Oceanic+ - A Second Look With Serious Failures

[lattehiatus]

I had the same issue with the Action button not functioning to get past the "I'm fit and ready to dive" prompt, around the same time as you (mine was on the weekend of Nov 4/5). Huish technical support asked for screenshots and ultimately suggested it was a motion sensors permissions issue, but the Oceanic+ app already had access to the motion sensors under "Fitness Tracking". Ultimately I restarted the AWU and it resolved the issue, my suspicion is the watchOS update that occurred around the time caused the problem with the action button. The action button was also not working the same way during workouts, for example it would mark a segment instead of pausing workout as it did before the update. A simple power cycle fixed both the Oceanic+ and Workout action button functions. Annoyingly the lack of action button function on those ghost dives meant that I couldn't shut off the haptic alarm for the entire 3 minutes safety stop.

Another annoying issue that occurred is when I tried to buy a single day pass in Oceanic+, rather than a month. Tried to make a purchase 3 times for a single day, and got charged $5 each time, but the app wouldn't allow access to the scuba mode license. Finally bought a month access for $10 to make it work. Fortunately Apple refunded the 3 charges for $5, but it's just frustrating to deal with these friction points.

I'm done with using AWU even as my backup computer. I've used it on about 30ish dives this year with my Perdix 2 being primary. I've run into all the usual issues people complain about and mostly was able to find work arounds.

Not this past weekend. I had two dives and on the first after I splashed I saw the "I'm fit and ready to dive" screen as normal, but after punching the action button nothing happened. Pushed it again and again and still nothing. I shrugged and continued the dive as normal. On surfacing I had to turn off the water lock and sure enough it had logged the entire dive, but never got out of "I'm fit and ready to dive". I pondered if maybe there was an issue with water pressure on the button or something and just to make sure all was good, on my second dive I put it into dive mode before splashing... but once in the water it behaved exactly the same. Never actually "activated" yet recorded the whole dive. Like what's the point of that??

Back on dry land I realized it still won't work. I guess I'm going to reinstall the app to see if that fixes it but seriously, this is just bad.

 

[MikeOWaterloo]

I had the same issue with the Action button not functioning to get past the "I'm fit and ready to dive" prompt, around the same time as you (mine was on the weekend of Nov 4/5). Huish technical support asked for screenshots and ultimately suggested it was a motion sensors permissions issue, but the Oceanic+ app already had access to the motion sensors under "Fitness Tracking". Ultimately I restarted the AWU and it resolved the issue, my suspicion is the watchOS update that occurred around the time caused the problem with the action button. The action button was also not working the same way during workouts, for example it would mark a segment instead of pausing workout as it did before the update. A simple power cycle fixed both the Oceanic+ and Workout action button functions. Annoyingly the lack of action button function on those ghost dives meant that I couldn't shut off the haptic alarm for the entire 3 minutes safety stop.

After using the AWU2 on a trip to Roatan in January - 15 dives, no issues - I hit this problem on a day of diving in Italy. I bought one-day pass. I got to the "Fit and Ready to Dive" screen, pressed the Action button and nothing. In the water, out of the water, it stayed locked on that screen. So useless as a Dive computer (although it did save them as "ghost" dives).

Between the dives I rebooted the AWU2 - no luck on Dive 2, same problem.

Luckily these were easy, shallow dives, but I found this hugely disappointing given the amount spent on this.

 

[MikeOWaterloo]

I'm wondering if anyone has had recent issues of the type described above?

 

[Rick Brant]

I had recent major issues but not of the type described above. You can see my thread here. The watch simply would not go into dive mode and would not respond to any button presses. Updating the watch seems to have fixed the problem, however the update process is incredibly painful and could not possible be done on a dive boat.

As a developer for Apple, my feeling is that the various OS involved simply move around too much -- changes are too frequent and with no thought of impact to apps. My apps are very simple yet they were completely broken by a recent OS change. Now I need to correct that issue and go through the release process again, all because Apple elected to make a change. This is painful for devs and users. It's likely that a mission critical app like a dive computer is not compatible with such a varying OS.

 

[stuartv]

It's likely that a mission critical app like a dive computer is not compatible with such a varying OS.

That is an excellent point.

If you're going to use an app as your dive computer, how much testing do you expect the app author to do before they release it to you? Probably a lot.

Okay, now Apple updates the OS. Do you think the app author is going to do that same level of extensive testing again, for this new release? What if it's just going from 18.1.0 to 18.1.1? Okay, what if it's going from 18.1.0 to 18.2.0? Or from 18.2.1 to 19.0?

I've been writing software for a living for about 40 years. I think expecting that thorough, extensive testing to happen every time there is a security patch or a point release is not realistic. And especially not that it would be done and an app update ready (if needed) on the same day the update rolls out.

Firmware updates on a dedicated dive computer don't come out that often, and the manufacturer completely controls it. That generally results in stable and reliable dive computers.

An app as a dive computer means that you are relying on a dive computer whose firmware is constantly changing - and it's being changed by someone who is (probably) not the author of the dive computer app - and may not even be aware of the existence of the dive computer app. Further, it's firmware that might even get updated on your device without you even knowing it.

Seems like a poor choice if you view your dive computer as life support equipment.

 

[Rick Brant]

Apple does not alert devs that certain things are changing. So an app can break or change without the dev even knowing that anything has happened. For small shops like mine that is a problem.

 

[lexvil]

Let me just say, if you charge me to use an app you had better be on top of the OS changes!

And if you are diving in deeper than waist deep water, get a real computer.

 

[David Haas]

Decades long Apple devotee here........Here's some thoughts on my 71st birthday today after diving 55 years

I've had several people sport diving up to 5 dives daily on my trips using the Apple ULTRA / ULTRA 2 and Oceanic App.

Most buy the App for a month or whole year. I never understood buying a one day use....Really? You buy an $800.00 smart watch then worry a year subscription for $89.00 is pricey? (I'm not sure what it costs currently.)

Screen display is great, safety stop easily understood and data pings to your iPhone nearby, etc. The limits for sport diving like ATA 1.4 only, one gas choice Air / NITROX, etc. as developed for sport divers seems to work fine. If you're a tech diver, multi-gas, double tanks, etc. blah blah blah this isn't the product for you........

On my personal Medicare Advantage plan until end of 2024 I can buy a "smart watch" up to $800.00 and get reimbursed 100%.

Will I go buy an Apple ULTRA 2 and use it as another dive computer? I'm not sure......

I don't necessarily need another dive computer owning 4 SUUNTO ZOOP Novo units which the batter yeast forever, has the algorithm that is certainly less conservative than people have bashed SUUNTO here for ages and simply work......YES, I've occasionally run them into DECO, had gas to complete it and keep diving all over the world.

I have an Apple 6 Watch I wear everyday and the activity rings keep me moving, records exercise and other health data, etc. I like the slim light feel and have worn it snorkeling, swimming, etc. and never had a problem. I do rinse it and blow out the little crevices on it and it has helped me keep track of my health.

Maybe my Medicare allowance would be better spent on a thinner Apple 10 or whatever model (?????) as the ULTRA 2 is not a small watch. But the screen is gorgeous and weight may be negligible. Even if I don't use it as dive computer it may be a better choice plus incredible battery life.

Just throwing some thought processes out there for anyone reading about the Apple ULTRA 2.

I have one friend who's bought 2-3-4 Oceanic VEO watch or something and had problems early on.

Granted they're not as expensive as the Apple ULTRA 2 or SUNNTO, Shearwater or Garmin dive smart watches so maybe those are an option for those wanting a watch / dive computer......

We'll see before the end of 2024!

David Haas

 

[Rick Brant]

Let me just say, if you charge me to use an app you had better be on top of the OS changes!

And if you are diving in deeper than waist deep water, get a real computer.

The problem here was not that Oceanic was not on top of the changes. The problem appears to have been that Oceanic's app updated but I had not updated WatchOS. Once I updated the OS, the problem went away.

 

[lexvil]

The problem here was not that Oceanic was not on top of the changes. The problem appears to have been that Oceanic's app updated but I had not updated WatchOS. Once I updated the OS, the problem went away.

Can’t expect things to work if the apps are out of sync. It can be frustrating, I would like to try my ultra but until the figure out the AI I have no use for it but I have read some good things about the compass.