Update Channels

Update Channels

Submersion ships on two channels:

• Stable — tested releases, published every few weeks. This is what you get by default, and the right choice for most divers.
• Beta — new builds published from every change, usually within the hour. Betas are how fixes and features reach real divers early, and how problems get caught before a stable release. Every stable release is a beta build that proved itself first.

If you have ever wished a fix arrived sooner, or you enjoy trying features early and reporting what you find, the beta channel is for you.

What to expect on the beta channel

Important

Betas may upgrade your dive log's database before the stable release does. Three things follow from that:

1. Switching back to stable is not a downgrade. You keep your current beta version until the next stable release is newer than it, then rejoin stable automatically.
2. Devices that sync together should use the same channel. A device on an older version will hold changes from a newer-schema device (with a banner explaining why) until it updates.
3. A backup is taken automatically before any database upgrade, so your dive log is protected either way.

Beta builds pass the full automated test suite before they are published — "beta" means newest, not untested.

Joining the beta

macOS, Windows, and Linux

In Submersion 1.7.2 or later: Settings > About > Update channel > Beta. Confirm the dialog and the built-in updater switches to the beta feed — updates then arrive exactly like stable ones, just sooner.

You can also download any beta directly from beta-builds releases.

iOS (and the Mac App Store version)

Join through TestFlight:

testflight.apple.com/join/aMD393sB

Install Apple's TestFlight app if you don't have it, open the link, and TestFlight delivers beta updates automatically from then on.

Android

Join the testing program with your Google account:

play.google.com/apps/testing/app.submersion

Note

The Android beta currently runs as a closed test while Google's requirements for new testing programs are met, so the link may ask you to request access first. Beta APKs are also available for direct download from beta-builds releases.

Leaving the beta

• Desktop: Settings > About > Update channel > Stable. You stay on your current version until the next stable release passes it.
• iOS: delete the TestFlight build and reinstall from the App Store.
• Android: leave the testing program from the same opt-in page, then reinstall from the Play Store when the next stable release is out.

Reporting a problem

Beta reports are the whole point of the channel. Open an issue at github.com/submersion-app/submersion/issues and include your exact version from Settings > About (for example 1.7.2.4977 (Beta)) — the last number identifies the precise build you were running.