Apple stock BT versus Belkin F8T012

[eyoungren]

I have a Belkin Bluetooth Adapter (F8T012) that I originally got for my PowerMac G4. It's been working with my Quad for a while now because for whatever reason the stock BT card has some latency.

Works well with my Magic Mouse.

However, I've never been able to use more than one BT device with this adapter. I did a little testing today and it seems that this is because I've had the adapter plugged into the USB slot of the keyboard. With it plugged in directly to the Quad in the front slot (all by itself) I am able to use both my MM and my Beats headphones without any issues. But with the stock Apple BT card, I still have issues.

My understanding is that Apple limits BT connections to 7, while realistically you should only expect 3-4 connections. But the stock BT can't even handle two!

Why is that? Are the cards in the G5's just that lame?

The Belkin adapter by the way uses a Broadcom chip. Perhaps that may be why?

I have the same stock card and the same issues in my 2.3DC G5 too so it can't be just an anamoly with my Quad.

Here's what the Belkin adapter looks like if you're curious.

I'm just curious why the third party adapter would be functionally superior to the stock Apple hardware.

 

[amagichnich]

I don't have any g5, but my Mac Mini 1.5Ghz connects to a MagicMouse, BT Keyboard and Bluetooth PAN simultaneously. The same applies to my iBook 12" 1.33 which additionally had some Bluetooth speakers connected to it. Either Apple uses completely different hardware in the G5s or yours is just a bit stupid

 

[AphoticD]

I think it just comes down to the signal strength (and noise) of the antenna, right? Maybe the G5 tower is producing interference.

I have experienced the same issues with my Mac Pro 3,1 tower. I rearranged my office and the tower is now positioned about 20cm further away from the desk. I wanted to move it out of being “under foot” and now my Magic Mouse and BT Apple keyboard both lag terribly - the keyboard also appears to occasionally get sticky keys until I turn it off and on again.

I previously installed an external antenna and routed the internal BT cables out through the rear of the tower, this improved things over the stock config, but after moving things around, the reliability has been so unacceptable that I have resorted to a wired keyboard and mouse.

 

[AL1630]

I have experienced the same issues with my Mac Pro 3,1 tower. I rearranged my office and the tower is now positioned about 20cm further away from the desk. I wanted to move it out of being “under foot” and now my Magic Mouse and BT Apple keyboard both lag terribly - the keyboard also appears to occasionally get sticky keys until I turn it off and on again.

I had a similar issue with my Mac Pro 1,1. Apparently Apple actually mislabeled the bluetooth cable on some units, so the signal strength suffers a lot. I switched the cables and now my headphones and trackpad are fine. I'm not sure if the cable mix-up happened on the G5s though.

 

[timidpimpin]

I use this one on El Capitan:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Bluetooth-...epid=1082817848&hash=item25e3b9d76c:rk:1:pf:0

Works great, but it doesn't work in Snow Leopard, so likely not Tiger or Leopard. My guess is that older Mac OS don't support Bluetooth 4.0.

 

[AphoticD]

I use this one on El Capitan:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Bluetooth-...epid=1082817848&hash=item25e3b9d76c:rk:1:pf:0

Works great, but it doesn't work in Snow Leopard, so likely not Tiger or Leopard. My guess is that older Mac OS don't support Bluetooth 4.0.

I installed this on my El Capitan Mac Pro 3,1 today and finally have my wireless keyboard and magic mouse working 100% again.

I had to first disconnect the devices and remove the pairing, then switch the internal Bluetooth Off, plug in the dongle and re-pair. It's handy to see the activity light and most importantly, no more twitchy movements or drop outs! I should clarify that the dongle is attached to a USB 2.0 hub on my desk and the Mac Pro is sitting on the floor, under the desk.

For a grand total of AU$4.55 this is good economy all round and far easier than hacking away with extra antennae and internal cabling.

Thank you for the great recommendation!

 

[timidpimpin]

I installed this on my El Capitan Mac Pro 3,1 today and finally have my wireless keyboard and magic mouse working 100% again.

I had to first disconnect the devices and remove the pairing, then switch the internal Bluetooth Off, plug in the dongle and re-pair. It's handy to see the activity light and most importantly, no more twitchy movements or drop outs! I should clarify that the dongle is attached to a USB 2.0 hub on my desk and the Mac Pro is sitting on the floor, under the desk.

For a grand total of AU$4.55 this is good economy all round and far easier than hacking away with extra antennae and internal cabling.

Thank you for the great recommendation!

Glad I could help! It works great with wireless headphones also.

 

[1042686]

The BT on my macpro 1,1 is also a skippy mess at times. I’ll reconnect the antenna cables & if that doesn’t work, I’ll grab a dongle.