Some kind of interference with Bluetooth Signal?

[pilotkid]

Hello everyone. So I am having a very annoying problem and no one can figure it out, including myself. I've been to the Genius Bar three times and I have had both my bluetooth keyboard and Magic Track Pad replaced, which hasn't solved the problem. The problem I am having is that when(and only when) I am connected to my external monitor with my 2015 MacBook in clamshell mode my Bluetooth keyboard and track pad stutter. My trackpad cursor moves erratically and typing is slow to show up on the screen. I have found a thread on Apple's support website where there are 13 pages of responses about this same issue but no one can figure it out; except one person said the wrap the HDMI cable from the monitor to the MacBook in aluminum foil!!! I have exhausted everything I can think of. The only thing that I can think of that could possibly interfere with the bluetooth signal is that my Netgear Nighthawk X4S router is within about six inches of my MacBook when its docked, in clamshell mode. Help!!!
Any suggestions and or fixes would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Weaselboy]

I'd be willing to bet it is wifi interference from that router being so close.

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201542

Try the suggestions at the very bottom of this support document.

Can you move the MacBook to the other side of the house just as a test to see if that fixes it?

 

[chown33]

I'd be willing to bet it is wifi interference from that router being so close.

I agree.

I did a demo once where I brought my own router to setup a simple WAN. The demo machine had Bluetooth peripherals. They were completely useless when the router was within a couple feet. As soon as I turned off the router, presto, all the peripherals instantly started working.

The Netgear Nighthawk X4S supports the 5GHz band, so the OP can do a simple test: turn off the router's 2.4GHz radio, and turn on only the 5GHz radio. Since Bluetooth occupies the 2.4GHz band, there will be a conflict if both devices are active on the same band.

 

[pilotkid]

Thanks for the info both of you. I read all the information on the link that Weaselboy posted. I ended up moving the entire router, and my cable modem to a different room in the house that also had cable line access. I am getting ready to test out the keyboard and mouse in a minute so I will report back. The information in the link also mentioned something about interference with external hard drives. I do have a USB 3 hard drive connected to my USB C dongle thats plugged into my MacBook. I found it interesting that a USB 3 external hard drive had any potential in messing up the 2.4ghz band that Bluetooth uses. Anyways, like I said, I moved the router and cable modem to a different room...testing everything now.