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Haley Maddox
All of type 1
Make your own · Set up your tech

Set up your tech

Your sensor, your phone, and your watch, step by step. Tick what you use, pick your alarms, and get your own guide.

What are you doing today?

Want to see mine first? My tech setup →

Your setup Tick what you use
Your sensorWhich one are you wearing?
When you’re set upAdd followers →Family and friends see your numbers
Make my guide ↓
Coll. Haley Maddox · Oct 2026Next: All of type 1 →
Just a reminder
My diabetes care is managed in close partnership with my care team. This page shares what works for me. It isn't medical advice. Talk with your own doctor or diabetes care team before you change anything about your care.
Your alarms

Set your alarms

Zukka is my primary. I love how much I can customize its alarms, and how it shows my numbers. The Dexcom app is my backup, set less aggressive than Zukka. It’s great to have both. Just know which one is your primary.

1Set your primary

Zukka, on your phone and watch. Every setting.

2Set a backup Optional

The Dexcom app (or the Libre app), in case you miss the first. Just the basics, so every level is gentler than the same level on your primary.

All numbers in mg/dL. The exact settings for what you pick go in your guide and the PDF, with where to find them in each app.

The guide below is a short preview. The saved PDF prints every step in full, plus the alarm settings you picked, the watch face setup, troubleshooting, and the checklist to tick off.

Which guide
Your guide · one-time setupSetting up my G7G7 · Zukka primary (middle) · Dexcom backup (middle) · Apple Watch
  1. Pair the Dexcom app
    • Install the Dexcom G7 app and sign in.
    • Pair the sensor and wait for warm-up.
    • Leave it running. Don’t force-quit it.
  2. Set up Zukka
    • Install Zukka. Allow Bluetooth, notifications, and critical alerts.
    • Data source: Master. Add the CGM, pick G7.
    • Primary alarms, middle: very low 70, low 75, fast drop, high 140, very high 180, fast rise.
  3. Backup alarms in the Dexcom app
    • Middle aggressive: urgent low 55 (always on), low 70, high 180.
  4. Set up your Apple Watch
    • Zukka watch app, notifications on.
    • Dexcom watch app: Pair to Sensor.
    • Modular Duo face with the Zukka graph.
  5. Nightscout
    • My step-by-step article is on its way. Until then, Nightscout’s own docs walk you through it.
Your guide · every new sensorNew sensor dayEvery 15 days. Keep it with your sensors.
  1. Dexcom app
    • Start the new sensor using the in-app steps.
    • Wait for warm-up to finish and readings to appear.
  2. Zukka
    • Open the sensor screen and disconnect or delete the old sensor.
    • Add the Dexcom again so Zukka connects to the new one.
    • Wait for a fresh reading. Your alarms and settings stay put.
  3. Apple Watch
    • Open the Dexcom watch app, tap Pair to Sensor, then Pair.
    • Why: the watch reads the G7 straight from the sensor, so it has to find each new one. That pairing is what keeps readings coming when your phone is in another room.
    • Zukka and the face pick up the new sensor on their own.
  4. Check
    • The same number in the Dexcom app, in Zukka and on your watch.

Soaking? Put the new one in 12 to 24 hours early. Soaking a sensor →

Every step, in full
Step

Pair the Dexcom app

The official Dexcom app pairs with the sensor first. Keep it installed and running, because Zukka reads your readings alongside it.

  1. Install the Dexcom G7 app, then sign in or create a Dexcom account.
  2. Pair the sensor using the in-app steps. Wait for warm-up to finish and readings to appear.
  3. Leave the app running in the background. Don’t force-quit it.

Source: xDrip4iOS docs, reading from the Dexcom app

Step

Set up Zukka on your phone

Zukka is a free iPhone app built on the open-source xDrip4iOS. On your phone it is the master: it reads your sensor, sounds your alarms, and feeds your watch.

Your iPhone

Master
  1. Install Zukka from the App Store. Allow Bluetooth, notifications, and critical alerts.
  2. In Settings, set the data source to Master.
  3. Add the CGM and pick the Dexcom G7. Zukka connects directly and reads alongside the Dexcom app. There’s also another way below.
  4. Set up your alarms in Zukka using the recommended settings below. Check they sound with the phone on silent.

Another way: get readings from Dexcom

The alternate

Zukka can follow your Dexcom account, the way Dexcom Follow does. Turn on Share in the Dexcom app, then in Zukka’s Settings set the data source to Follower, pick Dexcom and sign in. Readings come through Dexcom, so they can arrive a little later, but Zukka only shows what the Dexcom app shows.

I usually connect directly. Following is the fix if Zukka keeps showing readings the Dexcom app won’t.

Recommended alarm settings

Your alerts should come from Zukka, so they also reach your watch. These are the settings I use, with one change: a more careful low alarm at 80 instead of 75. Each one runs all day, starting at 12:00 am.

Zukka Edit Alarm screen showing Very Low 70, Low 75, Fast Drop 10 under 120, High 140, Very High 180, and Fast Rise 10 over 160, all starting at 12:00 am.
My alarms in Zukka
AlarmGoes offSound
!Very low70 or belowlow
Low80 or belowI use 75borderline low
!Fast dropFalling 10+ while under 120default
High140 or aboveborderline high
!Very high180 or abovedefault
Fast riseRising 10+ while over 160default

All numbers in mg/dL. ! marks the urgent alarms, shown with a red ! in Zukka. In Zukka: Settings, then Alarms, then tap each one to set its value and sound. These are my settings to start from, so check them with your diabetes care team.

Menu names follow xDrip4iOS and may differ slightly in Zukka. Sources: xDrip4iOS docs · Zukka on the App Store

Step

Backup alarms in the Dexcom app

The Dexcom app is my backup: a quieter set, in case I miss the first.

In the Dexcom app: Profile, then Alerts.

Step

Set up your Apple Watch

Your watch gets readings two ways. The Dexcom watch app pairs straight to your sensor, so readings keep coming when your phone is out of range. Zukka sends your alarms and powers the recommended face.

Set up once

Zukka + watch face
  1. Install the Zukka watch app from the Watch app on your iPhone.
  2. Allow Zukka notifications on the watch so your alarms buzz on your wrist.
  3. Set up the Modular Duo face below.

Every new sensor

Dexcom watch app
  1. Open the Dexcom app on your watch and tap Pair to Sensor.
  2. Tap Pair when the new sensor’s name shows up.

Needs a G7 sensor and an Apple Watch Series 6 or newer on watchOS 10 or later. This is part of the new sensor routine below.

Recommended watch face

Apple Watch Modular Duo face showing the date, the time, three timers, and a Zukka complication reading 109 with a steady arrow, plus 0 change, updated 8:04 AM, above a glucose graph.
Modular Duo with the Zukka graph
Top leftDate
MiddleTimers (optional)
BottomZukka graph
  1. On your iPhone, open the Watch app and tap Face Gallery.
  2. Choose Modular Duo.
  3. Under Complications, set Top Left to Date and Middle to Timers, or another favorite.
  4. Set Bottom to the Zukka graph complication.
  5. Tap Add, then check the face on the watch shows a fresh reading.

The Timers slot is handy for timing a recheck. If Zukka isn’t listed, open the Zukka watch app once, then look again.

Step

Every new sensor

Each time you change your sensor, three things need to find the new one: the Dexcom app, Zukka, and your watch. Do them in this order.

New sensor routine

Every sensor change
  1. Dexcom app: start the new sensor using the in-app steps, then wait for warm-up to finish and readings to appear.
  2. Zukka: open the sensor screen, disconnect or delete the old sensor, then add the Dexcom again so Zukka connects to the new one. Wait for a fresh reading.
  3. Apple Watch: open the Dexcom watch app, tap Pair to Sensor, then Pair.
  4. Check: the same number shows in the Dexcom app, in Zukka, and on your watch face.

The Zukka watch app and watch face stay put. Only the sensor connections change.

I put each new sensor in 12 to 24 hours early. Soaking a sensor →

Optional · article on its way

Nightscout

Nightscout is my own site in the cloud for sharing and storing readings. My step-by-step article is on its way. Until then, Nightscout’s own docs walk you through it. You don’t need it for alarms on your phone and watch, or for Dexcom Follow.

Nightscout’s setup docs → Who can follow you without it →
What it costs

Costs

The core setup is free. You pay for your Dexcom sensors, and Nightscout hosting is the one optional paid piece.

  • Dexcom appFreeSensors are bought separately.
  • ZukkaFreeFree on the App Store, including the watch app.
  • Dexcom FollowFreeFor up to 10 followers.
  • Nightscout hostingOptionalCovered in my Nightscout article, on its way.

Prices checked October 2026 and may change. Source: Zukka on the App Store

When something’s off

Troubleshooting

Zukka shows readings, but the Dexcom app says there’s a problem
Connected directly, Zukka reads the sensor itself, so it can keep showing numbers while the Dexcom app has stopped. For me, this almost always happens when the readings are going crazy. Go with the Dexcom app: don’t trust those Zukka numbers, and check with a fingerstick before you treat. If it keeps happening, switch Zukka to follow Dexcom instead.
Zukka on your phone shows no readings
The Dexcom app is open in the background and showing readings; Bluetooth is on.
Your watch shows no alerts
Zukka notifications are allowed on the watch; the watch is paired and nearby.
Dexcom watch app shows a small phone icon
The watch lost its direct link and is reading through the iPhone. Reopen the Dexcom watch app and pair to the sensor again.
Before you’re done

Setup checklist

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Sources