Airsense 11 Cell Signal

[PAPAstro]

I just got an AS 11 and live about 5 miles from a rural town.  The AS 11 machine says I only have one bar of coverage (it is using T-Mobile) but my cell phone (which can also use T-mobile via Google Fi) says 5 bars T-Mobile LTE when sitting right next to the AS11!!

WTF?

As a consequence , synching with the MyAir app is very spotty although the machine itself is showing me proper data. I do have an SD card in the machine but since I do not have access to the OSCAR beta I am unable to read the AS 11 data on my PC.

I have to wonder why they even bother to have a Bluetooth connection (yes, it is connected) to the app if the MyAir data is dependent on sending data from the machine to the cloud and then back to your phone. Seems brain dead stupid to me, if true. Why not send the data direct Bluetooth?

My biggest concern is that since I am in the "trial period" for the new machine under Medicare (despite having used CPAP for a decade) I need the data to be preserved beyond question or Medicare could theoretically refuse to pay for the machine at the end of the trial period. Perhaps a silly concern as the data "should" be on the card and/or the machine, but I would feel better if it was synching properly.

Is there any way either I or the DME can change the cell provider for a better signal? We have about four carriers with good signal....

UPDATE: I just did an experiment and moved the machine to the living room window. There it gets two bars instead on one. Going further, I moved it outdoors to the front deck and there it gets 4 bars!  

Maybe I need to sleep on the front deck 

Conclusion is that the AS 11 has a really crappy cell radio and/or crappy antenna since the cell phone gets 5 bars everywhere in the house on the same carrier and the AS11 has to be outdoors to even get 4 bars.

At least I should be able to synch it by putting it outdoors once in a while but that is really lame....

[pholynyk]

As long as you have an SD card in your AS11 you will collect all the data (and more!) that might be sent to ResMed. If you put an SD card in today, it will record the summary statistics saved internally from the start of use up to a year ago (I think).

That will keep the insurance people happy.

[PAPAstro]

As long as you have an SD card in your AS11 you will collect all the data (and more!) that might be sent to ResMed. If you put an SD card in today, it will record the summary statistics saved internally from the start of use up to a year ago (I think).

That will keep the insurance people happy.

Yes, as I said, I have an SD card in the machine.

It would be nice if the cell system was not so lame, of course.

[PAPAstro]

On a related question, Does anyone know how often the machine synchs data to the cloud?  Even leaving it plugged in on the deck with four bars  for an hour, it still was not giving me last night's data on the app.

I do not know if the 11 is different than the 10 in this regard, but probably not - I never had a 10 so don't know....

[PAPAstro]

To (maybe) answer my own question:

For some reason, yesterday the app did not give me any of the previous night's data, despite giving me the "synching" message when I started the app. 

OTOH, as of this AM, all the data showed up, despite only having 1-2 bars signal (it varies between one and two).

My best guess is that the app synchs to the cloud (hence the message) each time the app is started but the machine itself synchs to the cloud via cell connection much less often. That would explain the behavior since yesterday there would have been no data in the cloud since perhaps the machine had not yet uploaded it at that time.  

I do wish I had a better idea of just when and under what circumstances the machine uploads it's data to the cloud. I have not been able to find this information. It may be out there somewhere but, if so, I have not found it.

[SarcasticDave94]

When the ResMed AirCurve 10 ASV was used, and under my compliance period, I'm thinking my ResMed sent usage data out an hour or two after I used it for the night.

[ScottZZZ]

...  My best guess is that the app synchs to the cloud (hence the message) each time the app is started but the machine itself synchs to the cloud via cell connection much less often. That would explain the behavior since yesterday there would have been no data in the cloud since perhaps the machine had not yet uploaded it at that time.  

I've had my Airsense 11 for (10) nights now.  It shows "1 bar" of cell signal on T-Mobile's network.

For (9) of those (10) nights, the machine successfully uploaded data within 5 minutes of stopping therapy.  Often within (2) minutes!  I know this because I have turned off the machine, took off mask and chin strap, reached for my phone, opened the app, and the night's data was already available "in the cloud" on MyAir. 

The exception was Friday night.  One session all night, no interruptions, woke up Saturday morning and hit the "stop" button about 8AM.  Kept checking for the next couple hours, still "no data" for Friday night.  Made sure it had cell signal, toggled power to the machine, waited a few more hours, still nothing.  Temporarily moved to a different area of the house where there are "2 bars" of signal, powered up and waited an hour, still no data.  Put it back in the bedroom and checked again just before bedtime, still no data uploaded.

So I went to bed and started the machine Saturday night. Slept about (3) hours, got up at 1:00am for bathroom and hit "stop" button.  Returned from bathroom and checked the app about 1:05am --- and both Friday night's data, as well as the partial Saturday night data, had all been uploaded to MyAir.  Slept another (5) hours, hit "stop", and data for that session was also available on MyAir less than 5 minutes later.

So my current working theory (aka "guess") is:  The machine "attempts" to upload all previously non-uploaded data within a few minutes of stopping therapy. If it fails (i.e., can't get call through, bad signal, servers down, something like that), rather than continuously retrying -- it just waits until the end of the "next session" to try again, uploading the current session and any previous sessions not yet uploaded.

Of course none of us know what Resmed's internal architecture looks like.  It's entirely likely that our machines upload to one system, where the detailed data gets received, then parts of it (the parts needed by MyAir) are transmitted to an entirely different system that comprises the public-facing MyAir app and web portal.  That means internal problems (network issues, downtimes, maintenance, etc.) at Resmed could result in a successful upload that still can't be seen until some time later on MyAir.

For reliability AND to have the detailed data available for Oscar....  There is just no substitute for having an SD card in the machine!  :-)

[PAPAstro]

There is just no substitute for having an SD card in the machine!  :-)

Definitely! I would not want to depend on the vagaries of cell signals. Especially true during the compliance period for Insurance or Medicare since no data could result in no payment!

[ScottZZZ]

Definitely! I would not want to depend on the vagaries of cell signals. Especially true during the compliance period for Insurance or Medicare since no data could result in no payment!

Yep!  I am in the compliance period, so I would have been freaking out when MyAir was showing "no data" all day long, EXCEPT....   

I had pulled the SD card (which I also backup daily) and saw via Oscar that all the data was safely recorded there.  If the uploads fail, I can still take the SD card to my Doc for the compliance check!

[clownbell]

This will not help with your current frustration, but I remember that my wife's DS had a card which she would have to take in to Kaiser periodically. One could have mailed it but that was a pain. Today's technology has clear deficiencies but better than back in the day. I just wish my AS10 would upload directly to my computer rather than have to fool around with the SC card to see the into. Ah well, first world problem.