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I have two Bluetooth devices: Logitech Laser Travel Mouse (probably this one, but white... hope that doesn't matter) and Ritmix RH-432 (sorry for language, but it's apparently Russian company and they don't have English version of site). They are connected to my desktop with ASUS USB-BT21 dongle.

The specifications of these products state:

  • ASUS USB-BT21 (dongle): Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR and A2DP support;

    Modulations supported: GFSK (1Mbps), 4-DQPSK (2Mbps), 8-DPSK (3Mbps).

    With the integrated Bluetooth dongle of Toshiba NB200 (reported as 0930:0508 Toshiba Corp. Integrated Bluetooth HCI) everything is absolutely identical. I cannot currently do anything with that netbook because southbridge is dead.

  • Ritmix RH-432BTH (headset): Bluetooth 2.0 class 2 with A2DP support.

  • Logitech V470 Bluetooth mouse: no technical info on manufacturer's website and on labels.

I use Linux with 2.6.32-24 kernel and bluez 4.60. Each of devices itself connects and works without any troubles.

The problem: when I connect both devices, transmit audio and move mouse, audio stops playing after a second, then, after I stop moving mouse and a 1.5-2 second interval it starts again, chopped, and after another second everything is ok again.

The audio is transmitted through PulseAudio as 44.1KHz 2-channel stream.

There are also some 2.4GHz WiFi networks, but as the problem occurs identically even when there are no networks in kilometers, they probably do not affect it.

Also I can say that when I touch mouse after a bit of idle time it does not begin to move immediately, but only after 200-300ms. So the dongle probably switches to some other kind of signal encoding (modulation, maybe?). This should be related to the very fact of data transfer, not amount, because just a single click produces all these destructive results, too.

upd: this annoys me so badly I have offered a +200 bounty, hope this would help a bit...

upd2: the 'captain obvious' style answers without any explanation aren't really helpful at all; I don't think I want to buy another device with a reason of just "it doesn't work"; and I can make such a decision without external help.

upd3: (after a year, yep) I've experimented a bit with different setups. Looks like recent bluez helps a bit, and mouse from Dell instead of Logitech too, and a noname Chinese "Bluetooth 3.0" dongle is surprisely better than the Asus one... but nevertheless, it does not work in the end. I really should go and try some other headphones.

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I have the same problem with logitech mouse and sony headset connected directly to dell laptop on Ubuntu 14.04 –  Amorphous Sep 22 at 15:47

5 Answers 5

up vote 2 down vote accepted

Old Google Answers Thread:

Some devices can establish many connections at the same time with other devices (like your computer connected to a mobile phone modem, a bluetooth headset, and to another computer - the usb dongle is conected with 3 different devices at the same time). Other devices can only handle one connection at a time. But you can have as many different devices paired (your device "remembers" other devices it has "met") as many persons you can meet - or let's just say, unlimited,

It is quite possible that both just happen to have this limitation. Try going to Best Buy and buy-then-return the most expensive and high-end bluetooth dongle there. If the problem disappears, it's' your bluetooth devices. If not, you can follow another lead or you can take the time-is-money diehard purist approach and buy yourself an RF mouse.

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Hm, the buy-then-return approach is interesting as I didn't thought of it. I'll try if nothing else would work (heard of return problems with retailers here in Moscow; probably it's easier to just test everything in their office). –  whitequark Aug 14 '10 at 2:53
The 'connection count limit' clause wasn't immediately clear for me. Yeah, that is a probable cause of my problems, but there should be some way to check that number from the software... –  whitequark Aug 14 '10 at 3:09

I have a few things you can try:

  1. Attempt to get eiither of the devices to work with just 1 of the dongles. If they are flat out incompatible, consider a cheap dongle that supports both.

  2. If that is not possible, attempt to stick one of them on a different channel/bus as the kernel sees it, I could go on about why or how, but it takes a little time to explain. One easy way is to try all combinations of usb ports OR One on the mainboard and one on a USB hub OR get/use a device that does it, such as a PCMCIA / PCCARD. One other device that will use a virtual port is a ETHERNET to USB hub.

  3. One Software Only way is to run a virtualization software (or possibly an OS jail) to pump the signal into a virtual PC which WILL pass over the same physical bus, and possibly the same possibly the same USB stack (depending on the OS/Virtualization software used), but will definitally bypass bluez all together (assuming you forward the USB device, and not the "mouse/headset" directly). After that you can forward the mouse (easier) or headphones (slightly harder) back out to your main PC. The whole thing will use some memory, but if you start out with that in mind, it could be kept low.

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There really is only one way to solve this problem, unfortunately not through settings. You should look into a wireless mouse that isn't bluetooth. It's fine to have it operate in the 2.4Ghz spectrum, but get an RF mouse not a bluetooth one.

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Well, at least I like my bluetooth mouse, and I have things to spend money on. The 'use something other' approach is so obvious (at least I mentioned that 2.4Ghz WiFi does not interfere at all) and your answer does not explain absolutely anything, so it is utterly useless. (Anyway, it is a good reason to update the question.) –  whitequark Aug 14 '10 at 2:46

You might be better off using a non-bluetooth mouse. I've heard that the Logitech Nano mice don't interfere with bluetooth devices http://www.logitech.com/en-us/mice-pointers/mice/devices/4611

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You can see the reply to Garrett's answer below. (superuser.com/questions/171133/…) –  whitequark Aug 14 '10 at 2:47
Well, then enjoy your continued struggles. OR, you could consider that an RF mouse is running on a different frequency spectrum than the very crowed 2.4Ghz band. –  IDisposable Aug 14 '10 at 7:37
The problem is not with the spectrum: I tested that deep in the forest too where were no devices other than my netbook and these two. If 2.4GHz can be used by at least 2-3 50Mbit/s WiFi connections it can be used by two low-traffic Bluetooth devices. Also, most non-BT RF mouses are also 2.4GHz. –  whitequark Aug 17 '10 at 23:21
And the specific one I mentioned isn't running at 2.4GHz, it runs at 900MHz –  IDisposable Aug 31 '10 at 20:42

I have bluetooth mouse, and I have similar problems with my mouse, though I don't have any wireless headset. So, I'm afraid the only answer to your question is "get non-bluetooth mouse!", whether you like it or not ]:->

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My point is: the answer itself is OK, but only when it is coupled with an explanation. –  whitequark Aug 15 '10 at 17:39

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