Wireless Keyboard and Mouse Troubles

Posted:
in Genius Bar edited January 2014
iMac G5 Rev B 2.0 GHz 20" system. Runs beautifully and I love every bit of it. However, the power in our apartment complex is a bit screwy at times. I get a spike every now and then, probably two or three times a day at worse. When these spikes occur, my system switches over to UPS power for a second or so and then returns to outlet power. No problems there - the system keeps running perfectly, just like it's supposed to.



However, after the spike occurs, my wireless keyboard and mouse don't work. I can't move the cursor or type anything and get it to show up on the iMac. The only way I've been able to workaround this problem is to have my old Logitech USB trackball plugged in all the time so that I can get back into Bluetooth setup and have the computer redetect the wireless peripherals. This is not only annoying, but I'm dreading the day when I have a real power outage and I'm trying desperately to save my dissertation work without a keyboard or a mouse! I'll have to scramble to find my old trackball real fast and get it plugged in before the UPS runs out of power! Crazy!



Has anyone experienced this before and if so, is there a fix? Should I contact Apple about this? Try different outlets? Etc...



If there's no fix, I'm afraid I may have to go back to wires for the time being. I'm at the beginning stages of PhD work and need my system to operate through thick and thin.



Any help you can provide will be appreciated. Thanks!

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 2
    maccrazymaccrazy Posts: 2,658member
    I thought Macs tended to automatically connect devices when none were found or connected - but this could just be at startup. I would contact Apple and see if they can help.
  • Reply 2 of 2
    Went through WebChat and eventually contacted tech support on the phone. Turns out that if the USB bus power is reduced to a certain level either due to power spike or just a hungry USB device, that the Bluetooth keyboard and mouse can get disconnected and not reconect automatically.



    I asked if there was a solution to this problem or if it was going to be fixed in a future update and he said it was a hardware difficulty that was impossible to overcome at this time. He suggested that I attached a wired keyboard and mouse to the system if the problem continued.



    I proceeded to tell him that I specifically ordered a wireless keyboard and mouse with my iMac and did not receive a wired keyboard and mouse in the box. I basically told them that I felt like this was an issue that should have been mentioned before my purchase and my decision to get the wireless with the system. He went back-and-forth with me for a bit and eventually agreed that the problem was more on their end than on mine and offered to ship me a USB keyboard and mouse for free. I agreed. The shipment should arrive early next week.



    Overall a good tech support experience, but I'm saddened by the fact that I can't use my wireless keyboard and mouse if these power spikes keep occurring!



    On a brighter note... I switched the outlet that the UPS and iMac are connected to and SO FAR no power spikes. We'll see if this behavior continues.



    I may try cutting power to my system by taking the plug out of the wall and see how the wireless keyboard and mouse respond to that. Maybe the spikes are the issue and if a real power outage occurred it wouldn't be a problem. Not sure I want to take that chance, though!
Sign In or Register to comment.