Oceanic+ - A Second Look

[Buadhai]

My wife and I do two or three live aboard trips per year and that’s it for diving for us.

Our first trip this year was in February and was the first chance I got to use Oceanic+ with my Watch Ultra. At that time it worked fine as a dive computer, although there were a few shortcomings which I have noted previously.

We just finished a three day trip in the vicinity of Lipe in the South Andaman. This time Oceanic+ had some major problems.

Dive Computer

During this trip my wife was on air, but I was on Nitrox for all of the nine dives that we did. Since the air mixture varied from tank to tank I always checked the Oxygen percentage and made sure my Watch (and Zoop Novo spare) were set correctly.

The eighth dive was at Eight Mile, a submerged pinnacle. A very strong current forced us to descend using the buoy line. When we got to about 20 meters visibility was only two or three meters. Since we’d spent quite a bit of time struggling to descend I checked the No Deco time on my wife’s Zoop. It showed 17 minutes. I checked my Watch which also showed 17 minutes. How could this be when she’s on air and I’m on 32% Oxygen?

After the dive ended I checked the dive settings on my Watch. Much to my surprise it appeared that Oceanic+ had spontaneously reset all settings to the factory defaults. The dive gas was set to air and no alarms were active. I normally set target dive time to 50 minutes, target depth to 30 meters and low-no-deco to ten minutes. The logbook on the watch showed that the dive was done with air. I’m not sure how this could happen; especially since I had confirmed the Nitrox setting about 20 minutes before the dive began.

[logbook air]

Logbook

Another problem was with the logbook. It took a very long time for Oceanic+ on the Watch to sync the logbook with the iPhone app. After the eighth dive I noticed that only three dives were shown in the iPhone app logbook; dives 5, 6 and 7. I tried doing manual “Sync to your watch” and even though it said “Operation Completed”, the missing dives never appeared (or re-appeared) on the iPhone. All nine dives are in the logbook on the Watch, but only three are now on the iPhone. This is a shame as I spent some time entering dive notes in the logbook on the iPhone. It appears that all of that is now lost.

[Logbook watch 1,2 and 3]

[Logbook Phone]

The Home Screen of the Oceanic+ app on the iPhone shows only three dives for the “Last 4 Weeks Scuba Summary”. There should be nine.

[Home - iPhone]

[Operation Completed]

Surface Interval

For some reason the logbook is that it doesn’t display surface interval. Easy enough to calculate, but isn’t that why I have a smart Watch and a smart Phone?

Logout/Login

I hoped that logging out and logging back in again might fix the logbook sync issue. I logged out on the iPhone and was offered a log in screen. I tried logging back in and was presented with a rather cryptic error message screen.

[Error screen]

Does Oceanic really think that low level system errors should be passed on to end users? How about something a bit more human readable?

I never was able to complete the login process even when we got close to Lipe and had a 5G cell signal. Oddly, when I went back to the Home Screen, it appeared that I was still logged in or had succeeded in spite of the error message. Unfortunately, The Home Screen showed that my current plan was “Free” in spite of the fact that my current app rental doesn’t expire until July 11th.

[Home Screen - Free]

[Subscription]

Although we were done diving for this trip I thought I’d simulate starting another dive. As expected, I was not offered Scuba; just Snorkeling. What a shock it would be to be in the midst a multi-day live aboard trip only to find out that Oceanic had summarily cancelled your rental subscription three weeks early. What then?

GPS and Maps

On my first live aboard trip with Oceanic+ I noticed that frequently the app was unable to use GPS to determine the dive exit point. This problem persists, although you are now given an opportunity to add the exit point manually. I’m not sure how that helps. If I could find the exit point on a map I wouldn’t need GPS.

[GPS data incomplete]

I’m not sure why the Oceanic+ app can’t locate the exit point especially when several GPS satellites have a very strong signal in this area.

[GPS diagnostics]

Perhaps the problem is that when you first surface your wrist and watch are still under water. If that’s the case, the app might offer a message with hepatics asking you to hold your wrist and watch above water so the app can get a good GPS fix on your exit point. It’s not helpful to find this out only after you’ve left the dive site and are back aboard the dive boat.

The problem of needing an Internet connection to view maps persists as does the inaccuracy of Apple Maps in both the North and South Andaman. Oceanic should offer users the option of downloading decent quality maps in advance. Other apps (WorkOutDoors, GPS Tracks) offer this, so it is not an insurmountable problem.

Bottom Line

After this experience I’m not sure what to think of Oceanic+. It’s hard for me to imagine ever using it as a primary dive computer and I’m certainly glad that on this trip I had my trusty Zoop Novo as a backup. That said, I very much like the during-dive display on the Watch Ultra. It’s clear, informative and easy to read. If only it were a reliable dive computer.

 

[Melbourne Park]

Diving is life critical. Such bugs shouldn't happen with such software.

 

[chabig]

I just completed a dive with the app. Surface interval is shown in the logbook and on the Oceanic face. That and other Oceanic complications can be added to any Apple Watch face.






As to how your app reset from Nitrox to Air, I can't explain that. Mine stayed on nitro after the dive. My dive synced automatically too.

 

[Buadhai]

Thank you. I knew about the surface interval time on the watch face, but didn’t realize it was also displayed on the watch logbook. It would be nice if it were part of the dive profile display on the iPhone app logbook.

 

[ebika]

I encountered strangely slow logbook syncs too during my May trip. The absent ability to track which dive number it is, no correlating with dive site names, no critter management, broken “all metrics” page, and not enough cert card images are main reasons why I stay with MacDive for managing logs and data. I found that though Oceanic+ makes it difficult to extract your data, it does write the important data to Apple Health, which can be extracted and imported into MacDive (or others). You can likely salvage your dive data to use in a better dive log app.

 

[Buadhai]

I use the iOS app Dive Converter which extracts dive data directly from Oceanic+ (not Apple Health) and exports as a UDDF file which can be imported into a number of dive log apps. (I use SubSurface.) Unfortunately, it appears that the sync bug has moved only three of nine dives from the Watch to the iPhone. So the missing six are lost for good. Fortunately, I had the Zoop Novo as a backup. When I get my act together I should be able to import all 9 from the Novo to SubSurface. I was able to import all 9 dives from the Zoop Novo to Subsurface.

Sadly, all the dive notes that I entered on Oceanic+ on the iPhone for the first six dives is MIA. Happily, backup fanatic that I am, I transcribed all those notes into my paper logbook. (I’ve been burned before by digital logbooks.)

Screen shot of Dive Converter app showing the only three dives on the Oceanic+ iPhone app.

What follows is the data exported from one dive, less the dive profile and depth data. Note that time is in seconds, distance in meters and temperature in degrees Kelvin:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" standalone="no"?>
<uddf version="3.2.3" xmlns="http://www.streit.cc/uddf/3.2/">
    <generator>
        <name>Dive Converter</name>
        <version>1.0.4</version>
        <datetime>2023-06-26T06:26:39</datetime>
        <type>logbook</type>
        <manufacturer id="3FC8752D-E989-4A7F-878A-4EDC6D22DD0B">
            <name>Dive Converter</name>
            <contact>
                <email>info@diveconverter.com</email>
                <homepage>https://www.diveconverter.com</homepage>
            </contact>
        </manufacturer>
    </generator>
    <diver>
        <owner id="E3B48B50-E925-4A69-8A8A-9B8ED9E98CAE">
            <personal>
                <firstname>Mike</firstname>
                <lastname>Newman</lastname>
            </personal>
            <contact>
                <email>mgnewman@mac.com</email>
                <language>English</language>
            </contact>
            <equipment>
                <divecomputer id="3E45867C-5F08-4489-888A-F08D8DA85C03">
                    <name>Oceanic+ Dive Computer App</name>
                    <manufacturer id="3A92E0AB-68D6-4A81-855C-F046DD8F0206">
                        <name>Huish Outdoors, LLC</name>
                        <address>
                            <street>1540 2200 W</street>
                            <city>Salt Lake City</city>
                            <zip>84116</zip>
                            <country>USA</country>
                            <province>UT</province>
                        </address>
                        <contact>
                            <homepage>https://www.oceanicworldwide.com/oceanic-plus/</homepage>
                            <phone>+1 888-270-8595</phone>
                        </contact>
                    </manufacturer>
                    <model>Oceanic+ Dive Computer App</model>
                </divecomputer>
            </equipment>
        </owner>
        <buddy id="17B2F87A-E0B5-42AF-B279-8B47673719CF">
            <personal>
                <firstname>Mam</firstname>
            </personal>
        </buddy>
    </diver>
    <divesite>
        <site id="F652D64B-CAC6-4BC8-A46B-E86D9ED9F6FE">
            <name>Usen June 18, 2023 at 16:15</name>
            <geography>
                <address>
                    <country>Thailand</country>
                </address>
                <location>Usen June 18, 2023 at 16:15</location>
                <latitude>6.48579306202925</latitude>
                <longitude>99.3141597704837</longitude>
                <altitude>1.3690357208251953</altitude>
                <timezone>7.0</timezone>
            </geography>
        </site>
    </divesite>
    <gasdefinitions>
        <mix id="3EA43E59-27FE-4DB6-8C72-34D17769C32C">
            <name>Nitrox0.320.6799999999999999</name>
            <o2>0.32</o2>
            <n2>0.6799999999999999</n2>
        </mix>
    </gasdefinitions>
    <profiledata>
        <repetitiongroup id="7389313E-6108-42E0-AB8F-CC6B41111C0C">
            <dive id="321F0620-F5F3-4B6A-BC34-472549C859DD">
                <informationbeforedive>
                    <datetime>2023-06-18T16:15:36+07:00</datetime>
                    <link ref="17B2F87A-E0B5-42AF-B279-8B47673719CF" />
                    <link ref="F652D64B-CAC6-4BC8-A46B-E86D9ED9F6FE" />
                    <internaldivenumber>648f89d30aa138539a934b22</internaldivenumber>
                    <divenumber>1</divenumber>
                    <divenumberofday>1</divenumberofday>
                    <altitude>1.3690357208251953</altitude>
                    <surfaceintervalbeforedive>
                        <passedtime>9639.0</passedtime>
                    </surfaceintervalbeforedive>
                </informationbeforedive>
                <informationafterdive>
                    <diveduration>3375.0</diveduration>
                    <greatestdepth>21.018827438354492</greatestdepth>
                    <lowesttemperature>303.24000015258787</lowesttemperature>
                    <current>hard-current</current>
                    <notes>
                        <para>Lots of odd Coral. Lobster. </para>
                    </notes>
                    <rating>
                        <ratingvalue>8</ratingvalue>
                    </rating>
                    <visibility>10.995849967002869</visibility>
                    <equipmentused>
                        <link ref="3E45867C-5F08-4489-888A-F08D8DA85C03" />
                    </equipmentused>
                </informationafterdive>
                <tankdata id="5A599C1A-437B-4204-BEC1-4F366E362F31">
                    <tankpressurebegin>0.0</tankpressurebegin>
                    <link ref="3EA43E59-27FE-4DB6-8C72-34D17769C32C" />
                </tankdata>
                <applicationdata>
                    <oceanic>
                        <minimumascentspeed>0.09887351095676422</minimumascentspeed>
                        <averageascentspeed>3.17</averageascentspeed>
                        <maximumascentspeed>30.63083839416504</maximumascentspeed>
                        <surfaceconditions>0.0</surfaceconditions>
                        <exitlongitude>0.0</exitlongitude>
                        <exitlatitude>0.0</exitlatitude>
                        <initialtimestamp>1687079736.0</initialtimestamp>
                        <timeinterval>15.0</timeinterval>
                    </oceanic>
                </applicationdata>

 

[ebika]

@Buadhai that’s what I meant though, have you checked if the data is in Apple Health? That data wouldn’t be written via the faulty Oceanic+ iPhone sync. It’s written to Apple Health on the watch, and synced to the phone independently from Oceanic. If it’s there, you could use awu2uddf to get it for Subsurface. Of course, your notes won’t be there, only the dive metrics, but it’s something.

 

[Buadhai]

@Buadhai that’s what I meant though, have you checked if the data is in Apple Health? That data wouldn’t be written via the faulty Oceanic+ iPhone sync. It’s written to Apple Health on the watch, and synced to the phone independently from Oceanic. If it’s there, you could use awu2uddf to get it for Subsurface. Of course, your notes won’t be there, only the dive metrics, but it’s something.

Right. The time, depth and temperature data are in Apple Health. And, yeah, I did use awu2uudf before Dive Converter was available. If I didn't have the Zoop Novo with me I probably would have used it again. But why settle for such limited data when the Zoop has so much more?

 

[ebika]

Right. The time, depth and temperature data are in Apple Health. And, yeah, I did use awu2uudf before Dive Converter was available. If I didn't have the Zoop Novo with me I probably would have used it again. But why settle for such limited data when the Zoop has so much more?

Ah, I see your edit where you said you got the data from your Novo. Glad you got it sorted. Bummer that you lost your original notes.

Reading the Oceanic+ app store reviews, looks like a bunch of people are having sync problems like us. Huish needs to get their act together if they want people to pay for the subs.

My AWU is just my backup to my Suunto Eon Steel, so I'm not overly concerned because I just want it for depth and bottom timer mostly. I'm glad the AW sensors have been accurate for the health related data. Depth and temp have matched my other gear.

 

[Buadhai]

Ah, I see your edit where you said you got the data from your Novo. Glad you got it sorted. Bummer that you lost your original notes.

Reading the Oceanic+ app store reviews, looks like a bunch of people are having sync problems like us. Huish needs to get their act together if they want people to pay for the subs.

My AWU is just my backup to my Suunto Eon Steel, so I'm not overly concerned because I just want it for depth and bottom timer mostly. I'm glad the AW sensors have been accurate for the health related data. Depth and temp have matched my other gear.

I noticed that the Huish bug report form includes a separate section for sync issues. I hope that means they're working on it.

I guess my AWU has my become backup to my Zoop instead of the other way around.

I've also noticed that the during-dive data is essentially identical between the AWU and the Zoop. (Except, if course, when Oceanic+ reset itself to have me diving on air instead of Nitrox.) In other words I think Oceanic+ has real potential. I like diving with it. It's a shame the shortcomings can be so serious.

 

[markus.wamstaedter]

I use my Apple Watch Ultra when diving and use the app "AWU Divelog" https://apps.apple.com/de/app/awu-divelog/id6450554075 to write logs, export charts and import dives into Subsurface.

 

[sim667]

This is interesting reading to me as I’ve just bought an AWU2, I’m not intending on using it for diving but would like it to be able to used as a backup….. I mainly dive on my shearwater peregrine, I do have a zoop novo too but I’m selling as I can’t read the screen underwater as my eyesight isn’t good enough.

I noticed someone mentioning using the AWU2 as bottom timer and for depth without unlocking the full
Oceanic+ dive computer, can you just do that in the depth app?

 

[ebika]

can you just do that in the depth app?

Yup.

 

[Buadhai]

I’m the OP on this thread. I hadn’t been diving in almost a year, but managed to go again in August. I dove with both the Ultra/Oceanic and my Zoop Novo. Two observations:

On a couple of dives the no deco time on the two computers was wildly different with the Ultra showing 99+ minutes and the Zoop Novo showing 10 or less. I can understand different algorithms coming up with different no deco times, but not that different.

Same issue with no fly times at the end of the trip. I don’t recall the exact numbers, but the Ultra had a significantly shorter time than the Novo.

Of course, if I were only wearing one dive computer it would be no worries, right?