I was wondering if this is a wider issue or isolated to myself?
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Okay but needs improvement
I was diagnosed about 7 weeks ago with type 1 diabetes and it have kind of been a rollercoaster. the NHS gave me a free sensor called a ‘libre’ and it was okay but there were a few times it wasn’t the best so I got Dexcom. I heard it from my brother who has a friend with diabetes type 1 which is kind of good because I can hear if he has been out for a milkshake or to a nightclub drinking. He has a Dexcom and so we got one. The accuracy is amazing but we have noticed a pattern in that the sooner the sensor is running out the less accurate it is the other thing is that if I am in my room and my phone is in the kitchen then it’s signal loss on the screen and it can be really frustrating sometimes. The last thing is that abroad it doesn’t tend to work. Okay luckily my rant is over now so thanks for reading this and I hope you have a lovely day
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Response from developer
Oh no! We're sorry to hear that @Phoebe, thanks for letting us know about these issues. Please call us on 0800 031 5763 (UK) or 1800 827 603 (ROI) and we’ll be able to help you out 💚
Amazing
From the UK here and NHS still isn’t providing this for me. My GP still doesn’t have this yet. But I have seen others who do have it from NHS so it depends on your “practice”. It’s pricey £159 if this could be lowered it would be great especially for those who can’t afford it monthly. Also little things like No adhesive plasters when paying that price really does make a difference. But let me tell my sugar has never been so balanced since I first got my diabetes. Amazing app! Also I don’t have any issues when sleeping with it on. I love it thank you Dexcom ☺️❤️👏🏾
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Poor iOS app
The Dexcom G6 is a good piece of hardware let down by poor software. The app is very limited- it shows readings and past results for 24hrs but not much else. On the Watch, the lack of a small complication is very frustrating as we need a way to glance at any Watch face to see the current reading. And inexcusably- the low level forced alarm is almost a deal breaker and absolutely should be optional. It turns the system into something very stressful when I know I am hypo and am already taking glucose. An alarm that sounds with no way to silence or disable is ridiculous for a device owned by grown adults. This app looks like it had minimal iOS development and could do with feature enhancements.
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Someone needs to pay attention to detail
I’m visually impaired so using voiceover and Siri are essential for me. I’ve managed to set up a shortcut so that if I ask Siri what my blood sugar is, the app will open and my screen reader will be activated. Nobody at Dexcom tech support was able to help me do this which isn’t a good sign. I managed it and I can’t see the menus properly. I recently got a series six Apple Watch and thought that this might make life easier. If I use voiceover on the watch, it doesn’t read the numbers and trend arrows properly. This is purely laziness on the part of the app and complication designers and implementation team. Considering the number of diabetics who suffer from some form of sight loss, you’d think it would be a feature they would want to get right.
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Accuracy good, battery drain high, signal lost
Summary: horrible on battery iPhone 7, accuracy great. Signal lost multiple times and gets confused with car Bluetooth.
Brand new user here having paid 159 pounds to Dexcom for a trial starter pack with three sensors. Unfortunately the app works a short while, then signal lost maybe 20 times a day. Battery drain extremely high on iPhone 7.
The accuracy is the only thing giving it an extra star but if you do have a drop in sugar don’t expect the software to pick it up - rendering it severely lower in use than a freestyle libre. The idea is amazing , the execution unfortunately isn’t quite there yet. Maybe the next iteration of software will iron out the issues.
Brand new user here having paid 159 pounds to Dexcom for a trial starter pack with three sensors. Unfortunately the app works a short while, then signal lost maybe 20 times a day. Battery drain extremely high on iPhone 7.
The accuracy is the only thing giving it an extra star but if you do have a drop in sugar don’t expect the software to pick it up - rendering it severely lower in use than a freestyle libre. The idea is amazing , the execution unfortunately isn’t quite there yet. Maybe the next iteration of software will iron out the issues.
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Apps are very sub standard
I am based in the UK and have been using the G6 for a year or so now, and bought an Apple watch mainly so i could use it to see my glucose readings. I really like how G6 works, but the App and apple watch app are just way behind. Considering how much I pay to self fund, its really disappointing how bad the apps are:
Watch App
1. I always have my iPhone near me, but whenever i go to my apple watch and look at my readings on my complication, I just see “…”. I have to tap it to go into the ‘app’ and then back again. But i have to do this nearly every time. Ridiculous.
2. When i get alerted to highs/lows, i have 2 buttons - OK or dismiss. What is the point of this? they both do exactly the same thing. I would have thought ‘ok’ for example would keep the alert going, and ‘dismiss’ would be the same as suspending the alerts in the actual phone app. The phone watch doesn’t sync with the watch app. Pointless.
3. No Siri shortcuts, but they have them in the US.
4. Watch complications/faces. I think there are about 2 worth using and is very limited. The US site shows you can use the Infograph but seems we cant. Very frustrating.
Phone App
It could be soooo much better.
1. There are no stats past 24 hours, and I have to use a different app for that, which i never do! What you get in the app is very basic stats.
2. I get one alert when the sensor is close to ending. Apparently there should be more but I never get them.
3. The alerts work quite well (but confusing to set up and how they are shown in the app), but Ive had to turn most of them off otherwise I’m constantly getting some alert, but at least I can turn them off. The sounds though are so annoying and loud its embarrassing when they come on, so Ive also had to turn them off, and just use vibrate.
4. If you tap ‘Contact’ in the app, a message comes up saying ‘Contact your local Dexcom rep’. Wow thanks for that!
Watch App
1. I always have my iPhone near me, but whenever i go to my apple watch and look at my readings on my complication, I just see “…”. I have to tap it to go into the ‘app’ and then back again. But i have to do this nearly every time. Ridiculous.
2. When i get alerted to highs/lows, i have 2 buttons - OK or dismiss. What is the point of this? they both do exactly the same thing. I would have thought ‘ok’ for example would keep the alert going, and ‘dismiss’ would be the same as suspending the alerts in the actual phone app. The phone watch doesn’t sync with the watch app. Pointless.
3. No Siri shortcuts, but they have them in the US.
4. Watch complications/faces. I think there are about 2 worth using and is very limited. The US site shows you can use the Infograph but seems we cant. Very frustrating.
Phone App
It could be soooo much better.
1. There are no stats past 24 hours, and I have to use a different app for that, which i never do! What you get in the app is very basic stats.
2. I get one alert when the sensor is close to ending. Apparently there should be more but I never get them.
3. The alerts work quite well (but confusing to set up and how they are shown in the app), but Ive had to turn most of them off otherwise I’m constantly getting some alert, but at least I can turn them off. The sounds though are so annoying and loud its embarrassing when they come on, so Ive also had to turn them off, and just use vibrate.
4. If you tap ‘Contact’ in the app, a message comes up saying ‘Contact your local Dexcom rep’. Wow thanks for that!
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App developing team need to do some work.
If there was a 0 star for the app I would of chose that. The Dexcom G6 system is fantastic, however your app is dreadful. Since getting the iPhone 11 pro a month ago. I’ve had nothing but problems. Considering you partnered with Apple at their keynote a few years ago and even your ceo was on stage with Tim Cook bragging about dexcom on the Apple Watch.
Now let’s talk about the app that our American friends get to use. No waiting for updates like the U.K. they have had Siri shortcut for over a year. Here in the U.K. to get a Siri reading we have to use a 3rd party app sugrmate.
Apple Watch integration is very poor, for example you have to move the watch Dial and scroll from 1hr, 3hr and 6hr to get the watch to display your current reading. It’s actually quicker to get my phone out of my pocket and take it from it’s leather case and look that way.
For such an expensive system that costs £2000 a year, the fact your developer team don’t keep up to date is the biggest let down to your great company. Everybody in the U.K. feels this way. I will be considering a different system once my contract is up.
Now let’s talk about the app that our American friends get to use. No waiting for updates like the U.K. they have had Siri shortcut for over a year. Here in the U.K. to get a Siri reading we have to use a 3rd party app sugrmate.
Apple Watch integration is very poor, for example you have to move the watch Dial and scroll from 1hr, 3hr and 6hr to get the watch to display your current reading. It’s actually quicker to get my phone out of my pocket and take it from it’s leather case and look that way.
For such an expensive system that costs £2000 a year, the fact your developer team don’t keep up to date is the biggest let down to your great company. Everybody in the U.K. feels this way. I will be considering a different system once my contract is up.
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Dexcom g6 is going to go bust with this sort of tech
I have dexcom g6 and iphone xs with ios 12.3 and the sensor lost connection almost 3 to 4 times a day. Upgraded to ios 13 and now its showing no signal for 3 hours plus despite switching bluetooth on and off, switching phone on and off, turning off location services and battery saving as well as all other apps on background app refresh. And yet dexcom monitor keeps working which suggests that dexcom is incompatible with apple iphone. So now have to carry 2 phones and 1 moniter. What a waste of money. Dexcom considering you are in a tech service, you should replace your tech team if they cant get it to work with the latest apple mobile smart device!
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Top feature of G5 removed!
Firstly, there are lots of improvements in the G6 app, versus the G5. Urgent low soon is great, and gives a warning before a major hypo (3.1 mmol/L or below). Alert schedules is also great. I used to daily change my G5 alerts between silent during day, and loud at night on the G5; the G6 allows the user to set this automatically. Apparently calibrations are no longer required, but I was alerted to an ‘urgent low’ of 3.0 yesterday, with no symptoms. Hmm, pretty suspect. So, I did a finger stick, and I was actually 4.5. So, this is not perfect.
I will, however, constrain the rest of the review strictly to the app, rather than the G6 system as a whole.
There is a major drawback in the G6 app. On the default (portrait) view on the G5 app, the trend line would indicate where an insulin dose or carbs had been taken, using a little square marker. This was great for a quick snapshot of, say, how much active insulin is left in the body, or whether more carbs are needed to treat a minor hypo. On the G6 app, this ‘snapshot’ view is gone.
There is the trend graph, but no indication of carb or insulin events. This means that, as a user that wants to quickly know if there is active insulin in my system, I now have to switch the phone to landscape mode, and swipe my finger to the purple bar on the graph. This is a poor user experience, and not a particularly lean way of accessing information that - I promise you, Dexcom - is useful to 100% of diabetics.
Well Dexcom, I’ve pretty much written the user story for you. Please now add a way to access this information in a quick, easy, no-fiddling way. However, Dexcom are quite slow to iterate on the app side, so I won’t hold my breath for now.
I will, however, constrain the rest of the review strictly to the app, rather than the G6 system as a whole.
There is a major drawback in the G6 app. On the default (portrait) view on the G5 app, the trend line would indicate where an insulin dose or carbs had been taken, using a little square marker. This was great for a quick snapshot of, say, how much active insulin is left in the body, or whether more carbs are needed to treat a minor hypo. On the G6 app, this ‘snapshot’ view is gone.
There is the trend graph, but no indication of carb or insulin events. This means that, as a user that wants to quickly know if there is active insulin in my system, I now have to switch the phone to landscape mode, and swipe my finger to the purple bar on the graph. This is a poor user experience, and not a particularly lean way of accessing information that - I promise you, Dexcom - is useful to 100% of diabetics.
Well Dexcom, I’ve pretty much written the user story for you. Please now add a way to access this information in a quick, easy, no-fiddling way. However, Dexcom are quite slow to iterate on the app side, so I won’t hold my breath for now.
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Please read dexcom!
I am a g6 user and have been for a while. I recently got a apple
Watch series 3 and yes you do have some support for it and that’s why I decided that is what I wanted. Once I got one I was pleased with the Dexcom features and compatibility with watch faces but one crucial thing is that I have to have a watch face with a large complication so I can’t use any nice sleek watch faces I have to use bulky once’s that personally don’t look very nice. I hope you can make just a small complication that can fit nicely at the side. Thank you -FireFox
Watch series 3 and yes you do have some support for it and that’s why I decided that is what I wanted. Once I got one I was pleased with the Dexcom features and compatibility with watch faces but one crucial thing is that I have to have a watch face with a large complication so I can’t use any nice sleek watch faces I have to use bulky once’s that personally don’t look very nice. I hope you can make just a small complication that can fit nicely at the side. Thank you -FireFox
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