what is it about the G5 model that you like in particular?
I like that I can get 3 to 4 weeks of wear from a sensor. I like that I can use it with XDrip. I like that I can rebuild the transmitters if necessary to save $$ when I’m broke and actually use them with XDrip. Sensors I can find on CL for ~45/50 sensor fairly regularly. Transmitters almost never. I also like that there is a version of the Dex app for Android that will install on my phone even though it’s not authorized by Dexcom (TY Redditt).
I also find the G5 to be very accurate for me. I trained on a G4 and had some major swings initially where the readings were nowhere near accurate. I assume this was due to user error, but I still like the G5 better
1 Like
@eric I was under the impression that Dexcom is eventually moving all users to G6. It’s just a matter of when each person’s receiver warranty expires, at least that what I read… Thankfully I’ve stock piled G4/G5 sensors and BCBS of MA rescinded their moving Dexcom to DME and keeping them on prescription benefits.
I have 9 full boxes and will be able to order 3 more in July then late September and once more before end of year. Nice thing I usually reach my max out of pocket by June on Scripts and everything after that is no charge.
From my discussions directly with Dexcom, they are NOT going to be forcing people to upgrade. We plan to stay with the G5. Period. (as long as they’ll let us.)
1 Like
I just ordered a year’s worth of transmitters ( I use xDrip+) and six month’s worth of sensors (I already have about nine month’s supply). So G6 is at least a year away for me. I also ordered a couple boxes of Tresiba pens and a few boxes of Penfills to round out the stash. Out of Pocket was just met today from claim adjudication on my brain surgery. Happy Day!
2 Likes
In my case, it someone figures out how to restart the G6 I’ll likely switch as soon as LOOP supports it and my current CGM supplies run out. But if the G6 truly can’t be restarted than I’ll also stick with the G5.
2 Likes
With last night’s update xDrip+ officially supports the G6! There’s even a debug menu item to automatically change all the settings it requires.
It is a work in progress. The dev will continue to work on it to provide a seamless extension of time the sensor can be used beyond ten days.
All hail open source!
6 Likes
Very good news: it’s been confirmed that G6 can be restarted electronically, thus overcoming the 10-day limitation, and without the need to mess with physically removing and reattaching the transmitter. This can be accomplished using a reset tool that is available as a stand-alone iPhone app, within Spike, and (very likely, not sure) within Xdrip+. Other good news is that it appears that G6 BLE comms are very similar to G5, so we can expect DIY apps such as Xdrip+, Spike, and Loop will be able to work with G6 just as well as they do with G5.
3 Likes
Very good news indeed! Thanks for the update.
Excellent news. Do you happen to have a pointer where I can find out more about the stand-alone electronic reset app and/or spike? Did I hear a rumor that spike is an xdrip+ fork for iPhone or some such?. Would you recommend that I run spike instead of the standard Dex app?
1 Like
Not sure if anyone has mentioned this yet, but even if you can restart the G6, it still helps you less economically than restarting a G5.
For example, your co-pay for about a 3 month supply of G5’s covers 12 sensors (generally 3 boxes of 4 sensors). For a 3 month supply of G6’s, I would surmise you would get 9 sensors.
Suppose you get 14 days out of either a G5 or G6.
That means you get either 168 days out of your shipment and co-pay for the G5’s (14 days x 12 sensors = 168 days).
OR
You get 126 days out of your shipment and co-pay for the G6’s (14 days x 9 sensors = 126 days).
If the co-pay costs the same for a shipment of G5’s or G6’s, seems that the G6’s end up costing more per day of wear, right?
2 Likes
Your analysis seems right given your assumption about pricing. But I won’t decide until I see what people are actually paying for the G6, because from the last conference call it seemed that Dex was anticipating a similar average selling price per sensor. Even if it’s a little more, maybe the new one will have enough advantages to make it worth the price (but I don’t yet know the actual price). At a hard shut-off on day 10 I was thinking it probably wouldn’t be worth it. Now it just comes down to the price per sensor, which I don’t yet know.
Correct, and who knows the new sensors may be more accurate, and/or work for people who had trouble with the prior generations. Will be nice to see what happens as more members get this technology into the wild.
Supposedly it’s more accurate on the 1st day. And acetaminophen isn’t a problem. And the new insertion system supposedly doesn’t hurt at all.
-
Stand-alone G5 reset iPhone app, with detailed installation directions
-
Spike app: need to request a TestFlight invite. It’s similar to Xdrip+ but runs on iPhone. Used by people who rely on battery-replaced G5’s, others like the more informative interface compared to official G5 app, some have reported improved connectivity. I have not tried it, have no personal opinion
btw, I’ve just seen Katie’s post - she is running Loop offline with G6. There may be some issues yet to be uncovered, but looks like G6 will be officially supported by Loop in the near future. I am planning to upgrade from G4 to G6 when my next order comes up, couple of months from now.
3 Likes
Sorry, I didn’t mean to reset the G5 transmitter, I meant the one that can electronically reset the G6 sensor when it shuts off after 10 days:
I didn’t see anything about resetting the G6 sensor in the descriptions and changelogs at the sites you linked.
@bkh Apparently the same approach works for resetting G6. This just happened yesterday, I am not surprised there is nothing in the docs, which had been posted earlier for G5 resetting.
Resetting the transmitter effectively restarts the sensor! Brilliant! I regret that I didn’t figure that out until you explained it. Thanks, dm61.
Exactly! And, in yet another piece of excellent G6-related news, it’s been confirmed that the 10-day limitation can also be circumvented using the so called “microwave trick.” The reset option is very likely (not confirmed yet) still going to be very useful as a way to extend the transmitter life, as with G5.
1 Like