How to Customize Alerts and Notifications on Your Dexcom G6

Understanding Your Dexcom G6 Alerts and Notifications

The Dexcom G6 Continuous Glucose Monitoring (CGM) system provides a comprehensive suite of alerts and notifications designed to keep you informed about your glucose levels in real time. These alerts go beyond simple high and low warnings; they include urgent low glucose alerts, rate-of-change alerts, sensor expiration reminders, transmitter low battery warnings, and calibration requests. Customizing these notifications ensures you receive only the information you need when you need it, reducing alarm fatigue while maintaining safety.

Each alert type can be independently adjusted, silenced, or enabled to match your daily routine, activity levels, and medical requirements. Understanding the purpose of each alert is the first step toward building a personalized alert strategy that supports better diabetes management.

Step-by-Step Guide to Customizing Alerts

Accessing and modifying your alert settings is straightforward through the Dexcom G6 mobile app. Follow these steps to begin customization:

Open the Dexcom G6 app on your smartphone.
Tap the menu icon (three horizontal lines) in the upper left corner.
Select Settings from the menu.
Choose Alerts & Notifications.
Here you will see a list of all alert types with toggle switches, threshold fields, and sound options.

Each alert can be turned on or off independently. However, keep in mind that the Urgent Low Glucose alert cannot be disabled entirely for safety reasons; it can only be delayed or silenced temporarily. Read on for detailed instructions for each alert category.

High Glucose Alert

The high glucose alert sounds when your glucose level rises above a set threshold. By default, this is set to 200 mg/dL, but you can adjust it to any value between 100 and 400 mg/dL. To customize:

Tap High Alert in the Alerts & Notifications screen.
Enter your desired threshold in the text field, then tap Save.
You can also choose whether the alert repeats if glucose remains high after a set period.

For many users, setting the high alert to 180 mg/dL (the American Diabetes Association’s post-meal target) provides a good balance between awareness and unnecessary alarms. Athletes or those with tighter glycemic goals may prefer 160 mg/dL or lower.

Low Glucose Alert

The low glucose alert warns you when your glucose drops below a specified level. The default is 80 mg/dL, adjustable between 60 and 120 mg/dL. To customize:

Tap Low Alert.
Type your preferred value, then tap Save.
Enable or disable the repeat option if desired.

Setting the low alert to 70 or 75 mg/dL gives you earlier warning to treat before entering hypoglycemic territory. If you experience hypoglycemia unawareness, a higher threshold of 90–100 mg/dL may be safer. Consult your endocrinologist for a personalized target.

Urgent Low Glucose Alert

This critical alert sounds when your glucose falls below 55 mg/dL and cannot be turned off. However, you can delay it by up to 20 minutes or disable the repeat sound for a set period. To manage this:

Tap Urgent Low Alert.
Use the Delay setting to postpone the alert by 5, 10, 15, or 20 minutes.
Check or uncheck Repeat Alert to control re-alerts while still low.

Many users keep the delay at 0 minutes for maximum safety but reduce repeat frequency during sleep.

Rate of Change Alerts (Rise/Fall Rate)

The Dexcom G6 can notify you when your glucose is rising or falling faster than a specified rate – measured in mg/dL per minute. This is invaluable for predicting meal-related spikes or rapid drops from exercise. To set:

Under Alerts & Notifications, tap Rise Rate Alert and/or Fall Rate Alert.
Choose a rate threshold from 1 to 3 mg/dL per minute.
Turn the toggle on to enable.

A fall rate alert of 2 mg/dL/min can catch rapid drops before you cross your low threshold, giving you time to act. Similarly, a rise rate alert of 2 mg/dL/min can prompt a pre-bolus adjustment.

Signal Loss Alert

This alert notifies you when the transmitter has lost connection with the receiver or smartphone for more than 20 minutes. To customize the delay:

Tap Signal Loss Alert.
Set the delay to 10, 20, or 30 minutes (default is 20).
Enable or disable the sound.

A shorter delay is prudent if you rely heavily on the app for remote monitoring; a longer delay reduces nuisance alarms if you often leave your phone in another room.

Sensor Expiration Alerts

The sensor must be replaced every 10 days. Dexcom sends reminders at 6, 3, 1, and 0 hours before expiration. These can be individually toggled on/off. To adjust:

Tap Sensor Expiration Alert.
Uncheck any reminder you do not wish to receive.

Keeping at least the 1-hour and expiration reminders ensures you have enough time to insert a new sensor without a gap in data.

Transmitter Low Battery Alert

Your Dexcom G6 transmitter has a battery life of approximately three months. The app will alert you when the battery is getting low (typically around 10–20% remaining). This alert has no adjustable settings except on/off. We recommend leaving it enabled to avoid unexpected loss of CGM data.

Calibration Reminder Alerts

Although the Dexcom G6 is factory-calibrated and does not require routine fingerstick calibrations, the system may occasionally request a calibration to maintain accuracy, especially in the first 24 hours. These reminders can be enabled or disabled:

Navigate to Calibration Reminders under Alerts.
Toggle on/off as desired.

If you choose to disable them, you may miss a critical calibration request, so consider leaving them active.

Advanced Customization Options

Beyond basic thresholds and toggles, the Dexcom G6 app offers finer-grained control through the following features.

Alert Sounds and Volume

You can assign different tones for different alert types. To change alert sounds:

In Settings, tap Alert Sounds.
Choose from a list of available tones – each alert type can have its own distinct sound.
Adjust the overall alert volume separately from your phone’s media volume via a slider.

Using distinct sounds for high vs. low alerts helps you respond faster without looking at your phone. For example, a gentle chime for high and a more urgent pulse for low can be lifesaving during exercise or driving.

Quiet Mode (Do Not Disturb for Alerts)

The Dexcom G6 includes a Quieten Alerts feature that silences all non-urgent alerts for a set period. This is ideal during meetings, movies, or sleep. To activate:

From the main screen, tap the bell icon at the top right.
Select the duration: 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2 hours, 3 hours, or 4 hours.
Urgent Low alerts will still sound but at a lower volume.

During sleep, you might also use the Sleep Time schedule feature (available in some Dexcom G6 app versions) to automatically enable quiet mode during your usual sleep hours. Set your sleep start and end times in Settings > Sleep Schedule.

Alert Repeat Intervals

For High, Low, and Urgent Low alerts, you can control how often the alert repeats if glucose remains outside the threshold. Options are 5, 10, 15, 20, or 30 minutes. To adjust:

Tap the alert type (e.g., High Alert).
Under Repeat Alert, choose your preferred interval.

Shorter intervals provide more persistent reminders but can become annoying; longer intervals reduce interruptions while still keeping you informed. A common recommendation is 15 minutes for high alerts and 10 minutes for low alerts.

Integrating Dexcom Alerts with Smart Devices and Wearables

Your Dexcom G6 alerts can extend beyond the app to other devices, enhancing your awareness without constant phone checking.

Apple Watch and Android Wear

The Dexcom G6 app supports notification mirroring to Apple Watch and some Android Wear devices. Alerts appear on your wrist even if your phone is in silent mode. To set up:

Install the Dexcom G6 app on your paired watch from the App Store or Play Store.
Ensure the watch app has permissions for notifications from the phone app.
On your phone, go to Settings > Notifications and enable the toggle for Show on Watch.

Many users find wrist alerts especially useful during exercise, driving, or when their phone is buried in a bag. Note that urgent low alerts will override the watch’s silent mode, ensuring safety.

The Dexcom Follow app allows family members or caregivers to receive your alerts on their own smartphones. Customizing alert thresholds for followers is separate from your own settings. To share data:

In the Dexcom G6 app, go to Settings > Sharing.
Tap Add Follower and enter their email address.
The follower then installs the Dexcom Follow app and creates an account.
Within the Follow app, they can set their own alert preferences (e.g., a parent may want a lower low threshold than the user).

This feature is invaluable for parents of children with diabetes, partners of adults with hypoglycemia unawareness, and school nurses. Learn more about Dexcom Follow on the official site.

Smart Home and IFTTT Integration

For the technically inclined, Dexcom data can be integrated with smart home platforms through third-party services like IFTTT (If This Then That) or Nightscout. With IFTTT, you can trigger actions such as:

Turning on a smart light when glucose goes low.
Sending a text message to a caregiver.
Playing an audible message on a smart speaker.

These advanced integrations require connecting your Dexcom account to IFTTT (or using the Nightscout API), and may involve additional setup beyond the official Dexcom app. Proceed with caution and ensure data privacy.

Troubleshooting Common Alert Issues

Even with careful customization, you may encounter issues where alerts are not working as expected. Below are solutions to the most frequent problems.

Alerts Not Sounding

If your phone fails to sound an alert when glucose crosses a threshold, check the following:

Ensure the phone is not in silent or vibrate-only mode. Dexcom alerts override silent mode for urgent lows but not for other alerts.
Confirm that Do Not Disturb is not enabled – or that Dexcom is set as a Priority App to bypass DND.
Verify that the alert is toggled on in the app.
Restart the app or your phone. Sometimes background tasks interfere with alert delivery.

If the issue persists, re-pair the transmitter by going to Settings > Transmitter > Pair New Transmitter.

Excessive False Alarms (Alarm Fatigue)

Too many unnecessary alerts can lead to desensitization. To reduce false alarms:

Widen your high/low thresholds gradually. For instance, move from 180/70 to 200/65.
Increase the repeat interval to 15–30 minutes.
Enable quiet mode during known stable periods (e.g., post-meal if usually stable).
Use rate-of-change alerts only when they add value – disable if they trigger too often.

Remember that alarm fatigue is dangerous. Better to have fewer, more meaningful alerts than a constant stream that you ignore.

Delayed or Missed Urgent Low Alerts

Urgent Low alerts should never be missed. If you are not receiving them:

Ensure the Delay setting is not set to 20 minutes.
Check that transmitter and sensor are properly connected.
Update the app to the latest version.
If using an older phone, consider that the app may have been killed by battery optimization settings. Add Dexcom G6 to the list of “Unrestricted” or “Not optimized” apps in your phone’s battery settings.

Best Practices for Effective Alert Customization

To get the most from your Dexcom G6 alerts while minimizing disruption, follow these expert recommendations.

Tailor Alerts to Your Daily Activities

Your alert needs change throughout the day. Create a mental (or physical) schedule:

Work hours: Use quiet mode during meetings or deep-focus periods. Set high thresholds slightly higher (e.g., 200 mg/dL) to avoid interruptive alarms when stress elevates glucose.
Exercise: Enable fall-rate alerts and lower the low threshold to 70 mg/dL if you’re actively dropping. Consider turning off high alerts to avoid false alarms from post-workout rebound.
Sleep: Enable sleep schedule quiet mode, but keep Urgent Low alert sound active (it cannot be silenced). Some users also raise the low threshold to 90 mg/dL for an extra safety margin.
Driving: Set fall-rate alerts to 2 mg/dL/min or higher to catch rapid drops before they become dangerous. The American Diabetes Association recommends checking glucose before driving and relying on CGM alerts as a secondary safety net.

Review and Adjust Settings Regularly

Your glucose patterns evolve due to changes in diet, medication, activity, stress, or illness. Schedule a monthly review of your alert settings. During the review:

Examine your Dexcom Clarity or app reports for the past month.
Identify trends – are you spending more time above or below range? Adjust thresholds accordingly.
Check the number of alert events. If you see dozens of high alerts per day despite unchanged behavior, consider raising the threshold slightly.

Many people forget to adjust after changing insulin pump settings or starting a new medication. Stay proactive.

Coordinate with Healthcare Providers

Your endocrinologist or diabetes educator can help set evidence-based targets. Bring your Dexcom Clarity report to appointments and discuss alert thresholds. They may recommend specific values based on your A1C, time-in-range goals, and risk of severe hypoglycemia.

If you use a hybrid closed-loop system (e.g., Tandem t:slim X2 with Control-IQ or Omnipod 5), some alerts may be managed by the pump. Be aware of interaction between pump and CGM alerts to avoid duplication.

Beyond Alerts: Using Dexcom G6 Data Proactively

Customization of alerts is only one part of effective CGM use. To get the full picture, encourage readers to:

Set up the Dexcom Clarity app for pattern analysis.
Use trend arrows to predict glucose movement and make proactive dosing decisions.
Share data with a diabetes coach or dietitian to fine-tune meal timing and bolus strategies.

Alerts are a safety net, but the real power of CGM lies in using the continuous stream of data to understand your body’s response to food, insulin, exercise, and stress.

Conclusion

Customizing alerts and notifications on your Dexcom G6 transforms a generic warning system into a personalized tool that supports your unique diabetes management goals. By thoughtfully setting thresholds, adjusting sounds, scheduling quiet periods, and integrating with wearable devices, you can stay safe without being overwhelmed by alarms. Remember that the best settings are dynamic – they change as your life changes. Regularly review your preferences and consult your healthcare team to ensure your Dexcom G6 works for you, not against you.

With the right setup, your CGM becomes a silent partner that only speaks up when truly necessary, giving you the confidence to live fully with diabetes.