A malfunctioning dive computer at 60 feet can turn a great dive into a stressful emergency, and most failures trace back to rushed pre-dive setup. In this episode, you'll learn the step-by-step checklist for verifying your dive computer before every dive—from battery and display checks to gas configuration, altitude settings, and alarm verification—so you can dive with confidence instead of second-guessing your equipment underwater.

• Always verify your dive computer battery is above 30 percent before diving, test all display segments and buttons for responsiveness, and check for any condensation inside the screen that indicates seal failure.

• Setting the correct dive mode and oxygen percentage is critical—diving 32 percent nitrox while your computer thinks you're on air will give you dangerously misleading no-decompression limit calculations.

• Configure your safety alarms before you splash, including maximum depth warnings, NDL alerts set to 5 minutes remaining, ascent rate alarms, and partial pressure of oxygen limits appropriate for your gas mix.

• Perform a wet activation test right before entry to confirm your computer switches to dive mode and shows zero depth at the surface—computers that fail to activate until 20 feet down will give you incomplete dive profiles.

• If your dive computer fails underwater, abort the dive immediately with a controlled ascent, make a safety stop even if you were shallow, and sit out 12 to 24 hours before diving again to allow residual nitrogen to dissipate.

Links to any products or resources mentioned in this episode can be found at https://thescubagearlab.com/pre-dive-computer-checklist.