Android 13 update - Issues with Freestyle Libre 2 sensor & Bluetooth Low Energy

[AJKohl]

Merry Christmas!

My Samsung Galaxy A53 5G updated from Android 12 to Android 13 sometime in November 2022/early December 2022.

I have a piece of medical software on my A53 called Freestyle LibreLink. 

Freestyle Librelink is supposed to receive Bluetooth Low Energy signals from a Freestyle Libre 2 sensor attached to my arm and trigger an alarm on my A53 when my blood glucose has gone too low, or too high.

Both the Freestyle LibreLink app and Freestyle Libre 2 sensors are made by Abbott Laboratories.

Since the update on my A53 from Android 12 to Android 13 I no longer receive low or high glucose alarms. 

The update of my A53 from OS 12 to OS 13 also coincided with the manufacturer of the Freestyle LibreLink app updating the LibreLink app twice: the first time on or around 15 November 2022 and the second time around 1 December 2022.

This failure to receive low and high glucose alarms can be very dangerous.

The Internet suggests the issue of Android phones with OS 13 having the Freestyle LibreLink app on such phones not being able to receive low and high glucose alarms was known about and reported on Google's Issue Tracker as early as August 2022. 

Clearly the issue has still not been fixed yet.

Abbott Laboratories's customer services have suggested every possible permutation to try to resolve the failure of low and high glucose alarms on my A53 (checking all app permissions are granted, including overriding "do not disturb"; clearing cache of Freestyle LibreLink; force stopping and restarting Freestyle LibreLink; uninstalling and reinstalling Freestyle LibreLink; switching Bluetooth off and on; switching A53 off and on).

No solution suggested by Abbott Laboratories has resolved the issue of no low/high glucose alarms permanently, only temporarily and only for a few hours at best.

The Internet also suggests that this problem may be unique to Samsung mobiles (although I have read that it has affected dome Google Pixel mobiles as well as iPhones).

Does anyone know when the issues with Android 13 disrupting Bluetooth Low Energy signals stopping high and low glucose alarms being received and given off via Abbott Laboratories's Freestyle LibreLink app on Android phones, (and my Samsung Galaxy A53 5G specifically) will be resolved permanently?

Thank you!

[Members_U54vzvl]

I can confirm here at my Phone 'S20FE 5G'.

My WorkAround is to reboot Phone or turnover Plane-Mode.

Sometimes it helps, to scan the FSL2-Sensor by NFC to reconnect via BT.

[Fluchtachterl]

Same here!
My wife has a Galaxy S8 with Android 8.0 and each and every day problems with Alarms. So to me it seems not to be a problem of Android 13, but LibreLink-App (version 2.8.2.9318).

[Fluchtachterl]

Same here!
My wife has a Galaxy S8 with Android 8.0 and each and every day problems with not working alarms.
So it seems to me not to be a problem of Android 13, but of LibreLink-App 2.8.2.9318.

I'm pretty competent with Android and absolutely shure that all necessary steps have been done to guarantee app is working fine (no energy-saving, all permissions...).

[PauloD]

Same here.

Galaxy A 51 5G with Android 13 and Abbott FreeStyle Libre Link 2 glycemia sensor ( diabetis type I ).

Everting works ok for 30 min to 4 hours, then FreeStyle App complains it lost connection with sensor.

Scan the sensor, turn bluethoot off/on, plane mode on/off or restart the phone solves the problem for another  30 min to 4 hours.

Same App works ok with same sensores on Galaxy S 7 Android 8.

So, new phone in the drawer until Samsung and Google solve the Android 13 problem.

[uiop]

Same issues with my a32 5g. Samsung remotely fixed it for a full 24hrs and suggested I contact abbott as it may be an app issue .
I'm not impressed and have lost 3 months data from my phone by trying reinstalling the app but it seems at least I'm not alone with the issue.
On the plus side I get a full night's sleep even if I do wake occasionally with a hangover type headache lol

[AJKohl]

Thank you everyone who has replied to this post so far.

Please may I suggest two things?

First, the country in which you are based will have an official government-backed medical devices regulator who will have licensed and authorised Abbott's Freestyle Librelink app to be provided to diabetics (who want it) to give low and high glucose alarms on a compatible mobile phone when the Freestyle Librelink app is used under normal circumstances and in accordance with Abbott's user instructions for use of the Freestyle Librelink app.

Please would you consider contacting the official medical devices regulator in your countries and notify them that Abbott's Freestyle Librelink app has not been working as it is supposed to on your Samsung phones?

The medical devices regulator in each country will have the legal powers to order that Abbott take Freestyle Librelink off the market. The regulator will exercise that power very rarely. However, if the regulator knows that there is a problem with Freestyle Librelink, the regulator will hopefully contact Abbott and put pressure on them to make Freestyle Librelink fully compatible with Android operating systems updates and security patches and Samsung system updates snd security patches.

The second thing I ask you to consider doing is to file an error report through Samsung's Members Community. Explain to them (in 1000 characters or less) what has happened and suggest that both Google and Samsung give proper consideration to the future functionality of official medical device apps when they test and roll out operating system updates and security patches.

I set out below suggested text for a Samsung error report.

Suggested text of Samsung Members Error Report.

" I own a Samsung Galaxy A53 5G.

I am diabetic. Diabetics are required to keep their blood glucose within strict ranges (4 mmol/l to 10mmol/l)

Since 2017 I, like many millions of diabetics, use a continuous glucose sensor to monitor my glucose levels and to provide me with alarms when my blood glucose is too low or too high so that I can either administer food (low glucose) or insulin (high glucose).

I use the mobile app Freestyle LibreLink made by the well known medical devices company Abbott Laboratories to receive alarms on my A53.

Since November 2022 I have been unable to receive low and high glucose alarms on my A53. This failure coincides with the Android OS on my A53 (and many other people's phones) being upgraded from OS 12 to OS 13 which I understand has affected how Bluetooth Low Energy works on my A53.

PLEASE can Google and Samsung give proper consideration to the future functionality of medical device apps when testing and rolling out OS and security updates?"

[Fluchtachterl]

Nice idea, but honestly I don't think that it is worth doing it. Save your time and energy.

Shortly I had a 30 minutes telephone chat with Abbott's helpline. Much blabla and a Abbott statement that "we know that after a Samsung update that problems occured". As I answered that I disabled any updates on my wifes phone, which is still on Android 8.0.0, he didn't know what to say else.

What we did today (after placing a new Libre2 sensor). Installed a old LibreLink version to verify if the problem is only in the last app-version and guess what happened...still red triangle and connection alarm!

What did I do? Give up LibreLink. Installed xDrip+. All alarms are working (you can define many more than only two alarms), a nice homescreen-widget and (!) the FGM works now as a CGM. Google it, if you wnat to know how to do.

Conclusion: It's a shame for Abbott.

[Big_Rick]

Downgraded my phone to android 12 and it now works perfectly. You need Odin software to downgrade it via a pc and a copy of android 12 for your phone

[kirstymc]

Mine worked just fine until I had to do an update on my phone since then high and low alarms won't work its an absolute nightmare!

[Kalle14]

Using Galaxy S22+ and Libre 2. After Android 13 update alarms stopped to work normally. Only way to get alarms is if I reboot the phone, then those might work for an hour or two. Maybe some service stops or crashes.

This is very bad.