Libre reading phone app v reader

[Bexlee]

Hi. Is anyone else finding variation between the libre link app sensor reading and the actual reader readings??

Libre link did its update automatically a few weeks ago. I updated the reader and the iOS update happened. All was fine.

Both app and reader said the same number as each other each time they were scanned but the last sensor, which ran out today, has had a 0.5 variation every time, the reader giving a lower value

I put a new sensor in this evening and there’s still 0.5 variation but this time the libre link app is reading 0.5 lower than the phone app.

Also the libre app said the sensor had ended 3 and a bit hours before the reader said it had ended and actually ended ! .......Little bit odd

I’ve removed and reinstalled the app and apart from taking all my readings / data off phone (still on the cloud thing) it’s made no difference and not solved problem.

it’s not really an issue but it’s annoying me!

 

[grovesy]

Do you mean the Libre reader has had an update as mine has not had one for quite some time! My reader and phone if done after each other are the same.

 

[Annemarie]

@Bexlee I suggest you phone Abbott’s, they will advise you and the more reminders they get that so many of us are having issues the more likely they are to rectify the many quirks occurring at the moment. There’s a new sensor Libre2 which is not yet available in this country but I think the App upgrade is getting ready for a 2 while we all have a 1. Several people, like me, have to keep switching our phones off then restart them to get the phone sensors to work

 

[nonethewiser]

Both app and reader said the same number as each other each time they were scanned but the last sensor, which ran out today, has had a 0.5 variation every time, the reader giving a lower value

0.5 nowt to worry about, stick with phone app & verify reading with finger prick test from time to time.

Apart from starting sensor with reader never use it otherwise.

 

[Bruce Stephens]

0.5 nowt to worry about, stick with phone app & verify reading with finger prick test from time to time.

It's not significant except that there shouldn't be a difference (beyond 0.1 or something now and again). So it's worrying.

 

[Bexlee]

Libre reader had an update a while ago. I meant they are both running with the latest updates.

After the phone app update I had a few days on the last sensor of it not scanning on phone and having to turn off and on etc but with the new sensor that seems to have sorted itself out. Hopefully the same for you @Annemarie

Still puzzled about the phone app saying the sensor was done sooner than it should have been and dying ! Only 3 ish hours but still strange.
I can cope with 0.1 slight variation but 0.5 difference is a bit random

Maybe I’ll give Abbott a call tomorrow. My reader is fairly old now

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Interestingly we had someone recently who was talking about a difference between reader and app.

I wasnt aware that this could happen apart from when the updated the algorithm a year or two back.

I’ll see if I can find the thread

 

[everydayupsanddowns]

Found it!

It was @Squirrel768 posting on this older thread here

Libre users - thoughts on readings

I've been using the Libre for a few days now and on the whole I am finding it extremely useful. I know however several people have raised issues over the accuracy of sensor readings. In the short time I've been using it I have noticed in general the sensor tends to reads slightly higher than a...

forum.diabetes.org.uk

 

[Bexlee]

Found it!

It was @Squirrel768 posting on this older thread here

Libre users - thoughts on readings

I've been using the Libre for a few days now and on the whole I am finding it extremely useful. I know however several people have raised issues over the accuracy of sensor readings. In the short time I've been using it I have noticed in general the sensor tends to reads slightly higher than a...

forum.diabetes.org.uk

thanks @everydayupsanddowns, interesting article. I’m “pleased” it’s not just me ! Odd how it’s just started on last 3-4 weeks.

 

[Squirrel768]

I am now officially confused! (Well, nothing unusual there LOL.)

Regarding the differences in readings, Just returned to the Abbott info on the reader update.
a) Readings may differ if reader and app are not updated at the same time.
b) The reader update is to Version 2.4.8.

My reader (from the settings menus) is marked as Reader 2.6.0, Version 1.00, so I am assuming it will be updated to 2.6.0 Version 2.4.8. However, see also below ...

My version of the app is 2.3.0.4751, and was downloaded at around the same time that the reader was supplied in August, in readiness for the online intro/training session and launch into this new world ...

I have just checked the current version on Play store, and as far as I can tell, it is the same version which is still sitting there, so no change. However, if the reader is being updated, and the app is not, then are we likely to fall foul of the warning from Abbott, that readings may vary if not both updated.

However, also on their update page, there is the info as to where to find the reader version number - and it also states that the reader versions that are eligible for the update are 2.2.9 and 2.2.13. Does that mean that my Reader 2.6.0, or my Version 1.00 will not be eligible for the upgrade?

I have contacted Abbott about this, and currently waiting on a reply from them. I will keep all of you good folks here updated when I find out the answers!

 

[Bruce Stephens]

My reader (from the settings menus) is marked as Reader 2.6.0, Version 1.00, so I am assuming it will be updated to 2.6.0 Version 2.4.8. However, see also below ...

My version of the app is 2.3.0.4751, and was downloaded at around the same time that the reader was supplied in August, in readiness for the online intro/training session and launch into this new world ...

My Reader says Reader 2.4.8 and Version 1.00, and the phone app has the same number as yours. I wouldn't expect your reader to update yet: 2.6.0 is later than 2.4.8 (and later than what's available, judging by https://www.freestyle.abbott/uk/en/reader-update/index.html) (unless they have some very strange version numbering policy).

 

[PhoebeC]

I only have my phone, was told by my nurse they don’t like to give out the reader due to cost but I can have the sensors at least

 

[Squirrel768]

I only have my phone, was told by my nurse they don’t like to give out the reader due to cost but I can have the sensors at least

I had to apply to Abbott for my first sensor, and given the option of a reader as well, about a month before my online intro/training session in September (because the local face to face training in March was cancelled). Maybe contact Abbott to ask for one - as I often say, if they say no, you are no worse off Having both, and being a geek at heart, I've been comparing both over the last month or so, and find that the two are not consistent. Waiting now to hear back from Abbott for their thoughts on why they read the same raw data and produce a different reading ...

 

[PhoebeC]

I had to apply to Abbott for my first sensor, and given the option of a reader as well, about a month before my online intro/training session in September (because the local face to face training in March was cancelled). Maybe contact Abbott to ask for one - as I often say, if they say no, you are no worse off Having both, and being a geek at heart, I've been comparing both over the last month or so, and find that the two are not consistent. Waiting now to hear back from Abbott for their thoughts on why they read the same raw data and produce a different reading ...

Top idea. Thank you. My husband did say this when I first got them and I forgot to do it.
Will do it today!

 

[Squirrel768]

See further message below ... Abbott info is wrong!

Just been told by Abbott that the latest version of the Android app is 2.5.1, available on Playstore. In order to update, I need to uninstall, and then load the new one. However, that means I lose my current data in the app, so effectively start again and lose my 14 and 30 day figures. (Not yet half-way to 90 days ...) I am loving the way my graphs and trends have been improving in the 6 weeks, and it seems no way to backup/reload data.

Many apps will update from PlayStore over the top of the current version, but it seems that Abbott don't offer that.

Decisions decisions - do I now take a whole raft of screenshots to 'backup' and refer to, do I take the plunge and reload, or do I stick with what I have at present!

I know I can see stuff in Libreview, but it is so handy to be able to have a quick look at TIR, 24-hour graph, etc. without having to head for the computer every time!

 

[Bruce Stephens]

Just been told by Abbott that the latest version of the Android app is 2.5.1, available on Playstore.

If I go from https://www.freestylelibre.co.uk/libre/ and look at the two apps on the Play store I see the app I have (FreeStyle LibreLink App version 2.3.0) and the LibreLinkUp app (version 3.3.0). (And that's also the case if I do it in a private browser window, so not logged in to Google.)

So I'm not convinced that what they're saying is accurate.

 

[mikeyB]

The theory that the phone app is upgrading ready for Libre 2 may be right. Your phone will have bluetooth, as long as it's not ancient or super simple. It will also have NFC,as now. It makes no difference to the phone how it receives its data.

The reader doesn't have bluetooth, and never will, so it will soon become redundant. It's almost bound to be slightly different to the phone, as it has probably reached the limit of its development. Doesn't make a great difference, but the phone is probably more accurate.

Librev 2 will have a very brief reign, for this reason: You can't integrate it into a closed loop system. (Abbott actually forbid attempting to do it) I think Libre 3 addresses this problem. The problem is that other CGM systems require calibration. Libre is the only system that doesn't. So you may find that when Libre 3 arrives, you may have to calibrate the sensor after you apply it. It's not such a big deal for you, but it's potentially a lot of money to Abbott, who have rather been left behind in the CGM game.

 

[Squirrel768]

If I go from https://www.freestylelibre.co.uk/libre/ and look at the two apps on the Play store I see the app I have (FreeStyle LibreLink App version 2.3.0) and the LibreLinkUp app (version 3.3.0). (And that's also the case if I do it in a private browser window, so not logged in to Google.)

So I'm not convinced that what they're saying is accurate.

The Libre LinkUp app is a different item, so not surprising that it has a different version number - it will have had different updates atdifferent times, as it receives data from the LibreLink, but does not itself scan the sensor.

 

[Squirrel768]

Just been told by Abbott that the latest version of the Android app is 2.5.1, available on Playstore. In order to update, I need to uninstall, and then load the new one. However, that means I lose my current data in the app, so effectively start again and lose my 14 and 30 day figures. (Not yet half-way to 90 days ...) I am loving the way my graphs and trends have been improving in the 6 weeks, and it seems no way to backup/reload data.

I am so very glad that I decided to try loading the 'new version' of the app from Playstore on to a previous phone, before wiping my data.!!!!! Except that it then threw up other problems, which have proved frustrating and very annoying!

I downloaded the version currently available in PlayStore. OK. Opening it, you have to enter your details, so that it can verify who you are, and connect to your LibreView account. So far, so good, and I have no problem with that. I can't check the version number until all that has been done. That is when the chaos started. I know my password for LibreView (and actually went into LV to verify that it was correct). The password format is very clear, with certain characters required, and length between 8 and 36. My password fitted into those requirements, and was working with no problems.

The phone app, trying to put my known, working password into it, rejects it. The requirements for setting it are different from LV, so my known password in not correct according to the app! Notes in LV say that changing the password in there will change the password required for the app. (Yes, they have to match in order to link the account, so fair assumption.) However, now, in order to access the new download, I have to actually CHANGE my password. Then, and only then, can I get into the 'new' phone and see what is happening. Sure enough, when I look at the version, looking for 2.5.1, what do I find? Yes, you've guessed it! 2.3.0 4751, the same as on the other phone.

Right, verified that Abbott customer service agent is talking rubbish, back to the original settings. Into LV to change my password back. Nope - I can't reuse a password, so I am stuck with the new one now! Then back to my original phone. Now, I have to sign in on that one again, in order to transfer to the 'new' phone which I want to use from now on.

What is most annoying, though, is that, if I had not been IT savvy, or didn't have a spare phone to hand, and just followed the instructions, I would have wiped 6 weeks of data from my phone, and been left with the same app as I am using already!

So, thankfully, I still have my data, and Abbott have a very irate response to customer services team

Moral of the story is, folks, to beware, and tread carefully when Abbott tell you to do something!

 

[Squirrel768]

The reader doesn't have bluetooth, and never will, so it will soon become redundant. It's almost bound to be slightly different to the phone, as it has probably reached the limit of its development. Doesn't make a great difference, but the phone is probably more accurate.

I have seen images of a Freestyle Libre2 Reader ... so presumably addresses the initial problems ... Don't know about L3 though ...