Alright guys, I know a LOT of people have been having problems on Samsung devices since the latest Android update - I know I was - and I think I finally patchworked a solution that has worked consistently for me for the last 6 hours. Granted, that’s not a great sample set, but it’s a lot better than what I have been getting, so I’ve decided to jot down what all I had to do. I know it sounds cheesy, but let’s start with what the issue was:
If you Samsung device (Galaxy S9, S9+, S10, etc) just went through a forced Android update, then your xDrip+ started having connection issues with you Dexcom (as soon as the screen went dark, overnight, etc), then this solution is for you.
STEP 1: Delete xDrip+. I know this sounds simple, but it’s not. Go in to Settings -> Apps -> xDrip+. Then click “Force stop.” Then tap “Storage.” While in storage, hit clear cache, and clear data. You need to clear BOTH. Then go back to “xDrip+”, and hit “Uninstall.” Then navigate to Samsung -> My Files -> Downloads, scroll down, and delete EVERY “xDrip-plus-blahblahblahblah.apk” file. In my case there were about 6, you might have more or less.
STEP 2: Delete EVERY instance of a Dexcom transmitter on your bluetooth list. Go in to Settings -> Connections -> Bluetooth. Then click the gear icon next to anything that starts with “DexcomXX” (where XX are the last 2 digits of your transmitter), and click “Unpair”. You need to do this for EVERY Dexcom device. (And to be honest it might say “forget”, or “delete” - I don’t remember the exact wording on some of mine.)
STEP 3: Turn your phone off. I don’t know if a restart will fix it, I’m only listing what I did, so I’d recommend turning your phone all the way OFF. Once it’s off, power it back on.
STEP 4: Download the latest xDrip+ from: https://github.com/NightscoutFoundation/xDrip/releases?fbclid=IwAR0gpgst9R4mpXpqjdbr5zybZdKCmngLcdCjtt94IQIbuVI90tjCSSTUaG8
ONCE IT’S INSTALLED DON’T OPEN IT!
STEP 5: Fix your phone settings. Go straight to Settings-> Device Care -> Battery-> Power mode and choose “High performance”. Then go back to Settings -> Apps -> xDrip+ and click “Mobile data.” Once there, make sure that “Allow background data usage” is turned ON. Currently I don’t have “Allow app while Data saver on” enabled.
Then go back to Settings -> Apps -> xDrip+, click “Battery,” and make sure “Optimize battery usage” says “Not optimized”. You might need to navigate through some of the menus to make sure it isn’t being optimized (I think you click the top drop-down and change it from “Apps not optimized” to “All”, scroll all the way down to "xDrip+, and make sure that it is turned OFF). Once you’ve done this, back on the “Battery” section, the “Allow background activity” should be greyed out, and you shouldn’t be able to do anything with it.
Then go back to Settings -> Apps -> xDrip+ and go to “Permissions.” I had success turning on permissions for Camera, Contacts, Location, Phone, SMS, and Storage. I have no idea which of these it actually needs, but again, I’m relating what worked for me.
Then go back to Settings -> Apps -> xDrip+ and scroll down to “Advanced.” On “Change system settings,” make sure it is allowed, and on “Install unknown apps” make sure it is allowed.
Step 6: Configure xDrip+. You can finally open xDrip+, and you should be greeted with the standard “Terms and Conditions” pages. When you get to settings, choose your receiver type, and you’ll get to a branch where you choose “CONFIGURE SETTINGS” instead of “Start Sensor.” Again, this is what worked for me, but I configured settings BEFORE I started the sensor.
In xDrip+, in the Settings menu, go to “G5/G6 Debug Settings.” Make sure that all of the following options ARE CHECKED: “Use the OB1 Collector”, “Native Algorithm”, “Restart Sensor”, “Preemptive restarts”, “Go on without calibrations”, “G6 Support”, “Allow OB1 unbonding”, “Allow OB1 initiate bonding”, “Authenticate G5 before each read”. For me, all of the rest are unchecked, and again, it’s working as-is, so I’d highly suggest these options.
Go back to “Settings”, then scroll down to “Less common settings”. In this menu, make sure “Aggressive service restarts” and “Display Bridge Battery” are enabled. Again, this is what’s worked for me.
Then go to “Bluetooth Settings”, and make sure that all of the followed are enabled: “Turn Bluetooth on”, “Bluetooth Watchdog”, “G5 Bluetooth Watchdog”, “Trust Auto-Connect”, and “Allow blucon unbonding”. The rest should be unchecked.
Go back to “Less common settings”, and scroll down to “Other misc options”. One last time, make sure all of the following options are enabled: “Run Collector in foreground”, “Battery Optimization prompt”, and “Samsung workarounds”.
From here you can go back to the xDrip+ homescreen and start your sensor. I still had a sensor session running (I think I started it about 13 days ago), and xDrip+ picked it up as soon as I input my transmitter ID.
Now I hate to say this, but: I’m not tech support. I don’t work on xDrip+. I’m not a programmer, and I don’t know what the hell I’m doing. But I do know that, like many of you, I was getting frustrated at this Samsung/xDrip+ issue, and these were the steps that helped me. There’s no guarantee that they’ll help you - it’s just what worked for me, SO FAR. Again, it’s been running smoothly for about 6 hours now, which is better than it has been for the last 2 weeks, so I figured I would share. If you come up with a better/faster/different way of making this work, that’s awesome - but in my searches I didn’t find a comprehensive guide on how to make it work again, so I figured I would put one together - hence this post. I really hope it’ll help you guys, as I know it can be super frustrating, but fingers crossed that we’ve now got a step by step solution for how to get this problem licked!
-Matt
Your Friendly Neighborhood Type 1 Diabetic