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Find clear answers about tide stations, forecasts, widgets, Apple Watch, and Tide Guide Pro.

Tide Guide BasicsTide Guide ProYou can use Tide Guide without paying anything, but to unlock the most powerful features, widgets, and complications, a pro account is required.Tide Guide BasicsTop FeaturesTide Guide brings tides, marine weather, Sun, Moon, and solunar conditions together around the station you choose. Search for a tide station or location by name, use your current location to find one nearby, explore stations on the map, and save the places you return to most often. The Today tab gives you a beautiful, glanceable view of what is happening now. See the current tide height and whether it is rising or falling, follow progress toward the next high or low tide, and review today’s tide times and heights. Today also brings in available air and water temperature, wind, swell, currents, precipitation, Sun and Moon events, and weather or marine alerts. Scrub through the tide chart to see how tides and hour-specific conditions change together. Charts turns the forecast into an interactive timeline. Explore tide height, air and water temperature, wind, swell, currents, humidity, precipitation, pressure, and other supported conditions. Press and scrub for readings at a specific hour, then customize the chart order, size, layout, and presentation. Longer chart ranges and future weather and marine detail require Tide Guide Pro. Tables is built for planning ahead. Browse daily tide curves, high and low tide times and heights, weather, wind, Moon phase, and available Sun and Moon events. Open a day for a detailed tide chart, switch between supported layouts, or use Tide Guide Pro for the full 10-day outlook, monthly tide tables, and broader date selection. Solunar keeps Sun and Moon information in the same station context. Follow sunrise, sunset, moonrise, moonset, daylight, twilight, Moon phase, solar and lunar paths, and current lunar direction. Look ahead through the available planning views, or use your current location instead of the selected station for local Sun and Moon conditions. Tide Guide can also keep important information visible outside the app. Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets can show tide progress, charts, tables, marine conditions, and Sun or Moon information. Live Activities can follow the current tide, next tide, wind, or Sun and Moon events on the Lock Screen and Dynamic Island. Siri, Shortcuts, and Control Center controls provide quick access to common features. Widgets, Live Activities, notifications, and some customization options require Tide Guide Pro. On Apple Watch, find stations from your wrist, follow tide height and progress, browse tide charts, check available wind, swell, and currents, and review Sun and Moon conditions. Stations, units, time format, and other supported preferences can sync with iPhone. Tide Guide Pro also includes complications for compatible circular, corner, and rectangular placements. Make Tide Guide your own by choosing units, tide language, time format, datum where supported, live conditions, chart and table layouts, backgrounds, app icons, and other presentation options. Data and feature availability varies by station, region, provider, forecast type, device, and operating system. Some features described above require Tide Guide Pro.Tide Guide BasicsApple WatchQuickly check the tide, solar times, and lunar phase from your wrist. Use powerful and beautiful complications to customize your Home Screen. Syncing your preferences between your iPhone and your Apple Watch is easy: Open Tide Guide on your Apple Watch, and then open Tide Guide on your iPhone. And all of your preferences will automatically sync.Tide Guide BasicsData SourcesTide Guide is powered by a combination of world-class data sources, depending on availability around the world and the specific details of each station. Data sources include: • UK Hydrographic Office • NOAA • Apple Weather • Storm Glass • GNW • DWD

Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked QuestionsDoes Tide Guide Pro work on iPhone and iPad?Yes. One Tide Guide Pro purchase works across compatible iPhone and iPad devices signed in with the Apple Account used for the purchase. You can check tides quickly on iPhone, then use the larger charts, tables, and planning views on iPad without buying Pro again. If Pro does not appear on a device, make sure it is signed in with the Apple Account that made the purchase. Then open Tide Guide and go to Settings > Support > Restore Purchase. Restoring checks the App Store for an existing purchase and will not charge you again. Available plans and family access depend on the current App Store offering and may vary by account or storefront.Frequently Asked QuestionsHow do I set up Tide Guide on Apple Watch?Tide Guide on Apple Watch shows more than the next high or low tide. You can follow tide height and progress, browse tide charts, check wind, swell, and currents where available, and review Sun and Moon conditions without opening the iPhone app. During setup, use your current location to find a nearby station. After setup, choose Add Location from the station list to search by name or browse nearby stations. Opening Tide Guide on iPhone also syncs your selected, recent, and favorite stations, along with your units, time format, Tide Guide Pro access, and other supported preferences. For the smoothest first sync, open Tide Guide once on both devices and keep them nearby. If the Watch has no data, make sure a station is selected on iPhone, then reopen the Watch app. Some no-data recovery flows may still use the iPhone as a fallback.Frequently Asked QuestionsWhy do my widgets or complications show a lock?Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets, along with Apple Watch complications, require Tide Guide Pro. They can show tide progress, upcoming tides, marine conditions, and Sun or Moon information without requiring you to open the app. What you see depends on the widget, complication, station, and provider. A lock means the widget or complication does not currently recognize active Tide Guide Pro access. If you already have Pro, restore your purchase on iPhone at Settings > Support > Restore Purchase, or on Apple Watch at Settings > Pro > Restore Purchase. Then open the Watch app once to sync your access and current station. Restoring a purchase will not charge you again. iOS and watchOS control when widgets and complications refresh, so the lock may not disappear immediately. If it remains after Pro has been restored and the apps have synced, reopen Tide Guide or contact Support.Frequently Asked QuestionsHow do I change tide stations?From any station view, tap the current station name to choose a favorite, recent, or nearby station, or tap Add Station. On iPhone, tap the waves icon in the top-left corner of the screen to return to the station list, where you can use Stations & Locations search or explore the map. Your selected station also provides the location for supported widgets and syncs with Apple Watch.Frequently Asked QuestionsWhich time zone does Tide Guide use?Tide and station forecast times use the selected tide station’s local time zone, not the time zone of the device you are using. If Tide Guide shows a high tide at 6:00 PM, it means 6:00 PM at the station. This makes it easier to plan a trip or check conditions somewhere else. When you change stations, Today, Charts, and Tables switch to the new station’s local time. The station time zone also syncs with Apple Watch, keeping tide information aligned across your devices. Solunar can use your current location instead of the selected station. When this option is enabled, Sun and Moon information reflects your current location, while tide and station forecasts remain tied to the station.Frequently Asked QuestionsHow do I change the tide datum?A tide datum is the reference level used to measure tide height. The same tide can have a different reported height when measured from a different datum, so it is important to use matching datums when comparing Tide Guide with a chart, harbor guide, or another forecast. To change the datum, go to Settings > General > Tide Datum and choose the supported reference level you want to use. Tide Guide refreshes the station data after you make a selection. Available datums depend on the selected station and its data provider. NOAA-backed stations use Mean Lower Low Water (MLLW). When comparing or sharing tide heights, make sure everyone is using the same datum.Frequently Asked QuestionsWhich Apple Watch faces support Tide Guide complications?Tide Guide supports modern watchOS complication families instead of a fixed list of watch faces. It works with circular, corner, and rectangular placements. watchOS will show the Tide Guide options that fit the face and complication slot you are editing. Depending on the placement, you can add tide charts, tide height and progress, upcoming tides, wind, swell, currents, water temperature, or Sun and Moon information to your watch face. Available data varies by station and provider. To add a complication, edit your watch face, select a compatible complication slot, and choose Tide Guide. Complications require Tide Guide Pro. If Tide Guide is not listed, make sure the Watch app is installed, open it once, and confirm that Pro is active.

Tide Guide Pro

Tide Guide ProWhat's IncludedTide Guide Pro adds longer forecasts, richer planning tools, widgets, Live Activities, Apple Watch complications, notifications, and deeper customization. What’s included: • Full 10-day tide outlook • Monthly tide tables and broader date selection • Longer tide, weather, and marine chart ranges • Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets • Live Activities and Dynamic Island updates for the current tide, next tide, wind, Sun, and Moon • Apple Watch complications • Tide notifications and daily reports, plus supported Sun, Moon, and condition notifications • More control over tabs, charts, tables, backgrounds, and other presentation options Available data varies by station, region, provider, and forecast type. Available plans and purchase options are shown in the app and may vary by account or storefront.Tide Guide ProHow do I cancel my subscription?You can easily manage, change, or cancel your pro subscription anytime in your App Store account settings.

About Tides

About TidesWhat are tides?Tides are long-period waves that travel through the ocean and appear along the coast as the regular rise and fall of the water. High tide is the higher part of the cycle, low tide is the lower part, and the difference in height between them is the tidal range. Tide height is measured relative to a defined reference level called a datum. A tide describes vertical water-level change. A tidal current is the horizontal movement of water that can accompany it. Water moving into a bay, estuary, or toward the coast is called a flood current; water moving out is an ebb current. The quieter transition between them is slack current. Current timing does not always match high or low tide exactly, and currents can become especially strong around narrow inlets, straits, and estuary entrances. Understanding both height and current helps with boating, fishing, surfing, paddling, beach access, and other plans around the water. Tide Guide keeps the tide curve, high and low events, and available current and marine conditions together for the selected station.About TidesWhat causes tides?Tides are created mainly by differences in the gravitational influence of the Moon and Sun across Earth, together with the motion of the Earth–Moon system. Although the Sun is far more massive, the Moon is much closer, so its tide-generating effect is stronger. The Sun still matters: its tide-generating influence is roughly half the Moon’s. In a simplified model, the Moon’s pull is strongest on the side of Earth closest to it and weaker on the far side. That difference, combined with the inertia of the Earth–Moon system, produces two broad tidal bulges on opposite sides of the planet. As Earth rotates relative to those bulges, coastlines move through changing water levels. The two-bulge model is a useful starting point, not a complete map of real tides. Continents interrupt the water’s path, while ocean-basin shape, depth, friction, and local coastal geography reshape the astronomical signal. That is why a station-specific prediction is more useful than assuming every coastline follows the same simple cycle.About TidesHow do the Moon and Sun change tides?The size and timing of tides change as the Moon, Sun, and Earth continually shift position. Their changing angles—called declination relative to Earth’s equator—can make successive high or low tides unequal and can affect the strength of tidal currents. Near a new or full Moon, the Sun, Moon, and Earth are broadly aligned. Their tide-generating forces reinforce one another and usually create a larger tidal range called a spring tide. The name has nothing to do with the season. Near the first- and third-quarter Moon, the Sun and Moon act at roughly right angles, partially offsetting one another and usually producing a smaller range called a neap tide. Most lunar months contain two spring-tide periods and two neap-tide periods. Distance also matters. The Moon’s elliptical orbit brings it closer to Earth at perigee and farther away at apogee, strengthening or weakening its tidal influence. Earth’s changing distance from the Sun has a smaller annual effect. These cycles shape the astronomical tide, but local geography and weather can reinforce or offset them, so a new or full Moon does not guarantee a location’s highest observed water.About TidesWhy do tide patterns differ by location?A lunar day—the time it takes a place on Earth to rotate back beneath the Moon—is about 24 hours and 50 minutes. In an ideal semidiurnal pattern, that produces two high tides and two low tides during a lunar day, with high tides roughly 12 hours and 25 minutes apart. Real coastlines often depart from that simple timing. Continents block the free movement of tidal waves, and every ocean basin has its own shape, depth, and natural response. Those effects create three broad patterns. Semidiurnal tides have two similar highs and two similar lows per lunar day. Mixed semidiurnal tides also have two highs and two lows, but their heights differ. Diurnal tides have one high and one low. Along North America these are regional tendencies—semidiurnal on much of the East Coast, mixed on much of the West Coast, and diurnal in parts of the Gulf of Mexico—not universal rules. This is why tomorrow’s tides cannot be found by adding a fixed number of minutes to today’s. Tide Guide uses the prediction for the selected station so its local pattern, time zone, and reference datum stay together.About TidesWhat else affects local water levels?The Moon and Sun drive the astronomical tide, but the water level observed at the coast also responds to local geography and weather. Continental shelves and the shape of the shoreline can magnify or reduce a tidal wave. Funnel-shaped bays and estuaries may amplify the range, while shallow water, narrow inlets, and friction can delay or weaken it. Strong river flow can also alter or temporarily mask a tide in an estuary. Wind and air pressure can move the observed water away from the predicted curve. Persistent onshore wind can pile water against the coast, while offshore wind can push it away. Low atmospheric pressure generally allows water levels to rise; high pressure can depress them. Storm surge, waves, rainfall, and river discharge can add further short-term effects. A tide prediction describes the expected astronomical cycle. It is not the same as an observed water level or a complete coastal weather forecast. Tide Guide places available weather and marine conditions beside the tide to provide more context, but conditions vary by station and provider. For navigation or hazardous coastal conditions, check current local observations, forecasts, and official warnings.About TidesHow are tides measured and predicted?Long-running tide stations turn changing water levels into records that can be studied and predicted. Historically, many stations used a float inside a stilling well connected to a pen-and-paper recorder. Later systems punched readings onto paper tape for computer processing. These stations commonly sampled water levels every six minutes, but they required frequent maintenance and could take weeks to deliver usable data. Modern stations use electronic sensors selected for local conditions. NOAA sites commonly use acoustic or microwave sensors, often with a pressure-based backup. Satellite communications can send water-level and meteorological observations soon after collection, making it possible to compare predicted tides with what the water is actually doing. Tide predictions are calculated from repeating astronomical signals called harmonic constituents. Scientists derive the local amplitude and timing of those constituents from observations collected at a station, then combine them to predict future astronomical tides. Monitoring and prediction support navigation, fishing, recreation, coastal engineering, habitat work, and scientific research. Tide Guide brings provider predictions and available surrounding conditions into one station-centered view; it remains planning information rather than a substitute for official navigation or emergency guidance.