Readings late, stale or not syncing
Most 'it stopped updating' cases are a delay somewhere between the sensor and Endobits. Here is how long each path takes, how to tell where the data is stuck, and how to get it moving.
Start here: read the age under NOW
Why. The line under the NOW number is the age of the newest reading that has reached Endobits. It is not the age of your sensor's latest reading. It counts up until a new reading arrives, so a growing age means nothing new has come in from your source yet. Most of the time that is the source's normal delay, which can be about an hour on iPhone and about three hours on Android (next section). Only when the age climbs well past that window is something stuck (five checks). The pill beside the chart's LIVE, REPLAY or DEMO chip reads syncing… while an upload runs, since version 5.1.1. That is the health data upload you consented to, not readings coming in, and the pill changes back on its own when the upload finishes.
Today screen, under the NOW number (demo data). The age line, here 9 MIN AGO, tells you how old the newest reading in Endobits is.
Today screen, top of the chart card (demo). The chip reads DEMO here, LIVE or REPLAY with your own data. The pill beside it reads syncing… while an upload runs.
Today → under the NOW number · Today → chart card → chip and pill
- Open Today and read the line under the NOW number. Note the age, for example 9 MIN AGO.
- Look at the chip on the chart card. DEMO means simulated data, so the number is not yours at all: tap the DEMO DATA · TAP TO LEAVE banner at the top of the screen (Demo vs live). LIVE or REPLAY means your own data.
- Compare the age with the normal delay for your path in the next section. Inside that window nothing is stuck; the reading is as fresh as that path allows.
- If the pill reads syncing…, wait. It shows only while the upload runs and clears when the upload finishes. If it lingers, check that the phone has an internet connection, then switch back to Endobits or reopen it.
- If the age keeps climbing past the window, or a number of yours never arrives, go to Where is it stuck.
How long each path normally takes
Why. Every path has its own delay before Endobits can see a reading, and most of that delay happens before Endobits. On iPhone the sensor maker's app decides when it writes to Apple Health; on Android it decides when it writes to Health Connect. Endobits can only read what is already there, so no setting in the app shortens those delays. Direct connections are quicker, but they refresh when you come back to the app. Here is what each path is like today:
- Apple Health (iPhone). Readings arrive up to about 60 minutes behind the sensor. That delay is set by the sensor makers, not by Endobits. Setup: Connect Apple Health.
- Health Connect (Android). Readings reach Health Connect about three hours behind the sensor. Once connected, Endobits syncs in the background every 15 minutes, so new readings land in 15-minute steps and the newest one is normally a few hours old. Setup: Connect Health Connect.
- Dexcom API (direct, US Dexcom accounts). Not instant: it can take a few minutes to catch up after you connect. It refreshes when the app launches and, from version 5.1.2, whenever the app returns to the foreground. Setup: Connecting Dexcom.
- Eversense. Same refresh rule as Dexcom: at launch and, from 5.1.2, on return to the foreground. The Eversense API row in the Care tab still shows COMING SOON, so today Eversense readings reach Endobits through Apple Health on iPhone, with that path's delay. On Android, Eversense is coming soon. Setup: Connecting Eversense.
- DIY rig (your own self-hosted glucose site). The only real-time path. It also refreshes at launch and, from 5.1.2, on return to the foreground. Setup: DIY rig.
- A brand-new sensor. It needs a few hours of warm-up before its first readings exist. The path delay then applies on top, so a sensor change can look like a long gap.
Care (bottom tab) → Your data connection · Settings → Connections → DIY rig
- Work out which path you are on. Tap Care at the bottom and scroll to Your data connection: a connected Health Connect, Dexcom API or Eversense API row tells you. A DIY rig is set up under Settings → Connections → DIY rig. On an iPhone with none of those connected, your readings come through Apple Health.
- Compare the age under NOW with the window for that path. Inside the window, wait; the reading is as fresh as the path allows today.
- On a direct connection (Dexcom API, Eversense API, DIY rig), switch back to Endobits. From 5.1.2 that alone refreshes the connection. On an older build, close the app fully and open it again, because those builds refresh only at launch. Settings shows your version: where to find it.
- Want fresher readings? Two paths skip Apple Health and Health Connect: the direct Dexcom link for US Dexcom accounts, and a DIY rig, which is real time.
- For anything you act on right now, use your sensor's own app and its alerts, not a reading that is an hour or more old. Endobits shows insights, not medical advice.
Where is it stuck? Five checks, in order
Why. A reading travels from the sensor to its own app, then into Apple Health or Health Connect (or straight to Endobits on a direct connection), and only then onto the Today screen. When the age outruns the normal delay, the data is stuck at one of five points, and each point has its own sign. Work through them in order and stop at the first one that matches.
Very top of the Today screen. The amber banner appears only in the demo; tap it to leave. The icon in the top-right corner opens Settings.
Bottom of every screen: Today, Trends and Care. Your connections live under Care.
Today → DEMO DATA · TAP TO LEAVE · iPhone Settings → Privacy & Security → Health → Endobits → Glucose · Care → Your data connection → Health Connect → CONNECT
- Still in the demo? The sign: the amber DEMO DATA · TAP TO LEAVE banner at 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 long you wait. Tap the banner to leave, then sign in; live data needs an account. More: Demo vs live.
- Is your sensor's app writing to Apple Health or Health Connect? The sign: the health store is empty too. On iPhone, open the Apple Health app → Browse → Blood Glucose. On Android, open Health Connect on your phone and look for your sensor's app. No recent readings there means the problem is upstream of Endobits, which can only read what Health has. Turn on Health sharing inside the sensor's own app. Per-sensor steps: Connect your sensor (iPhone) and which sensors write to Health Connect (Android).
- Is Endobits allowed to read glucose? The sign: Health has fresh readings, Endobits shows none. On iPhone the switch is in the phone's own Settings app, not in Endobits: iPhone Settings → Privacy & Security → Health → Endobits, with Glucose ON. On Android, open Care → Your data connection: if the Health Connect row still offers CONNECT, the connection never finished; tap it and allow glucose when Android asks. Details: Connect Apple Health and Connect Health Connect.
- Was the app force-stopped on Android? The sign: readings catch up only when you open Endobits. Since version 5.1.1 the background sync survives the app being stopped by the system, but a force-stop by you, or a battery setting, can still pause it. Open the app again and allow up to 15 minutes for the next sync. More: Android troubleshooting.
- Is the phone offline? The sign: the syncing… pill never clears, and a direct connection never refreshes. Dexcom API, Eversense API and a DIY rig pull readings over the internet, and the health upload needs a connection too. Reconnect to Wi-Fi or mobile data, then switch back to Endobits (5.1.2) or reopen it. Apple Health and Health Connect are on the phone itself, so Endobits does not need a connection to read them.
- Still stuck? Open Today → top-right icon → Settings → Report a problem (version 5.1.2 and later) and attach the diagnostics you choose. On an older build, email contact@bioconscious.tech or call +1 (236) 235-5295. Tell us your phone, your sensor and the age shown under NOW. The full iPhone walkthrough is on No data or not updating.
Android: which sensors write to Health Connect, and background sync
Why. On Android, Endobits reads the glucose that a sensor app has already written to Health Connect, and not every sensor app writes to it yet. If yours does not, Health Connect stays empty however long you wait, and the Endobits connection looks fine because it is. The Health Connect row in the Care tab names the apps that write glucose today: "Stelo, Dexcom G6, Lingo, xDrip+ and more". Readings that do reach Health Connect arrive about three hours behind the sensor, and Endobits then syncs every 15 minutes in the background.
Care → Your data & reports, scrolled down to Your data connection. Health Connect is the first row and Dexcom API the second; Eversense API shows COMING SOON.
Sensor apps that write 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. Its alarms and calibrations are its own business; your sensor's app and your meter stay the reference.
Care → Your data connection → Health Connect → Connect
- In xDrip+, turn on Health Connect writing.
- In Endobits go to Care → Your data connection → Health Connect → Connect.
Background sync. Once Health Connect is connected, Endobits syncs in the background every 15 minutes, and since version 5.1.1, the first Google Play release, that 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. Readings through Health Connect still arrive about three hours behind the sensor whichever app writes them, so for decisions right now use your sensor's own app and its alerts. With a US Dexcom account, the Dexcom API row is the other way in: it does not go through Health Connect and covers Dexcom G6, G7, ONE and Stelo (Connecting Dexcom). More Android checks: Android troubleshooting.
After a calibration the age looks wrong
Why. Calibration arrived in version 5.1.2. Tap the NOW number, enter a meter reading, and it becomes the current reading; the forecast re-runs from it, starting at the meter value and keeping the sensor's own slope. The next sensor reading follows it, and later sensor readings are never altered. A calibration does not fetch anything new from your sensor, so it cannot fix a sync problem. Since 5.1.2 the source chip shows the sensor's real age after a calibration, so the age line keeps telling you how old the sensor data is. Calibrations show as hollow rings on the chart and travel with the consented health upload.
Today → tap the NOW number · Today → top-right icon → Settings
- Check your version in Settings (Today → top-right icon → Settings). Calibration, and the chip showing the sensor's real age, are in 5.1.2 and later.
- After entering a meter reading, expect the chip to keep showing the sensor's real age. That is correct; it is not a stuck reading.
- If the age under NOW is still climbing past the window for your path, the calibration has not changed that. Go back to Where is it stuck.
- How calibration works and what the hollow rings mean: Calibration. Your meter and your sensor's own alerts stay the reference for any decision. Insights, not medical advice.
Frequently asked
- How old can a reading be before something is actually wrong?
- It depends on the path. Through Apple Health, up to about 60 minutes behind the sensor. Through Health Connect on Android, about three hours, plus up to 15 minutes until the next background sync. A direct Dexcom connection can take a few minutes to catch up and refreshes when you come back to the app. A DIY rig is real time. A brand-new sensor adds a few hours of warm-up. Past those windows, work through the five checks.
- Do I have to keep Endobits open for it to update?
- On Android with Health Connect, no: Endobits syncs in the background every 15 minutes, and since 5.1.1 that survives the app being stopped by the system. Dexcom API, Eversense API and DIY rig connections refresh when the app launches and, from 5.1.2, whenever it returns to the foreground. For Apple Health we have not published a refresh schedule; opening the app is the sure way to see what Health has.
- The pill says syncing… Is my data stuck?
- Usually not. Since 5.1.1 the pill reads syncing… while an upload runs. That is the health data upload you consented to, not readings coming in, and it clears when the upload finishes. If it lingers, check the internet connection and come back to the app. What the upload is: Upload vs on-device.
- Will Endobits warn me when readings stop arriving?
- No. Push notifications, home-screen widgets and Apple Watch are listed as planned for version 5.2 and are not in the app yet. Keep your CGM's own alerts on and glance at the age under NOW when you open the app. See Alerts, widgets and watch.
- Does calibrating refresh stale data?
- No. A calibration (5.1.2 and later) makes your meter reading the current reading and re-runs the forecast from it. It does not pull anything new from the sensor, and the source chip keeps showing the sensor's real age. If readings are late, the fix is in the path, not in a calibration.
- Which sensors reach Endobits on Android, and how far behind are they?
- Through Health Connect: Dexcom G6, Stelo and Lingo today, about three hours behind the sensor. Dexcom G7 and FreeStyle Libre do not write to Health Connect yet; see the Android section for what people use in the meantime. With a US Dexcom account, the Dexcom API row connects Dexcom G6, G7, ONE and Stelo directly, without Health Connect. Eversense on Android is coming soon.
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