Connect Health Connect on Android
On Android, Endobits reads the glucose your sensor app writes to Health Connect. Here is how to connect it, which sensors write to it today, and what to do when nothing shows up.
What Health Connect is, and where to connect it
Why. Health Connect is the part of Android where health apps share data with each other. Your sensor's app writes glucose into it, and Endobits reads glucose out of it. Endobits does not pair with the sensor; it reads what the sensor's app has already written. On Android that is how most sensors reach Endobits. The only other way in is a direct Dexcom link, for US Dexcom accounts.
Care → Your data connection → Health Connect → CONNECT
- Sign in first. The demo needs no account, but your own readings do. If the Today screen has the amber DEMO DATA · TAP TO LEAVE banner across the top, you are still in the demo: tap the banner to leave it, then sign in or create an account. More in Demo vs live and Signing in and your account.
- Tap Care, the third tab in the bar at the bottom of the screen.
Bottom of every screen: Today, Trends and Care. Tap Care.
- The screen is headed Your data & reports. Scroll down, past Your report, to YOUR DATA CONNECTION.
Care tab, top of the screen: Your data & reports. The connection list is further down.
Care tab → Your data connection. Health Connect is the first row; Dexcom API and Eversense API sit under it.
- On the Health Connect row, tap CONNECT.
- When Android asks whether Endobits may read glucose from Health Connect, allow it. That request comes from Android, not from Endobits, so its wording and look vary by phone and Android version. We have not pictured it here.
- Back in the list, the Health Connect row should no longer offer CONNECT. From now on Endobits syncs in the background every 15 minutes. The first readings can take a while, because readings reach Health Connect about three hours behind your sensor: see How fresh the readings are.
Which sensor apps write glucose to Health Connect today
Why. Endobits can only read what a sensor app has already put into Health Connect, and not every sensor app does that yet. The Health Connect row in the Care tab reads "Stelo, Dexcom G6, Lingo, xDrip+ and more".
Care tab → Your data connection, Health Connect row: it names the apps that write glucose today. CONNECT is on the right.
Sensors whose own app writes glucose to Health Connect today:
- Dexcom G6
- Stelo
- Lingo
Dexcom G7 or FreeStyle Libre? You may need xDrip+. Some sensors don't write to Health Connect yet. For those, people use xDrip+, a community-built app that reads the sensor and writes glucose to Health Connect. Endobits then reads it from there. xDrip+ is made and supported by volunteers, not by Bio-Conscious or your sensor maker. Install it from its GitHub releases page, not the Play Store, and follow its own guide: the xDrip+ guide. Downloads: xDrip+ releases on GitHub.
- In xDrip+, turn on Health Connect writing.
- In Endobits go to Care → Your data connection → Health Connect → Connect.
Have a US Dexcom account? The direct Dexcom link is the other way in, and it does not use Health Connect. The Dexcom API row in the same list covers Dexcom G6, G7, ONE and Stelo. Steps: Connecting Dexcom to Endobits.
How fresh the readings are
Why. Two delays stack up on Android. Readings that reach Health Connect arrive about three hours behind your sensor. Endobits then checks Health Connect in the background every 15 minutes once it is connected. So the newest reading Endobits can show is normally a few hours behind what your sensor's own app shows, and new readings land in 15-minute steps. The three-hour gap is on the way into Health Connect, before Endobits reads anything, so there is no setting in Endobits that shortens it.
Today screen (demo data): the reading's age sits under the NOW number, here 9 MIN AGO. The amber banner at the top means you are in the demo.
Today → under the NOW number
- Look under the NOW number on the Today screen. That line shows the unit and the reading's age (in the demo it reads MG/DL · 9 MIN AGO). Through Health Connect, an age of a few hours is expected, not a fault.
- Compare with your sensor's own app. If the sensor app has a current reading and Endobits is about three hours behind it, the connection is working as it does today.
- Give a new connection time. The first sync runs within 15 minutes of connecting, but it can only pick up readings that have already reached Health Connect. A brand-new sensor also needs its own warm-up before any readings exist.
- Want readings closer to real time? Two paths skip Health Connect: the direct Dexcom link for US Dexcom accounts (Connecting Dexcom), and a DIY rig, your own self-hosted glucose site, which is the only real-time path (DIY rig).
- If the age keeps growing past a few hours and never resets, the sync has stopped. Go through Nothing showing below, or see Data not syncing.
For anything you act on, use your sensor's own app and its alerts, not a reading that is hours old. Endobits shows insights, not medical advice.
Nothing showing after you connected
Why. Almost always one of five things: you are still in the demo; the connection did not finish; your sensor's app is not writing to Health Connect; Endobits does not have the Health Connect permission for glucose; or the app was force-stopped and the next background sync has not run yet. Work through the checks in order.
Today → DEMO DATA · TAP TO LEAVE · Care → Your data connection · Settings → Report a problem
- Still in the demo? Demo data is easy to spot: the amber DEMO DATA · TAP TO LEAVE banner across the top of Today, a DEMO chip on the chart card and the line Demo data · simulated. The demo runs on simulated data and never shows your readings, however many connections you make. Tap the banner to leave it, then sign in. See Demo vs live.
- Does the row still say CONNECT? Open Care → Your data connection. If the Health Connect row still shows the CONNECT button, the connection did not complete. Tap it again and allow the glucose permission when Android asks.
- Is your sensor's app writing to Health Connect? Endobits can only read what is already there. Open Health Connect on your phone (it is part of Android; on recent versions it lives in the phone's own Settings, on older ones it is a separate app from Google Play) and check that your sensor's app is listed and has written glucose. If it has not, turn on Health Connect sharing in the sensor app's own settings. If your sensor is a Dexcom G7 or a FreeStyle Libre, see which sensors write to Health Connect above.
- Does Endobits have permission? In Health Connect, open the permissions for Endobits and make sure it is allowed to read blood glucose. Where this control sits and how it is worded come from Android and vary by phone, so we cannot picture it here.
- Was the app force-stopped? Since version 5.1.1 the background sync survives the app being stopped by the system. If you force-stopped Endobits yourself, or a battery setting did, open the app again and allow up to 15 minutes for the next sync. More phone-side checks: Android troubleshooting.
- Still nothing after a few hours? Tell us. In the app: open Settings from the top-right icon on the Today screen, then Settings → Report a problem, which attaches the diagnostics you choose (it arrives with version 5.1.2; if you do not see it, email instead). Or email contact@bioconscious.tech with your phone model, Android version, sensor and sensor app. General checks for empty or stale data: No data or not updating.
What the Android app needs, and what is not there yet
Why. The Android app has a few hard requirements, and a few things are still on the way. None of these are faults you can fix in Health Connect.
Care → Your data connection → Dexcom API · Eversense API
- Android 8.0 or later, phones and tablets. If Google Play says your phone is not compatible, see Can't find or install the app.
- A sensor app that writes glucose to Health Connect (Dexcom G6, Stelo and Lingo today), or a direct Dexcom link. The direct link is Care → Your data connection → Dexcom API, for US Dexcom accounts only, and it covers Dexcom G6, G7, ONE and Stelo. Steps: Connecting Dexcom to Endobits.
- Eversense on Android: coming soon. The Eversense API row in the same list shows COMING SOON. That is expected, not an error. Tap the row to be notified the day it goes live. Our Eversense guide currently covers iPhone: Connecting Eversense.
- No home-screen widgets on Android yet. Widgets, push notifications and Apple Watch are planned for a later version and are not in the app today. See Alerts, widgets and watch.
- An account for live data. The demo needs no account; your own readings do. See Signing in and your account.
- On an iPhone? This page is for Android only. On iPhone, Endobits reads glucose from Apple Health instead: Connect your sensor and Connect Apple Health.
Questions people ask
- Which sensors work with Endobits on Android?
- Through Health Connect, any sensor whose app writes glucose to Health Connect. Today that is Dexcom G6, Stelo and Lingo. Dexcom G7 and FreeStyle Libre do not write to Health Connect yet; the section on which sensors write to it explains what people use for those in the meantime. Through the direct Dexcom link, with a US Dexcom account: Dexcom G6, G7, ONE and Stelo. Eversense on Android is coming soon.
- How far behind my sensor are the readings in Endobits?
- Readings that reach Health Connect arrive about three hours behind the sensor, and Endobits checks Health Connect every 15 minutes in the background. The reading's age is shown under the NOW number on the Today screen. The direct Dexcom link and a DIY rig do not go through Health Connect, and the DIY rig is the only real-time path.
- Do I have to keep Endobits open for it to sync?
- No. Once Health Connect is connected, Endobits syncs in the background every 15 minutes, and since version 5.1.1 that background sync survives the app being stopped by the system. If you force-stop the app yourself, open it again and allow up to 15 minutes.
- I have a Dexcom G7. What are my options on Android?
- With a US Dexcom account, use the direct Dexcom link in the Care tab: the Dexcom API row covers G6, G7, ONE and Stelo. The G7 app does not write to Health Connect yet; the section on which sensors write to it explains what people use for it in the meantime.
- Does this page apply to my iPhone?
- No. iPhone has no Health Connect. There, Endobits reads glucose from Apple Health, which almost every sensor app can write to. See Connect your sensor and Connect Apple Health.
- Can I try Endobits on Android without a sensor?
- Yes. Tap Explore the demo on the first screen and the whole app runs on simulated data, with no account and no sensor. Your own readings need an account and a connection in the Care tab.
Still stuck? We answer.
A person at Bio-Conscious reads every message. Tell us your phone model, your sensor, and what you see on the screen.
Real app screens · demo data. Endobits shows insights, not medical advice. Always follow your care team's guidance and your sensor's own alerts for treatment decisions.
More help: All support articles · Connect your sensor · Set up Endobits Companion