SeaLog
Suunto
How to import dives from a Suunto HelO2
The Suunto HelO2 transfers over serial cable only. iOS does not expose that kind of connection to apps, so the dives come across once through a Mac or PC, then live on your phone forever.
Transfer the dives off the Suunto HelO2
- 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 Suunto HelO2. 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 HelO2 to a Mac or PC
Use the serial cable made for the Suunto HelO2, 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 HelO2 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 HelO2
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
- ManualSuunto HelO2 user guide (PDF)Listed by DM5 but not by SuuntoLink, so its dives can be exported to a file but never pushed into the mobile app.
- SupportSuunto Dive old USB cable (legacy big-display models)The separate, incompatible cable for the older wide-body computers. Buying the wrong one of these two cables is the most common Suunto download failure.
- Desktop softwareSuuntoLink installer for macOSDirect download, roughly 100 MB. Suunto lists OS X 10.13 or later.macOS
- Desktop softwareSuuntoLink installer for WindowsDirect download, roughly 100 MB. Suunto lists Windows 8.1 or later.Windows
- DriverMono Framework. Prerequisite runtime for DM5 on macOSNot a USB driver but a hard dependency: DM5 is a Mono application and Suunto's own DM5 page tells Mac users to stay on Mono 5.18. Installing a current Mono is a common reason DM5 hangs on launch.macOS
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 HelO2: common questions
Can I connect the Suunto HelO2 to my iPhone directly?
No, and no app can change that. The Suunto HelO2 transfers over serial cable only, a connection iOS does not expose to apps. Anyone promising a direct wireless download from this model is describing a different computer. The one-time cable route above gets every dive across.
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.
Do I have to do this every time I dive?
Only if you want the new dives in digitally. Many divers do the cable run once to rescue their history, then log new dives directly in SeaLog on the boat, which takes about as long as filling in a paper page.