TideCast User Guide

1. Getting started

Install TideCast from the Garmin Connect IQ store onto your watch.
Add it to your widget glance loop (the carousel you reach by pressing UP/DOWN from the watch face), if it isn't already.
Open it once with your watch outdoors or recently synced - TideCast needs a location to find your nearest tide station. It uses your watch's GPS or Garmin Weather automatically.

First run shows "Waiting for data…"? That's normal - it's fetching tides. If it persists, see Troubleshooting.

2. The views

Glance

The compact preview in your widget loop - station name, the next tide, time and height, and a progress bar showing how far through the current tide you are (red rising, blue falling).

Text view (the home screen)

Open the widget for the full picture: the next high and low with live countdowns, whether the tide is rising or falling, the height range, and the current interpolated height.

Tide chart

A full-day tide curve with sunrise/sunset bands, height gridlines, high/low labels, and a real-time "now" line showing the current height. (Chart-capable watches only; lower-memory watches use the day list instead.)

Day list

Every tide event for a day, with heights and times in the station's local time.

3. Buttons & gestures

TideCast browses time as you scroll. From the home screen:

DOWN (or swipe up on touch watches) - forward in time: today's full tide list, then tomorrow, then the rest of the week.
UP (or swipe down) - back in time, including yesterday's tide.
SELECT / START - switch between the text view and the tide chart (on chart-capable watches), or open the day-by-day list (on others).
BACK - return to today, or exit the widget.
MENU (hold UP, or the menu button) - open the on-watch settings, including Activate Plus.

Free shows today & tomorrow. Scroll past tomorrow and you'll be invited to unlock the full 7-day forecast with PLUS.

4. Settings in Garmin Connect

Most TideCast settings live in the Garmin Connect Mobile app on your phone (not on the watch). This trips a lot of people up, so here's exactly where to look:

Open the Garmin Connect app.
Go to your device (the watch) - via ≡ More → Garmin Devices, or the device shortcut on the home screen.
Tap Connect IQ Apps → Widgets (or "Activity, Apps & More").
Find TideCast and tap the gear / Settings icon next to it.

You can also reach it from the Connect IQ Store app → My Device → TideCast → Settings.

TideCast settings in Garmin Connect — Settings in Garmin Connect (Plus labels in newer builds)

What each setting does

TideCast Plus - a status line: "Get Plus: tide.extreme-media.co.uk/plus" when free, or "Plus active" once subscribed.
Data refresh interval - how often TideCast fetches fresh tides in the background (15 minutes to 5 days). Tides change slowly, so a long interval saves battery.
Location Override PLUS - turn this on and enter a postcode, ZIP, or station (TC) code to lock the watch to a specific station instead of your current location. Requires Plus; on free, your watch always uses the nearest station.
Get Location - ticked uses Garmin Weather's location; unticked uses your watch's GPS.
Time Display - show tide times in the station's local time (default) or your device time.
Default Screen - open to the text view or the tide chart.
Show cache age - display how old the data is and where your location came from.

Settings are saved by Garmin's servers, so your watch needs a phone/Bluetooth connection to receive a change. Give it a few seconds, or open the widget to pull the update.

5. TideCast Plus & activation

TideCast Plus (£3.99/year) unlocks the full 7-day forecast and custom locations. Activating it takes about a minute and needs no account or password - your watch is your licence.

TideCast Activate Plus code screen — Activate Plus - the code screen

On the watch: open TideCast → press MENU → Activate Plus.
The watch shows a 6-character code and the address tide.extreme-media.co.uk/plus. If your phone has the Connect IQ app open, it may offer to open the page automatically.
On any device, go to tide.extreme-media.co.uk/plus, enter the code, and complete the secure Stripe checkout.
Back on the watch, Plus unlocks within a minute on the next data refresh - the menu will then read "Plus active".

The code is tied to your specific watch, which is how your subscription stays linked to it - that's why you enter the code rather than signing in.

6. Custom stations & TC codes PLUS

With Plus you can view tides for any station, not just where you are - handy for a coast you're travelling to.

Open the web tool at tide.extreme-media.co.uk and search for your station.
Note its short station code (e.g. TC3661), shown next to the name.
In TideCast's settings (above), turn on Location Override and type that code - or a postcode/ZIP - into the field.

The same web tool is a great way to check tides on a big screen, free.

7. Troubleshooting

"Waiting for data" / no tides

TideCast needs a location and a phone/Bluetooth connection to fetch data. Make sure your watch is connected, then open the widget. Outdoors, a quick GPS fix helps. You can also force a refresh: MENU → Request Tide data refresh.

My settings change didn't take effect

App settings sync from Garmin's servers - your watch must be connected to your phone to receive them. Wait a few seconds and re-open the widget.

I entered a postcode but it still shows my location

Custom location is a Plus feature. On the free tier the watch always uses the nearest station; the override activates once you have Plus.

I paid but the watch still says free

Give it up to a minute and let it refresh (or MENU → Request Tide data refresh). The watch picks up Plus on its next successful data fetch.

Still stuck?

Email [email protected] with your watch model and what you're seeing.