Option to show Master battery level on xDrip+ Sync Followers

[janvitos]

Device information

• Dexcom G6
• Palm Phone PVG100
• Android 8.1
• xDrip+ Nightly 49817a5-2021.10.04

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.

My 6-year-old child has a phone with xDrip+ that is set up as a Master. My wife and I both have phones that are set up as xDrip+ Sync Followers. Since he's young and not yet able to manage his diabetes by himself, we monitor his glycemia at all times, like when he's at school or doing activities away from home.

His phone has a small battery that sometimes doesn't last all day, and he's not good at checking the battery level before it dies. So when that happens, we get some missed readings until he notices his phone is dead and plugs it. Unfortunately, as xDrip+ Sync Followers, we cannot see the battery level of his phone to warn him. The interruption can sometimes last 30+ minutes, so if his blood sugar drops during that time, he can have hypoglycemia.

Describe the solution you'd like

As xDrip+ Sync Followers, we'd like to be able to see the battery level of the Master device. That would be incredibly useful as we could tell our son in advance when to plug his phone. So it would be awesome if xDrip+ Sync Followers could have an option to see the battery percentage of the Master.

Describe alternatives you've considered

We thought about setting up a low battery alert, but we'd also like to monitor the battery level as a precaution. He fiddles with his phone a lot and might accidentally put the phone in silent mode, so in case this happens, we'll be able to contact the person in charge of him and let them know he needs to plug his phone.

[janvitos]

Hi @tolot27,

I already saw request #530 and this is clearly NOT the same thing. Tickets #530 and #1709 are about having the G5/G6 transmitter battery information uploaded to Nightscout. This request (#1848) is about having the Master phone battery level shared with xDrip+ Sync Followers.

Would it be possible to have this ticket reopned?

Thanks.

[tolot27]

@janvitos You are right, I've mixed it with Nightscout Follow because that's how I use it. I've tried xDrip Sync as well but it did not work for me if the master is not connected to WiFi.

we monitor his glycemia at all times, like when he's at school or doing activities away from home.

Do you really get the data if he is not connected to a WiFi?

[inscara]

@tolot27 this is clearly not a duplicated ticket. Please, re-open it. This doesn't have to do with WiFi connection problems either, since that's not mentioned in the original ticket. This is just to make Xdrip+ more child compliant since that's something that is still missing from the market.

[tolot27]

@inscara You are right that it is not a duplicate. But it is still important to know, how janvitos is using it. I did not talk about WiFi problems. I'm talking about the different networks the xDrip Sync services are using. A local broadcast in a WiFi network is a different implementation than syncing data using a cloud server like Google or Nightscout. Lets just wait for janitos answer.

[tolot27]

Hmm, the Sync Master/Follower is using Google Cloud Messaging, which is now deprecated. Maybe, that's the reason why it does not work stable and this feature request cannot be implemented, easily.

@janvitos Please add your device models and Android versions to your initial message.

[Navid200]

This request is for an xDrip feature to monitor the battery of the handset on the master and inform the follower if the battery drops below a certain level. The feature would be unnecessary if a different app is used to monitor and report the battery level.

There are many existing apps that can do many different things. I can think of thousands of functions with apps dedicated to them. For example a flashlight. Does xDrip have the capability to turn on the flashlight of the handset? No. Should we add the capability to xDrip? Absolutely not.

We have many existing open issues. We need to address those first. We should not add a feature to xDrip that is not absolutely necessary. As long as another app can do the job, it's not necessary to add the feature to xDrip.

I have responded to this discussion on facebook already. Since not everyone here has a facebook account, this was my response:

[janvitos]

Do you really get the data if he is not connected to a WiFi?

@tolot27, he has a SIM card in his phone, so we get his data at all times. And the xDrip Sync Master / Follower setup works perfectly for that.

This is just to make Xdrip+ more child compliant since that's something that is still missing from the market.

@inscara, you nailed it. This is exactly why we want this feature. We feel that having access to the phone's battey level from our follower devices would most definitely make our lives much easier. I know this is not directly related to xDrip, but it is definitely related to his diabetes and his general wellbeing.

The feature would be unnecessary if a different app is used to monitor and report the battery level.

@Navid200, we know we could use an app to monitor the battery level, but we are trying to keep the phone as barebone as possible to extend the battery life. So using such an app would certainly affect the battery level since it would need to wakeup the device and send requests through the network. So I was thinking that if the battery level was sent from the master to the followers at the same time as the glycemia in xDrip, it would keep battery use to a minimum while providing us this critical information.

I understand this is not a feature that everyone will use. I also understand that it is not absolutely necessary. But I'm sure many parents that have diabetic kids would make great use of the feature.

We are trying to get our kid as independent as possible all while managing risk. Although his insulin dosage is close to perfect, he has a tendancy to fall rapidly into hypoglycemia (his pancreas might still be producing insulin), and we want to try and prevent that as much as possible.

There are probably many ways we could get access to his battery level, but not without sacrificing more battery. We also want to avoid having him plug his phone as much as possible as it is not always convenient. If he's playing outside for example, it's not possible. So I think that having this feature within xDrip would save tons of battery and give us access to this crucial information.

[tolot27]

@janvitos Did you have a look at the System Status Followers page? In my opinion, the battery of the master is reported, already:

[janvitos]

Did you have a look at the System Status Followers page? In my opinion, the battery of the master is reported

@tolot27, I wish I had that information as well, but I don't see it on any of my follower devices.

Is there anything I need to activate to get the battery information? Or maybe it only works with specific devices? I've never seen the battery information like on your screenshot on any of my devices, even when other phones were masters (S10, P40 Pro).

[tolot27]

It is interesting that your status is somewhat different to mine. Also, my service is stopped. I've tried various settings and got my service state started. But that's likely not relevant for the follower. Interestingly, your status also shows the follower phone. Which sensor is your son wearing?

[janvitos]

It is interesting that your status is somewhat different to mine.

Indeed. Maybe you are running a different xDrip version? I'm guessing not. So I'm really wondering why you have the Master battery level and I don't.

Which sensor is your son wearing?

@tolot27, he is using a Dexcom G6. I will update my first post with this information.

[janvitos]

Hi @tolot27. It's been a few days since my last reply. Any update on this?

Thanks!

[inscara]

@Mathias in the meanwhile, if the master pushes the data to Nightscout you can see battery status of the master.

The 60% shown in this screenshot is rhe battery level of the device pushing the data. In your case it would be your son's phone.

El mar., 12 oct. 2021 18:17, Mathias Walter @.***> escribió:

@janvitos https://github.com/janvitos Did you have a look at the System Status Followers page? In my opinion, the battery of the master is reported, already:

https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/1370732/136983391-10450871-b730-4771-9ac6-f04cdac0df5d.png

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[Navid200]

@janvitos

@Navid200, we know we could use an app to monitor the battery level, but we are trying to keep the phone as barebone as possible to extend the battery life.

Please find an app that can monitor the battery level on your son's phone and email or text you the value if it drops below a certain level. Go to the battery detail usage, where the battery usage is listed in order. Make sure to show full device usage. By default, this list only shows the apps, which is quite misleading. The full device usage includes everything including the screen and mobile network standby.

Please show that the app increases battery use considerably, and I will champion the feature you have asked for and do everything I can to get it fixed.