In recent years, people with Type 1 diabetes have started using continuous glucose monitors (CGM) to track their blood sugar all day without the need to take frequent blood samples. These CGMs relay the data back to mobile phone apps like FreeStyle LibreLink, but for users of that service, the app isn’t working properly and has been pulled from the App Store in the UK.
After a recent update, the app stopped working for some iPhone users in the UK. To address this, the company has pulled the app from the App Store while it fixes the issue. This has left people resorting to finger prick tests.
If the app has stopped working on your device, Abbott, who provides the service, has published an instructive video that could help solve the issue for you.
It involves uninstalling the app and reinstalling it from your App Store purchases. However, at the bottom of the announcement page it says that the app has been pulled and will be available soon. Be sure to reinstall the app from the App Store purchases section because you will not find it if you just search in the main part of the App Store.
According to BBC News, which cited the NHS, CGM sensors are being used by 200,000 people in the UK so its removal from the App Store is going to be a headache for a lot of people. If users managed to update the app without issue, they can keep it running on their iPhones.
Reiterating the point about downloading the app from the App Store purchases, the BBC's article quoted two users of the service. One of them had been told to uninstall the app and then get it from the App Store and they couldn't find it because it has been pulled. Another user was able to reinstall it because they got it from the purchases section.
Abbott didn’t say how long it expects the repairs to take, only that the app will ‘be available again soon.’ Given the life-saving importance of this app, it’ll be good to see it restored sooner rather than later.
