SeaLog
Suunto
How to import dives from a Suunto EON Steel
The Suunto EON Steel 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.
Download dives from the Suunto EON Steel
- Wake the computer and put it in transfer mode
Charge or wake the Suunto EON Steel 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.
Most units only hold this mode for a minute or two, so do it last, right before you connect. - 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.
- Pick your model and pair
Choose Suunto EON Steel from the list. If iOS shows a pairing prompt, accept it. Keep the computer in transfer mode until the download finishes.
The unit only advertises for a short window. If it never appears, put it back into transfer mode and try again straight away. - 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.
- 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 EON Steel 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.
- Install the driver for the cable
The usb cable is a USB-to-serial adapter, and its chipset needs a driver before any software can see the Suunto EON Steel. Install the FTDI. The official Suunto USB download cable enumerates as an FTDI part on a custom product ID (VID 0x0403 / PID 0xF680), which is why SuuntoLink and DM5 prompt for an FTDI driver. Third-party cables use plain FTDI (0x6001/0x6010/0x6011) or Silicon Labs CP210x (0x10C4/0xEA60). The Bluetooth generation (EON Steel, EON Steel Black, EON Core, D5, Ocean) is native USB-HID plus Bluetooth LE and needs no serial driver at all. driver, then reboot. Skip this and the desktop app will report no device on a cable that is working perfectly.
Mono Framework. Prerequisite runtime for DM5 on macOS
These cables are USB-to-serial. Without the FTDI driver the port never appears, and the software reports no device. - Connect the Suunto EON Steel to a Mac or PC
Use the usb cable made for the Suunto EON Steel, 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.
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. The official Suunto USB download cable enumerates as an FTDI part on a custom product ID (VID 0x0403 / PID 0xF680), which is why SuuntoLink and DM5 prompt for an FTDI driver. Third-party cables use plain FTDI (0x6001/0x6010/0x6011) or Silicon Labs CP210x (0x10C4/0xEA60). The Bluetooth generation (EON Steel, EON Steel Black, EON Core, D5, Ocean) is native USB-HID plus Bluetooth LE and needs no serial driver at all.. - Put the computer into PC mode
Switch the Suunto EON Steel 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.
Most units only hold this mode for a minute or two, so do it last, right before you connect. - Download the dives with desktop software
Read the computer with Suunto app or Subsurface. Subsurface is free, open source, runs on macOS, Windows and Linux, and supports this model.
- 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.
Export the whole logbook, not the visible page. UDDF keeps the sample-by-sample depth profile, which a summary CSV does not. - 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 EON Steel
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.
Suunto’s own software and drivers
Suunto is very much alive and its two current tools (the Suunto mobile app and the SuuntoLink desktop connector) are actively maintained, but the desktop logbook DM5 is frozen legacy software and the pre-Novo analogue line (Vyper, Vytec, Cobra, Gekko, Mosquito, Stinger) has been dropped from every current Suunto tool.
- Desktop softwareSuunto DM5. Desktop dive logbook and plannerThe landing page carrying both installers and Suunto's own compatibility list. This is the only Suunto tool that can write dive files to disk, so it is the one that matters for anyone migrating to another logbook.Win + Mac
- Desktop softwareSuunto DM5 installer for WindowsDirect download, roughly 550 KB. A web installer that fetches the rest on first run. Suunto states Windows 8.1 or newer.Windows
- Desktop softwareSuunto DM5 installer for macOSDirect download, about 41 MB. Suunto still quotes OS X 10.7 as the minimum and warns that Mac users must pin Mono Framework 5.18.macOS
- Desktop softwareSuuntoLink. Desktop connector that feeds the Suunto appThe bridge for cable-only dive computers: it keeps no logbook itself, it pushes dives up to your Suunto account so they surface in the phone app. Its dive list differs from DM5's. It adds D4f, Vyper Novo and Cobra3 but drops Zoop and HelO2.Win + Mac
- Official guideGetting dive logs from a Suunto dive computer into the Suunto appThe single most useful page for this brand: it splits the range into the Bluetooth models that pair directly and the cable models that must go via SuuntoLink, and it is where Suunto acknowledges the FTDI driver prompt.
- Official guideUsing SuuntoLink with the EON SteelModel-level page covering the USB connection and firmware side for the EON family.Win + Mac
- Mobile appSuunto app for iPhone and iPadThe current digital logbook. Bluetooth models pair straight to it; cable models reach it only by way of SuuntoLink on a desktop.iOS
- Mobile appSuunto app for AndroidSame app and same account as the iOS build.Android
Every link goes to Suunto’s own site and was checked before publishing. If one has rotted since, tell us and we will fix it.
Suunto EON Steel: common questions
Does the Suunto EON Steel 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 Suunto EON Steel 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 Suunto 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.