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mac mini rf interference

Greetings fellow Applers; I've been experiencing problems with my wireless keyboard, mouse and WiFi for some time now. It's a late model 2012 mini. While searching for a solution to using HDMI audio with my Mac Mini I stumbled across a page that mentioned there is a known issue with USB 3.0 devices creating RFI and the suggestion was to shield the devices. Well, that's not a very practical solution considering WiFi cannot be shielded or it will cease to work. Second, I own numerous USB 3.0 devices, mostly drives, and shielding them would create an exorbitant amount of heat on them ultimately resulting in the failure of these drives. I am an RF engineer so creating a quasi Faraday cage around the Mac and USB devices has resulted in a slight improvement but by no means an answer. I am still unable to reliably use my Mac wireless mouse and keyboard and haven’t even bothered to try the WiFi as I ran a cable directly from the Mac to the router. Of course this is not the way one should go about making things work so I was wondering if anyone (read Apple) has found a solution to this design flaw? Apple products are not inexpensive and having purchased an Apple WiFi mouse and WiFi Keyboard it seems to me that Apple should provide a solution to this obvious design flaw. So therein lies the question; Has Apple provided a solution to this design flaw or does it fall into the typical Apple category of – Oh well, that’s the way it is so live with it! I’m using the answer I received regarding my iPhone 4 antenna issue. Does anyone else have any suggestions? Keep in mind there are 4 USB 3 connectors on the Mini so locating it in another area would require me to find a way, that is buy extension cables and / or USB 3.0 hubs. Also, this mini is running Windows 7 Ultimate and is serving as my Home Theater PC since the case it comes in makes an awesome unit. It has the i7 3615 and 16GB of RAM if that is needed for any reason. Thanks for your time! Tom

Mac mini, Windows 7, HTPC

Posted on Jun 12, 2014 1:14 AM

Reply
2 replies

Jun 12, 2014 5:55 AM in response to Divitom

I don't know why this is in the iTunes for Mac forum.


Using USB 3 devices on Mac computers FAQ - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5172:


"I sometimes have difficulty with Wi-Fi or Bluetooth devices when USB 3 devices are attached to my computer. What could be wrong?

Some USB 3 devices, hard drives in particular, can generate radio frequency interference that can cause Wi-Fi and Bluetooth devices operating in the 2.4GHz band to have issues communicating with your computer. Do not place hard drives or other USB devices behind the rear of your Mac near at the hinge of your screen. The antennas for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth are located there, and USB 3 devices placed there may interfere with your wireless connections. See this white paper for more information."

mac mini rf interference

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