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  "description": "Qardio devices stopped working as apps vanished. This article examines what happened, what still works, and how to evaluate risks in connected health devices.",
  "path": "/what-happened-to-qardio-when-connected-health-devices-stop-working/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-05-19T13:00:54.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.technodabbler.com",
  "tags": [
    "2012",
    "positioned itself",
    "additional monitoring tools",
    "United States",
    "United Kingdom",
    "Netherlands",
    "FDA",
    "few",
    "disclosures",
    "2022",
    "2023",
    "bankruptcy",
    "observed listed for sale",
    "LibreArm – Breathing New Life Into QardioArm DevicesHow I built an open-source iOS app to keep QardioArm blood pressure monitors alive after Qardio, Inc. went bankrupt and removed their app from the App Store.Architecture BlogPaul Taylor",
    "The Machines that Help you Breathe When Sleep? CPAP for BeginnersDiscover how technology enhances CPAP therapy for sleep apnea, improving comfort and effectiveness. Breathe easier and sleep better with innovative solutions.TechnodabblerAlex Denault",
    "ResMed AirSense CPAP",
    "FDA guidance on device software",
    "Learn more"
  ],
  "textContent": "In 2025, Qardio’s connected health devices began to lose functionality as access to the software and services that supported them was lost. Features that once worked seamlessly, including data synchronization, historical tracking, and in some cases basic operation, started to fail. There was no widely visible shutdown announcement. Instead, users were left to discover the issue through broken apps and unresponsive devices.\n\nQardio’s products, including smart blood pressure monitors and connected scales, were built around a mobile application and a backend service that handled storage, analysis, and device coordination. When that backend stopped responding, the hardware itself remained intact but significantly degraded. Devices designed for routine health monitoring were reduced to partial tools, or in some cases, became unusable.\n\nThis situation highlights a broader issue with connected health devices. When core functionality depends on remote services, the lifespan of the product is no longer tied to the hardware, but to the company operating it. This article examines what can be verified about Qardio’s shutdown, how its devices behave today, and what this case reveals about the risks of relying on cloud-dependent medical technology.\n\n## The Rise of Connected Health Devices\n\nQardio was founded in 2012 as a digital health company focused on connected medical devices. Its early product lineup centered on three core devices: the QardioArm wireless blood pressure monitor, the QardioBase smart scale, and the QardioCore wearable ECG monitor. Each of these products was designed to pair with a mobile application that handled data visualization, long-term tracking, and sharing with caregivers or healthcare providers.\n\nFrom its earliest products, Qardio positioned itself within the growing market for connected health devices. Rather than operating as standalone instruments, its hardware relied on a companion app and cloud infrastructure to store measurements, generate trends, and share data with caregivers or healthcare providers. This approach aligned with broader industry trends at the time, where much of the product’s value was tied to software ecosystems rather than the hardware alone.\n\nThe QardioArm and QardioScale, two of Qardio's earlier products.\n\nOver time, Qardio expanded its portfolio to include additional monitoring tools. Later products included the QardioTemp thermometer and a blood oxygen monitor, reflecting a broader push toward building a more complete personal health tracking ecosystem. Despite these additions, the underlying design remained consistent, with devices continuing to depend on the same application and backend services.\n\nQardio operated across multiple jurisdictions, with a presence in the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands. Public records indicate that different legal entities were used to support its operations, including regulatory compliance, distribution, and regional market access. This type of structure is typical for digital health companies that must meet both FDA requirements in the United States and CE marking requirements in Europe.\n\n💡\n\nThe FDA (Food and Drug Administration) is the U.S. regulatory agency responsible for approving and overseeing medical devices to ensure they are safe and effective for use.\n\n💡\n\nThe CE mark indicates that a medical device meets European Union requirements for safety, performance, and regulatory compliance, allowing it to be sold within the EU.\n\nPublic information about Qardio’s corporate structure and financial trajectory remains limited. While the company announced product launches and partnerships over the years, there are few disclosures regarding funding, financial performance, or restructuring.\n\n## When Qardio Started to Fade\n\nBy the early 2020s, Qardio’s public presence had begun to change. Product announcements became less frequent, with little evidence of major platform updates beyond regulatory filings. While FDA clearances in 2021 and 2022 show development had not stopped entirely, outward communication had slowed compared to earlier years.\n\nThe first verifiable signs of structural trouble appear in corporate records. In the United Kingdom, filings for Qardio’s European entity show repeated strike-off actions beginning in 2023, along with overdue accounts and confirmation statements. More direct evidence comes from the Netherlands, where a trustee report states that Qardio Netherlands B.V. entered bankruptcy on its own request after funding from Qardio, Inc. stopped, alongside declining sales and increased competition.\n\n💡\n\nA strike-off action is a process where a company is formally proposed for removal from the corporate register, typically due to missing required filings such as annual accounts or confirmation statements. If the company does not respond or correct the issue, it can be dissolved. Repeated actions indicate ongoing non-compliance with basic corporate obligations.\n\nWhat remains absent is any formal public statement explaining a shutdown of consumer services. There is no clear press release, restructuring notice, or transition plan, making it difficult to identify when operations effectively ceased.\n\nDespite these signals, parts of Qardio’s public presence remained accessible. The website and online store are still visible, although checkout does not complete successfully, and no notice indicates a service interruption. The blog remains online, with the last post dated March 21, 2024, and no follow-up communication. The qardio.com domain has also been observed listed for sale, a secondary signal that active management of the platform may have ceased.\n\n## What Still Works, and What Doesn’t\n\nQardio’s devices were designed to operate through a mobile application backed by cloud services. In practice, what still works depends on how much of the device functions locally versus what required the original application. Devices with their own inputs and displays retain some basic functionality. The QardioBase scale, for example, can still measure weight and show the result on the device. A user can still weigh themselves. However, features such as tracking, history, and synchronization are no longer available.\n\nTwo models of the QardioArm, the older red on the left and the newer white on the right.\n\nOther devices depend entirely on the original software. The QardioArm blood pressure monitor relies on the mobile application to start a measurement and display the result. Without access to the app, the device cannot be used as intended. The hardware remains intact, but there is no way to control it. In addition, access to the original software has also been removed. The Qardio applications are no longer listed in major app stores and cannot be downloaded through standard channels. Without the application, new users cannot set up devices, and existing users cannot reinstall it after a reset or when switching phones.\n\nLibreArm – Breathing New Life Into QardioArm DevicesHow I built an open-source iOS app to keep QardioArm blood pressure monitors alive after Qardio, Inc. went bankrupt and removed their app from the App Store.Architecture BlogPaul Taylor\n\nLibreArm gave the QardioARM a second life.\n\nOne exception comes from the community. A reverse-engineered project called LibreArm provides an alternative way to interact with the QardioArm. The project communicates directly with the device over Bluetooth, bypassing the original application and any cloud dependency. It allows a user to start a measurement and read the results using replacement software. The implementation is based on reverse engineering the communication protocol used by the device. This includes identifying how commands are sent, how measurements are triggered, and how data is returned. The project is published openly, with source code and documentation, making it possible for others to verify and build on the work. In practical terms, it restores basic functionality that would otherwise be inaccessible.\n\nThese cases show a clear difference. Devices with local controls can still perform their basic function, while devices that depend entirely on an application cannot be used once that software is no longer available.\n\n## How to Evaluate Connected Health Devices\n\nThe failure of Qardio’s platform highlights a specific design tradeoff. The limitation was not in the hardware, but in how the devices depended on external software and services. When evaluating connected health devices, three factors define how resilient they are over time: where functionality lives, how data is handled, and whether the system can be accessed without the original vendor.\n\nThe first factor is local versus remote functionality. Devices that can operate independently, with built-in controls or displays, can continue to perform their core task even if external services are unavailable. Devices that require a mobile application to initiate measurements or display results are dependent on that software. If the application is removed or no longer maintained, the device may no longer function.\n\nThe second factor is data access. Many connected devices store measurements remotely, which enables long-term tracking and sharing. However, this creates a dependency on the service that hosts that data. If access is lost, historical records may no longer be available. Devices that store data locally, or allow export in standard formats, reduce this risk.\n\nThe third factor is whether the system is open or closed. Devices that rely on proprietary protocols and undocumented interfaces are difficult to recover when official support ends. In those cases, access to the device is effectively controlled by the vendor’s software. Open or partially documented systems, or those that use standard interfaces, are more likely to remain usable. Community projects can sometimes restore functionality, but only if the underlying system can be understood and accessed.\n\nThe Machines that Help you Breathe When Sleep? CPAP for BeginnersDiscover how technology enhances CPAP therapy for sleep apnea, improving comfort and effectiveness. Breathe easier and sleep better with innovative solutions.TechnodabblerAlex Denault\n\nThe ResMed AirSense 10 offers the best of both world, with all of its feature operating locally, but with cloud enhancements.\n\nA more resilient design combines local operation with optional connectivity. For example, devices such as the ResMed AirSense CPAP store detailed usage data locally on an SD card using a documented format, while also transmitting data remotely for convenience. The device continues to function without a network connection, and data can still be accessed directly from the card. In this model, remote services extend the device, but do not define its basic operation.\n\nConnected health devices are not inherently problematic, but their design changes their lifespan. When core functionality, data access, and control are tied to external systems, the device remains usable only as long as those systems are available.\n\n## Where Connected Health Devices Stand Today\n\nThe issues highlighted by Qardio are not unique. Many connected devices introduced in the 2010s were built around cloud-first architectures, where software and services defined the product experience.\n\nIn regulated medical environments, devices are expected to remain safe and usable under foreseeable conditions, including loss of network connectivity. FDA guidance on device software emphasizes that manufacturers must identify and manage risks arising from “known or foreseeable hazards and hazardous situations,” including those that affect safety, treatment, or diagnosis . In practice, this requires considering how a device behaves when external systems are unavailable. As a result, many clinical devices are designed to operate locally, with connectivity treated as an extension rather than a requirement.\n\nConsumer-facing devices do not always follow the same model. Many still depend on mobile applications and backend services for core functionality, which ties their lifespan to the availability of those systems. Qardio sadly fits into this category.\n\nHave you ever lost access to a “smart” device after the provider shut down or discontinued support? Share your experience in the comments below.\nIf you want to explore a similar tension between proprietary cloud platforms and open approaches, take a look at our article on the Bambu Lab A1 and modern 3D printing.\n\n\n                            Learn more\n                        ",
  "title": "What Happened to Qardio? When Connected Health Devices Stop Working",
  "updatedAt": "2026-05-19T13:00:54.000Z"
}