I debated on taking over/under bets on how many times I would use the word "Microwave" on Facebook groups today. So far, it stands at 5. Then I had the brilliant idea that rather than retyping the exact same thing over and over, I could make a simple blog post explaining the issue and just paste a link.
The Problem
As you are probably aware, the Dexcom G6 transmitter can only connect to a single phone and a single receiver at once. This is the reason that you can't use the receiver with the Omnipod 5. The pod itself is a receiver and uses up that one slot.
Every time you activate a new pod with the Omnipod 5 system, the details are sent directly to the pod so that it can communicate with the transmitter. And every time that you deactivate a pod, the system is supposed to remove the old pod as a receiver. As a lot of us have realized, this deactivation process is flip of the coin at best. So you may find yourself frequently left with a new pod that is not connecting to the transmitter. You may have seen suggestions to reboot the controller 872 times, delete and re-enter the transmitter, or sprinkle cinnamon on the pod as solutions. In my opinion, the only reason any of those may work is pure luck with the timing based on when the transmitter tries to phone-home.
A 150 Year Old Scientist to the Rescue
Who has heard of English Scientist, Michael Faraday? And no, not the Lost character (Daniel Faraday) who was so creatively named after the famous scientist. Faraday died over 150 years ago: before Microwaves, before Bluetooth, before Omnipod and Dexcom. But his primary discovery affects all of those and more. Even if you haven't heard of his name, you've probably heard of his creation: the Faraday Cage. This cage is essentially a wire mesh that has the uncanny ability to prevent electromagnetic waves from traveling outside in or inside out. Most of us have a modern-day Faraday Cage sitting in our Kitchen, called a Microwave.
Now who in the class can guess what type of wave a Bluetooth signal is? If you guessed electromagnetic wave, congratulations! You win a chicken dinner. Print this page to redeem from your spouse, child, parent, or significant other.
The So-Simple-Why-Didn't-I-Think-of-It Solution
To recap, we know that:
- Dexcom G6 transmitters can only be paired to 1 receiver (aka a Pod) at a time
- Pods don't always disconnect from the Dexcom transmitter correctly. This is extratrue (I just made that word up) with failed pods.
- A Microwave prevents Bluetooth from escaping its steely grasp
So my suggestion to you for Every. Single. Pod. Change. is to follow the steps below:
- Deactivate the pod
- Place the deactivated pod (or failed pod) in the microwave
- Do not try to cook the pod
- Fill the new pod with insulin, listen for beeps, yada, yada
- Pair the new pod
- Enjoy the speedy connection between the new pod your transmitter
- Enjoy the perplexed look on guests faces when they see a forgotten pod sitting in your microwave the next day