FAQ | Frequently Asked Questions

Getting Started

Does Gluroo have a user manual?

Yes! You can find it here: https://gluroo.com/user-manual/

Is Gluroo compatible with my specific Continuous Glucose Monitor (CGM)?

Gluroo supports the following CGMs:

  • Dexcom G5, Dexcom G6, Dexcom G7, Dexcom One+ (all via Dexcom Follow)
  • Freestyle Libre 2, Libre 3, Libre 3+ (all via LibreLinkUp – read this setup guide!)

If you use a CGM that is not listed above, you may still be able to get those blood glucose readings into Gluroo.

Other CGMs may be indirectly supported by Gluroo and require using the Gluroo Local Integration (GLI) or Gluroo Global Connect (GGC).

Gluroo Local Integration allows Gluroo to read data from an Android notification and then pass that data into Gluroo. For instance, the Medtronic Guardian 4 app has a persistent notification with blood glucose levels shown. GLI allows Gluroo to read that notification and show it as your CGM value in the app. GLI also supports listening for broadcasted messages from other apps like xDrip+ and BYOD. The following CGMs are available via GLI:

Gluroo Global Connect is Gluroo’s Nightscout-compatible backend. If you have CGM data in a DIY/third party app, you can send that CGM data to Gluroo, if your third party app has an option to send data to a “Nightscout instance” or “Nightscout backend”. To enable this in Gluroo:

  1. go to Menu -> Devices -> CGM
  2. Select “DIY via Nightscout”
  3. Copy and paste the Nightscout URL and API secret that Gluroo created for you into your DIY/third party app.

If you use any other CGM that is not listed here, we strongly encourage you to join our Facebook group and ask our wonderful community for help. There are just too many third party tools and methods for moving CGM readings around for us to list all of the possibilities here!

How to change which language is displayed

To change your language in Gluroo:

  1. Go to Menu in the top right
  2. Tap “Settings”
  3. Go to the “APP” tab
  4. Scroll down to “Preferred Language” and select a new language from the list.

English, Spanish, Italian, German, Japanese, French, and much more are available to choose from! If you would like to help us improve our translations for your language, please write in to help@gluroo.com.

Inviting other people

To invite other people to your GluCrew, navigate to the menu icon > GluCrew and tap “Invite new crew member”. You can use a QR code, send them a link directly, or have Gluroo email the invitation to them.

Inviting a child/minor with no email address

If you are, for example, a parent of a child with diabetes, you can use Gluroo to follow their BGL data, chat with them, etc. In most cases, it’s better and simpler if the child has their own google email address.

If that’s not an option and both of you are on iOS devices, you can use the same Apple ID login to create a Gluroo account for each of you. Please see this video for a guide on how to do that:

Connecting your pump

Gluroo currently supports three pumps: Omnipod DASH/OP4Omnipod 5, and DIY Loop. Tap on the link for your specific pump for details on how to connect it to Gluroo.

Connecting your CGM (Dexcom G6/G7/One+, Libre 2/3)
  1. Tap the Menu in the top right of the app
  2. Tap “Devices”.
  3. In the CGM tab, select your CGM from the list – Dexcom, Freestyle Libre, Other, etc. If you are using a Dexcom One+, just select Dexcom G7 from the list!
  4. (For Dexcom CGMs, enter your Dexcom Share username and password. For Libre CGMs, enter your LibreLinkUp username and password.)
  5. Tap login
  6. Your CGM data will now be available in Gluroo for everyone in your GluCrew to see!
Connecting your Blood Glucose Meter (BGM)

Only BGMs that write into Apple Health on iOS are supported at this time, though we have plans for adding more BGM support in the future.

Logging new sensors

To log a new CGM sensor, tap + > New… > sensor. Type in the code and lot number from the sensor package. You can also log a new sensor by using the camera to scan the UPC code from the sensor or transmitter packaging.

Logging meals

Log a meal or snack by tapping + > Meal. You can also type a meal right into the chat, for example, “25g grilled chicken, salad”. Gluroo will understand that this is a meal with 25 grams of carbohydrates and update the carbs on board in the top right! For more information about logging, see what text Gluroo understands.

Editing entries

Edit an entry by long-pressing on it. You can change the time, remove it, edit the text, and more.

Logging insulin boluses

Log an insulin bolus or basal dose by tapping + > Bolus or Basal. You can also log insulin doses by typing into the chat box. For example, “Dosed 2u 5m ago” will tell Gluroo that two units of insulin were administered five minutes ago. The insulin on board will then change to reflect this!

Changing BGL units

To change units from mg/dL to mmol/L or vice versa, tap the menu icon > GluCrew, then select the desired unit under “Blood Glucose Units”.

Changing the chart y-axis range

The default chart has a y-axis range up to 400 mg/dL. If you want to make this narrower, go to:

Menu -> Settings -> GluCrew tab,

And change your “Target BGL Range” to be a “tight range”. This will affect both the y-axis scale of the chart, and the stat card at the bottom of the log for Time in Range.

Note that setting a “custom range” will not affect the y-axis range on the chart, only tight range does that.

Diabetes Education

What’s a Carb Ratio (CR)?

The insulin-to-carb ratio, or carb ratio, is the number of grams of carbohydrate that one unit of rapid-acting insulin will cover.

Your healthcare team should help you calculate this number. Only use the number provided by a doctor.

What is an Insulin Sensitivity Factor (ISF)?

The Insulin Sensitivity Factor is the estimated drop in blood sugar for a correction dose of 1 unit of insulin.

Your healthcare team should help you calculate this number. Only use the number provided by a doctor.

What are Basal and Bolus insulin?

Bolus insulin is fast-acting (or “rapid-acting”) insulin – the kind that you inject for meals or to correct a high. Basal insulin is slow-acting and helps keep your blood sugars steady throughout the day.

What is the GMI statistic?

GMI stands for Glucose Management Indicator. It’s often used as an estimate of your HbA1C that is arrived at by analyzing your CGM readings over time, whereas the HbA1C is derived in a lab by analyzing your blood itself. HbA1C is more accurate, but GMI can be a handy tool to see how you’re doing in between visits with your endocrinologist.

Troubleshooting

Nightguard: The data couldn't be read because it isn't in the correct format

If you see this error in Nightguard after copy/pasting the Gluroo Global Connect URL into that app, it means you are probably using the “standard” Nightscout URL (for lack of a better term), instead of the Nightguard-specific one.

In Gluroo, tap the text “Other formats for various apps” and copy the one for Nightguard. Paste that into Nightguard and you should be good to go.

For more info see our blog post (scroll down to Apple Watches): https://gluroo.com/blog/glucrew/blood-sugar-readings-smartwatch-gluroo/

Insulin and Pen/Pump details are missing from the app

When the Insulin type is set to “None” (for example for some people with Type 2 Diabetes and others using Gluroo as a general health and diet logging app), Gluroo simplifies the menus and user interface to hide details about insulin. If you want to bring those menu items, tabs, and insulin-specific capabilities back, go to Menu > CGM, scroll to the bottom, and tap “PWD Uses Insulin Now.”
(Libre 2/Libre 3/LibreLinkUp) CGM readings only come in every 3-5 minutes, even though my Libre CGM reports them every 1 minute

We use heuristics to decide whether to fetch every 1 minute or every 3-5 minutes that are based on your current BGL. This is in an effort to reduce background battery drain and prevent Gluroo from being suspended from operating by the OS. So, if your BGL is in-range and stable, we reduce the number of fetches, but if you’re changing rapidly and/or out of range, we fetch them at a higher frequency.

(Libre 2/Libre 3/LibreLinkUp) Error: No patients shared with that username

When trying to get Libre CGM readings in Gluroo, you must use LibreLinkUp to serve as a bridge from the main Libre app to Gluroo. This requires that you create a separate LibreLinkUp account, then share your CGM readings from the main Libre app to that LibreLinkUp account. See How to Use the Freestyle Libre 2 or 3 with Gluroo.

If you have a LibreLinkUp account but it does not have any patients shared with it, then you may see this error. To resolve it, make sure that you can see readings in the LibreLinkUp app for the person with diabetes that you intend to see. Then, check your account info in the LibreLinkUp app by going to “Account Settings”. Make sure that you are providing Gluroo with this correct information.

If that still doesn’t work, please reach out to us at help@gluroo.com and we will investigate ASAP!

Android battery optimization

Gluroo works best with battery optimization disabled (especially for the OP5 integration to work, and especially on the PWD’s (person with diabetes) phone). This page has information about how to disable battery optimization on Android phones such as the Google Pixel, Samsung, LG, OnePlus, and more. You can see a more general writeup of the process on our post that discusses how to remotely view data from the OP5 using Gluroo.

CGM data connectivity issues / stale data

If your CGM data is not refreshing or is not up to date, there are a few things you can do. First, check that the Dexcom or Libre servers are not having any issues. Then, check that your desired CGM is connected in Gluroo by tapping the menu icon then CGM. Look for the “Connected” text underneath your CGM username and password.

You can also try restarting the CGM connection by going to Menu > Connections > CGM > Dexcom Share and tapping “Remove Dexcom connection” and then tapping “Login to Dexcom” again.

On Android, check that battery optimization is disabled (see above question).

Note that on iOS, there are limitations to how often an app can update in the background, which affects how often Gluroo can reflect a new reading. Unfortunately, there is not much we can do about that at this time. We are at the mercy of Apple and what behavior they allow on their operating system. Another thing you can try to do is use the app more often. This can demonstrate to the OS that background services should be kept in-memory for that app. (Seriously, they track how often you use the app and use that to limit background activity or not.)

If these steps do not work, please email us directly by tapping the menu icon > Help, then press the “Email help@gluroo.com” button.

BGL crossed out

A line through the BGL indicates that the most recent CGM reading is more than 9 minutes old. This means that the reading may be old and/or inaccurate.

Red dot in profile picture

The red dot in the PWD profile picture indicates that one or more of the PWD’s devices are expired or expiring soon. Things like insulin vials, pens, CGM sensors, CGM transmitters, and pump devices can be tracked. Gluroo can remind you to replace them when the time is near!

(iOS) App badge shows thousands of notifications, very high BGL

Gluroo displays the PWD’s blood glucose level on the app badge on iOS. If your BGL units are mmol/l, you may see a number that is very large. For example, if your current BGL is 10.9 mmol/l, you will see 10,900 on the app badge.

This is because app badges on iOS are officially only allowed to be whole numbers, so we multiply your BGL by 1000 to work around the fact that we cannot display a decimal in the badge.

(iOS) Too many notifications / interruptions

Gluroo pushes an updated BGL reading and vitals notification (that replaces the previous notification) every 5 minutes or so (depending on BGL reading availability, etc.). By default, iOS shows notifications at the top of the screen as a banner and that’s not the right way to present these — that’d be awfully disruptive!

You can go into Settings to disable these banners and things should be much less disruptive:

iOS > Settings > Gluroo > Notifications > Banners (Uncheck)

The Apple Healthkit integration is not uploading data to Apple Health

Gluroo’s AHK integration is read-only, meaning Gluroo will only read information from AHK, and will not publish any information into AHK. Gluroo is cross-platform and Apple HealthKit is available only on iOS devices.

Omnipod 5 integration not working
  • First, make sure you’ve read the OP5 integration document on our blog: https://gluroo.com/support/integration-omnipod-5/
  • Make sure the PWD phone has the permission enabled to let Gluroo see other apps’ notifications (Menu > Data > Gluroo Local Integration > Yes then “Approve Notification Access”).
  • Note that Glooko is a not-real-time integration — if you changed your password with them, be sure to update it in Gluroo.
  • Be sure you’ve logged in to Glooko’s mobile app in case there are legalese (new terms of service, etc.) that you need to accept.

Account Information

Finding my Group ID (GID) to send to Gluroo Support

If you would like to write in to Gluroo support, please include diagnostic information for your account, including your Group ID (GID). This diagnostic information can be found under Help -> “Show diagnostic info”. Then tap “COPY DIAGNOSTICS“. Please paste these diagnostics into any email threads that you may open with Gluroo’s support team. Thank you!

Multiple accounts

If you have multiple family member with diabetes, you can use Gluroo to stay connected with each of them.

Each GluCrew can only have one Person with Diabetes (PWD). The best practice for this use case is to go through onboarding for each of the PWDs on their own phone, then invite yourself to be a member of their GluCrew from their phone. Once you’ve been invited and accepted into both GluCrews, simply tap the profile picture in the top header of the app. This will bring up a profile picture of each PWD for each GluCrew that you are a part of. Tap the picture you want, and you will switch to the other GluCrew.

If you accidentally created multiple accounts, you can delete the extra – see account deletion.

Setting/Changing the Person With Diabetes (PWD)

If you accidentally chose the wrong option during onboarding (e.g. when setting up the app for a young child), you can select which person in your GluCrew is the PWD after the fact.

To do this, you must first add another member to the GluCrew, by inviting yourself or whoever else. Once there are at least 2 members in the GluCrew, navigate to the GluCrew settings page (Menu -> GluCrew), then tap “Change PWD”. Finally, tap “Set as PWD” next to the correct PWD!

Account deletion

To delete your account, open Gluroo and navigate to the “GluCrew” page.

  • If you are the only member in your GluCrew, you will see a button “Delete this GluCrew”, which you can then tap to continue.
  • If you are in a GluCrew with multiple members, you must first tap “Remove myself from this GluCrew”. You will be logged out and removed from that GluCrew. Then, you can log back in and navigate to the same page, and you will see “Delete this GluCrew”.
I want to change my Apple SSO share-email-address-with-Gluroo setting:

As a workaround for your iPhone right now, you can go to Settings -> your Apple ID profile (at the top) -> Password&Security -> Apps Using Apple ID -> Gluroo -> Stop Using Apple ID

And you’ll be prompted next time.

Advanced

Can I add CGM readings to Gluroo via xDrip+?

Yes! You can get readings into Gluroo from xDrip via xDrip’s Cloud Upload option.

1. Make sure you are seeing readings in xDrip. 

2. In xDrip, enable “Nightscout Sync (REST-API)”

3. In Gluroo, set your CGM source as “DIY via Nightscout”

4. Tap “See Other Formats to Copy & Paste” (big green button in Gluroo) and copy the XDrip+ version of the NS-Compatible URLs

5. in xDrip, in the NIghtscout Sync page (Settings -> Cloud Upload -> Nightscout Sync (REST-API) ), tap “Base URL” and paste in the link from the previous step.

After a few minutes you should see readings come in to Gluroo. 

I use a Do-It-Yourself system such as DIY Loop / AndroidAPS / etc. Can I use Gluroo?

Yes. As long as the system you are using allows you to connect to a Nightscout instance, you can use Gluroo. 

  • Just open Gluroo, go to the menu > Connections > Insulin 
  • Tap Connect DIY System
  • Copy the Nightscout URL
  • Paste this URL into the Site URL field in your DIY system
  • Copy the API Secret from the same location in Gluroo
  • Paste it into the field in your DIY System
  • Save the settings in your DIY system, and data will begin syncing to Gluroo soon after

Background listener notification

The background listener is just informing you that you’ve turned on the Gluroo Local Integration for reporting OP5 and/or Dexcom G6/G7 notifications. If you don’t think that’s supposed to be on, you can turn it off by going to Menu > Devices > Other > GLI (and disabling Gluroo Local Integration).

What if I want to use Nightscout and Gluroo?

Once data from your DIY system is flowing to Gluroo, you can then forward everything you log in Gluroo to your Nightscout URL. Note that Gluroo does NOT forward CGM values it retrieves; you still have to set up your own Nightscout instance to fetch CGM values however you like. Gluroo will forward things like meal announcements and insulin doses.

Note: this requires advanced configuration in Nightscout. See here for more detailed instructions.

First, you will need to create a new role on your Nightscout site so that Gluroo and write updates. 

  • Visit your Nightscout site
  • Make sure you’re logged in as the administrator
  • Click on the hamburger menu
  • Click on Admin Tools
  • Under Subjects – People, Devices, etc, click Add new Subject
  • Enter an identifiable name, such as “Gluroo” into the Name field
  • Enter either “admin” into the Role field
  • Click “Save”
  • Copy the new Access Token that was added to the new row under the Subjects – People, Devices, etc heading
  • Paste the new Access Token into the Access Token field in Gluroo
  • Tap Test Connection

Indications and Intended Use

Intended Use
  1. Gluroo is intended for use by Users wishing to collaboratively log, create and review contextual notes regarding diabetes control, where they will be available for use by other Gluroo software applications.
  2. Users include, but are not limited to: People with diabetes using diabetes devices, clinicians and caregivers.
  3. Gluroo is intended for collaborative logging and management of diabetes and is explicitly not intended to be used for making real-time dosing decisions.
Intended Users

Gluroo is made for people who:

  • are diagnosed with diabetes, type 1 or type 2
  • are also under the guidance of a doctor or other healthcare professional
  • are physically and mentally able to independently manage their diabetes therapy
  • are able to proficiently use a smartphone
Environments for Use

Gluroo can be used in any environment where there is an internet connection and where smartphone use is permitted.

Warnings

Medical Advice
  1. Dosing decisions should not be made based on this device. The user should follow instructions on the continuous glucose monitoring system.
  2. Gluroo is not intended to replace self-monitoring practices as advised by a physician.
  3. Gluroo has not been reviewed or cleared by the US FDA.
Recommended Updates

To ensure safe and optimized running of Gluroo, it
is recommended that you install software updates as soon
as they are available.

Miscellaneous

Press about Gluroo

See gluroo.com/press for the latest articles, blog posts, YouTube videos, and other announcements about Gluroo!