Recognition delay with Dell BT keyboard and mouse.

Question

I have an E1705 that I purchased with a Dell BT Keyboard and mouse.   There is a lag in the response time when you first use the mouse and keyboard.   You have to move the mouse around for a bit till it is recognized, and the key board doesn't start working untill you have typed several or more keys.   The problem with the keyboard is VERY annoying since you have to go back and start your sentance again.   This occurs when you first start the computer but is WELL after the machine loads all the programs.   Has anyone else experienced this problem??

wraujr · Answer

I have I6000 with Dell 350 module and Micosoft BT mouse and have same thing. I believe

this is unavoidable and a function of the BT protocol. When you power up (or come out

of standby) the mouse/keyboard are not "connected". When you move the mouse, its

electronics wakes up and it "registers" itself with the BT module/software in the PC. This

"registration" procedure takes time and that is the delay you experience. This is all a function

of a standardized wireless network whether Bluetooth or 802.x. The other wireless mice with USB

modules (like Microsoft) use non-standard point-to-point communications and don't meet any standards.

I suspect any BT mouse/keyboard will experience this delay.

viflyer · Answer

Well, I figured it was something like that.   What a pain!   The set - up wasn't very expensive, so maybe I should try a USB wireless keyboard and mouse?   If I understand you correctly, they don't go through the same recognition protocal?    The machine lives on the desk most of the time so I could just pull the receiver when I take the machine.   Ya know, it isn't that big a deal!    I will probably just leave it alone and put up with it.   If you are correct and it is normal?   The Set Point utility gave me some problems when I first set up the keyboard and mouse, and I had to re-install it ( from disk ) a couple of times to get it to work right.   I was thinking of downloading it from the Dell site and installing it again.   I think the version on the site is an updated version.

yellowlt4 · Answer

Most Bluetooth keyboards and mouse will go into sleep mode to save battery life, once the keyboard/mouse has gone into sleep mode to preserve power it must then be powered back up to function, that is the cause of this delay.  This bothered me for a day or 2 but its no big deal and well worth it for the benefits gained by using a Bluetooth mouse.

wraujr · Answer

I agree that the mouse/keyboard hardware goes into sleep mode, but so does the hardware for non-BT wireless devices and these devices don't experience the same delay (I've been running various non-BT mice for years and they don't have this delay).  I am no expert on BT, but I'm pretty sure the delay is part of the BT recognition and connection establishment process that's part of a networking protocol.  Remember BT is designed as a PAN (personal area network) with all the handshaking and device identification of a wireless network.  Therefore, after powering up, the mouse/keyboard must 'establish' a logical connection thru an identification and registration process which takes time.  Your 802.x WLAN does the same thing when you login.  Not sure there is any way around this.  I wish notebook manufacturers made an embedded USB slot that a non-BT wireless transceiver module could be embedded into or heck come up with a wireless mouse/keyboard standard and embed the interface on the motherboard.  I do use a BT mouse on my laptop and the delay is the only downside I've experienced.  I continue to use it because I hate having a dongle hanging on the USB port.  The use of BT for a simple mouse/keyboard is overkill.  But hey, life is just a series of tradeoffs and compromises.

viflyer · Answer

I appreciate the informed comments. I agree, it is "overkill" to use one BT device like a key board and mouse. Having NO experience with network devices, I just wasn't expecting this type of performance delay. Maybe I will pick up a wireless USB keyboard down the road but as I said, I will just put up with it.

Norm

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Recognition delay with Dell BT keyboard and mouse.

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