Sleep Study (no Android, no Electric Sheep)
===========================================

I finally went in for a sleep study. These days they start with a 
night of at-home monitoring. Not only is it simpler, but you're 
sleeping somewhere familiar, so the results are going to be more 
representative. This place at least uses a medical-grade 
monitoring ring and a phone app to collect and report the data.

Easy, right?

Well, first let's say I'm glad I keep a micro-USB cable for 
charging the Kobo and my power brick.

Seeking Compatibility
---------------------

Second, there was the problem of pairing the device.

The app installed happily on my FairPhone 4, but no matter what I 
did, it just wouldn't pair with the ring. I don't know if there 
was some extra permission I missed, or if the app relies on Google 
services in a way that microG can't handle.

A month with /e/OS
gemini://kvibber.com/reviews/software/eos.gmi

Last week I got the Pixel 5 back from the repair shop that 
replaced the fire-hazard battery. I thought, well, I'll try that. 
But the first thing I did when I got the phone home was install 
/e/OS on it (since mainstream Android is no longer supported on 
it, but /e/OS is). So that didn't work either. 

About that Pixel 5...
gemini://kvibber.com/reviews/products/pixel5.gmi

OK, how about I dig out my tablet that's running stock Android? 
Nope, too old. The app wouldn't even install. Same with my wife's 
phone.

If it had been earlier in the day, I would have considered 
reinstalling stock Android on the Pixel 5. 

In the end, I borrowed our son's iPad. The app installed, and it 
paired immediately. I wore the ring overnight, kept waking up with 
my hand numb because I'd pinched a nerve or slept on it funny, and 
in the morning I hit Stop and uploaded the results.

Our Own Devices
---------------

The system is simple...IF you have a up-to-date, mainstream mobile 
device to pair it with. We've been hanging onto older devices on 
the "If it ain't broke, don't replace it" principle.

I guess in a way they *are* "broken," and so is the nonstandard 
replacement, under some circumstances. At least we *can* buy newer 
hardware. Not everyone's in that position. I just don't want to 
*have* to.

A recent gemlog post about planned obsolescence:
gemini://kvibber.com/log/2026-08-05-planned-obsolescence.gmi

I'm beginning to think I should put stock Android back on the 
Pixel, until Android 14 becomes too old to run things, just to 
keep it on hand for situations like this. Like keeping a Windows 
partition on your Linux box. Except it has to be an extra physical 
device.

Kelson Vibber, 2026-09-15