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Warning to Freestyle Libre users - regarding Apple iOS updates.
- Thread starter Mike D
- Start date
Hi Mike my sympathies and my Libre App on my phone stopped working a while ago and so I only use the reader now which is a pain as the I found the data on the phone mote useful.
I only have a works phone so dont have a choice as to whether to update or not but like you think it is unprofessional for Abbott not to have it compatible.
I work in the same industry as Abbott and on a commercial level they are normally a very professional outfit so as I said am surprised.
Anyway have adapted to only using the reader but did like the phone as well
I only have a works phone so dont have a choice as to whether to update or not but like you think it is unprofessional for Abbott not to have it compatible.
I work in the same industry as Abbott and on a commercial level they are normally a very professional outfit so as I said am surprised.
Anyway have adapted to only using the reader but did like the phone as well
Mike D
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I have been very impressed with the Abbot telephone support. They have been very efficient on all accounts and up until last week I have not had any problems with anything Freestyle Librelink related. But on this occasion I have spent a lot of my time ‘digging’ to try to discover answers. I suspect the telephone / email support have strict instructions not to admit any responsibility to failings in their products or software.
JJay
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- Type 1
I think a sense of proportion is needed here. Yes, a number of people have had problems and will post about them on forums such as this, but those who have no problems (I suspect the vast majority) will not. It is therefore hardly helpful to issue blanket warnings that may confuse those less confident with technology, nor to demonise phones as the cause of all Libre problems.
I will be installing 18.2 between Christmas and New Year when I have time to tweak all the features I didn’t ask for and don’t need. If it affects the operation of LibreLink, so be it, I will have to find a solution. But, as with all previous iOS updates about which dire warnings were issued, I suspect it won’t.
I will be installing 18.2 between Christmas and New Year when I have time to tweak all the features I didn’t ask for and don’t need. If it affects the operation of LibreLink, so be it, I will have to find a solution. But, as with all previous iOS updates about which dire warnings were issued, I suspect it won’t.
Mike D
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A blanket warning is all I can state - the manufacturer has NOT given me any direct answers which may narrow the field relating to this issue.
I am stating pure facts which may help others who encounter the same problems as I. Of course people without problems will not write, they will not be searching for help from threads such as this one!
I did not have any of the features active which warnings were issued and still encountered these unrelated problems. If possible, please report back here the results of your impending updates ( I hope you have more success than me! ).
Mike D
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Update - Abbot have issued me with a new ‘Reader’ which arrived today - I cannot fault their prompt delivery of this and applaud their efficiency.
First attempt has successfully scanned one of the sensors which didn’t work last week, I had tried and wasted 3 No. and l purposely left the last one I tried on my arm to hopefully try again later and seems to be working perfectly ( fingers crossed ). What this does confirm is as suspected, there MUST be a problem either with the LibreLink App and / or the new iOS 18 - 18.2, both of which have had very recent updates.
First attempt has successfully scanned one of the sensors which didn’t work last week, I had tried and wasted 3 No. and l purposely left the last one I tried on my arm to hopefully try again later and seems to be working perfectly ( fingers crossed ). What this does confirm is as suspected, there MUST be a problem either with the LibreLink App and / or the new iOS 18 - 18.2, both of which have had very recent updates.
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JJay
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Please don’t think I am in any way dismissing or trivialising the problems you’re experiencing, which must be really frustrating. My concern is that the extent of the problem may be artificially inflated by the absence of input from those who experience no issues.
For what it’s worth, I’m already on 18.1.1 and had no problems at all. I will indeed report back on the next update. Glad to hear you have a reader now. Have a great Christmas
Mike D
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I have just received an email reply today ( 24th Dec ) from Abbot Diabetes Care UK support team.
Quote as follows:
“We understand how frustrating this situation must be for you, and we are sorry to hear about the difficulties you have encountered. We are aware of the iOS 18 release by Apple, we plan to update the Compatibility Guide as soon as iOS 18 is verified for compatibility with our apps. We always recommend checking the Compatibility Guide before updating your phone’s operating system.”
This was as expected, but I do wonder how long this take to be updated ( especially over the ensuing Christmas Period ). They are to be commended on their quick reply ( only took 1 day ) during the start of the Christmas ‘silly’ season.
So please have caution if you intend installs any updates!
Quote as follows:
“We understand how frustrating this situation must be for you, and we are sorry to hear about the difficulties you have encountered. We are aware of the iOS 18 release by Apple, we plan to update the Compatibility Guide as soon as iOS 18 is verified for compatibility with our apps. We always recommend checking the Compatibility Guide before updating your phone’s operating system.”
This was as expected, but I do wonder how long this take to be updated ( especially over the ensuing Christmas Period ). They are to be commended on their quick reply ( only took 1 day ) during the start of the Christmas ‘silly’ season.
So please have caution if you intend installs any updates!
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Mike D
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Thankyou JJay, please take care with any updates you intend to install ( see my latest message for the email reply from Abbot I received today ). I also had no problems with the early versions of iOS 18, just the later versions up to and including 18.2 which I only installed as a last resort when 3 sensors wouldn’t detect last week.
Wishing you Seasons Greetings and a Healthy New Year.
I’m using 18.1.1 and it works ok, 18.2 I don’t know. Losing contact can be because you left the room or because use of some other glitch maybe with the sensor or maybe with blue tooth so it may be worth restarting blue tooth. All too often the sensor is faulty. It can also be because of your phone settings and if you call them they can walk you through them, I did and it didn’t help but you never know. Otherwise sending it back is all you can do however unhelpful that is if they haven’t updated their software. They are slow to do this and even slower at informing users although I don’t understand why a minor update should render them unusable.
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Mike D
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Hi Merluza,
Thankyou for replying, if you read all my earlier posts you will see all these suggestions have already been tried. It has definitely been narrowed down to a software issue ( iOS and / or the Librelink App ).
Mike D
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That’s good, when was the last time you changed an arm sensor? Mine was all running ok until I tried to scan a new one on 19th Dec. ( I had also just updated to the latest version of the Librelink App ). Only once this didn’t work ( 3 wasted sensors! ) I then installed iOS 18.2 in the vague hope that this would help - but it didn’t.
Mike D
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And as a footnote, I left one of the sensors which wouldn’t scan on my arm on the 19th.
Once I received a Reader on the 24th - this sensor scanned perfectly. Which indicates an issue with the iOS update and / or the Librelink App.
15th December or possibly 16th.
When I did the 18.1.1 update i did it without thinking and Immediately wondered if I’d been too impulsive. As it turned out it continued to work ok with the sensor in place but I did have to send the next sensor back as it died within 24 hours and the replacement was a bit flaky. The current one is doing fine but I’ll not be updating my phone again for a while. Given the rate of iPhone updates Abbott are too far behind the curve, a couple of weeks or a month is useless when the sensors only last 14 days and they really should be sending out notifications to users.
Mike D
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I agree completely - looks like I’ve fallen foul of their inability to inform customers effectively.
Like I said earlier, I believe 18.1 was probably working ok for me, just subsequent more recent updates seem to have stopped mine working completely. Hoping there will be a solution soon.
Their email to me on 24th Dec stated this:
Quote - ‘We understand how frustrating this situation must be for you, and we are sorry to hear about the difficulties you have encountered. We are aware of the iOS 18 release by Apple, we plan to update the Compatibility Guide as soon as iOS 18 is verified for compatibility with our apps. We always recommend checking the Compatibility Guide before updating your phone’s operating system.
We are actively looking into this and will provide an update as soon as we have more information.’
I was just told by Abbott to keeping looking here for info on updates:
www.diabetescare.abbott
( See the two attached screengrab pics for details ).
To be fair, the Abbott telephone and email support have been excellent, but I still find it incompetent that a company of this size can only support up to iOS 17.5.1 ….which was launched in May 2024 !!!
Like I said earlier, I believe 18.1 was probably working ok for me, just subsequent more recent updates seem to have stopped mine working completely. Hoping there will be a solution soon.
Their email to me on 24th Dec stated this:
Quote - ‘We understand how frustrating this situation must be for you, and we are sorry to hear about the difficulties you have encountered. We are aware of the iOS 18 release by Apple, we plan to update the Compatibility Guide as soon as iOS 18 is verified for compatibility with our apps. We always recommend checking the Compatibility Guide before updating your phone’s operating system.
We are actively looking into this and will provide an update as soon as we have more information.’
I was just told by Abbott to keeping looking here for info on updates:
User Manuals - United Kingdom
Download UK user manuals for FreeStyle LibreLink and FreeStyle Libre Software
www.diabetescare.abbott
To be fair, the Abbott telephone and email support have been excellent, but I still find it incompetent that a company of this size can only support up to iOS 17.5.1 ….which was launched in May 2024 !!!
Attachments
If they are waiting for Apple to confirm the compatibility of their app it might take some time as that’s not how it works. As I understand it Apple update their app, OS or whatever according to their requirements, which are often about security, and inform users about what they need to do to remain compatible. The ball falls into Abbott’s court, however they might choose to phrase it, and they need go do the work.