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Poor Bluetooth reception and jerky mouse

I want to share my findings upon the poor reception of the internal Bluetooth module on my 2009 Mac Pro. The mouse in particular seems to suffer the most from the low BT signal.

It has to be said that if you succeed to place your Mac Pro in a particular position you can obtain optimal mouse reception. It seems that the field covered by BT signal is very irregular (due to the aluminum case?) and I think also altered by other metal objects that can exist on your desk (or inside/under you desk and his structure).

This can explain why some users tell of fantastic BT reception with their Mac Pro and others (majority) complain about awful Magic Mouse tracking.

In my situation I've been forced to plug-in a D-LINK DBT-120 dongle. It performs very well and maintain always connection with mouse and keyboard upon restart......unfortunately the same peripherals can't awake my Mac Pro during the sleep mode. A little uncomfortable (because you have to press the power button) and I thing very strange since this dongle is considered the only BT dongle fully supported from Apple.

I tried other dongles but all seem to lose connection. Some after restart, others after sleep mode.

For sure it's a shame that the most powerful and most expensive machine that Apple is selling right now is so badly performing in the BT compartment and it's more unforgivable since Apple seems to push very much their wireless peripherals.

Ok Apple, it's not easy to grant a powerful BT antenna in the metal case of the Mac Pro? Well please provide or support an external module that fully support all Mac OS functions (key selection on startup, wake on sleep ... etc) and consistently. I don't think it's a science fiction task.

I'm waiting your experimentation in placing your Mac Pro differently.

Please share your experiences....thank you

MacPro 2009 - 8 core, Mac OS X (10.6.2)

Posted on Nov 12, 2009 8:05 AM

357 replies

castelletta Author

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Nov 30, 2009 9:34 AM in response to hoot.hoot

I understand that we are all trying to workaround this problem but....for what we've paid I'm waiting a more robust and definitive solution form Apple; an external one is acceptable for me.

I can imagine how many MacPro users have bought Magic Mouses to find very difficult to use them and how many exchanged it or had it replaced for a new one without knowing the root of this issue and not ending up with a solution.

Can you imagine?

So let's tell to Apple that we have a problem here...and that we are waiting a fix soon.

Vinc26

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Nov 30, 2009 11:34 AM in response to castelletta

Please : http://www.apple.com/feedback/

Message was edited by: Vinc26

castelletta Author

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Nov 30, 2009 1:10 PM in response to Vinc26

Thank you for the tip. Still I think THIS is the right place where people can get help in recognizing this hardware flaw and discuss it.

castelletta Author

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Nov 30, 2009 1:53 PM in response to Vinc26

For sure the Apple Feedback page is an important one but I think it's the second place to go for a user after a clear understanding of the problem.

Nov 30, 2009 9:09 PM in response to castelletta

I have just purchased the new Magic Mouse and have been toying with possible setting changes as a work-around. Everyone on this forum experiencing the problem seems to be assuming that it is a "poor reception" problem based on one fact. The newer towers do not have an external antenna plug-in. I do not believe this is actually the case based on one fact. My A2DP enabled earphones work better than they did on a G5 with an external dongle. Not only is the range better in the same setting, but they do not have any connectivity issues that the G5 did have. A2DP I believe takes more bandwith than a mouse pointer.

I have deleted my Bluetooth preferences file from the main library/preferences directory, rebooted and turned off "discoverable." in bluetooth preferences. I believe that the settings change to not discoverable may have cured the problem. There might be something wrong with this option that causes the mouse to lag. Yet another indication to me that it is probably not the wireless signal is that the lag does not seem to apply to scrolling the contents of a window, only to mouse movements, on my mouse.

I'll post a follow-up on whether "non-discoverable" actually fixes the problem, long term, however it seems to be working well now.

Nowvin

Level 1

4 points

Dec 1, 2009 12:22 AM in response to castelletta

I use two magic mouses on my mac-pro, and they have been staying connected fine. I wonder if the magic mouse design is sensitive to the extremely slight variations in battery dimensions, among different the brands. I've been using alkaline energizer's with "03-2015" printed on them.

castelletta Author

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Dec 1, 2009 1:50 AM in response to Tom Alperin

Tom, I just tryed your suggestion. No solution for me in any way.

The mouse stay connected as always but the movement, expecially fast movement, is very very jerky, as expected. BT discoverable or not the issue remains identical to me.

Please, have you tried an external dongle on your Mac Pro? I think you'll be surprised by how much more fluid and consistent can be the cursor movement.

Dec 1, 2009 8:18 AM in response to castelletta

I have an external dongle somewhere that I had been using with the G5. I'll try that, but the mouse seems as fluid as my wired mouse so far. You may have missed a bluetooth firmware update as well. There was one released, I believe, right before 10.6 was released. That could explain why your external dongle is working better for you.

castelletta Author

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Dec 1, 2009 9:12 AM in response to Tom Alperin

Sorry Tom, but I've meticulously applied all the firmware upgrades, all the patches.
My system is entirely updated.

Take in account that it's not only me that are experiencing this issue but several other users as well.
There are reports and threads here and in MacRumors forum if you hadn't noticed before that talk about this exact hardware bug.

PS: Just for a statistical purpose. At what side of the MacPro do you use the Magic Mouse? Some users noticed slightly better reception using the mouse at the right side of the MacPro. For me it's impossible to do.

Also there is a user that linking a hand made antenna to the internal BT module of the MacPro fixed the problem. And that was a clear demonstration of the weakness of the BT signal in MacPro.

By now, Tom, you are the only user that I heard not having problems using Magic Mouse with the MacPro. And I'm happy for you but I think the bug is still unresolved for "the rest of us".

castelletta Author

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Dec 1, 2009 9:06 AM in response to castelletta

Just for check my Bluetooth software version is: 2.2.4f3

Luba Cox

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Dec 1, 2009 10:55 AM in response to castelletta

I also have the same software update as you have. With my early 2009 MP, I use the Magic Mouse to the right of MP and connection no problem. BUT I feel a lag or stuttering, definitely not as fluid as a wired Mighty mouse. I have noticed that when the MP is doing something (my MP is immediately to my left at ear level so I hear everything) perhaps a quick access to the hard drive or whatever is when I feel a lag. I wonder if the hard drive moving interferes with BT??

Anyway, annoying especially when I want to precisely put the pointer on a certain spot. Also I noticed it takes a while for the pointer (arrow) to turn into a selector (white gloved hand with index finger pointed out).

I got the Magic Mouse because there's no good way of cleaning the trackball on the Mighty Mouse. I assume if I got another wireless mouse I will get the same problems. Any wired mice recommendations?? I still have a week to return the Magic Mouse.

castelletta Author

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Dec 1, 2009 11:13 AM in response to Luba Cox

You have precisely described the classic symptom that I'm experiencing using the internal BT module.
And, for sure, under heavy activity the lag become obnoxious; the worst is with Time Machine running.

Using my external dongle (other problems aside) no Mac Pro activity whatsoever modify the precise tracking of the mouse.

So yes! You definitely are suffering from the "Jerky BT mouse" syndrome.

Your Magic Mouse is probably working well, not as well the bluetooth module of your (and our) Mac Pro. I had the same problem also with Apple Mighty Mouse Wireless and other users experienced it with different mouse brands.

Dec 1, 2009 9:59 PM in response to castelletta

Don't be too happy for me. The final report is that while turning off "discoverable" does help, it's still is jerky at times. The mouse seems to be more problematic while playing 3D games.

I use the mouse to the left of the computer. The computer is not on the desk directly next to me either. The mouse seems to work at greater distances as well.

I'm assuming you don't have a cordless phone sitting right next to your mouse either.

When I first purchased this Mac, the bluetooth mouse I was currently using was absolutely impossible to use. A firmware update improved the performance.

I'm still at a loss as to why other bluetooth devices seem to work so well with the Mac if it is a signal problem in my case and why turning off "discoverable" made such a noticeable improvement. I the mouse seems to have its lag periods for me too when the computer is busier, ie. disk activity.

I am unable to find my old bluetooth dongle, and seem to remember it not working the last time I tried it. I'd be willing to experiment with an improved antenna to see if it does make a difference, though.

Luba Cox

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Dec 1, 2009 10:28 PM in response to castelletta

Try making it a favorite. Barry Hemphill suggested this in one of his posts. Sys Pref, Bluetooth, highlight mouse, gear, show info, gear, make favorite.

So far so good! Gee, I may end up keeping it if stays usable like this. 🙂

Luba Cox

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Dec 1, 2009 11:14 PM in response to Luba Cox

Well, it was better for a while, then I lost the connection, a sec later it reconnected. The lag was back to 0.5 sec, for a bit it was only 0.25 sec or even shorter. It's going back. 😟

Poor Bluetooth reception and jerky mouse