Oceanic

How to import dives from a Oceanic Geo Air

The Oceanic Geo Air exists in both a wired and a Bluetooth LE generation. Try the wireless download first, and if your unit never appears, the cable route further down brings the same dives across.

Bothtransfer route
Bluetooth LE or serial cableconnection
UDDFin and out

Download dives from the Oceanic Geo Air

  1. Wake the computer and put it in transfer mode

    Charge or wake the Oceanic Geo Air and open its Bluetooth or PC/upload mode. Most models only advertise for a minute or two, so do this last, right before you pair.

    A dive computer showing its PC or upload mode on screen, with the button that selects it highlightedBLUETOOTH
    Most units only hold this mode for a minute or two, so do it last, right before you connect.
  2. Open the import hub in SeaLog

    In SeaLog, tap the plus button, then Import dives, then Dive computer. Allow Bluetooth when iOS asks. SeaLog never asks for a manufacturer account.

  3. Pick your model and pair

    Choose Oceanic Geo Air from the list. If iOS shows a pairing prompt, accept it. Keep the computer in transfer mode until the download finishes.

    A dive computer advertising over Bluetooth to a nearby phone
    The unit only advertises for a short window. If it never appears, put it back into transfer mode and try again straight away.
  4. Download the dives

    SeaLog pulls every dive still in the computer's memory, with depth profile, water temperature, gas and surface interval, and skips the ones you already have.

  5. Check and keep

    New dives land in your logbook ready to name, place on a site and tag with the species you saw. Nothing was retyped.

If it never shows up: the cable route

The wired generation of the Geo Air has no radio at all, so there is nothing to pair with. It goes through a computer once, and after that you can log straight into SeaLog on the boat.

  1. Install the driver for the cable

    The serial cable is a USB-to-serial adapter, and its chipset needs a driver before any software can see the Oceanic Geo Air. Install the FTDI (FT232 USB-to-UART VCP) on macOS for every model, and on Windows for the VTX / ProPlus X generation. Older Windows models instead use Oceanic's own "2002 Design, Inc. USB Download Interface Device" driver package (x32/x64_USBDriver.exe), not a generic FTDI/CP210x/Prolific driver. Bluetooth models (Geo 4.0, Veo 4.0, ProPlus 4.0, ProPlus X) need no driver at all. driver, then reboot. Skip this and the desktop app will report no device on a cable that is working perfectly.

    A USB-to-serial driver being installed on a laptop, showing the chipset nameFTDI
    These cables are USB-to-serial. Without the FTDI driver the port never appears, and the software reports no device.
  2. Connect the Oceanic Geo Air to a Mac or PC

    Use the serial cable made for the Oceanic Geo Air, not a generic charging cable: the data pins differ. Check the o-ring is seated, line the connector up with the notch on the case, and turn it to lock. An iPhone or iPad cannot open this kind of connection at all, so this step has to happen on a computer.

    A dive-computer interface cable being aligned and locked onto the unit's contactsO-ringAlign
    The o-ring must be in place, the nub lines up with the notch, then the head turns a quarter turn to lock. This cable is FTDI (FT232 USB-to-UART VCP) on macOS for every model, and on Windows for the VTX / ProPlus X generation. Older Windows models instead use Oceanic's own "2002 Design, Inc. USB Download Interface Device" driver package (x32/x64_USBDriver.exe), not a generic FTDI/CP210x/Prolific driver. Bluetooth models (Geo 4.0, Veo 4.0, ProPlus 4.0, ProPlus X) need no driver at all..
  3. Put the computer into PC mode

    Switch the Oceanic Geo Air into its PC or upload mode before you launch the software, not after. Most desktop apps only look for the unit at startup, so a computer that wakes up late is a computer the software never finds.

    A dive computer showing its PC or upload mode on screen, with the button that selects it highlightedPC MODE
    Most units only hold this mode for a minute or two, so do it last, right before you connect.
  4. Download the dives with desktop software

    Read the computer with Oceanic+ and DiverLog+ or Subsurface. Subsurface is free, open source, runs on macOS, Windows and Linux, and supports this model.

  5. Export the dives as UDDF

    Export the whole logbook to a UDDF file. UDDF is the open dive-log exchange format and keeps the full depth profile, not just the summary numbers.

    Desktop software listing downloaded dives and exporting them to a fileUDDF
    Export the whole logbook, not the visible page. UDDF keeps the sample-by-sample depth profile, which a summary CSV does not.
  6. Import the file into SeaLog

    Get the file to your phone. AirDrop, iCloud Drive or email all work, anything that lands it in the iOS Files app. Then in SeaLog tap the plus button, Import dives, UDDF file, and pick it. Every dive arrives with its profile, and duplicates are skipped.

A dive log app for the Geo Air

Once the dives are in, SeaLog treats them like its own: a scrubbable depth profile, the site pinned on a map, water temperature, gas and tank, buddies, and the photos from your camera roll matched to the minutes you were underwater. Tag the animals you saw and they go into your species life list. It works offline on the boat and syncs when you are back, and your whole logbook exports to UDDF, CSV or PDF whenever you ask, so nothing is locked in here either.

Oceanicโ€™s own software and drivers

The brand is alive under Huish Outdoors and the Bluetooth path (DiverLog+ mobile, Oceanic+ for Apple Watch) is actively maintained, but the desktop side is orphaned: OceanLog for Windows has not been updated since June 2015 and DiverLog for Mac has been pulled from the Mac App Store entirely, so owners of cable-era Oceanic computers on macOS have no working official software.

Every link goes to Oceanicโ€™s own site and was checked before publishing. If one has rotted since, tell us and we will fix it.

Oceanic Geo Air: common questions

Does the Oceanic Geo Air have Bluetooth?

It depends on the generation. This model line was sold in both a wired version and a later Bluetooth LE version, and they look almost identical. The quickest way to find out which one is on your wrist is to try the Bluetooth download first: if the computer never shows up while it is in transfer mode with a fresh battery, yours is the wired one and the cable route below is the way in.

Why will my Oceanic Geo Air not connect over Bluetooth?

Nine times out of ten the computer has dropped out of transfer mode: it only advertises for a short window, so put it back into Bluetooth or upload mode and try again immediately. After that, check that the battery is not low, that no other app or desktop is already holding the connection, and that Bluetooth permission is granted to SeaLog in iOS Settings. Toggling iOS Bluetooth off and on clears a stale pairing more often than it should.

Which cable and drivers do I need on a Mac?

Use the Oceanic interface cable made for this model, not a generic charging cable: the data pins differ. Most of these cables are USB-to-serial and need the driver for their chipset on macOS, usually Silicon Labs CP210x or FTDI. Install the driver, reboot, and the port appears to the desktop software.

Does the depth profile come across, or just the numbers?

The full profile. SeaLog stores the sample-by-sample depth, temperature and ascent data, draws it as a graph you can scrub, and can export the whole thing back out to UDDF at any time.

Other Oceanic models