KM717 Keyboard Wireless is NOT Robust

Question

I've seen KM717 connection problems posted in this forum with various "solutions", but the real problem is a very poor design of this product. The working range of the 2.4GHz wireless signal is 2-3 feet. That, coupled with a known problem of interference with USB 3.0 devices makes the product prone to signal loss.

I have the KM717 receiver dongle in a USB 3.0 port on the front of a XPS-8940 and the keyboard and mouse located within the recommended range with no metal/electrical obstacles between those components. Move either device beyond the stated range and the connection is lost or degraded to make the device unusable.

While that's an unfortunately short range, the real issue comes when you try to plug another device into one of the other available USB 3.0 ports on the front of the XPS. When I plugin a USB flash device, the keyboard cannot communicate with the receiver. Period. The mouse is a few inches closer to the receiver and does better, but still struggles.

As a result, the other USB 3 ports on the front of the tower are basically useless. The following paper from Intel describes the interferences problem and mitigation techniques, but I can't tell if Dell even tried to apply those measures.

Bottom line, caveat emptor.

USB 3.0* Radio Frequency Interference Impact on 2.4GHz Wireless Devices - White Paper (intel.com)

tanman01 · Accepted Answer

After several exchanges with tech support there seems to be a solution.

I moved the wireless receiver dongle to a front-facing USB port on my monitor which is ~2 feet from the front of the tower and ~2 feet from the keyboard and mouse. The keyboard and mouse work fine and the severe interference problem when the USB flash drive is plugged in to the front of the tower seems to be avoided.

I will run with this configuration and see if the performance is maintained.

AdrianG001 · Answer

The only solution I have found is a quick on/off of the mouse and everything is fine. Low mouse batteries will make the problem worse. The keyboard is very reliable until the batteries start fading. I can live with this issue -- mind, we shouldn't have to but...there it is.

tanman01 · Answer

On my system, the mouse is more reliable and the keyboard more sensitive to placement wrt the receiver. Every system has it's own unique environment of wireless signals so utility devices such as these need a more robust design than this model.

I'm exchanging messages with someone on the Dell team who responded but don't have results to share just yet.

DELL-Cares · Answer

Hi there!We hope this message finds you well. We wanted to check and see if you still needed our help, since we haven't receive a reply to our last message.If you still require our help, let us know, so we can continue with our support.

XPHouston · Answer

I have the same issue with two Dell KM717 with two Dell XPS 8930 my front USB receivers are 2ft from the keyboards and out of nowhere sometimes works and some others you press one time a key and shows 5 times the same one or nothing at all. I noticed the lights for Nun-Lock vanish all the time even after putting brand new batteries. I can’t really believe Dell will have such a poor quality product with such a short range wireless capability with the price we paid for this keyboards. I definitely not buying any other of their wireless products.

XPS

KM717 Keyboard Wireless is NOT Robust

Was this post helpful?