Suunto D4i Novo / D4i setup guide

Also covers: D4i, Suunto D4i Novo, Suunto D4i

Watch-style dive computer with four buttons (SELECT, MODE, UP, DOWN) using Suunto RGBM. Air, Nitrox (one gas, up to 50%) and Free modes; optional wireless tank pressure; manual altitude setting; battery changed by a Suunto service centre.

Buttons

Button	Where	What it does
`SELECT`	front, upper left (per the Quick Guide diagram)	Enter / confirm a setting; in a dive: add a bookmark
`MODE`	front, upper right (per the Quick Guide diagram)	Change main mode (TIME, DIVE, PLAN, MEM); exit settings; in a dive: backlight
`DOWN`	front, lower left (per the Quick Guide diagram)	Scroll / change value; hold to open settings
`UP`	front, lower right (per the Quick Guide diagram)	Scroll / change value

Turn on / wake

This guide follows the D4i user guide, which Suunto links for the D4i Novo. On old V1.2.x software, the dive mode is chosen each time you enter DIVE (p. 9).

Press and hold any button until the display turns on.
Manual p. 7
Press MODE to move between the four main modes: TIME, DIVE, PLAN and MEM.
PressMODE
Manual p. 7
Press MODE to go to DIVE before every dive. It runs a self-test, then shows altitude and personal settings, gas, MOD, PO2 and battery.
PressMODE
Manual p. 11
It switches to DIVE by itself below 1.2 m / 4 ft, unless dive mode has been set to Off.
Manual p. 7
To leave any settings menu, press MODE.
PressMODE
Manual p. 7
Check the software: hold DOWN, press DOWN to Version, press SELECT. This guide is for V1.5.x or higher; press MODE twice to exit.
HoldDOWNPressDOWNPressSELECTPressMODE
Manual p. 8

Date and time

In TIME mode, press and hold DOWN to open the general settings.
HoldDOWN
Manual p. 17
Press UP to scroll to Time, then press SELECT.
PressUPPressSELECT
Manual p. 17
Set the hours with UP or DOWN and press SELECT. Do the same for minutes and seconds.
PressUPPressDOWNPressSELECT
Manual p. 17
Choose 12 h or 24 h format with UP or DOWN, press SELECT, then press MODE to exit.
PressUPPressSELECTPressMODE
Manual p. 17
For the date: hold DOWN in TIME mode, press UP to Date, then press SELECT.
HoldDOWNPressUPPressSELECT
Manual p. 17
Set the year with UP or DOWN and press SELECT. Repeat for month and day, then press MODE to exit.
PressUPPressSELECTPressMODE
Manual p. 17

Units (m/ft, °C/°F)

In TIME mode, press and hold DOWN to open the general settings.
HoldDOWN
Manual p. 17
Press UP to scroll to Units, then press SELECT.
PressUPPressSELECT
Manual p. 17
Press DOWN to switch between Metric and Imperial, then press SELECT to confirm.
PressDOWNPressSELECT
Manual p. 17
Press MODE to exit. The manual offers one unit-system choice, not separate depth and temperature settings.
PressMODE
Manual p. 17

Water type (salt/fresh)

Not available on this computer

The manual describes no salt/fresh water setting: the Air, Nitrox and Free mode settings lists (p. 23–25) and the general settings do not include one.

Dive mode (Air / Nitrox / Gauge)

This manual lists no Gauge (bottom timer) mode for the D4i. Some settings cannot be changed until 5 minutes after a dive (p. 23).

In TIME mode, press and hold DOWN to open the general settings.
HoldDOWN
Manual p. 23
Press SELECT to open Dive Mode.
PressSELECT
Manual p. 23
Choose Air, Nitrox, Free or Off with UP or DOWN, then press SELECT. Air is the default.
PressUPPressDOWNPressSELECT
Manual p. 23
Press MODE to exit.
PressMODE
Manual p. 23
Off turns dive mode off completely: it will not start a dive by itself under water, and PLAN is hidden. Never dive with it set to Off.
Manual p. 23
If you skip a decompression stop for more than 3 minutes, the algorithm locks for 48 hours and shows Er instead of deco information.
Manual p. 26

Nitrox O₂% and ppO₂ limit

Only one gas mix. The defaults are 21% O2 and PO2 1.4 bar (p. 24); range from the specifications (p. 39).

Select Nitrox as the dive mode (see Dive mode), then press MODE until you are in DIVE.
PressMODE
Manual p. 23
In DIVE (Nitrox), press and hold DOWN, then press SELECT to open the Nitrox settings.
HoldDOWNPressSELECT
Manual p. 24
Press SELECT to move between the O2 and PO2 values. The one you can change blinks.
PressSELECT
Manual p. 24
Set the blinking O2 % to match your analysed tank with UP or DOWN, then press SELECT. The range is 21–50%.
PressUPPressDOWNPressSELECT
Manual p. 24
Set the blinking PO2 limit with UP or DOWN and press SELECT. The default is 1.4 bar.
PressUPPressDOWNPressSELECT
Manual p. 24
Press MODE to exit, then check the gas and MOD shown on the pre-dive screen.
PressMODE
Manual p. 24
An O2 setting of 22% or more stays until you change it. It does NOT go back to 21% by itself.
Manual p. 24

Conservatism / personal setting

Press MODE to go to DIVE (Air or Nitrox), then press and hold DOWN.
PressMODEHoldDOWN
Manual p. 27
Press SELECT to open the Personal Altitude settings.
PressSELECT
Manual p. 27
Press UP to change the Personal setting (0, 1 or 2), then press SELECT.
PressUPPressSELECT
Manual p. 27
0 is for ideal conditions (default). 1 is conservative and 2 more conservative, for risk factors like cold water, tiredness or poor fitness.
Manual p. 27
Next the Altitude setting appears: press SELECT to keep it, then MODE to exit.
PressSELECTPressMODE
Manual p. 27
Deepstops are on by default in Air and Nitrox. Turn them on or off under Deepstop in the same dive settings.
Manual p. 28

Altitude

Altitude is a manual setting; it is not detected automatically.

In DIVE mode, press and hold DOWN, then press SELECT to open Personal Altitude.
HoldDOWNPressSELECT
Manual p. 27
Press SELECT to keep the Personal setting and move to Altitude.
PressSELECT
Manual p. 27
Press UP to choose 0 (0–300 m / 0–980 ft, default), 1 (300–1500 m / 980–4900 ft) or 2 (1500–3000 m / 4900–9800 ft). Press SELECT.
PressUPPressSELECT
Manual p. 27
Press MODE to exit.
PressMODE
Manual p. 27
Wait at least 3 hours after arriving at altitude before diving. Do not use it above 3000 m / 10000 ft.
Manual p. 32

Audible alarms (depth / time)

Leave Tones on. With a low-battery warning the buzzer cannot sound (p. 12).

Depth alarm: in DIVE mode, press and hold DOWN, press UP to Depth Alarm, then press SELECT.
HoldDOWNPressUPPressSELECT
Manual p. 21
Press UP to turn it on or off and press SELECT. Set the depth with UP or DOWN, press SELECT, then MODE. Default: 30 m / 100 ft.
PressUPPressSELECTPressMODE
Manual p. 21
Dive time alarm: in DIVE mode, hold DOWN and scroll to ALARM TIME. Press UP to turn it on, then SELECT.
HoldDOWNPressUPPressSELECT
Manual p. 26
Set the minutes with UP or DOWN, press SELECT, then press MODE to exit.
PressUPPressSELECTPressMODE
Manual p. 26
With the optional wireless transmitter: a fixed 50 bar / 700 psi alarm, plus Tank Press Alarm (10–200 bar) in the dive settings.
HoldDOWNPressDOWNPressSELECT
Manual p. 35
Sound: in TIME mode, hold DOWN, scroll to Tones and press SELECT. Choose on or off and press SELECT. With tones off there are no audible alarms.
HoldDOWNPressUPPressSELECT
Manual p. 35
When an alarm goes off, press any button to acknowledge it.
Manual p. 21

Reading the log after a dive

Press MODE until you see MEM.
PressMODE
Manual p. 22
Press UP to choose Logbook (or History for totals).
PressUP
Manual p. 22
Scroll to a dive with DOWN or UP and press SELECT. Press SELECT again to move through its pages.
PressDOWNPressSELECT
Manual p. 22
Main page: max depth, date, dive mode letter, start time, dive number, gas % and dive time.
Manual p. 22
Further pages show surface time, average depth, warnings, OLF% and the depth profile with water temperature (and tank pressure if used).
Manual p. 22
History shows total dive hours, number of dives and maximum depth. Press MODE to exit.
PressMODE
Manual p. 21

Battery

Enter DIVE mode: the self-test checks the battery and shows Battery OK or a low battery warning.
PressMODE
Manual p. 11
If the low battery icon appears on the surface, or the display looks faded, the battery should be replaced. Do not dive until it is.
Manual p. 38
Cold or long storage can cause a false low warning. Re-enter DIVE mode to check again.
PressMODE
Manual p. 12
With the low battery warning, the backlight and sound do not work.
Manual p. 12
Battery replacement must be done by an authorised Suunto service centre. Logs, altitude, personal and alarm settings are kept; other settings go back to default.
Manual p. 38

What the main screen shows

The pre-dive self-test shows altitude and personal settings, MOD, gas (O2 %) and PO2.
Manual p. 11
NO DEC TIME is the minutes left without a deco stop. If it reaches zero it changes to ASC TIME with a CEILING depth and an up arrow.
Manual p. 18
The ascent rate is the bar on the right side. If the lower segment blinks you are too fast; SLOW blinks above 10 m/min (33 ft/min).
Manual p. 16
STOP with a 3-minute countdown is the safety stop between 3 and 6 m (10–20 ft) after dives deeper than 10 m (30 ft).
Manual p. 27
With the optional transmitter, tank pressure shows at lower left and remaining air time at left centre.
Manual p. 32
In Nitrox, OLF% shows the oxygen exposure.
Manual p. 32
Press MODE during the dive for the backlight. Press SELECT to add a bookmark.
PressMODEPressSELECT
Manual p. 16

Pre-dive check

Tick each item before you get in the water.

Dive mode is Air or Nitrox as planned (not Off).
If Nitrox: O2 % matches the analysed tank and PO2 is 1.4 (or as instructed).
Personal setting (0, 1 or 2) is as your instructor wants.
Altitude setting is correct for the dive site.
Units (metric or imperial) are correct.
Self-test shows Battery OK, no low battery warning.
Tones are on so you can hear the alarms.
If using a transmitter: paired, valve open, pressure shown and matches the backup gauge.
Switch to DIVE mode before entering the water.