FreeStyle LibreLink Reviews

I’ve been using Libre sensors for a couple years. In so many ways I prefer your sensors to your more expensive competitor. However, you have really dropped the ball by delaying transfer of blood sugars to Apple Health for three hours. When your competitors make these results immediate. You can’t claim you are trying to provide the best care for diabetics, if you are purposefully preventing them from using other, more capable diabetes management tools than your own log. At best this is a contradiction to your own marketing Dept messaging. At worst, it’s corporate bad faith.

Part 2: Developer suggested I contact customer service for help. It turns out, Customer Service informed me, there is no support for data sharing with third party apps including Apple Health Kit. Word of warning, if your hoping to use another app to manage your diabetes, you will have to manually enter each scan into the other app. Abbott, the idea of a CGM only reaches its full potential if you facilitate the user getting this data into their preferred management app. In other words, you need to implement Apple Health Kit integration. As your product currently stands, your in the dark ages as compared to your competition. Next time someone complains about this, you could just tell them you’ll pass the request on to the developers.

I’m a type II diabetic recovering from open heart surgery. My docs want my glucose readings to be within a set “constant carbs” parameters which means a lot of finger sticking. We are trying the 10 day Freestyle Libra system and comparing the readings against my Ultra Onetouch glucose meter readings. The Freestyle Libra readings are so far removed from the Onetouch readings as to make it unusable for valid glucose measurements. Very disappointed in this system. I cannot make a direct correlation of the difference between the two systems. Sometimes the difference is 10 mg between the two and at other times the difference has been as much as 70 mg. The Freestyle system cannot seem to tell if my glucose is going up or down. It also cannot hold more that 8 hours of data which means I miss significant data at night. Nor can I set my upper or lower limits for glucose levels. The only “alarm” the it sends to my phone is when the 8 hours from last scan is up. I have had three significant hypo events that it did not acknowledge. The same with hyper events out of my target zone: no alarm. A scan is required to get any data whatsoever out of the system.
This is an expensive system that most insurances won’t pay for. Being grossly inaccurate makes it pretty much worthless.

Now on my 7th sensor in two weeks. Three have fallen off, 1 never worked from the beginning, and 2 just quit and said “replace sensor”. Seventh times the charm?

Worst customer service I have ever dealt with. App support team is ill-equipped to provide support beyond basic support script of “you did something wrong, sorry for the inconvenience.” And, the support team is strictly available during bankers hours on Eastern time, M-F. Good thing diabetes only an issue during those times. Good grief.

I am highly suspicious of good reviews in App Store. Before buying, make a smart choice and read the Developer Responses. Clearly these are not responses from “developers” who would be genuinely interested in receiving constructive feedback or offering insightful and helpful troubleshooting for an app to which they devoted their career. Instead, the responses are “please contact support”, which indicates to me these are canned responses from bots, as so many of the reviews specifically mention a user has attempted to contact support with no meaningfully positive outcome. The cognitive dissonance between my reasonable expectations of the promise of groundbreaking if nascent technology and my two-week experience is a chasm I cannot overcome. Thoroughly disappointed. Please conduct due diligence.

You need to create an account to upload your data to their service. So it constantly leaks information to them about your activities that can be reconstructed from your continuous blood glucose such as: when you woke up, your activity level, when you were eating a meal, even what kind of meal you ate. And, of course, your diabetes health status. And this is presuming your instantaneous blood glucose is the only day that they are helping themselves to, and they aren’t logging your location data or IP along with it, which would combinatorially increase the amount of information about your life that they possess.

Information is ruthlessly cumulative, can be combined with other information, and can’t be recalled once it is out there in the world.

It does not support integration with Apple health. The whole point of apple health is to have one place to manage policy for your health information on your iPhone! Until I tried to find my data in Apple health I didn’t even know it was allowed to have iPhone health apps that don’t use it.

I’ve been using the Freestyle Libre for a little while now. I very first one I used fell off in less then a week, so I went out and bought the pads that help the sensors stick on better. They worked better for a while, I sensors actually stayed on. I then had a sensor tell me after scanning it to wait the hour like they do. After the hour was up I scanned the sensor only for it to tell me to wait 10 minutes and scan again. After waiting the 10 minutes I scanned the sensor again with the same message. After about 3 or 4 scans it tells me to replace the sensor because it’s bad.

Now I pay for these out of pocket. After the first few issues the sensors worked great for a while. Now recently my last 4 in a row have not worked, each giving the same issue. I scan it, it tell me to wait the hour. I wait the hour and it tells me to scan again in 10 minutes. Wait the 10 minutes, it says scan again in 10 minutes, after 3 or 4 times it says the sensor is bad. I have one more sensor to try but I’m not really hopeful that it’ll work either. I have the latest firmware installed on everything.

Good luck everyone!!!

Diabetic since 2003. This is the first time a continuous reader seemed worth wearing, but it still needs work. Sensor issues are one thing (8 hrs is too short for consistent nighttime coverage; inaccurate lows are misleading; 1 out of 4 sensors comes unstuck or stops working), but let’s talk about FreeStyleLibreLink . Decent UI, though the graphs are problematic: you can’t compare consecutive 7-day periods, only the last 7 days/14 days etc. Averages are not useful if you can’t track over time. Also, it’s maddening that the axis changes with each graph - can’t easily compare one to another if the axis isn’t consistent! And it irritates me that I can’t export my data to CSV. Seems inappropriate that i can’t back up or examine my own data. Also, why isn’t there a customer service or support feature in FreeStyleLibreLink ? All they have is the user manual and such - no way to report issues with FreeStyleLibreLink . Makes zero sense that I have to call during business hours if my app is malfunctioning. For example, my app keeps crashing at the moment whenever I try to sync my new sensor. If I reinstall FreeStyleLibreLink I’ll lose my data!! Unacceptable.

I can only get two meters a month which makes sense since it lasts 2 weeks. My last meter had days left on it but it started giving numerous error messages before it just said it’s unusable or something. I had to go out of my way and get another refill request n pick it up two days after the failed one.
I installed the new sensor n waited an hour to check my blood and it gave a reading but with the symbol indicating to do a actual finger reading. That’s what it says all the time now. And out the blue it says it’s unavailable and to wait 4 hours! So is this one going to stop working too and only after just installing it hours before?! And if it’s going to be so freakin inaccurate all the time why don’t you people include the strips and lancets to check by finger?
Oh I have to go buy another regular meter huh? Well what the heck is the point of this one?!?
It’s 3:30am and I have no idea what my readings I can’t get up and go by a meter now nor should I have to! I shoulda listened to my co worker and not get this brand

I received FreeStyle and was very excited about it. Started using it exactly two weeks to the day. I knew I didn’t want to carry the sensor reader that came with it and was happy to see I could track it with my iPhone 11 Pro Max. Downloaded FreeStyleLibreLink and was quickly dejected. It just didn’t work. I called and asked why. My telephone representative was awesome. She took the time to research, asked me for the serial number on my sensor and told me that FreeStyleLibreLink needed to be updated to work with the newer sensor I have received. So I will wait. Hopefully soon it make it worthwhile. I chose this over Dexcom and I hope I don’t have to swap. Update: Awesome!! I received a response this morning letting me know that FreeStyleLibreLink is under review by the FDA. Hopefully, 🤞🏾, an updated app will be a an early holiday gift. Thank you!!
Update: I guess FreeStyleLibreLink will never be updated. It’s been months sense I was told they were looking at it but my assumption is that there “look” was never a clear and positive one. 😔

My first impressions are below, here is an update.
Abbott had the server back up on April 20 as promised.

I have been using FreeStyleLibreLink for about 20 days. It does the job but the inability to export a simple CSV file with history of readings is frustrating and is not technically challenging. Because of this I am going to stick to my “arrogance” comment in the title. I have bumped stars from 1 to 3.

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Original review follows
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I downloaded FreeStyleLibreLink on Thursday April 27. Like others, I immediately saw “Error communicating with server”
After uninstalling and reinstalling, restarting my phone and checking Abbot’s website, I called support.

Support tech asked me a series of questions unrelated to FreeStyleLibreLink . I kept asking if we could discuss the server connection issue. Turns out he was just gathering marketing info.

Once he had everything he wanted, he said “The server is down and will not be up until Tuesday”. He seemed to already know this but did not have the courtesy to say so immediately.

I now realize Abbott has known this for days but lacks the decency to save users the frustration of a useless interrogation or to post a notice on their site saying their server is down.

Let’s see if it’s really back up on Tuesday, April 30 as the tech said it would be.

With this kind of medical data, I am surprised that Abbott does not seem to invest in readily available server failover services.

Update (August 16, 2019): I’ve been using FreeStyleLibreLink consistently for a while. It’s great and functions as intended - so no complaints there. One feature I would request that you have is the option to add a widget in the area accessible from the lock screen (without unlocking the phone). Here’s the idea: give me an instant-check widget that I (or anyone else) can get to without unlocking my iPhone. They don’t need full access to FreeStyleLibreLink , but it should be enough for them to just use the widget and take a quick reading to make sure I’m not in the red, basically to do an instant blood-sugar level check without seeing any other info (like trends or logbooks). The only info the widget needs to display is the current blood-sugar level at the time of scanning (and a RED indicator if it’s too high or too low)... For more info, the phone should need to be unlocked.

**

Original review: I love FreeStyleLibreLink. It’s not buggy at all, and actually feels like thought, time, and effort has been put into making it and polishing it out before release. So, thank you for not phoning it in. A few suggestions for the next version: Touch ID, Face ID, and/or passcode lock (at least the option to do so) would be nice. Also, since iPhones beyond the X models mostly use OLED panels (the XR being the exception), a “dark” theme is important, so please consider adding it as soon as possible. Not only does it not blind me in the dark, on some iPhone models, it may actually conserve battery life.

This is a fantastic product, especially for someone like me. I have diabetes and lupus (a disease that severely compromises your immune system). Sticking yourself every day causes the chance of gaining an infection to increase. I have had multiple infections in my fingersBecause of sticking myself. With the new libra system, I have yet to have one single infection and I have been using it for almost a year. The only reason I did not give it five stars was because it does not allow you to connect to Apple Health. That would be fantastic for someone like me because all my medical information is stored there and on other health apps. Also, my doctor is not aware of how to gain a number to receive my readings directly. Libra May want to reach out to physicians across the country and give them a designated number so patient can participate in this program, libre link.

I’ve hade this sensor and app for about 3 years now so this review may be long. I find the gradual improvements Abbot makes are worthwhile but they are generally reactive to people’s complaints rather than proactive which would truly be better. FreeStyleLibreLink : it’s good but I have nothing to compare it to. It would be nice if they would convert to an A1C periodically. Also would like to be able to connect to other health apps for tracking, such as apple health, or various activity health bands such as Charge. I haven’t had too many issues with FreeStyleLibreLink and am happy with it.

Product: The improvements in the skin glue is great. The past year no more ripping off my skin and leaving open wounds - the libre comes off easier yet sticks better. I wish we could put it somewhere other than an arm - I am fairly clumsy and it rips off when I bump into doorways. Although not recommended I put one on my belly and readings were comparable to my averages - but my pants waistband kept rubbing it. I wish they would give skin color options. Smaller and flatter would be nice.

I love this. I went from a 7.3 A1c to a 6.3 in just 2 months. The only difference was knowing what was going on. I was only scripted for 4 tests a day. With this, I can test as many times as I want. In addition, the sensor lasts 2 weeks and I can scan on my phone, so no more getting somewhere and not having my meter. The only time that it was an issue was my fault when I forgot the sensor ran out that day and didn’t take a new one when I was out for the day. Lesson learned. It does tell you how much time is left on the sensor, but I ignored it.
In addition, the best thing as far as I am concerned is the directional arrows. I had always hated not knowing the context of the number, but with the arrows, it gives me confidence to treat the number accordingly. 100 with a straight up arrow, ok get some insulin, 100 with a straight down arrow, get a snack, etc. Putting on the sensor doesn’t hurt in the least either.
Overall, love it!

I was diagnosed as a type 1 diabetic at age 26. That was 35 years ago. I am an active elementary school teacher. I love to exercise and swim. Frequent testing in public, class, meetings, restaurants, social gatherings has always felt like a necessary evil. I love that I can “test” on the fly without missing a step in a busy life. I can also check as often as I like without budgeting strips. The sensor tells me not only where I am at the moment, but how long I’ve been there and which direction I’m heading. Huge for understanding the impact of glucose, insulin and activity on my body as everyone is unique. I love the mountain of information I can see at any moment and how easy it is to share with my doctor. The reader was just ok, awkward, not very responsive, hard to add/edit notes and who needs one more thing to carry? FreeStyleLibreLink is SO much easier and who is ever more than inches from their phone? Love, love, love. Life changing.

I actually have been a type 1 diabetic since I was 7 years old, I am now 25 and work for a family practice that deals with a lot of type 2 and type 1 diabetics. I have showed a lot of patients this product after I tested it out myself, and the doctors I work for have written a lot prescriptions for this item and have actually had me come into the room with them and the patient to inform them and show them how this product works. The doctors I work for have told me to contact the company for more information on insurance coverage, drug rep information to report back to patients and even becoming either a sponsor or something involved in this company because I truly do believe this will make any diabetics life easier as it has made mine. I work for a very busy practice and am very forgetful, this monitor has made my life that much easier and my Hemoglobin A1C come down from 9.2 to 7.8 within 3 months (this glucose monitor has a reminder setting that will alarm you within 1-2 hours to retest your blood sugar once you apply that setting) I highly recommend this product and can honestly say it has made managing my type 1 diabetes’s more reasonable.

Have been using the FreeStyle Libre sensors for almost 1 year now. I find the differences between CGM and finger stick are greatest during moderate to severe excessive activity. When you complete the activity and relax the readings come closer together. Also, overnite while sleeping they are very close.
This is helpfull if you wake in the middle of the night feeling not quite right, you can just reach for the meter and scan. If readings are within range go back to sleep in confidence.
I experience some days immediately after installing a new sensor reading can be off ( low ) by about 35 units. But after a little movement and a couple hours they get within 7-10 units. I used to have to finger stick 8-12 times per day now my fingers can heal. Still very much angry that my Medicare supplement insurance will not cover and the discount card only discounts $1.00. Don’t know how much longer I can pay out of pocket.

I let FreeStyleLibreLink run in log mode for 21 hours in the background after taking a reading. When I tried to take the next reading, I switched to the home screen, pushed the check button. It turned dark and then back to light. It did not engage. This has been the case every time since. I’ve tried pushing everything I could but the button did not reset. As I pushed the many buttons each one functioned as designed, except the check button. Update: I decided to take a chance. It looked like I was going to lose my data if i deleted FreeStyleLibreLink . But wait , I decided to follow the old adage. If it doesn’t work, reboot it. I shut the iPhone off. Restarted it and the Libre app. That fixed it and I didn’t lose anything. There is still a bug, but there is a work around if it happens to you.

I’m 12 years old and was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of 11 and before I used to use finger sticks, which took up too much time, stung my fingers, and also would leave tiny holes in my fingers after pricking. But then I started using LibreLink and it has helped my tremendously. Now taking my blood sugar is just in a matter of seconds, instead of around 2 minutes getting everything set up with fingers sticking. If I had only one problem with FreeStyleLibreLink is that it’s not as accurate as finger sticking, and this is because it has a 10-15 minute delay. Which basically means that when ever you check you blood glucose you are getting your sugar from about 10 minutes ago. But like I said before FreeStyleLibreLink has helped me a lot when managing my diabetes, and it helps me feel more free, like diabetes isn’t holding me down, and that I’m taking care of my diabetes.

I have been type 1 for 10 years and have to say that FreeStyleLibreLink allows me freedom in ways I have not seen anywhere else so far. Instead of manually poking my finger for a blood reading, the scanning is painless, easy and allows notes for food, insulin, etc..
I have two constructive criticisms. The 12 hours that I am without reading during scanning makes me anxious. As funny as it sounds, I have come to love seeing the entire readings as it brings a new level of insight to managing my BS. So if there is a way to start syncing a new sensor 12 hours prior to the existing one expiring to have no gap in readings that would be great.
The second suggestion is that I would love to see an Apple Watch app that displayed the BS reading when scanning.
I have never used a dexcom or other continuous BS monitor as all of those are considered medical devices and is a different insurance deductible and is way too costly to obtain. The freestyle libre reader is great for me because it is considered a pharmacy benefit and is actually cheaper than buying a month worth of test strips for manual checking.
Keep it up and keep innovating!

Update: My app is working now, after trying for at least 5 hours. I did call the help line and I too was given the “server down” story. I don’t believe the server storyline. I believe the server is just fine. I believe there are too many users trying to long in/register at the same time, and after a predetermined period of time/tries, it times out. I must commend Abbott for this absolutely terrific system. I drive a lot, and testing my sugar levels while driving is dangerous. With the sensor and my iPhone, I worry no more. Way to go Abbott!

* (one star)
I just purchased two sensors. Unfortunately, the FreeStyle Libre App encounters an “Error communicating with server” immediately upon opening. It’s accompanied by a small rectangular box with the words “try again.” I tried reconnecting many many times to no avail. Therefore, FreeStyleLibreLink gets one star. If there were a -0 star, I’d be more the happy to select it.

Stuck the sensor on my arm, went to download FreeStyleLibreLink & get the same error message everyone else is getting about the server being down. So I call cust service & they wanted to create an account for me. I don’t want that. I want to be able to use FreeStyleLibreLink !! My pharmacy won’t have the reader until at least tomorrow so I figured no big deal, I’ll use FreeStyleLibreLink AND save some money...looks like I will be forced to pay out of pocket for the reader because FreeStyleLibreLink seems so unreliable!!! I find it hard to believe with all the money invested that they are STILL experiencing servers problems!!! I don’t believe for one second that the servers are down. It’s not like we are talking about some freaking photoshop app here. With the amount of money I have to pay EACH month for this I shouldn’t have a problem from the moment I try to use it. So now I have this thing on my arm & who knows when I can start getting my readings!!! Watch it will go to waste and then there goes more money I’ll have to shell out

Love the capability and the easy to read screens. I’d LOVE to see the average glucose converted to A1C on the reports. Just wish I could use FreeStyleLibreLink all the time.
I’ve been a customer for years, long before US approvals. And the Libre changed my life!!!
Every country in the world except the US only waits 1 hour for a new sensor to warm up, and the sensors stay usable for 14 days allowing me to easily remember to apply a new sensor every other Sunday. Therefore I have to use my reader for 11 hours while FreeStyleLibreLink blocks the ability to read a new sensor. I don’t keep or use finger sticks any more, haven’t for years. I sure hope nothing bad happens to anyone in the 12 hours you block readings.
Then again days 11 -14 FreeStyleLibreLink blocks readings, so again I am forced to use my reader.
Being I sometimes travel allot, trying to keep in mind if I need to pack a new sensor for a trip is no fun when the day of the week it expires always changes - so I stay with the 14 day reader (as all sensors are the same globally - at least for now)

After updating to iOS 13.1.3 (on an iPhone 8), FreeStyleLibreLink has a slight lag between scanning, showing the “Scan complete” message, and showing the result. Also, FreeStyleLibreLink is crashing (and the only resolve I can find is to delete and reinstall) in the following scenario:
- Let’s say your sensor is defective (bummer!)
- If you apply a new sensor and scan, you get the expected message of ending the old sensor and starting the new one, and the prompt to tap No or Yes....Unfortunately, FreeStyleLibreLink freezes, you can’t tap no or yes, and FreeStyleLibreLink eventually crashes after a minute.

Again, unfortunately, I can’t find a way around adding a new sensor before the old one expires. This is a scenario that happens if your sensor falls off prematurely or your sensor is returning crazy readings (both happened to me within 1 month). To top it off, your data is not saved!

Please make the following fixes!
1) Fix the bug that causes FreeStyleLibreLink to freeze and crash when adding a new sensor and stopping an old sensor
2) Enable us to update FreeStyleLibreLink or delete FreeStyleLibreLink and retain the data. We have logins!

I love FreeStyleLibreLink—It gives me so much insight into my levels and is SO convenient. But this experience has been extremely frustrating.

i have been a diabetic for about 5 years now and using this has made life so much easier. i had some troubles at first but have made adjustments so it has become a lot more reliable. at first i had trouble getting the sensor to stay in my arm so now i use a tagaderm and it stays just fine, you could pick it up at your local grocery store or ask your doctors office and they usually will give you some.

compared to the dexcom
i used the dexcom a couple years ago and it was my first CGM and i loved it. one thing i liked more about it was being able to just view it without having to scan and being able to view it in my “widgets” on my unlocked screen and it being compatible with an apple watch. i also liked that i was able to place it on my stomach instead of just my arm. what i like a lot more with the libre is that it is about the size of a quarter and being a young college student, it is a necessity. i also love the fact that it does not need to be calibrated with actual finger stick tests.

FreeStyleLibreLink
i think FreeStyleLibreLink is very navigable and allows me to check overall averages up to 90 days is very convenient when talking to my doctor. i don’t have any problems with FreeStyleLibreLink .

i am so thankful to be able to use this type of technology and any update with anything i said above would be appreciated but using as is, is relief enough to my everyday life.

I had always wanted a CGM since they were first developed and extremely expensive. I went from being a very responsible T1D to falling completely off, and almost dying multiple times. Health insurance played a major factor is this as well but my decision to take control again was the ultimate factor. Instead of pricking my finger once a month maybe, I now monitor my glucose levels hourly. I check after meals obsessively because I want to know exactly how by body reacts to what I consume. Believe it or not, I had no idea stress Sky rockets my glucose levels. I never would have known that before the Freestyle Libre.

My only complaint is that I cannot get it to sync with my Apple iPhone 7+. It would make this device 1000x better for me if I could utilize this feature and I’m not sure what the issue is.

Thank you for continuing to improve a life changing product. 🙏🏼

I love FreeStyleLibreLink . It give me the ability to check quickly and get back to my business, but it doesn’t share the data to any other apps. I use two other apps to keep track of my overall health and glucose levels, the iOS Health app, and One Drop. I was using them before I got the Freestyle Libre, and I loved the experience and how simple it made sharing my data with my doctors, but the LibreLink, while I can share with my spouse and others close to me, that application doesn’t quite work for physicians. That’s why I like using the other apps. Isn’t it possible to allow LibreLink to write to Apple Health or share data with other apps like One Drop? If this feature were available, I’d say that FreeStyleLibreLink would deserve more than five stars, but for now I can only give it four. Just more data sharing options please!

Even though my insurance doesn’t pay for it I decided to try the freestyle libre paying for it myself. Being a relatively new diabetic type two I despise having to stick a lancet to my fingers;some days I just skipped checking. With this application I find myself checking time and time again to see how different foods and activity affect the reading; being able to make notes of how I feel, exercise done, etc motivates me to follow a plan and take care of myself. Alerts for highs and lows are really important, hopefully by next version they are incorporated. It is too much to ask for a scale that communicates with FreeStyleLibreLink but having some space to note it and follow progress would be nice. Also on the wishlist: scan with the Apple watch, sharing feature available in other countries, and free chocolate for life!

Why is it that about 2 to 3 in 4 of your freestyle sensors don't work while the other 2 to 3 do. Please don't tell me I'm putting them on wrong. I'm not. Some start to work with reading then die out and state to replace. I know your making your money the sensors and probably don't care but I'm losing money replacing them. Will you replace them???

Getting diagnosed with diabetes was the worst thing that happened to me. I was looking for ways to effectively monitor my glucose level, and then I heard about Nightrider BluCon. It is an amazing device that helped me manage my diabetic issues by constantly sending my glucose values from my Libre sensors to the LinkBluCon app on my phone. The device also alarms me when my readings step out of the target zone, so I can make necessary changes in my lifestyle.