MP 7,1 Bluetooth / Magic Mouse & Keyboard

[724699]

Is anyone else experiencing intermittent bluetooth connectivity issues with their Mac Pro? Seems to have gotten worse for me. The Mac is right under my desk, and the amount of times the keyboard and mouse reconnect and get jittery is just infuriating at this point.

Still within the return window, but I doubt its faulty hardware?

 

[gerrard0804]

Mine has the same issue. I put mine under the desk aside. The Logitech unifying receiver plugged at the back slot. I think reception is interfered when it uses 2.4ghz for connection. Bluetooth is fine for me.

 

[astrorider]

No problems here (under desk), but interference from USB 3 devices and others is very common. This support link has some good tips that may help: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204621

 

[724699]

Hmm guess I'll try to isolate the problem by moving some of my gear around. It gets pretty annoying having your keyboard and mouse disconnect and lock up sporadically multiple times per day.

Thanks for the link

 

[theriff]

Hmm guess I'll try to isolate the problem by moving some of my gear around. It gets pretty annoying having your keyboard and mouse disconnect and lock up sporadically multiple times per day.

Thanks for the link

Did you ever find a fix for this? I'm having the same problem

 

[profdraper]

Yes, my Mac pro shipped with Apple keyboard, trackpad and mouse, but I've found them to be overpriced garbage (design and function) & don't use them at all now. Same for me with the poor bluetooth connectivity issues.

I now use a Dell Premier Wireless keyboard (superior to Apple's in every way including ergonomics, feel, angle, key travel, switching etc) and a Logitech Ergo wireless trackball, also far superior to the dreadful Apple mouse, eg, the Logictech can charge from USB while continuing to be used, switching, control IO etc.

Both the Dell & the Logictech are firstly connected to a Windows workstation via their wireless USB dongles. The Dell keyboard provides three way switching (1 x wireless & 2 x bluetooth); the Logictech mouse provides two way switching (1 x wireless & 1 x bluetooth).

The main point here in terms of the OP: unlike the Apple devices, both the Dell keyboard and the Logitech work flawlessly with the Mac Pro's bluetooth connection. This would seem to indicate that the problem lies with Apple's IO devices, not the computer itself.

 

[theriff]

Yes, my Mac pro shipped with Apple keyboard, trackpad and mouse, but I've found them to be overpriced garbage (design and function) & don't use them at all now. Same for me with the poor bluetooth connectivity issues.

I now use a Dell Premier Wireless keyboard (superior to Apple's in every way including ergonomics, feel, angle, key travel, switching etc) and a Logitech Ergo wireless trackball, also far superior to the dreadful Apple mouse, eg, the Logictech can charge from USB while continuing to be used, switching, control IO etc.

Both the Dell & the Logictech are firstly connected to a Windows workstation via their wireless USB dongles. The Dell keyboard provides three way switching (1 x wireless & 2 x bluetooth); the Logictech mouse provides two way switching (1 x wireless & 1 x bluetooth).

The main point here in terms of the OP: unlike the Apple devices, both the Dell keyboard and the Logitech work flawlessly with the Mac Pro's bluetooth connection. This would seem to indicate that the problem lies with Apple's IO devices, not the computer itself.

Thanks! So you mentioned first they are connected to a Windows Workstation and then to a mac? I don't have a Windows computer, will they connect direct to a mac? That keyboard looks nice! Not a trackball guy so I'm hoping to find something close to a Magic Mouse (that actually works!)

 

[choreo]

Is it possible to just leave the keyboard plugged in via USB-C cable all the time?

 

[lfaa]

The main point here in terms of the OP: unlike the Apple devices, both the Dell keyboard and the Logitech work flawlessly with the Mac Pro's bluetooth connection. This would seem to indicate that the problem lies with Apple's IO devices, not the computer itself.

Not sure: it could be the computer BT that for example could have a higher detection threshold that makes older Apple BT accessories to weak to be reliable. Maybe your Dell keyb emits a slightly stronger signal that makes it working flawlessly with your mac. Here I have a MB pro from 2019 running Catalina and daily loss of my mouse. Same with an older mouse (the good one, with 2 AA batteries inside), and that mouse worked years on a 2010 MB pro (and still works with it perfectly). I do think that the BT issues is linked to catalina and/or the recent BT hw Apple put in their MB. Have a good week-end.

 

[jscipione]

The bluetooth on the classic Mac Pro is not very good, it has terrible range out of the box. But the problem gets even worse when you install a USB3 PCIe card as it apparently causes radio interference inside the case. You can solve the problem by upgrading the wifi and bluetooth to a BCM94360CD and installing open core. Or you can remove the USB3 card to fix the problem.