Description of Event or Problem · 0
I USE A MEDTRONIC 780G INSULIN PUMP, PART OF THE ARTIFICIAL PANCREAS SYSTEM. IT IS PAIRED WITH AN ABBOTT-MANUFACTURED SENSOR WHICH IS LABELED AS "INSTINCT" -- GOOD FOR 2 WEEKS. THE MEDTRONIC 780G IS BLUETOOTH CONNECTED TO EITHER AN ANDROID PHONE OR IPHONE. THIS IS REQUIRED TO UPLOAD DATA TO THE MEDTRONIC SERVERS, AS WELL AS TO ACTIVATE INSTINCT SENSORS. ON THE EVENING ON (B)(6) 2026, MY INSTINCT SENSOR EXPIRED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. AT THIS POINT, I NOTICED THAT MY PHONE (AN UP-TO-DATE GOOGLE PIXEL 7) WAS NO LONG BLUETOOTH PAIRED WITH MY PHONE. IN THE PAST, I HAVE CONTACT MEDTRONIC FOR ASSISTANCE WITH THIS ISSUE AT 1-800-646-4633. I CALLED THE NUMBER AT 8:41 PM ON A SUNDAY, AND WAS PLACED ON HOLD. I HAD KEPT NOTES FROM MY PREVIOUS PHONE CALLS REGARDING BLUETOOTH PAIRING AND MY PHONE, SO I FOLLOWED THOSE INSTRUCTIONS. IT WAS RECOMMENDED TO UNPAIR MY PUMP FROM MY PHONE, DELETE THE HISTORY OF THE PUMP FROM THE PHONE, REBOOT THE PHONE, DELETE THE PHONE CONNECTION FROM THE PUMP, AND THEN REPAIR THE PUMP TO THE PHONE. I FOLLOWED THE INSTRUCTIONS, AND FOUND THAT THE INITIAL PAIRING SEEMED TO WORK, BUT NEVER COMPLETED -- NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES I TRIED THE PROCEDURE. IT GAVE ME NO FEEDBACK ON WHAT WAS GOING ON, OTHER THAN TO TELL ME TO REPEAT THE PROCESS. AT SEVERAL POINTS, THE MEDTRONIC MOBILE APP ON THE PHONE (V3.1.3) DISPLAYED AN ERROR MESSAGE, SAYING "UNABLE TO CONTACT MEDTRONIC SERVERS, PLEASE TRY AGAIN LATER." I CONTINUED TO WAIT ON HOLD. SIXTY-FIVE MINUTES INTO HOLD, I FINALLY GAVE UP ON USING MY PIXEL 7, AND DUG OUT AN OLDER SAMSUNG A32 PHONE, RUNNING THE SAME VERSION OF ANDROID. I INSTALLED V3.1.3 OF THE MEDTRONIC MOBILE APP, AND WAS ABLE TO PAIR ALMOST IMMEDIATELY. AFTER THE PHONE WAS PAIRED WITH MY PUMP, I COULD START A NEW SENSOR. THIS IS NOT THE FIRST TIME I'VE HAD TROUBLES PAIRING THE PUMP TO THE PHONE, OR LOST AN OTHERWISE FUNCTIONAL BLUETOOTH CONNECTION. IT WOULD APPEAR THAT MEDTRONIC'S DEVELOPERS CANNOT QUITE FIGURE OUT HOW TO WORK WITH GOOGLE'S VERSION OF ANDROID. BUT WHAT IS MORE DISTURBING IS THAT AFTER 67 MINUTES ON HOLD, I GAVE UP -- NO ONE HAD EVER PICKED UP THE PHONE. ON (B)(6) 2026, I CALLED THE (B)(6) NUMBER, AND WAS ON HOLD FOR 83 MINUTES BEFORE GIVING UP. AT NO TIME DID I SPEAK TO A HUMAN. ON (B)(6) 2026, I CALLED THE 1-800 NUMBER, AND WAITED FOR ABOUT 19 MINUTES ON HOLD BEFORE GIVING UP. IN EACH CASE, I HEARD A MESSAGE SAYING "WE ARE EXPERIENCING INCREASED CALL VOLUMES" EVERY 2 MINUTES. THE (B)(6) CALLS WERE MADE IN AN ATTEMPT TO GET A REPLACEMENT FOR A DEFECTIVE CGM SENSOR. I HAVE NOW GIVEN UP ON GETTING A REPLACEMENT FOR THIS. THERE IS NO METHOD FOR GETTING A REPLACEMENT SENSOR OUTSIDE OF USING THE (B)(6) NUMBER. I HAVE TRIED USING THE WEB FEEDBACK FORM ON THE DIABETES. SHOP WEBSITE, BUT I DO NOT RECEIVE ANYTHING BUT AN AUTOMATED "WE HAVE RECEIVED YOUR INPUT FORM, AND WE WILL BE IN TOUCH SHORTLY" MESSAGE. NO FURTHER CONTACT IS FORTHCOMING. MEDTRONIC CERTAINLY HAS NO PROBLEM ANSWERING THE PHONE WHEN IT HAS TO DO WITH BILLING, AND THEY CAN CERTAINLY FREE UP THE RESOURCES TO CALL ME TO REMIND ME THAT AN INVOICE IS DUE IN A FEW DAYS. WHILE I WAS RUNNING WITHOUT A CGM, MY BLOOD GLUCOSE CLIMBED FROM 223 MG/DL TO 272 MG/DL -- I SHOULD HAVE BEEN CHECKING MY BLOOD GLUCOSE AND MANUALLY DOSING, BUT I KEPT DELAYING, THINKING I'D HAVE THE SYSTEM WORKING AGAIN IN JUST A MOMENT.