During Evelyn’s recent Street Survival driving class, we had the opportunity to test SugarDrive in a real-world setting. Everything worked well—until it didn’t.
When Evelyn left the car for a classroom session, her iPhone (used as a hotspot) quietly shut down its Wi-Fi broadcast, even though the hotspot slider still said “on.” When she returned, SugarDrive appeared to be working—it displayed a blood sugar number—but it wasn’t updating. There was no obvious indication that the connection had been lost.
This experience led us to make a key improvement:
SugarDrive now tells you exactly what went wrong.
These new messages are designed to give clear, real-time feedback when things like Wi-Fi, internet, or Dexcom data access fail. Instead of leaving the user guessing, the display now explains the issue directly.
New Messages Added to SugarDrive:
✅ Normal Operation
The display shows a live blood sugar value and trend direction when everything is working as expected.
📶 Hotspot Not Found
If SugarDrive powers on and doesn’t find the assigned iPhone hotspot, this message appears.
Note: The square box in “Evelyn’s” is due to a curly apostrophe from the iPhone that isn’t supported by SugarDrive.
🌐 Dexcom Fetch Failed (Startup)
If SugarDrive connects to Wi-Fi but cannot reach the Dexcom server (usually because the phone doesn’t have internet), this message appears at boot.
⚠️ Dexcom Fetch Failed (Runtime)
If SugarDrive loses internet access during normal operation, it keeps showing the last known value but flags the issue clearly.
📡 Lost Connection
This was the message we wish we had during the Street Survival event. It appears when the hotspot drops out while SugarDrive is running—such as when the iPhone walks away from the car and quietly disables the hotspot. It clears automatically once the hotspot is re-established.
Conclusion:
Real-world use always uncovers the gaps that lab testing misses. These updates are a direct response to what we learned at the event. Now, SugarDrive gives drivers clearer insight into its connection status—no guessing required.
We’re continuing to evolve SugarDrive with feedback from real use cases like this. If you have thoughts, questions, or ideas, we’d love to hear from you.