USB Bluetooth device.

[Cuckoo]

Hi All,

I've bought a cheap belkin usb device for my G4 MDD. And it works, almost flawlessly. I can't wake the system from sleep with an apple bluetooth mouse/keyboard. This option is just greyed out.

Does anybody have any experience with an USB Bluetooth device which can wake a G4 from sleep?

Thanks in advance

cuckoo

 

[tobefirst ⚽️]

I'm on the same side as you, using a third party USB dongle, and my options are grayed out. I'm assuming that the bluetooth has to be built-in in order to do that, although it doesn't seem like that would have to be the case. I'm sorry to say that I don't know a solution, but I thought I would let you know that you're not the only one with the issue.

 

[kgarner]

I'm not sure if this works, but Apple does endorse the D-Link unit (they even have a firmware update for it, but if you apply it it won't work with PCs anymore). I have one and it's great, but I don't have a Bluetooth keyboard or mouse yet, so I don't know if those work to wake the computer.

 

[Cuckoo]

I'm not sure if this works, but Apple does endorse the D-Link unit (they even have a firmware update for it, but if you apply it it won't work with PCs anymore). I have one and it's great, but I don't have a Bluetooth keyboard or mouse yet, so I don't know if those work to wake the computer.

Hey,

In the system preferences -> bluetooth -> settings

Is the option 'Allow Bluetooth devices to wake this computer' grey? Or just black like the other three?

If it is black like the others, that would be great news!

Thanks in advance!

Cuckoo

 

[kgarner]

Not sure. I will try to remember to check when I get home tonight, but I won't be able to answer until tomorrow as I am between places at the moment and don't have internet at home yet. No promises that I remember either. From reviews that I read ont he Apple online store it seems to be hit or miss with the wake from sleep issue.

 

[slefler]

I also have the D-Link dongle. The wake option isn't available with it either.

 

[Cuckoo]

Well, i went ahead and bought a dlink dongle. And it works just like an internal bluetooth device.

After reading much in the apple.com forum, i found out the following things.:

- only the dlink dongle can become a true native os-x bluetooth dongle. In order to do this, you have to reprogram the device, the patch can be found on the apple site. I think it's very weird that this isn't more advertised.

- after flashing your dongle it won't work on a PC <but who cares about that>

- headsets don't work natively on a USB dongle

- the alow to wake this system with bluetooth device is available after the flashing is done.

- when i incerted the dongle into my alu cin display it worked flawlessly but couldn't wake the system from sleep, so it needs to be the USB slot in the system itself

(and secondhand information, from the forum)
- the type of battery you use in your bt mouse is of importance. A lot of people who use cheap(er) penlights or recharables have unpredictable behavious, varying from 'losing the pairing' to 'light in the mouse is 'on' and 'mouse responds to clicks but it won't move'. When high energy batteries are used, all those problems go away. The BT keyboard is less sensitive to this.

Hope this helps some of you out there... Maybe we should make a little known issues and solutions corner in the Macrumors!

Cuckoo

 

[mpw]

I had a D-Link dongle with my G3 iBook. I got the standard PC version and never updated it and it would happily wake the iBook from sleep.

Then it, the D-Link, broke and was replaced with a Belkin PC dongle. Again this worked fine.

Both these dongles were however fitted in the USB on a wired keyboard.

When I fitted the(super-long) Microsoft dongle that came with the mouse it would only pair when fitted in the iBooks USB port directly and took much longer to find it's own mouse. IIRC it would not wake the iBook???

 

[nihilisticmonk]

- when i incerted the dongle into my alu cin display it worked flawlessly but couldn't wake the system from sleep, so it needs to be the USB slot in the system itself

Cuckoo

Really? I have the Dlink 120 Rev B4, in my Alu Cinema displays USB hub, and can wake from sleep no problem. I can't from my belkin hub, but definately from my Cinema display.....

Only problem I sometimes have is after waking, 1 in 10 times, it may loose the pairing. Turning the keyboard off and on sorts this out however.

 

[Cuckoo]

Really? I have the Dlink 120 Rev B4, in my Alu Cinema displays USB hub, and can wake from sleep no problem. I can't from my belkin hub, but definately from my Cinema display.....

Only problem I sometimes have is after waking, 1 in 10 times, it may loose the pairing. Turning the keyboard off and on sorts this out however.

Wow... so all we can really conclude from all of this is that bluetooth isn't the most relyable techonology in the world...

I'm really amazed....