USB3 interference with WiFi & BT

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Level 1

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USB3 interference with WiFi & BT

I have a mid 2014 MacBook Pro Retina 13" and Mac Mini that was set to replace my 2008 Mac Pro

On both the WiFi drops completely when an external USB3 disk is attached (and powered up).
On the Mini, the BT connection to the Magic Trackpad gets very sketchy.

Power down the disk, and all issues are gone ... While it solves the issue, it's hardly practical 😠

Does anyone know a working solution - other than an expensive migration to TB ?

Will switching to 801.11ac (and 5 GHz) sort it ?

I'm using a Fon 2.0 router now

Source of the troubles seems to be interference, though one'd expect that to be sorted 2 years later ?

http://www.usb.org/developers/whitepapers/327216.pdf

Mac mini, OS X Yosemite (10.10.4)

Posted on Aug 4, 2015 10:51 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

lllaass

Level 10

210,417 points

Aug 4, 2015 11:09 AM in response to 1S

Using a 5 GHz network will eliminate the wifi problem. However, BT is still 2.4 GHz and will not change the problem.

Do you have a late 2014 Mac Mini?

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Answer 2

1S Author

Level 1

5 points

Aug 4, 2015 12:19 PM in response to lllaass

Yes Illaass, it's a late 2014 Mac Mini

2.8 GHz BTO with 16 GB RAM

Thanks

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Answer 3

lllaass

Level 10

210,417 points

Aug 4, 2015 12:40 PM in response to 1S

You can try using a longer USB cable and moving the drive to different places.Also try different USB ports.

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Answer 4

Aug 5, 2015 3:52 AM in response to 1S

USB 3.0 is notorious for interfering with WiFi and Bluetooth on

all platforms.

Not all drives and devices are built to standards to prevent interference.

They may meet FCC radiation requirements (which through the test set up

can be manipulated to some extent to allow the device to pass) but still

radiate sufficiently to disrupt other communications of which WiFi and

Bluetooth are particularly vulnerable.

You could try a higher quality, longer shielded cable and locate the drive

further from the computers. A last ditch, get a metal USB3.0 drive enclosure

and swap the drive.

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Answer 5

1S Author

Level 1

5 points

Aug 7, 2015 12:31 PM in response to woodmeister50

Update ℹ

I temporarily replaced the Fonera v2 router with an ancient, original Time Capsule and did some more tests.

Apparently the Mini needs a Line-of-Sight (i.e straight line) connection to the Time Capsule whenever the USB3 disk is connected !With a LoS connection, the WiFi and BT work fine - good enough to max out my 30Mbps internet connection.

Without a LoS connection and a disk attached, WiFi slows down considerably or drops out altogether, and BT becomes sketchy again.
Shutting down the disk, will restore the WiFi connection, and BT performance when using the TC.
But when using the Fonera router, WiFi will still be severely hindered until they can "see" each other directly, while BT recovers when the USB3 disk is shut down.

(The Mini and the TC or Fonera are merely 20' / 6m apart !)

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