Important points
- Need a Premium subscription
- "Day Of" notifications only work for spots with a human report (most spots around the world on Surfline do not have a human report)
- Must allow for notifications from Surfline via your iPhone settings
What are Surf Alerts?
Surf Alerts allow you to set up push notifications for specific spots under certain conditions (based on a rating and surf height) from your Surfline iOS app.
Surf Alerts will only work for spots covered by a member of our human forecast team, where a human is manually inputting the surf height in their AM/PM report.
How do I set them up?
Open a Spot
- Open the Surfline iOS app.
- Tap on the spot where you want to set an alert.
Tap the “+” Button
- In the top-right corner of the spot screen, tap the “+” button.
- From this menu you can:
- Add the spot as a Favorite
- Set up a Surf Alert
- Share the spot with a friend
- Manually log a session
- Choose Surf Alert to continue.
Set Your Conditions
When creating a Surf Alert, you’ll configure:
- Preferred wave height range. Select the minimum and maximum height conditions you’re interested in.
- Rating slider (“___ or better”). Use the slider to choose the minimum surf quality rating you want to be notified about (for example, “Fair or better”).
- Time window (when you can surf). Set the hours of the day when you’re actually free to surf (e.g., early morning, lunchtime, evening). This helps avoid alerts firing at times you know you cannot paddle out (like while you’re at work).
Choose When You’re Notified
You can pick one or both of these options:
- Day-before alert (modeled forecast). Get a notification the day before when the modeled forecast predicts conditions that match your settings.
- Same-day alert (human report). Get a notification on the same day if we publish a human surf report at that spot that matches your criteria. Most spots do not have human reports, so this option may not always apply.
Save your settings to activate the alert.
How to View and Manage Your Surf Alerts
To find and manage your active Surf Alerts:
- Open the Surfline iOS app.
- Go to the Account tab.
- Under Notifications, tap Surf Alerts.
You’ll see a list of all your active alerts. From here, you can view, edit, or delete existing alerts.
Troubleshooting: Alerts Not Firing
If your Surf Alerts don’t seem to be working, check the following:
Check Your Alert Criteria
If your settings are too strict, alerts may rarely (or never) fire:
- Wave height range set too narrow or too high
- Rating slider set to a very high minimum (e.g., only the best conditions)
- Surf window limited to a small time range
Try temporarily widening your height range, lowering the minimum rating, or expanding the surf window to see if alerts begin to trigger.
Confirm Notification Settings on iOS
If your alert is matching but you’re not seeing notifications:
iOS system settings
- Open Settings on your iPhone.
- Go to Notifications → Surfline.
- Make sure Allow Notifications is enabled.
Ensure your desired Alert style (Lock Screen, Notification Center, Banners) and Sounds are turned on.
In-app notification settings
- Open the Surfline app.
- Go to the Account tab.
- Check Notifications → Surf Alerts to confirm alerts are enabled.
Check Account & App Version
Make sure you’re logged into the same Surfline account you used to create the alert.
Confirm you’re running the latest version of the Surfline iOS app (check the App Store for updates).
How to report an issue
Write to support@surfline.com if you’ve checked the steps above and your Surf Alerts still aren’t working as expected, contact our support team with screenshots showing:
- The spot name
- Your alert settings (height range, rating, time window)
- Whether you’re relying on day-before or same-day (human report) alerts
- The date and time you expected an alert but didn’t receive one
- Your device model and iOS version
We’ll review your configuration and help get your Surf Alerts dialed in.
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