Oceanic+ - A Second Look With Serious Failures

[kimh]

it demonstrates a pattern of failure to adequately test and verify their software…

Bugs are inevitable. I'm not surprised that there are bugs in the first half year for brand new software like this. I have to say, I'm still kind of amazed that Apple was willing to add dive computer functions to an Apple Watch at all.

I expected to see more bugs, honestly. Googling around a bit, I haven't seen any bugs that look like a serious safety issue, and almost none for in-water functionality generally. Still, it's easy to see why Apple would conservatively limit functionality to "recreational"/130' depths.

Apple doesn't release unit sales figures, but Apple Watch Ultra sales must already be in the millions. The AWU is probably already the best selling dive computer in the world, depending on how you count Oceanic subscriptions, I guess. Apple has a big target on their back for any kind of serious problem. So far, they've avoided them, and the software should continue to improve.

 

[kimh]

hmm- maybe Oceanic has been reading these threads. They just released an update – 1.1.5. Looks like it addresses some of the problems we’ve been talking about:

Oceanic+ App Updates - Oceanic Worldwide

www.oceanicworldwide.com

“We listened to your feedback and made the following improvements”

• Added dive log synchronization from iPhone to Apple Watch Ultra.
• The ability to enter beginning and ending tank pressure in the logbook, along with tank type.
• Added functionality to recognize and display a message when updates are available.
• Bug fixes and performance enhancements.

 

[Buadhai]

Interesting. I upgraded to 1.1.5, did a manual sync and now all nine dives that I did on the last trip have synced from the watch to the iPhone app. Previously, only three had synced. And, the Home Screen now shows a total of 9 dives in the last 4 weeks. Previously, it just showed the three.

 

[stuartv]

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.

It doesn't sound like this is what happened to you, but just to put it out there.
In case you didn't know, Oceanic dive computers (e.g. the Geo and Atom), have a "feature" where they reset the computer from any Nitrox setting back to Air. They do this automatically 24 hours after the end of the previous dive.

They somehow decided that this is a "safety" feature.

Anyway, when I was diving an Atom 3.0 (my first dive computer), I had it actually happen to me twice. Normally, it just wouldn't happen. For most folks, I think, the daily dive schedule on a liveaboard means you never actually have 24 hours between the end of one dive and the start of the next. But, I was on a trip where we did 2 morning dives, then, the next day, did a shore dive that was timed for the tide, so it started about 24 hours and 30 minutes after the end of the 2nd morning dive from the day before.

I had checked my computer was set correctly for the Nitrox I was using. But then just after the dive started I noticed that it was set back to Air. The 24 hour window had closed between when I checked it and when I splashed.

The next day, we didn't dive until the afternoon. That day, I literally checked my computer Nitrox setting 5 minutes before splashing. But, the 24 hour window just squeaked closed in that 5 minutes and again my computer was set to Air when I splashed.

It wouldn't surprise me at all if Oceanic built the same "safety" feature into their software for the AWU.

 

[astr0b0y]

It wouldn't surprise me at all if Oceanic built the same "safety" feature into their software for the AWU.

They haven’t. Mine is still on Nitrox from dives two weeks ago.

 

[Lostdiver71]

It doesn't sound like this is what happened to you, but just to put it out there.
In case you didn't know, Oceanic dive computers (e.g. the Geo and Atom), have a "feature" where they reset the computer from any Nitrox setting back to Air. They do this automatically 24 hours after the end of the previous dive.

They somehow decided that this is a "safety" feature.

Anyway, when I was diving an Atom 3.0 (my first dive computer), I had it actually happen to me twice. Normally, it just wouldn't happen. For most folks, I think, the daily dive schedule on a liveaboard means you never actually have 24 hours between the end of one dive and the start of the next. But, I was on a trip where we did 2 morning dives, then, the next day, did a shore dive that was timed for the tide, so it started about 24 hours and 30 minutes after the end of the 2nd morning dive from the day before.

I had checked my computer was set correctly for the Nitrox I was using. But then just after the dive started I noticed that it was set back to Air. The 24 hour window had closed between when I checked it and when I splashed.

The next day, we didn't dive until the afternoon. That day, I literally checked my computer Nitrox setting 5 minutes before splashing. But, the 24 hour window just squeaked closed in that 5 minutes and again my computer was set to Air when I splashed.

It wouldn't surprise me at all if Oceanic built the same "safety" feature into their software for the AWU.

So far mine stays set to the last O2 setting.

 

[Rick Brant]

I re-subscribed to Oceanic+ for the month and am seeing logbook issues. I used the watch for several dives over the last week but they do not show in the iOS app. I did try doing a manual sync, although I thought the sync was in the background and automatic last time I used the app. In any case the dives still do not show and were not recorded as far as I can tell. I'm not planning to stay subscribed anyway but it is pretty bad that this basic feature does not work. Hard to trust them on NDL-related stuff if they cannot get the logbook right.

 

[Pearlman]

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I had checked my computer was set correctly for the Nitrox I was using. But then just after the dive started I noticed that it was set back to Air. The 24 hour window had closed between when I checked it and when I splashed.

The next day, we didn't dive until the afternoon. That day, I literally checked my computer Nitrox setting 5 minutes before splashing. But, the 24 hour window just squeaked closed in that 5 minutes and again my computer was set to Air when I splashed.

It wouldn't surprise me at all if Oceanic built the same "safety" feature into their software for the AWU.

Not a fix, but a workaround might be to manually set to Air exit the menu then back to Nitrox while on the boat before the first dive of the day…

 

[mattfish]

I’ve been using the app for a while now, and will occasionally hit the log sync issue.

When I check the watch app all the dives are there, but I won’t be able to get them to sync to the phone. The fix every time has been to quit the watch app completely (double-tap the dial, then swipe the app to the left, and tap the red x to quit the app). And when I relaunch the app on the watch I can sync the dives without trouble.

 

[stuartv]

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Not a fix, but a workaround might be to manually set to Air exit the menu then back to Nitrox while on the boat before the first dive of the day…

I'm 95% sure I changed the nitrox setting at least once during that 24 hour window and it didn't matter. It still resets to Air if you don't jump in the water in less than 24 hours after your last dive.

I could be mis-remembering, though. But, it is moot for me, anyway. I no longer own any dive computers except for Shearwaters.