Resmed Airsense 10 Airplane Mode nag screen and low-power mode

[Fats Drywaller]

I think this doesn't quite fit into any of the existing threads about the Airsense 10.  Reading back in those discussions, I didn't see any mention of this feature:  The A10 has a low-power mode, practically equivalent to an Off switch except that the cellular modem is still active (only if Airplane Mode is off) so the LP mode doesn't affect data transmission and firmware updates.  In the user's guide, it's called "power save mode".  To put the machine into LP mode, hold down the Start/Stop switch for a few seconds, and the screen will go blank.  To wake it up, press Start/Stop briefly.

The reason I mention it is that some folks have complained about the annoyance of the Airplane Mode nag screen, "Do you really want to switch it off?" or whatever it says.  But when I use low-power mode, I see that only once every 24 hours, when I wake up and remove the mask and the machine auto-stops.  At that point I see the nag and click "No", then I can look at the numbers for that session and maybe scroll down for a few more (with "Essentials" set to "Plus" in the clinical menus).  Then I put the machine to sleep by holding down the Start/Stop switch.  When I wake it up later, there's no Airplane Mode nag.

Another advantage is that I'm not stressing the power connector by continually plugging and unplugging it.

In LP mode, auto-start is temporarily disabled, so it's necessary to press the Start switch as a wake-up nudge before breathing into the mask.

[srlevine1]

I think this doesn't quite fit into any of the existing threads about the Airsense 10.  Reading back in those discussions, I didn't see any mention of this feature:  The A10 has a low-power mode, practically equivalent to an Off switch except that the cellular modem is still active (only if Airplane Mode is off) so the LP mode doesn't affect data transmission and firmware updates.  In the user's guide, it's called "power save mode".  To put the machine into LP mode, hold down the Start/Stop switch for a few seconds, and the screen will go blank.  To wake it up, press Start/Stop briefly.

The reason I mention it is that some folks have complained about the annoyance of the Airplane Mode nag screen, "Do you really want to switch it off?" or whatever it says.  But when I use low-power mode, I see that only once every 24 hours, when I wake up and remove the mask and the machine auto-stops.  At that point I see the nag and click "No", then I can look at the numbers for that session and maybe scroll down for a few more (with "Essentials" set to "Plus" in the clinical menus).  Then I put the machine to sleep by holding down the Start/Stop switch.  When I wake it up later, there's no Airplane Mode nag.

Another advantage is that I'm not stressing the power connector by continually plugging and unplugging it.

In LP mode, auto-start is temporarily disabled, so it's necessary to press the Start switch as a wake-up nudge before breathing into the mask.

It seems to me that ResMed's "Power save mode" is a marketing gimmick considering how little (2 - 5 watts) power the machine may draw when not being used when measured against the need to potentially replace the start/stop switch. As for the airplane mode, it was designed to curb spurious cellular emissions during flight -- not for power saving and not for privacy issues (preventing the transmission of data to big brother). The fact that some DMEs actually use this data (from AirView) to justify continued insurance reimbursement for supplies may outweigh any of the privacy issues.

[Fats Drywaller]

It seems to me that ResMed's "Power save mode" is a marketing gimmick considering how little (2 - 5 watts) power the machine may draw when not being used

Yes, quite true.  I've never been concerned about the power use; obviously the major users of electricity are the heater when that's on, and then the blower when that's on.  Everything else is negligible, and generally there's no need to power down or to use the low-power mode when the machine stays in one place indefinitely.  What I was responding to, from the earlier discussions in other threads, is the gripe of some users that the Airplane Mode nag is annoying.  My point was that if you stop powering the machine off and on, you'll see that nag only once every 24 hours.

when measured against the need to potentially replace the start/stop switch.

I seriously doubt that it's a problem.  Switches are engineered to withstand zillions of cycles.  Power connectors (plugs and jacks ... or as the Brits perversely say, jacks and plugs) are not.

[srlevine1]

It seems to me that ResMed's "Power save mode" is a marketing gimmick considering how little (2 - 5 watts) power the machine may draw when not being used

Yes, quite true.  I've never been concerned about the power use; obviously, the major users of electricity are the heater when that's on, and then the blower when that's on.  Everything else is negligible, and generally there's no need to power down or to use the low-power mode when the machine stays in one place indefinitely.  What I was responding to, from the earlier discussions in other threads, is the gripe of some users that the Airplane Mode nag is annoying.  My point was that if you stop powering the machine off and on, you'll see that nag only once every 24 hours.

when measured against the need to potentially replace the start/stop switch.

I seriously doubt that it's a problem.  Switches are engineered to withstand zillions of cycles.  Power connectors (plugs and jacks ... or as the Brits perversely say, jacks and plugs) are not.

Can't argue with the reduction of any nag screen or the fragility of jacks and plugs. But, I have experienced problems with the start/stop switch -- perhaps because when I wake I treat it like my old snooze alarm with a hit rather than a push. Somehow I am always at the wrong end of MTBF Mean Time Before Failure) statistics.

[PaulaO2]

I don't have it in power saving mode and the only time I see the nag screen is when I turn it off when I wake up in the morning. So, essentially, I only see it once a day as well.

[Hydrangea]

I don't understand how the ResMed nag screen is annoying. But then again, I hardly ever see it (despite having Airplane Mode on 24/7).

When I get into bed, the whole thing is dark. I put my mask on, breathe, the machine turns on automatically, and I go to sleep. I see nothing on the screen, nor am I looking at it or touching it.

When I wake up in the morning, I push the off button, remove my mask, and get up for my day. I don't look at the machine nor touch it (besides the blind push of the off button to stop the air flow).

Are people looking at their screens before they go to sleep or after they wake up? If so, why?

I'll add that I'm blind as a bat without corrective lenses. By the time I'm masking up, my glasses are on my nightstand. And when I wake up, the mask comes off and I head to the restroom, then grab my glasses, and off I go for my day. I don't ever look at the machine.

[Fats Drywaller]

Are people looking at their screens before they go to sleep or after they wake up?  If so, why?

To get the AHI for that night, and any other numbers the victim might be interested in.  In my case, I'm a newbie and am just beginning the compliance period, so when I have a night of incomplete CPAP ("Can't stand this any more!" ... /me removes mask and goes back to sleep), I always want to know how many hours I was able to put up with it this time.  Because my only medical insurance is Medicaid, I'm expected to do 5 hours per night rather than 4, and to keep that up 70% of the time for ... wait for it! ... ten months.  Otherwise the bureaucrats take away my machine.    Medicaid patients are assumed to be ne'er-do-wells, you see.  Also known as fsckups.  And they're probably all welfare queens who drive Cadillacs and scam the food-stamp bureaucracy too.

[Walla Walla]

So what kind of Caddy do you have?  

[Fats Drywaller]

(off-topic)

Even though quoting a sig is frowned on, I can't resist ...

"The object in life is not to be on the side of the majority, but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." -- Marcus Aurelius

... because coincidentally I've been reading him lately.  Great stuff, ain't it?  A very interesting modern introduction is a recent brief book by Massimo Pigliucci, How to Be a Stoic: Using Ancient Philosophy to Live a Modern Life.  To this neophyte, it was both entertaining and a revelation.  That one is not particularly deep, but it is a useful inspiration to continue on to good old Marc, and Epictetus, and Seneca.  Which I am very slowly doing.

And now that I think about it, it's off-topic for the thread but not for the forum.  Because Stoicism applies quite well to the psychological chores of putting up with CPAP therapy.  Not that we're all in such dire straits, not like actual misery or anything, in the vast majority of cases; but even so, it is necessary to remind oneself of some of those worthwhile truisms from those tough old guys.  Bear and forbear.  Also the ancient and probably Persian "This, too, shall pass."

[SarcasticDave94]

So what kind of Caddy do you have?  

United Healthcare, with Medicaid backup got me the ASV last year. My local welfare office just gave me an Escalade.