# Wireless keyboards and mouse **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 14, 2017, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wireless-keyboards-and-mouse/804511 "2017-12-14T16:40:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![WildBlueYonder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ce7236/32.png) [@WildBlueYonder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildBlueYonder)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2017, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wireless-keyboards-and-mouse/804511/1 "2017-12-14T16:40:43Z")
Why are these things lagging?? Not always but enough to drive me nuts, going along then all of a sudden, pow, stalls! I’ve never had a wireless keyboard before. :smack::smack: ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2017, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wireless-keyboards-and-mouse/804511/2 "2017-12-14T17:03:21Z")
It shouldn’t be lagging. Mine don’t lag. If you plug in a wired keyboard and mouse into that same computer, are they laggy as well? If so then the problem is the computer, not the keyboard and mouse. You could also have a lot of radio noise interference nearby. Microwaves, cordless phones, neon signs, and all sorts of stuff can generate radio noise that could be impacting your keyboard and mouse. It’s also possible that the specific keyboard and mouse that you have are laggy. They aren’t all laggy though. Most work perfectly fine. ---
**Author:** ![StrTrkr777](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@StrTrkr777](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StrTrkr777)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2017, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wireless-keyboards-and-mouse/804511/3 "2017-12-14T17:30:09Z")
Agree with the above. I use a Microsoft wireless keyboard and mouse at work at at my desk at home, and they never lag. They are just as good as the wired versions. Both of these are no more than 6 ft from the wireless fob that plugs into the computer. I also have a Logitech wireless keyboard that has a built in track pad so that I do not have to manage a separate mouse. It attaches to the HTPC and is more like 15 ft from the fob. It does lag more and if I inadvertantly have the front of the keyboard against something solid, sometimes it does not function at all. I am not sure if the lagging comes from it being a different brand, or if it is due to the distance. But since it is just for being able to run the HTPC, it lagging is not as big a deal as just having both things in one form factor. ---
**Author:** ![WildBlueYonder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ce7236/32.png) [@WildBlueYonder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildBlueYonder)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2017, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wireless-keyboards-and-mouse/804511/4 "2017-12-14T22:45:22Z")
Ah, move away from the tv and DVD player? ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2017, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wireless-keyboards-and-mouse/804511/5 "2017-12-14T22:46:58Z")
Hate, hate, hate them. The Macs in our school library had them and they would either lag or start working on a different computer. I tossed them over time and replaced them with old fashioned keyboards and mice. ---
**Author:** ![WildBlueYonder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ce7236/32.png) [@WildBlueYonder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildBlueYonder)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2017, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wireless-keyboards-and-mouse/804511/6 "2017-12-16T15:11:16Z")
Its like doesnt happen right away, after I work for a while, then it starts lagging. I disconnected the speaker to see if that helps… Time will tell. ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2017, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wireless-keyboards-and-mouse/804511/7 "2017-12-25T06:39:42Z")
I’ve hated wireless input devices after the first time I got them and they’d always run out of power at the most inopportune times, with absolutely no warning at all. I don’t know if there’s ones these days that will be able to show you on your monitor when your keyboard is running low, but I have a new wireless one at work and it has ran out of power without warning too (I suppose it has a visible power indicator, but it’s not what I’m looking at all the time, and glare from the office lights makes it hard to see anyway). I keep a cord to plug it back in to charge it within range so I don’t lose more than a few seconds at work, but at home I had to change the rechargeable batteries, which made me really lose what I was doing. I now use a keyboard that I got a very long time ago that has many signs of wear, but it works fine and to me it’s better than going with the wireless one that came with the computer I most recently bought. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2017, 8:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wireless-keyboards-and-mouse/804511/8 "2017-12-25T08:00:59Z")
Yeay, wireless is the worst! The batteries die frequently, and without warning. But worst of all-----there’s no cord! The cord is the most important thing of all, because that’s what saves the mouse from smashing on the floor after the cat knocks it off the table. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2017, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wireless-keyboards-and-mouse/804511/9 "2017-12-25T10:19:02Z")
I distrust wireless anythings. Call me a traditionalist, but I like cables. ---
**Author:** ![Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/channing_idaho_banks/32/250_2.png) [@Channing\_Idaho\_Banks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Channing_Idaho_Banks)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2017, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wireless-keyboards-and-mouse/804511/10 "2017-12-25T15:42:46Z")
I have a I have a wireless set-up because it’s convenient. Used to be that when you were typing certain words just wouldn’t appear. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2017, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wireless-keyboards-and-mouse/804511/11 "2017-12-25T16:04:11Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > But worst of all-----there’s no cord! > The cord is the most important thing of all, because that’s what saves the mouse from smashing on the floor after the cat knocks it off the table. 🙂 Nah, I had a wireful mouse get destroyed once when it was improperly yanked out of its socket in a cat-related incident. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2017, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wireless-keyboards-and-mouse/804511/12 "2017-12-25T16:32:47Z")
Make sure the keyboard and mouse aren’t designed for 3.0 USB ports, and you have them plugged into 2.0, or 1.1. if there is a conflict, try going to the website of the manufacturer, and see if there is software to download that will take care of the discrepancy. If the computer is a desktop, you can always buy a card with 3.0 plugs on it, and installing it on the desktop model. You can also go into settings for the mouse and see if lag time is one of the settings. I don’t know what purpose they would serve, but my mouse has about 20 different settings, all of which I have to turn off to get mouse to operate in an ordinary way. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2017, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wireless-keyboards-and-mouse/804511/13 "2017-12-25T17:21:36Z")
I’ve used a wireless trackball mouse for years and have never experienced lag. No difference from when I used the wired version of the same product. Still have a wired keyboard, but will be replacing with wireless soon. ---
**Author:** ![Wolf333](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf333/32/3460_2.png) [@Wolf333](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolf333)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2017, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wireless-keyboards-and-mouse/804511/14 "2017-12-25T17:26:50Z")
White paper from Intel [USB 3.0\* Radio Frequency Interference on 2.4 GHz Devices](https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/io/universal-serial-bus/usb3-frequency-interference-paper.html) If this is what is causing your issue, get a USB extender cable and move the wireless keyboard and mouse receiver away from the PC. ---
**Author:** ![WildBlueYonder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ce7236/32.png) [@WildBlueYonder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildBlueYonder)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2017, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wireless-keyboards-and-mouse/804511/15 "2017-12-25T19:30:23Z")
Thanks for all the help, I think I got it now. The chip for the keyboard and the chip for the mouse were right next to each other. I moved the mouse chip to a front port and all is good. Mouses do need cords sometimes, when they frustrate you, you take cord in hand, swing it around like a lasso and then, smash it up against the walls. :eek::eek:That’ll teach them for fucking up! :D:D ---
**Author:** ![PoppaSan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/poppasan/32/189_2.png) [@PoppaSan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoppaSan)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2017, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wireless-keyboards-and-mouse/804511/16 "2017-12-27T00:26:12Z")
They also need cords to be tethered to the device. Not taken by teenagers who lost theirs in the pile of stuff in their rooms and take mine since it is findable. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2017, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wireless-keyboards-and-mouse/804511/17 "2017-12-27T00:54:06Z")
I have a wireless mouse that used to act erratically at times. It took me a long time to figure out what was actually wrong with it: It was that the low battery indicator light was broken. I don’t use it much any more (I mostly got it to use in presentations), but when I do, I just have to make sure the battery is fully charged.