Getting started with G6 & xdrip

I have read just a little bit here and there about using xdrip+ to collect Dexcom G6 data with a Sony watch (sorry, can’t remember the name right now). I would like to set this up for my daughter, but I’m not sure how to start. I don’t understand what Nightscout is or how it enters into things. I read the steps posted here xDrip+ with Sony Smartwatch3 (self made CGM) for setting this up with Libre. Can someone help me find a similar step-by-step tutorial for setting this up for G6?

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@docslotnick or another one of our Xdrip+ experts will be along shortly.

In my understanding, Nightscout is used to put your data in the cloud, so that multiple family members can see the data, i.e. a replacement for the Share app with Dexcom.

Oooooh… so maybe I don’t need that.
Thanks.

Welcome to FUD! I think with all of the parents around here you’ll get some great ideas.

XDrip+ has really become pretty easy.
First, you need an Android phone, the newer the better. Then set up xDrip+ and get your readings going.

Then you need the Sony Smartwatch 3 (only one to work out of the box). You can still get one with pink band on Amazon for a reasonable price.

Pair it with your phone and set it up. It takes a couple of hours for xDrip+ to actually load onto the phone so be patient. Select one of the xDrip watchfaces.

Back at the phone, go into xDrip+ settings>smart watches features>android wear integration. Turn on Android wear integration, check force wear, enable wear, sync wear logs, show treatments, and if you’re only going to use the watch as the receiver and never the phone, check that.

Now wait a few minutes and the watch will display the Bg and become the collector. You won’t have to keep the phone in proximity of the transmitter or watch, but let them sync about once per day. Also realize that you will not have the share function unless the phone is getting data from the watch. Better for the young lady to always wear the watch and carry the phone at all times.

If the SSW3 is not cool enough for her, with some extra effort other watches can be made into collectors. Have a look at:

for other watches that can be made to work.

Also, a good reference for watch integration is:

If you have any problems I’ll be glad to help you. Just be patient with the watch integration. It will be spotty the first 24 hours, but then it will not miss a beat. I’ve had the watch working as the collector for about a year and it’s been a godsend. Good Luck!

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You are in tune with today’s youth @docslotnick

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Thank you so much! Very much appreciated.

I just bought a very uncool used black SW3 on eBay for $60. :grin:

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The Sony SW3 came today. My daughter got it all set up to work the standard way through my phone before I even knew she was doing it. Lol. Now I’ll have to play around with xdrip+ and reverse it.

It’s quite a monster on her wrist.

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@sahmcolorado Fun, isn’t it. Kids are naturally tech saavy. If you have any problems with xDrip let me know. Or better yet, have your daughter figure it out.

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I got it working just in time for her to take her little brother to the carnival at the county fair. She loves it and it’s working perfectly!

I was a little confused about the 2 hr warm up on xdrip because she started the sensor with the Dex receiver about an hour before. How does the process go when she starts the next sensor?

I was also surprised that the Dex receiver kept working. When I had tried the g6 phone app in the past, the receiver disconnected.

My phone has been really slow this evening. I am wondering if xdrip is trying to connect.

So I’ve been goofing around with settings on xdrip+ (not really knowing what I’m doing) and now there is an alarm symbol showing at the top of my phone’s screen. I don’t have any alarms set, so I’m guessing that it is something xdrip has set? Does that even make sense? I wish I could figure out how to get rid of that. I shouldn’t have been messing with settings…

@sahmcolorado When your using the watch as the collector you can enter calibration in during the two hour warm-up and receive the Bg numbers. After two hours the warm-up message on the phone will disappear and start displaying Bg numbers.

You never stop getting the numbers from the transmitter on the watch.

@sahmcolorado Go to settings>alarms and alerts and see if anything has been inadvertently set. I’ve never seen that symbol in xDrip+.

Got it! So cool to be able to get numbers during the warm-up. Thank you again for your help.

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Last night xdrip+ app picked up my daughter’s watch and read the data in when she was in range. Now today it won’t pick it up. Any idea why that might be?

@sahmcolorado Could be a couple things .

  1. If the watch was collecting the data, but not the phone, make sure that Bluetooth and Wifi are turned on. Do you have whole house WiFi, like a cable or dish router? Make sure the phone is connected.

  2. Again if it’s just phone reception make sure WiFi is turned on, on the watch. The SSW3 has a nasty power saving habit of disabling WiFi when battery power is low.

  3. If you are getting no readings on watch or phone, make sure the watch is set to “Always On”.

So, was the watch collecting and the phone just not getting data, or did the whole thing just go blank?

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The watch is the collector and it is working fine.

Last night when the phone picked up the data from the watch, I had the phone’s Bluetooth turned on. We were in the car at the time, so no wi-fi. Also, the watch had disabled wi-fi due to low battery.

I didn’t realize that wi-fi had anything to do with it. I thought I just needed Bluetooth to connect the phone to the watch.

Today we are home and we do have wi-fi in the house. The wi-fi is enabled on the watch. I turned on Bluetooth on the phone and we have kept the phone close to the watch and it still isn’t picking up anything.

I think I must have messed somethig up playing with settings. I really wish I hadn’t goofed around with it.

I uninstalled the Android Wear app on my phone because I thought that I just needed xdrip. Do you think that is causing the problem?

Sorry, I’m a bit lost. I’m just trying things without understanding how the set up is supposed to be.

@sahmcolorado Yes, that is the problem. The watch communicates with the phone via Android Wear. You have to have it on your phone to make the watch have proper function with.your phone. Also make sure to let your phone update Google Play (it should do that automatically)

Right now, just stick to settings>xDrip Display Settings and settings>Less Common Settings. You’ll be able to customize everything that’s displayed and also give you an idea of what xDrip+ can do and how it works.

Also, you need to go to settings>Cloud Upload and enable Dexcom Share. Then go to settings>xDrip+ Sync Settings and set up a sync group. Make your phone the sync master, then set up other devices as sync followers if you desire.

There really is a lot there. Don’t do it all at once. It takes some time to get everything set up.

Thank you! I’m a bit of a bull in a China shop. :wink:

So, after I reinstalled the Wear app and it reconnected to the watch, there still wasn’t any data making it to the phone. My husband started tinkering and found that if he unchecked “Force Wear Collection Service” the phone started getting data again. I don’t know why because I had that checked yesterday according to your instructions and it was working.

Could you just come over to the house and make everything right? Lol.

@sahmcolorado First, make certain that Android Wear is connected to the watch after reinstallation. I don’t think it automatically connects.
You have to decide how you want to use the watch. XDrip can do the collector three ways–watch only, phone only, or switched between phone and watch based on proximity. You can also use the watch as just a display device.

If you want the watch to always be the collector then you must check “force wear”. Your current situation suggests that you have broken the communication at the watch. Check your on watch settings. Always on, Bluetooth on, WiFi on, location on. Go to xDrip+ prefs on the watch. The collector should be G6. Force collector should be checked. Make sure force collector is checked on the phone.

WAIT for 15 minutes for phone and watch to sync, then you’ll have the watch as the collector. The phone will operate as a follower ( the master sync device)

Let me know how it goes. We’ll get it working right, don’t worry.

In xdrip prefs on watch, it says G5. Is that OK or does it need to be G6?