Omnipod Alarm Explanations

Thank you @Eric for compiling and sharing this information!


Omnipod alarm codes on the PDM are displayed under Alarm History. The alarm number is a sequence of 2 digits, followed by 5 digits, followed by another 5 digits, and ending with 3 digits.

XX-12345-12345-YYY

The only numbers that matter are the first 2 (XX) and the last 3 (YYY). The middle numbers tell Lot number and Pod ID or something internal to Insulet. They don’t have anything to do with actually identifying the failure.

There are only 3 different prefixes (XX) you can get at the beginning:

17 - occlusion
19 - pod error
11 - PDM error

So 17, 19, or 11 tells you the general type of error.

Now, on the last 3 digits (YYY), it gets somewhat nebulous because Insulet tech support is not part of the Insulet company, it is outsourced. Here is a list gathered from previous discussions with tech support reps:

000 - occlusion
016 - safety check, insulin delivery stopped
064 - interruption in the flow of insulin
066 - safety check, delivery problem inside the pod not on the site; (pod software or hardware error)
068 - unlabeled per tech support, insulin deliver stops, siren ON
069 - software or hardware failure in pod
078 - safety check, delivery problem inside the pod not on the site
080, 018, 052 - static electricity
092 - problem with a safety check occurred
(pods always perform safety checks and if a potential problem is found, the pod will abort itself)
103,104,105,106 - insulin delivery has stopped, change site
(the pod is not able to keep delivering, the error indicates a site issue, but that is not definite)

Example - an alarm of 19-12345-12345-106 means Pod error, insulin delivery stopped - check your site.

Please share any new alarm explanations you get from speaking to Insulet (you will most likely need to specifically ask as reps primarily focus on sending out a replacement pod, not looking-up errors).




End of wiki ---------- comments start here

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@Millz, @Eric, truly outstanding!

Can we make this a wiki?

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Yep, I’ll do it now.

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Love it! I’m planning on working on an OmniPod wiki in the future but haven’t gotten there yet. This will be a good reference!

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Thank you for the explanation! I’d like to add that I had 2 pod failures with alarm ID numbers that ended with 018 and 052. Tech support confirmed that they are related to static.

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Thanks. I added these to the list.

068 - error code rarely seen, not labeled within the OmniPod support documents apparently per tech support. Insulin delivery ceased and the pod went into siren mode.

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066 - safety check identified interruption in insulin delivery; pod software or hardware error

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016 - safety check; insulin delivery stopped.

I’ve had two pods in two different locations die within 24 hours of start up due to interrupted insulin delivery this week. Hmmmm.

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Just added it, thank you!

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So I have received this error twice this month on my daughter’s PDM, both during a bolus. The code is 11-144-0018-00049. I did not see it included on this list and customer care had no interest in investigating it, I tried. Can anyone on here help me out?

I’ll research a bit more but can tell you the “011” that it is a PDM error.

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Here is another list of POD error code descriptions
: https://github.com/openaps/openomni/wiki/Fault-event-codes

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According to the Insulet Tech Support rep I spoke to this afternoon (when I had a pod failure) the last two digits of the second sequence of numbers represents how many hours the pod was active. So for instance if your code was 19-12317-12345-068, you would be able to deduce from the 2nd numerical sequence that the pod had been active for 17 hours.

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Yes, that is true. Which makes it extremely funny that support asks you how long you were wearing the pod when you call in to report the pod failure! :grinning:

Hey, welcome to FUD!

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I have a PDM error that has none of these prefix codes. Mine is 38 and I can’t find any information on what is wrong with it.

I’ve tried the paperclip trick and while it does turn the PDM off, it just starts up again screaming and the only button that works is one of the 3 under the screen which selects OK, then a load of other numbers (like serial no, RM, RA, RB etc) come up

The pod itself seems to be OK - I can hear it clicking to deliver - but since the PDM told me to remove the pod, that’s what I’ve done, and it’s sitting on my desk, delivering insulin into the air.

Hello We have a code19-xxxxx-xxxxx-095. What does 095 mean? We had this problem first on the 6th of June in the evening. The POD was running only for 2 days. Then the same error came with the new POD on the 8th of June. The new POD was running for only 1.5 days. Very frustrating that it happens for the 2nd time. Thanks. A. Farkas

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Good afternoon @onehtcm8 and welcome to FUD! Sorry you’re experiencing this and it’s an error code I haven’t ever heard of. @Millz put together a nice guide in 2019, but the -095 code wasn’t included in that write-up.

I did a bit of digging and found the following:

From one of the OpenAPS Github repositories found here, I found that the “095” error is referring to “Both wire 1 and wire 2 open before starting pump

Because I wasn’t sure what the heck that meant, I did a bit of additional digging and at least found out what the “wires” are that are being referenced. See the screenshot below (found here):

But what does it all mean? I’m not sure! If you are following the steps and not clicking buttons prematurely when priming/inserting the POD, then perhaps it’s just a “bad batch?” I’ve had bad batches before and had to replace entire boxes.

Perhaps try a NEW BOX and see how that works? If it works without the same errors, then contact Omnipod perhaps and request replacement for those faulty PODs?

Perhaps someone else on FUD will have more insight into this error.

Welcome to the group and feel free to drop over here and tell us a bit about yourself and your situation/child if you’re a T1D caregiver.

Thanks,
Harold

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Dear Harold, Thanks for the answer. My fear is that this is a batch problem, because the problem occurred twice within a short period of time. How do I find out whether the whole batch or box has the same problem? It makes little sense to use the whole box and wait until the problem comes again and again after 1 or 2 days. Thanks Arpad

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The way you find out is to put that box aside and open up a fresh box. If you have no problems from the fresh box, it’s a batch problem and I’d request a full new box and return the old box back to them.

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