DIY: Troubleshooting the USB 3 / bluetooth interference

Kinivo Bluetooth 4 dongle, Amazon

***

My apologies to you readers who have no interest in technical computer stuff.

I've spent several packets of time during the last few days trying to figure out how to set up the bluetooth headset that I want despite a known and experienced problem with USB 3.0 interfering with bluetooth transmission.

Intel defines the problem in this white paper: USB 3.0* Radio Frequency Interference Impact on 2.4 GHz Wireless Devices.  According to the blog Rocket Yard:

The unfortunate result is dropped or lost signals at distances as near as five feet, compared to the normal 20-30 foot reception range of Bluetooth devices. This interference increases the further away from the computer the Bluetooth device is located. At the same time, it was noticed that the further away from the Bluetooth antenna the USB 3.0 device is, the less severe the interference.

The Rocket Yard is talking about Mac minis, while the problem I experienced was due to plugging a Logitech Unifying receiver for a wireless mouse into a USB 3 port in the front panel of my PC. There was no way I'd be able to use the mouse with that configuration. (Finally solved that one by plugging the receiver into the front of a KVM)

While several references suggest shielding will solve the problem, how do you shield either the USB port or the bluetooth dongle? And I'm not finding any shielded bluetooth adapters. Rocket Yard suggests wrapping a special foil around the Mac mini's bluetooth module--a solution that won't work for my machine. The machine shown below isn't like mine, it's far more attractive.

***

11 Super Cool Gaming PC Case Mods, GamingBolt

***

Seems to me changing the USB 3.0 radio frequency would solve the problem and that's probably in the works. For now I'm going to try plugging the bluetooth adapter into an USB 2.0 port in the back panel. I'm guessing that Bluetooth 4.0 is the best thing to try. We'll see if that works.

If shielding for the purpose of privacy and security is your concern, there are products, such as Silent Pocket that will help.

Please comment if you've found a good solution to the interference puzzle.

-- Marge

Update (04-22-15): Tried my new bluetooth adapter in a USB slot on the front panel -- no go.  In the back panel it works. However... It interferes with the Logitech wireless mouse, so can't use it. Bummer.

DIY troubleshooting the troublesome

The other day my repair guy installed a new cartridge in the kitchen faucet because it was dripping.  Unfortunately, when he was done, the hot and cold streams were reversed.  He was mystified; I said I'll check it on the web.  Apparently the problem is not unusual.  After typing in "moen faucet hot cold reversed" and selecting the Google search result that seemed to most apply, I landed at the terrylove.com DIY forum.  There one person said "Pull the cartridge out and reverse it 180 degrees." (In other words turn it over.)  Another said "Just remove the handle and turn the stem 180 degrees."  The moderator said that reversing the cartridge won't work.  So repair guy rotated the stem 180 and -- voila!  Now I don't have to doublethink where hot and cold are.  Sweet.

This brings me to troubleshooting using the web.  There's an article at Wikipedia giving techniques for troubleshooting.  On the web it sometimes takes a few tries to get the search terms that will zero in on the information you want.  For example, to troubleshoot Firefox, try "troubleshoot Firefox <space>" and see what Google suggests.  Check some of the suggestions to see if you're getting close to the problem you have in mind, then rephrase the search as needed.  (Note that Firefox may be a poor example because there is excellent tech support at Mozilla support.)
***

AHA! jokes

***
Techsoup.org has an excellent page on troubleshooting your desktop.  They also have a page on troubleshooting software.
***

posted by fahd0321, MemeCenter

***
While looking around I found the Circuit Detective's page on home electrical troubleshooting.  You might find it helpful/interesting.  Help Larry out with a donation if you can.

Well, back to nursing my aging home.

--Marge