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Loa

macrumors 68000
Original poster
May 5, 2003
1,725
76
Québec
Hello,

The last time I tried a wireless keyboard and mouse (10 years ago), I gave up after a week because of the occasional loss of connection, but especially because of the lag when I'd been away form the computer for a while. The fact that I had to wait 2-3 seconds before the keyboard "woke up" was enough of an irritant that I switched back to my wired keboard and mouse.

Are things better these days? How's gaming with a wireless mouse?

(I'm still using my old 2009 Apple wired keyboard and I'm looking to replace it.)

Thanks!
 
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mmkerc

macrumors 6502
Jun 21, 2014
304
162
I use the Apple wireless keyboard and have had no issues, either with lost connection, or lag waking up. I did try a macnally solar powered wireless keyboard which worked ok, (i.e. no lost connections) but at times had a lag waking up.
 
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Fishrrman

macrumors Penryn
Feb 20, 2009
29,248
13,323
I'd suggest a WIRED keyboard, and if you want a wireless mouse, look at the Logitech line of products that come with their "unifying receiver". This uses Logitech's own radio band (NOT bluetooth) and I sense that it's more reliable than bt, particularly with Macs (lots of complaints about bt running on Macs).

I use an older Macally keyboard that has USB ports on either end. I plug the unifying receiver into the end near the mouse. NEVER any connection problems, EVER.
 
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cr2

macrumors 6502
Feb 19, 2011
344
113
Hello,

The last time I tried a wireless keyboard and mouse (10 years ago), I gave up after a week because of the occasional loss of connection, but especially because of the lag when I'd been away form the computer for a while. The fact that I had to wait 2-3 seconds before the keyboard "woke up" was enough of an irritant that I switched back to my wired keboard and mouse.

Are things better these days? How's gaming with a wireless mouse?

(I'm still using my old 2009 Apple wired keyboard and I'm looking to replace it.)

Thanks!
They are a lot better. I think you will like the external trackpad.
 
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ApfelKuchen

macrumors 601
Aug 28, 2012
4,335
3,012
Between the coasts
I've been using a Magic Keyboard and Magic Mouse 2 with my Late 2013 iMac for quite some time. Other than the need to charge, I've detected no differences compared to a wired mouse/keyboard. The fact that they pair with a USB/Lightning connection rather than traditional Bluetooth pairing is a plus, and rechargeable is a huge plus compared to replacing AA batteries.

All that said, the simplicity and reliability of a wired mouse and keyboard is hard to match. The trick is finding them if you need new in an emergency. Generally what's available at the local Best Buy is their ultra-cheap, house-branded stuff. It'll get you by in a pinch, but that's about it. If you're shopping around for the best feel it's really hard to avoid Bluetooth.

In all honesty, I've had very little in the way of connection problems with all my various Bluetooth keyboards (which include those I paired with my first-generation iPad more than 10 years ago), and a wired mouse/keyboard remains a useful item for the tool kit when trying to revive an ailing PC.

The trick with wireless anything is that its affected by your local radio signal environment. If you have nearby, strong sources of radio interference, you're going to have issues. All computing gear generates RF, and while using a Bluetooth keyboard near a CPU is expected use, the presence of additional gear (or even a microwave oven) can throw a monkey wrench into the works. I isolated one person's Bluetooth connection issue to a Wi-Fi router located in a drawer directly below the computer desktop. In the old days of analog radio broadcasting we called that "swamping the input of a receiver's front end."

I can tell you tales going back nearly 50 years... Such as a designed-in-suburban-Silicon Valley (Redwood City) Ampex MM1200 24-track audio tape machine that did very poorly in the high RF environment of Midtown Manhattan (such as the radio and TV transmitters in the Empire State Building). The machine didn't meet low-frequency noise spec (hum). We initially thought it was due to 60-cycle power line pickup, but it turned out to be demodulated 59.94 Hz video sync from those TV stations, picked up by the unshielded wires running from the playback head stack to the playback cards. Properly shielding the cables turned out to be too hard to accomplish (long story). It was easier to add an RF choke to the input of every playback card, which licked the problem.
 
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cr2

macrumors 6502
Feb 19, 2011
344
113
I can tell you tales going back nearly 50 years... Such as a designed-in-suburban-Silicon Valley (Redwood City) Ampex MM1200 24-track audio tape machine that did very poorly in the high RF environment of Midtown Manhattan (such as the radio and TV transmitters in the Empire State Building). The machine didn't meet low-frequency noise spec (hum). We initially thought it was due to 60-cycle power line pickup, but it turned out to be demodulated 59.94 Hz video sync from those TV stations, picked up by the unshielded wires running from the playback head stack to the playback cards. Properly shielding the cables turned out to be too hard to accomplish (long story). It was easier to add an RF choke to the input of every playback card, which licked the problem.
Thank you for the story.

If anyone is into biking, Shimano Di2 finally made it wireless. They had a similar interference issue.
 
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Loa

macrumors 68000
Original poster
May 5, 2003
1,725
76
Québec
I've been using a Magic Keyboard and Magic Mouse 2 with my Late 2013 iMac for quite some time.
Thanks for the lengthy reply. As I have no idea what my radio signal environement is, I think I'll stick with wires for another generation. I replace my Apple wireless mouse with a Razer gaming mouse and even though I don't game much at all, the 5 button mouse has been very useful.

All I need to find is a wired extended keyboard that looks like the old aluminum Apple keyboard.

Thanks!
 

TechRunner

macrumors 65816
Oct 28, 2016
1,345
2,328
SW Florida, US
I use a wireless Logitech mouse and solar keyboard, and have zero issues with them. Having said that, I have an inexpensive Macally USB mouse and keyboard as a backup just in case ;)
 
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