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Guide

Set up FreeDive Ultra on
Apple Watch Ultra

Two minutes, once. Five steps, then the watch runs every freediving session on its own.

By Alexis Argent · Updated 20 October 2026

Download FreeDive Ultra on the App Store
Quick answer

Five steps, two minutes

  1. Install FreeDive Ultra on iPhone. The watch app follows on its own.
  2. Allow three permissions on the watch: Motion & Fitness, Health, Location.
  3. Run Watch Setup on iPhone: your screens, what they show, your defaults and their order.
  4. Set Auto Launch and the Action Button to FreeDive.
  5. Get in. The first dive starts recording. Nothing needs a touch.
On the watch

Three permissions, in this order

Open FreeDive Ultra on the watch. After one explainer it asks for three, all listed later under Settings, then Permissions.

01

Motion & Fitness

Depth and water temperature arrive through it. Without it, no dive is detected.

02

Health

Heart rate, calories, the workout in Apple Fitness, and the full depth of dives past 6 m.

03

Location

Your route, saved locations and dive spot navigation.

On iPhone

Watch Setup, five pages

Open the iPhone app. After the safety waiver and a free account, which backs up your sessions, Watch Setup builds your watch. Tap a page.

Tap to enlarge
  1. Your screens. Live Dive underwater; the Crown moves between the rest at the surface.
  2. Your numbers. What Live Dive and Recovery show. Fewer values, bigger numbers.
  3. Your screens on or off. Speed, Compass, Route, Dive Spots, Save Locations.
  4. Defaults. Session mode, units, stealth mode, pool length, Breathe Up.
  5. Your order. Drag them into Crown order. Save Locations stays last.

Tap Start Using FreeDive Ultra: the iPhone asks for notifications, then Health. On the Health sheet tap Turn On All, then Allow, so dives past 6 m are corrected. Your choices go to the watch.

Free: Live Dive and Recovery. Pro adds the other surface screens, alarms and stealth mode (7-day free trial). Change it all in Settings, then Open Water, or rerun Settings, then Watch Setup. Pool and dry settings: pool guide, dry apnea guide.

Auto Launch and the Action Button

Two settings that start a session for you

Auto Launch

On the watch: Settings, General, Auto-Launch. App: FreeDive. Threshold When Submerged: At 1M for open water, which ignores a splash, or Immediately for a pool. The session starts as you go under; in Pool, your Default Discipline (Pro), or DYN.

Action Button

On the watch, or the Watch app on iPhone: Settings, Action Button, Dive, App: FreeDive. A press starts a session; then it works the screen you are on:

  • Compass: lock the heading
  • Route: drop a marker
  • Dive Spots: next spot
  • Live Share: send a message
  • Pool: stopwatch, save the distance, Breathe Up, start and stop STA holds
First session

Get in

The watch walks through a session on its own. Turn its Crown to step through yourself.

Home
  1. Start. Open Water on the home screen: tap Start Freediving, or let Auto Launch do it.
  2. Dive. Pass 1.2 m and the dive starts. Live Dive shows depth, dive time and water temperature.
  3. Surface. Recovery comes up: surface time, heart rate, last depth, last dive.
  4. Look around. The Crown moves through your surface screens. By default: Session Overview, Recovery, Speed, Compass, Route, Dive Spots, Save Location. Live Share follows Session Overview while you share.
  5. End. Hold the Crown to turn off Water Lock. Open water also ends after the inactivity timeout: 60 minutes, or 5 to 60 or Off with Pro. Dry apnea has an End button. It syncs to iPhone; a session with no dives is discarded.
Digital Crown: next screen
Download FreeDive Ultra on the App Store
Optional

Before your first open water session

Not needed to record. All in iPhone Settings, then Open Water, synced to the watch.

  • Alarms PRO Eight, each a triple tap through a wetsuit and an amber pulse. Off apart from low battery. Start with surface time, dive time and session time.
  • Dive Spots PRO Up to 10, added on iPhone. The watch points the way and shows the distance.
  • Live Share messages PRO The short messages you send from the watch to whoever follows you live.
  • Screen Values What Live Dive and Recovery show. Also on the watch.

Crown sensitivity and the inactivity timeout live there too. Alarms and Screen Values are on the watch as well.

Health access

Unlock dives deeper than 6 m

Live depth stops at 6 m while Apple reviews our 40 m entitlement. The watch still saves every dive’s full depth to Apple Health, and FreeDive Ultra corrects deeper dives from it if it can read Health. Do this once.

Tap to enlarge
  1. Open the Health app and tap your profile picture.
  2. Under Privacy, tap Apps.
  3. Tap FreeDive, the name iOS uses.
  4. If the rows say None, tap Change Access. Older iOS shows Turn On All: tap it.
  5. Tap Select All, then Continue.
  6. Choose All Recorded Data and Future Data, then Done, so past dives are corrected too.
  7. Every row says Full Access. Restart your watch, then open FreeDive Ultra on iPhone.

An open water session stuck at about 6 m shows an Unlock dives deeper than 6 m card on iPhone with these steps.

Questions

What new users ask

What can I use for free?

Recording open water, pool and dry sessions, automatic dive detection, Live Dive and Recovery, and dry apnea training with guided CO2 and O2 tables. Pro adds the other surface screens, alarms, stealth mode, Dive Spots and Live Share, with a 7-day free trial.

I declined a permission by mistake.

The watch app’s Settings, then Permissions, shows which are granted. Turn one back on from iPhone. Motion & Fitness: Settings, Apps, FreeDive, Motion & Fitness. Location: Settings, Privacy & Security, Location Services, FreeDive. Health: these steps.

Can I change my screens later?

Yes: iPhone Settings, then Open Water, or run Watch Setup again from Settings. Changes reach the watch on their own.

Do I need my iPhone with me?

No. The watch records on its own and syncs when back in range. Only Live Share needs your iPhone within range of your watch.

Can I see my logbook on a computer?

Yes, at app.freediveultra.com with the same account: the profile, every dive, your route and saved locations on a map. Titles, notes, conditions, ratings and settings edited there reach your iPhone, then your watch.

Which Apple Watch does it work on?

Every Apple Watch Ultra: the original, Ultra 2, Ultra 3 and Ultra 4, on watchOS 10 or later. FreeDive Ultra is for Apple Watch Ultra only.

Troubleshooting

When something is not right

What support hears most. iOS shows the app as FreeDive.

My dives show 6.0 m, even the deeper ones

Seconds after you surface, FreeDive Ultra corrects deeper dives from Apple Health. Stuck at 6.0 m means it cannot read Health: follow these steps. Past sessions are corrected too.

The Health tick is green, but depth is still 6 m

It means FreeDive Ultra can write to Health. Apple hides read access from every app. Follow these steps.

Nothing was recorded, or dives are not detected

Turn on Motion & Fitness: iPhone Settings, Apps, FreeDive, Motion & Fitness. An open water dive counts past 1.2 m for 5 seconds; a pool rep at your start depth, 0.8 m by default.

A session did not start by itself

Check Auto-Launch on the watch: App FreeDive, At 1M for open water or Immediately for a pool. It takes one app, so another depth app there blocks FreeDive Ultra.

A session is missing from Apple Fitness

Check Health access and HealthKit Integration in Settings, General. If it happens again, send one straight away: Settings, Help & Feedback, Send Bug Report, with FreeDive Ultra open on the watch.

A session did not reach my iPhone

Leave it on the watch. In the iPhone Logbook, tap the watch icon, then Sync Now.

FreeDive Ultra is not on my watch

In the Watch app on iPhone, scroll to Available Apps and tap Install next to FreeDive. It needs watchOS 10 or later. Automatic App Install, in the same app, does it next time.

Can I use it on iPad?

Yes: logbook, maps, settings and Train. The watch pairs with an iPhone, never an iPad, so iPad has no Watch Setup. Keep FreeDive Ultra on iPhone: sessions reach the iPad through iCloud on the same Apple Account, and iPad settings reach the watch through the iPhone.

My backup looks incomplete

Uploads finish over the next few opens. Open FreeDive Ultra again on Wi-Fi.

More guides
Spearfishing on Apple Watch Ultra: GPS pins and navigationSave a spot without touching the screen, navigate back to it next trip, see your route and lock a heading.Read the guide → Pool freediving on Apple Watch Ultra: DYN, DYNB, DNF, STAEvery rep and rest counted on the wrist, with one pool length saved per rep.Read the guide → Dry apnea training: CO2 and O2 tables on Apple Watch UltraFind your max breath hold and see the table it builds, then run it on iPhone or your watch.Read the guide → Live location while freediving and spearfishingSend one web link and anyone can follow your session live: where you are on the water, your dives, depth and time.Read the guide → Is the Apple Watch Ultra good for freediving?What it measures underwater, real battery life over a 7 hour session, and what to know before you rely on it.Read the guide → All guidesEverything written so far, in one place.Browse →
Get started

Two minutes, once

Free to download. Two minutes and the watch runs every session from here.

Download FreeDive Ultra on the App Store