You pop up for a minute to fix a mask, help a buddy clear their ears or check where the boat is, then go back down. Later, your log shows two dives instead of one. Your dive count is off, and neither piece shows the real dive.
Why it happens
Every dive computer decides a dive is over after you've been at the surface for a set time. If that time is short, a quick trip up ends the dive, and going back down starts a new one. Many computers let you make that time longer.
How to stop it, by brand
Shearwater
Look for End Dive Delay in the computer's settings. Shearwater support told us the default is 1 minute and recommends 10 minutes if your dives are getting split. Shearwater Cloud can't merge dives that are already split; Shearwater says it is looking at adding merging to its Dive Shearwater app.
Source: Shearwater support, October 2026.
Garmin Descent
Garmin's Descent manuals list End Dive Delay under Dive Setup (hold MENU, then Dive Setup). It sets how long the watch waits after you surface before it ends and saves the dive. Choose a longer delay. We haven't found a way to merge split dives in Garmin Connect.
Suunto Ocean and Suunto Nautic
Use Dive end time in Dive settings (scroll down from the pre-dive or surface screen). The default is 5 minutes and you can set 1 to 10. If you go back down before the time runs out, it's the same dive.
Source: Suunto Ocean and Suunto Nautic dive settings.
Apple Watch with Oceanic+
When you come up shallower than about 5 meters, Oceanic+ asks whether you're finished and starts a 3-minute countdown. If you aren't done, start descending again and it returns to dive mode.
Source: Oceanic+ FAQ.
Mares, Scubapro, Aqualung, Oceanic, Cressi and others
We're still checking these brands' official manuals before we publish exact steps. In the meantime, look in your manual for a setting called "dive end time," "end dive delay" or "end of dive." If you've found it on your computer, tell us and we'll add it here.
Already have split dives?
The DiveFolk Logbook joins them for you, for any brand. It suggests which pieces belong together using the time at the surface and, when your computer records it, your tank pressure. You can undo any join, then download a clean log. The free desktop program Subsurface can also merge selected dives.
Settings checked November 1, 2026. Menus change with firmware updates, so check your own manual too.