If your FreeStyle Libre sensor falls off early, you can request a free replacement directly from Abbott. The fastest route is their online sensor support form, but you should also take a few immediate steps to keep your glucose monitoring on track while you wait for the new sensor to arrive.
Request a Free Replacement From Abbott
Abbott replaces sensors that fall off before their wear period ends at no cost to you. You have two options for submitting a request:
- Online: Visit Abbott’s sensor support page at freestyle.abbott/us-en/support/sensorsupportrequest.html. The form is specifically designed for sensors that have fallen off or produced error messages.
- Phone: Call Abbott’s U.S. customer service at 855-632-8658. Representatives are available seven days a week, 8 AM to 8 PM Eastern Time, excluding holidays.
Before you reach out, locate your sensor’s serial number. You can find it in the FreeStyle Libre app or reader, or on the label at the bottom of the sensor applicator or carton. Having this ready speeds up the process. Keep the fallen sensor and its packaging until your replacement arrives, since Abbott may ask for details printed on them.
Monitor Your Blood Sugar While You Wait
Without a working sensor, you lose continuous glucose data, alarms, and trend arrows. Switch to finger-stick testing with a traditional blood glucose meter until your replacement sensor is applied and warmed up. If you use insulin, this matters especially around meals, bedtime, exercise, and any time you feel symptoms of a low or high. Your prescriber can advise on how frequently to test based on your specific insulin regimen and risk level.
Clean Up Adhesive Residue
A sensor that peels off often leaves a sticky rectangle of adhesive on your skin. You don’t need anything special to remove it. Baby oil, coconut oil, or olive oil will dissolve most residue if you let it sit for a minute and then gently rub it away. For stubborn residue, medical adhesive removers like Uni-Solve wipes or Tac Away wipes work faster and are designed for sensitive skin. Detachol is another option that’s both latex-free and alcohol-free. Once the area is clean, let your skin breathe before applying a new sensor to the same general area.
Why Sensors Fall Off Early
The most common culprit is moisture trapped between the adhesive and your skin. Sweat, humidity, and water exposure gradually weaken the bond over days. Oily skin and body hair underneath the adhesive pad also reduce how well it sticks. Physical contact, like catching the sensor on a doorframe, seatbelt, or clothing, can peel it off in one motion. Toweling off after a shower is another frequent cause, since the towel snags the sensor edge and pulls it loose.
Placement matters too. Abbott recommends choosing a spot on the back of your upper arm that’s least likely to get bumped during daily activities or exercise. If you play contact sports or do heavy workouts, a site closer to the center of the arm (rather than the outer edge) gives the sensor more protection.
How to Keep Your Next Sensor On
Good skin prep is the single biggest factor in sensor longevity. Use the alcohol wipe included in the sensor kit to remove oily residue from the application site. Then wait until your skin is completely dry before applying the sensor. This sounds simple, but applying a sensor right after a shower, when skin is still slightly damp, is one of the most common mistakes. If you have hair on the back of your upper arm, shaving the area beforehand gives the adhesive a cleaner surface to grip.
For extra hold, skin barrier wipes create a thin, slightly tacky layer between your skin and the sensor adhesive. Products like Skin-Tac, Type Strong, and similar barrier wipes use a rosin-based formula that improves adhesion without irritating most skin types. Apply one of these to the site, let it get tacky (about 30 seconds), and then place your sensor on top.
Overpatches add another layer of security. These are adhesive patches with a hole cut out for the sensor’s center, and they stick over the top to hold everything in place. Brands like Not Just A Patch, PumpPeelz, and Stick2Hope make waterproof versions specifically shaped for the FreeStyle Libre that last the full 14-day wear period. Several users report that combining a skin barrier wipe underneath with an overpatch on top gives the most reliable hold through swimming, sweating, and daily showers.
Protecting the Sensor During Activities
The FreeStyle Libre is designed to be worn during showers, baths, and swimming, but water still degrades the adhesive over time. After any water exposure, pat the sensor area dry gently rather than rubbing a towel across it. Pressing down on the adhesive edges for a few seconds after drying helps reseal any spots that loosened.
For workouts and sports, an overpatch is your best defense. Some people also use athletic arm bands or compression sleeves that sit snugly over the sensor site without pressing on the sensor’s filament. During contact sports specifically, positioning the sensor toward the inner back of your upper arm reduces the chance of a direct hit knocking it loose.
If you notice the adhesive edges starting to curl or lift partway through the wear period, you can apply an overpatch at that point to extend the sensor’s life. Adding one mid-wear is perfectly fine and often saves a sensor that would otherwise fall off in the last few days.