Sealife SportDiver Ultra SL405 User manual

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Instruction Manual
SeaLife SportDiver Ultra Underwater Housing for Smartphones (Item # SL405)

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Important – Read this first
•How-to videos are available at: www.sealife-cameras.com/great-pictures-made-easy.
•Updates to this manual and troubleshooting are available at: www.sealife-cameras.com/manuals.
•Please register your SeaLife product online at: www.sealife-cameras.com/warranty.
•The manual content and specifications are subject to change without notice.
•The limited warranty applies only to the SeaLife SportDiver underwater housing (the “Product”). This
limited warranty does not cover and does not provide any remedy for damage to, any smartphones, other
electronic devices, or other products, used in connection with the Product. Purchaser understands and
agrees that while SeaLife has undertaken commercially reasonable efforts to ensure that the Product
functions in accordance with SeaLife’s applicable published specifications, some risk of flooding or other
failure remains when the Product is used, which risk the Purchaser assumes. See page 56 for details. We
recommend that you insure your smartphone through your wireless carrier for accidental loss and damage.
We also recommend utilizing cloud backup storage (i.e. iCloud® or Google Drive®) to preserve your
phone’s data in the event of a total loss.
•Do not directly or indirectly expose the housing to spray-on sunscreens. Spray-on sunscreens may contain
chemicals that react with polycarbonate and other plastics, causing cracks and potential flooding.
•Read and follow additional Care & Maintenance instructions on page 49.
Registered Trademarks
•iPhone®, Apple App Store® and iCloud® are a registered trademark of Apple Inc
•Google Drive®, Google Play®, and Android® are a registered trademark of Google LLC
•Bluetooth® is a registered trademark of Bluetooth Special Interest Group
•SeaLife® and SportDiver® are registered trademarks of Pioneer Research

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Table of Contents Page #
I. Package contents………………………………………… 3
II. Optional accessories……………………………………… 5
III. Getting to know the housing……………..………………. 6
IV. Setting up the housing…………………….......…………. 9
V. Prepare the housing for underwater use……………….. 16
VI. After using the housing underwater…………………….. 27
VII. Operating the housing…………………………………… 28
VIII. About the Settings Menu………………………………… 33
IX. Great Pictures Made Easy………………………………. 45
X. Replacing the O-rings..………………………………….. 47
XI. Care and Maintenance.………………………………….. 49
XII. Specifications……………………………………………… 52
XIII. Troubleshooting…………………………………………… 54
XIV. Spare parts and service………………………………….. 54
XV. FCC statement…………………………………………….. 54
XVI. Warranty statement ……………………………………. 56

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I. Package contents
SportDiver underwater housing (SL4051)
Color-correction filter (SL40007)
Vacuum pump (SL40006)
Rubber grip tabs (12 each small,
medium and large) (SL40008)
(10 medium tabs pre-installed in UW housing)
Spare O-rings (1x Main Seal and 1x Vacuum
Check Port O-ring – SL40010)
O-ring lubricant (SL9807)

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O-ring removal tool (SL9808)
Deluxe padded wrist lanyard
with BCD clip (SL72070)
Moisture Muncher sampler pack (1 capsule)
(SL2523)
Instruction manual (English) (SL40524)
AAA alkaline batteries (2) (SL40011)
EVA carry case (SL40009)
Note: Smaller accessories are packed in fabric bag,
which is not shown in the above package contents.

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II. Optional accessories (Sold separately)
Visit your local authorized SeaLife dealer or www.sealife-cameras.com for a complete list of accessories.
Sea Dragon Photo-Video Light
(For best color and image quality)
Moisture Muncher desiccant
capsules 10-pack (SL911)
SeaLife Photo Pro
Backpack (SL940)
Screen Shield (SL4005)
Waterproof screen protector for SportDiver

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III. Getting to know the housing
1 – Shutter Lever
2 – Vacuum Check Port
3 – Underwater color-correction filter (removable)
4 – Optical glass lens port (showing phone inside)
5 – Display window (showing phone inside)
6 – Mode button (Photo, Video, Settings, Playback)
7 – Up button (Scroll up or increase zoom/focus)
8 – Down button (Scroll down or decrease zoom/focus)
9 – OK button (Confirm selection; Switch between zoom
and manual focus))

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10 – Main Seal
11 – Rubber grip tabs (Medium size pre-installed)
12 – Holding spring with rubber grip pad
13 – Moisture Muncher capsule cavity
14 – Battery compartment (fits 2x AAA batteries)
15 – Leak alarm status LED
16 – Power / Bluetooth connection status LED
17 – Power On/Off switch
18 – Water sensor
(Activates leak alarm when water touches sensor)

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19 – Triple ¼-20 tripod mounts
20 – Lanyard connection point
21 – Cam-Lock (Opens/closes housing)

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IV. Setting up the housing
1. To open the housing, push and hold release button (A) and rotate cam-lock (B) counter-clockwise.
Important: Release the internal vacuum pressure before opening the housing. To release the vacuum
pressure, unscrew the vacuum check port cap and use your fingertip to move the yellow rubber one-way valve
sideways. You will hear pressure releasing.
After diving, make sure you and the housing are completely dry before releasing pressure and opening
the housing. If the valve area or your finger is not dry, water drops will be forced into the housing
when releasing pressure. Open the housing upside down, with lens facing up, to prevent water drops
trapped around the sealing area from accidentally entering the housing.

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2. Open the battery compartment by pulling down the locking tab (A) and lifting the battery cover (B). Insert
two alkaline AAA batteries into the battery compartment. Make sure the batteries are inserted correctly
according to the +/- polarity markings.
Notes
•NiMH rechargeable AAA batteries may also be used. The Housing battery strength indicator on the top
right of the app display will only show 3 bars with fully charged NiMH batteries.
•Single use batteries will last for approximately 50 hours of continuous use.

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3. Insert Moisture Muncher™ desiccant capsule into the cavity. Moisture Muncher absorbs the humidity
inside the sealed housing and prevents fogging. A fresh new capsule is blue in color. Replace the capsule
when granules turn pink in color. One sample capsule is included with the SportDiver. 10-packs of
Moisture Muncher in a resealable foil pouch may be purchased at your local SeaLife dealer.
Insert one Moisture Muncher 10-Pack Moisture Muncher (SL911)

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4. Attach padded wrist lanyard to the underwater housing as shown below. Loop the end of the lanyard
through the lanyard hole (A). The clip (B) is used for attaching the housing to your BCD D-ring.
Do NOT attach the clip to the housing. You may also attach the lanyard around your wrist, using the sliding
lock (C) to tighten the lanyard.

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5. Download SeaLife “SportDiver” app from Apple App Store™ or Google Play™ store. Search for
“SportDiver”. After installing the app, accept all the permissions, which include access to Photos, Camera,
Microphone and Bluetooth. SeaLife does not collect data, track location, or gather any personal
information from the SportDiver app.

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6. Ten medium-sized rubber grip tabs (A) have been pre-installed into the housing, as shown below. The
rubber grip tabs and bow-shaped spring hold the phone in position and prevent the phone from moving
around when the housing is sealed.
Important: Do not install grip tabs in areas where the phone’s side buttons are located.
Exchange the medium-sized grip tabs with small or large-sized tabs depending on the size of your phone.
For larger phones, you may remove left-side grip tabs and only use small grip tabs along the bottom.
The grip tab end is tapered. Make sure to install the tabs with the longer side up and shorter side down,
which keeps the phone held down.
Rubber grip tabs Pre-installed medium-sized rubber grip tabs (A)

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7. Remove the phone’s protective case.
8. Insert the phone into the housing to check the fit. Push the phone up against the bow-shaped spring until
the bottom can be pushed down and held by the rubber grip tabs. Then, slide the phone left or right so the
lenses are not blocked by the housing. Over a soft surface, like a towel, check that the phone is securely
held in position and that no grip tabs touch the buttons on the side of the phone. Remove the phone by
pushing up on the bow spring and lifting the phone.
Small phone with large rubber grip tabs installed Large phone with small rubber grip tabs installed
Note
•Some phones with protective case may be small enough to securely fit inside the housing without
removing the protective case. In that case, you may try leaving on the protective case.
•When the housing is powered on, touching the gold water sensor (located on the inside bottom right of
the housing) will cause the Leak Alarm to activate. If that happens, power the housing Off and On again.

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V. Prepare the housing for underwater use
1. Before underwater use, it is important to change the phone settings to: Airplane mode ON, Bluetooth ON,
and Do Not Disturb ON. For iPhones only, turning “True Tone” OFF makes the display easier to see
underwater. This ensures the SportDiver camera app operates with minimal battery power and without
interruption while the phone is sealed inside the underwater housing.
iPhone Android
Go to Settings
and turn On
> Airplane mode
> Bluetooth
> Do Not Disturb

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2. Fully charge your phone before each use. Consider using a power bank (5V portable charger) to charge
your phone between dives if a wall charger is not available.
Fully charge your phone before each use to avoid Low Battery pop-up message
Note
When your phone reaches <20% battery power, a “Low Battery” warning will pop-up. This message is
generated by the phone’s operating system- not from the SportDiver app. The phone’s operating system
does not allow disabling the Low Battery message. Consider lowering your phone’s display brightness to
preserve battery power. The SportDiver app has a Power Save settings that will dim the display after 1, 3
or 5 minutes, depending on your setting. In Power Save, the camera live view will turn off. Push any
button to exit Power Save mode.

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3. To optimize image quality, use a lint-free cotton or micro-fiber cloth to clean the phone lens(es) and
underwater housing glass port.