A Bluetooth Tale
Posted: 30 Jun 2017, 21:41
Just a random tip that I have just encountered.
So I bought a new Bluetooth Keyboard and Mouse a few months back, choose Bluetooth over Wireless as I seem to get lots of wireless interference and Bluetooth is fine. I bought a little Bluetooth USB adapter and mounted it inside the case and all was tip top.
After getting a new Graphics card recently, I had to plug the adapter into one of the rear USB ports. I had disconnects, lag, you'd press a key and it would repeat half a dozen times... utter useless really.
So I had another USB Bluetooth adapter in work from another manufacturer (believing I'd fried the original one) So tried that and same sort of thing.
Went back to the "Plugable" website tonight to see if it was a known issue with their adapters, and no reports as such, but found this little nugget of useful info:-
Q: If USB 3.0 is newer and faster, why does Plugable recommend using a USB 2.0 port instead of a USB 3.0 port with the adapter?
A: Because the maximum throughput of Bluetooth is much slower than even a USB 2.0 port, the higher speed of the USB 3.0 port (now known as USB 3.1 Gen 1) offers no advantage. Also, the adapter itself is a USB 2.0 device. Meanwhile, there is a critical flaw in the design of USB 3.0. Many USB 3.0 ports leak radio frequency interference in the 2.4GHz to 2.5GHz range, which is the same radio band used by Bluetooth and Wifi. While this interference can be reduced through heavy shielding, it cannot be entirely avoided. USB 2.0 ports do not have this issue. However, a USB 2.0 port that is in close proximity to an in-use USB 3.0 port may also be affected by radio noise leaked by it.
And guess what... moved it to a USB2 port and its working flawlessly!
So I bought a new Bluetooth Keyboard and Mouse a few months back, choose Bluetooth over Wireless as I seem to get lots of wireless interference and Bluetooth is fine. I bought a little Bluetooth USB adapter and mounted it inside the case and all was tip top.
After getting a new Graphics card recently, I had to plug the adapter into one of the rear USB ports. I had disconnects, lag, you'd press a key and it would repeat half a dozen times... utter useless really.
So I had another USB Bluetooth adapter in work from another manufacturer (believing I'd fried the original one) So tried that and same sort of thing.
Went back to the "Plugable" website tonight to see if it was a known issue with their adapters, and no reports as such, but found this little nugget of useful info:-
Q: If USB 3.0 is newer and faster, why does Plugable recommend using a USB 2.0 port instead of a USB 3.0 port with the adapter?
A: Because the maximum throughput of Bluetooth is much slower than even a USB 2.0 port, the higher speed of the USB 3.0 port (now known as USB 3.1 Gen 1) offers no advantage. Also, the adapter itself is a USB 2.0 device. Meanwhile, there is a critical flaw in the design of USB 3.0. Many USB 3.0 ports leak radio frequency interference in the 2.4GHz to 2.5GHz range, which is the same radio band used by Bluetooth and Wifi. While this interference can be reduced through heavy shielding, it cannot be entirely avoided. USB 2.0 ports do not have this issue. However, a USB 2.0 port that is in close proximity to an in-use USB 3.0 port may also be affected by radio noise leaked by it.
And guess what... moved it to a USB2 port and its working flawlessly!
