CareLink Personal Gets an Upgrade!

Update – November 10, 2014: CareLink Personal is now compatible with OS X Yosemite (10.10)! We appreciate your patience while we worked to update, test, and validate CareLink with Mac’s latest operating system.
Today, we’re excited to share that CareLink Personal will soon be compatible with more operating systems and software! The much anticipated support for the following will be available on Monday, August 25, 2014 with CareLink Personal 5.12:
- Windows 8.1
- MAC OS X 10.9 (Mavericks)
- Internet Explorer 11
- Safari 7
Mac users, please note that this upgrade is compatible with Mavericks operating system. We understand a new Apple update is coming soon, but it will not be compatible with CareLink until our next software release.
System Information
Heads up! Due to this upgrade and maintenance, CareLink Personal will not be available from Saturday, August 23 at 8:00am PST to Sunday, August 24 at 8:00pm PST.
After Monday, August 25, 2014, when you first sign into CareLink Personal, you will need to accept the new Terms of Use and Privacy.
In addition, for support with Java updates, there is now an updated “Getting Started Guide” within CareLink and newly added troubleshooting tips on our website.
Our goal is to provide high-quality and reliable pump and CGM insights through our web-based software, CareLink Personal, so that you can see how food, insulin, and activity impact your glucose levels, and identify trends and next steps to better control your diabetes. As various operating systems and web browsers enter the market, we are continuously engineering our products to meet these new compatibilities and performance standards.
We want to thank you for your patience on the time lag between the release of new operating system (OS) and version of CareLink. We have received a lot of feedback over the last few months and want you to know that we’ve been listening. We understand this delay can be frustrating as technology continues to change more frequently, and we would like to give you a better understanding of the development process.
Development Process
Like other software companies, we begin testing with the Beta version of a new OS X (like Mavericks), but cannot complete the development process until the final version of the software is released. When a new OS is released, we develop and test any changes that need to be made to CareLink Personal so it can be compatible with the new OS. This can take up to several months because unlike many software companies, CareLink is considered “medical device software”. Therefore, once the testing is complete, it is still required to go through government regulatory processes, which can take several months. The development, testing, and regulatory approval process are designed to protect the safety of people like you who rely on healthcare software to manage their diabetes. We continue to do everything we can to bring these new updates to market as soon as possible.
Support Resources and Future Updates
If you have a Windows-based personal computer, you can find more information on setting up and uploading CareLink Personal here.
If you have a Mac computer, you can find more information on setting up and uploading CareLink Personal here.
When future software updates, such as Mac OS X Yosemite, become available on your personal computer or Mac, we recommend checking to make sure that it’s compatible with the current version of CareLink Personal (as well as any other software you use regularly) before downloading it to your computer. This may mean that you will need to postpone updates for a few months to continue to use CareLink. We realize this is an inconvenience but, because of the development process we mentioned above, this is our best guidance. We will be sure to keep our community updated when there are changes to CareLink compatibility.
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION
CareLink® Therapy Management Software for Diabetes is intended to be used together with advice from a healthcare professional familiar with the diagnosis and treatment of diabetes. Do not make any changes to treatment without talking to a healthcare professional first. For more information, please visit www.medtronicdiabetes.com/about/safety.html.
Cant’ wait for a release for Google Chrome!
I would greatly appreciate if Carelink would consent to run on Linux. I have technical arguments for why it should be able to do so, but will save space and not post them here.
To be clear: I’m not looking for support. I don’t expect you to troubleshoot my computer. But your Java software refuses to run on Linux, and I’d really like to understand why.
+1 on the Google Chrome compatibility.
Jessica, Jesse, and Roger, we definitely hear you. We can only complete the development process of CareLink for an operating system once the final version of the software is released, which can create a time lag between the release of a new OS and our new version of CareLink. Unfortunately, I can’t provide a timeline on Google Chrome and Linux compatibility, but are working hard on what’s next and we’ll let the community know as soon as there are future updates. Thank you for your patience!
Sara,
I do not understand your comment about the delay between OS releases and Carelink availability. Both Microsoft (through MSDN) and Apple (through the Mac Development Program, formerly ADC) offer early access to final versions of new operating systems so that developers can have updates ready in time for OS releases.
Jesse, similar to other software companies, we begin testing with a Beta version of a new OS (like Maverick), but can only complete the development process once the final version of the software is released. Unlike many software companies, CareLink is considered “medical device software”. Therefore, once the testing is complete, it is still required to go through government regulatory processes, which can take several months. This creates a time lag between the release of a new OS and our new version of CareLink.
Is the upgrade completed in all countries?
Great question, Peter. The CareLink Personal upgrade is global. If you’re in the U.S., the upgrade is to version 5.12, and if you’re outside the U.S., the upgrade is to version 6.0.
Thank you.
I am outside the U.S. I cant see any diffence from yesterday to today. How can I see my version number?
You say: “After Monday, August 25, 2014, when you first sign into CareLink Personal, you will need to accept the new Terms of Use and Privacy.”
I have not seen any new terms.?????
Hi Peter. We’re the U.S. team, but please check here for local contacts who would be happy to help: http://www.medtronicdiabetes.com/customer-support/international-contacts.
I have been using Carelink for several years. I have used it on Explorer, Firefox, and Chrome. The warnings when you log in are not always what they seem to be. Just ignored them and everything worked fine. When things do not work like they are supposed to I just try a different browser. Sometimes a reboot is all that is needed to get things to work.
When is Carelink going to be available for iPhone, iPad, etc? Mobility is important and I don’t want to be chained to a computer just to update my account. While I understand that a wired connection (for usb downloads from meter and pump) are required I don’t see that editing, revising and making notations should require any wired connection whatsoever.
As a matter of fact, since much of the technology between the Minimed and Enlite is bluetooth (as is the sensor data and meter to pump data) I’m not quite understanding why this info couldn’t simply be wirelessly transmitted to an iPad, iPod Touch or iPhone.
Are any of your developers working on this??
Dale:
The communications between sensor, pump and meter are not Bluetooth. Medtronic stuff communicates at 916 MHz: you can verify this by searching the FCC’s website. For reference, the Minilink is registered under FCC ID OH27703.
Anyways, your iPhone cannot talk to this stuff because it doesn’t have the right radios; it makes technical sense that you need a USB adapter.
Relatedly, all of Minimed’s pump software seems to be Java; this would be the most obvious reason why it’s not set up to run on IOS devices — those gadgets don’t run Java. They’d need to make a system to look at reports separately from the one that talks to pumps. Probably not the best use of their time.
Regarding mobility, if you really like tablets instead of (tiny) laptops, you might check out Surface *Pros* — seems you can get them for about $350. Cheap laptops are much less pricy. Either way, agreed that it’s not ideal — quibbles over platforms got me on this thread too.
Hi Dale, we’re aware that there is a high level of interest/demand for access to health data. We are actively working with industry partners and regulatory agencies on efficient, yet safe ways, to bring that access to the market to make it easier for people with diabetes and their loved ones to access data anytime, anywhere.
I am unable to get my CareLink USB device to work with OSX 10.9 and Safari 7. I get a message that tells me it cannot create a directory “/Users/larrybrown/Library/Medtronic/ddmsDTWserial/SerialIO 7.9” and to log in as an administrator even though I am already an administrator.
I manually created the directory and then I get an error that it cannot open ddmsDTWSerialPort.jnilib.
I think there is something I need to download and install but cannot seem to find it in any of the Mac instructions I have gone through.
Larry, sorry to hear you’re having issues downloading the updated CareLink. I will have someone from my team reach out to you to try and help. Let me know if there’s anything else I can help you with.
I am also having the same issue with my MAC .
I’m sorry to hear that, Ed. I will connect you with someone from my team to try and help you out.
Hi Sara, can you please put someone from your team in touch with me? I have never been able to get it to work, and my solution (an ancient Windows machine) just got dropped from compatibility. Even worse, the screen on my pump is cracked and I’m waiting to get a new one until I can download the data. Thanks.
Alan, I’m sorry to hear you’re having a hard time logging into CareLink Personal. Someone from my team should be reaching out to you shortly to help.
I was able to get it to work using Firefox instead of Safari.
Hi
I am wondering if you have an estimated time for when an update that is compatible with Yosemite will be out. My computer has been updated and so I can no longer upload my daughter’s data. I had no choice about the upgrade – it was needed for work.
Hi Anne. CareLink Personal is now compatible with OS X Yosemite (10.10)! We appreciate your patience while we worked to update, test, and validate CareLink with Mac’s latest operating system. Please let me know if you have any other questions.
I used to be able to upload my Care link at work but they have upgraded to Windows 7 with restrictions so I am no longer able to download my pump data this way now. At home we do not have a computer, I have one running on Linux (cannot afford to upgrade and PC to old to run newer version) we only have tablets now. Now it has been months looking for a way to download my data and still no solution. Not everyone has Windows and with tablets/cell phones being the most used devices, there should be more operating system choices.
Hi Denis, I’m sorry to hear you’re frustrated with the number of operating system choices for CareLink. CareLink Personal (v7) supports Microsoft 7 or 8 with Microsoft Internet Explorer 10 or 11, Mozilla Firefox 24, and Mac OS 10.8, 10.9, 10.10 with Safari 6, 7, or 8.
Our latest accessory, MiniMed Connect, automatically uploads all of your pump and CGM data to CareLink each night so you no longer manually have to do it. You can learn more about MiniMed Connect here: http://www.loop-blog.com/introducing-convenient-mobile-access-pump-cgm-data-minimed-connect/
Sara;
I have been a Carelink user for years, I really appreciate having it. Now that I can get the same printouts my doctor gets, it is more valuable to me. It took me a while to figure it out. Is there a video or user aid some where that will clear up a few things ? Also, when using Carelink with Windows 8.1 or now with Windows 10, some times Carelink does not work. It usually tells me my computer is not adequate to handle Carelink. like insufficient resolution, insufficient memory or many other things. Then 15 minutes later it is working fine. Is this a computer problem ? When it is working it is fine. This problem is much better on windows 10 than it was on 8.1
Thank You very much for the great software.
Milan
Hi Milan, I’d like to connect you with a member of our HelpLine team to address all of your questions. I’ll pass along your information and someone should reach out soon. In the meantime please visit MedtronicDiabetes.com/CareLink-info for more information and access to videos, interactive PDFs, the updated Getting Started Guide, and more.
Hi, I am going to get a new insulin pump. I will chose a MiniMed, IF I can use my Linux for uploading the data. I use Linux Mint 18 (technical the same as Ubuntu 16.04).
Please give me a fast answer because my current pump is defect and I have to act very soon.
I live in Europe, Scandinavia
Hi Sven – we are the US team and this is a great question for your local team. Please check here for the local contact information: https://www.medtronicdiabetes.com/customer-support/international-contacts.
Sven, if you notice my comment from 2.5 years ago: this software will refuse to run on Linux. They’ve explained in the past that they feel they have to certify the *exact* environment the software works on and refuse to run otherwise, and I guess the installed base of Linux doesn’t justify the trouble (even for something like RHEL or Ubuntu LTS).
Anyways in case it helps or is informative, I have a Minimed pump and must use Linux for work. The best solution I was able to arrive at was to use an iPod touch and the Minimed Connect device (I bought both specifically for this) and then set up a browser profile (on Linux) with a user agent switcher so that I could use the Carelink website to generate reports.
Note that the Minimed Connect doesn’t work with the 600 series pumps they’ll sell you now — I don’t know if there’s a successor product coming up. If somebody from Medtronic knows that’d be helpful info for Sven.
Also note that there’s an Android version of Minimed connect, but it does not support the current version of Android. On IOS, the app might complain if you update your device but it’ll still run; on Android you cannot even install it without resorting to shady third-party sites. I do not like getting hacked so I apply updates and avoid shady sites. This is why I point out the IOS version specifically.
I’m sad about the lack of linux compatibility. My computer is now too slow to run windows 10 well with 4 gigs of ram. Linux mint works great, but you guys don’t support this. 🙁