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Bluetooth and Mac Pro problem

Hi all,

Long time lurker, first time poster...anyhow, I just recently received my Mac Pro and I'm having some issues with my mice. First, my wireless bluetooth mighty mouse (purchased earlier) has unbelievably poor range now. My Mac Pro is about 2.5 to 3 feet from my desktop and I literally have to move the mouse all the way to the left-side edge of the desk (closer to the tower) to prevent the mouse from acting erratically. I'm not a lefty, so this makes it all the worse. When I bring the mouse close to the tower, apparently all is well.

Second problem is with my included, wired Mighty Mouse which is just acting oddly. The cursor dances all over the place. I have tried resetting the machine, reinstalling drivers...all to no avail. The thing just keeps moving with a mind of its own. Anyone else having similar problems with either Bluetooth range or wired mouse issues?

Thanks 🙂

Mac Pro, Mac OS X (10.4.7)

Posted on Sep 9, 2006 11:31 AM

135 replies

Sep 26, 2006 2:06 AM in response to GATTMAN

Same here - the next day, and the MM works fine.

Kirk

Sep 26, 2006 7:25 AM in response to borgusio

I made all of the changes above and they did not work for me. I still have very poor (intermittent MM tracking at more than 3 feet) bluetooth reception. I was very careful to ensure that the proper connections were made and that I used the correct wires.

My system had a 'BT' label on the original wire connected to the bluetooth adapter.

MAC Pro Mac OS X (10.4.7) Mac Pro 2.66GHz, 2GB RAM, ATI X1900 XT, 1 x SuperDrive, Airport and Bluetooth

borgusio

Level 1

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Sep 26, 2006 7:45 AM in response to johnpoore

My sistem too has the BT label and my system still doesen't work... :((

GATTMAN

Level 2

409 points

Sep 27, 2006 2:48 AM in response to GATTMAN

Ok this should do it, now two days and all is AOK with everything. I've just reinstalled SteerMouse to get a bit more oomf out of the mouse as well as the ability to programe different button functions into different apps, and all is OK. In all honesty this BT Mighty Mouse really feels like a wired mouse since I changed the cables.
I've looked at the diagrams of the MacPro in the Service Source pdf, It shows that the BT cable is quite long and extends down the side of the case and then turns underneath the motherboard and I assume terminates in the same area as the AP Antenna cables. Someone earlier posted that the cable was only 8 inches long, It looks much longer in the diagram. Also does anyone know what the third AP cable is for? Just curious

Jim Kohn

Level 1

50 points

Sep 27, 2006 6:26 AM in response to borgusio

This solution was put up as a fix for inadequate bluetooth range, NOT for airport issues. For your airport issue search other bulletin boards for "airport mac pro" problems if AppleCare isn't able to help.

Sep 27, 2006 4:14 PM in response to Kirk McElhearn

FWIW, this is working for me as well - I was about to throw my MM out of the window when I saw this post (had the lagging issue as well as occasional scroll ball problems - would scroll down, but not up). Removed BT cable, replaced with "cable 1".

Thanks to all for the info - it's working great now, three days and no problems.

It would be awfully nice if apple released a tech note on this one - seems to be a pretty common problem.

Sep 28, 2006 5:12 AM in response to shive

Well I am another happy modder. I had huge problems with my MacPro with BT and no Airport. Ihad all 4 cables labelled, 1, 2, 3, BT. I removed the BT cable from the card and attached the cable labelled 1. It works perfectly now. The range went from 2 feet and even jittery at that to the other end of the desk and beyond (6+ feet) and the movement of the MM is smooth...

Good job in finding this guys. My question is this an issue of mis-labelled cables or an issue with a pooly designed BT antenna and we are actually connecting a better Aiport antenna to the BT module?

Arun...

Sep 28, 2006 5:14 AM in response to mathur999

The technician I spoke with - not the Apple Care person, but the one who was supposed to come fix mine - told me that according to the PDF he has, there are only three wires. So that fourth wire is a mystery. He couldn't see anything that it is supposed to connect to.

Kirk

Sep 28, 2006 8:57 AM in response to shive

This fix worked wonders for me too. I'm using Salling Clicker proximity sensing with my cell phone for keyless entry to my dorm room, and the limited range was really frustrating. All is well now!

My two cents about the different antennae is that both bluetooth and 802.11b/g use the 2.4 ghz range. There may be more fine tuning of the antennae for the specific bands or something, but it may explain why people were getting some reception on the bluetooth (assuming an airport antenna was attached) instead of zero reception.

Mac Pro 2.66 Mac OS X (10.4.7)

Sep 28, 2006 2:29 PM in response to Kirk McElhearn

Kirk,
The Mac Pro SS document (pdf) shows only three wires:
1 & 2 connected to the airport module
BT connected to the Bluetooth Module.

However, I believe the antenna is assembled within the case as there is nothing more on it. The 4th wire has me curious.

This concurs with what the tech stated.

I will check my MacPro (I have BTO w/o Airport but with BT) later this evening after I install some RAM.

greese

Level 1

0 points

Sep 28, 2006 2:35 PM in response to Eddie Ski

maybe the 4th wire is for the rumored 802.11a abilities.

(sorry, i know...no speculating)

Sep 28, 2006 2:44 PM in response to Greg Schroll

Hey Greg,

How do you get Salling Clicker to act as a keyless lock for your room? Extra hardware?

Could you please give a an URL?

Sep 28, 2006 3:34 PM in response to shive

This is the first I've heard about Bluetooth problems in the Mac Pro. The only BT device I have ATM is my cell phone, so I guess it's hard for me to test it, but I'm curious if my machine is affected.

I have an unlabeled (at least, I can't see the label) wire going to the BT module. I have wires labeled "1" and "3" going to the Airport module (top and bottom, respectively). A fourth wire with a rubber cap around the end and no visible label isn't attached to anything.

The only thing I could try was a file transfer from my phone. Next to the computer I get about 15k/s transfer speeds, and if I move 8-10ft away it drops to 1k/s.

Jim Kohn

Level 1

50 points

Sep 29, 2006 7:09 AM in response to Kirk McElhearn

I have seen several posts on several bulletin boards, MacWorld article, etc. stating that the wires are mislabeled. I'm not entirely sure this is the case. When the tech came to my house, one of the things Apple had him do was replace the bluetooth antenna as per the Apple instructions, and it went the same way as the original "BT" labeled wire and with the same result. Of course we now know that the #1 wire, in some cases unlabeled, works just fine. I'm not sure what this wire is supposed to be, but I'm guessing that it was not intended for use as the BT antenna.

Mibber

Level 1

0 points

Sep 29, 2006 9:13 AM in response to Eli Smith

Hi guys,

I'm as well having problems with my bluetooth module.
So I opened up the case and looked at my connections:
The BT wire is connected to the bluetooth module, how do I disconnect it?
Can you just pull it off? With a little force?

And I'm not able to find the extra wire...
It's really close to the other wires, right?

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Bluetooth and Mac Pro problem