Linux @lemmy.ml Dariusmiles2123 @sh.itjust.works 2w ago

Tired of bluetooth problems, should I get a wired mouse or a bluetooth dongle?

Hi everyone,

I run a Surface Go 1 with Fedora Workstation on it and with the Surface Kernel installed in order to improve bluetooth.

Sadly, lately, it ain't improving anything and my Surface Go just seems to have lost its bluetooth connectivity as it only manages to connect to my Sony portable speaker.

My work iPhone and my Microsoft Modern Mobile Mouse aren't detected/can't detect my Surface Go, but I can still send files through LocalSend (I guess it's not using bluetooth).

As I'm getting tired of these problems, if I don't find a quick solution, I'm looking at getting a wired mouse or a bluetooth dongle.

Since I already have my bluetooth mouse, a dongle would be practical but I'd want to be sure that I won't run into bluetooth problems with it anymore.

I don't know if it changes everything, but my Surface Go is almost always linked to an USB-C screen from Philips that I'm using as an USB hub. So the dongle would be on it and I'd use the trackpad when I'm not in front of that screen.

Thanks in advance for your help.

24 comments

I'm in team wired. Nothing can beat its reliability and performance.
- I guess I’ll go with a second hand wired mouse but I don’t like that I’m giving up on bluetooth on Linux. It feels like something which should be a given.
  
  The same Microsoft Mobile Mouse works perfectly with my MacBook Pro 2012 with Fedora on it..
  
  Neither should you give up blutooth on linux. It is microsoft's fault for using proprietary drivers for bluetooth instead of using a card that has open source support (like all the intel wireless cards are top of the line and have great open source support, they could have used that)
Nobody yet has mentioned the obvious solution. Get a wireless mouse that doesn't use bluetooth. There's lots of different varieties, but my favourite is the Logitech G603.
I've been using the Asus BT400 without any issues in different distros. But I'd always recommend a cable mouse if you have a stationary setup
I never understood those who buy on the hype of wireless-everything (that includes my own brother). Wireless is, and always will be flaky, even under a great OS implementation. Implementation is lacking on your kernel/distro, but even if it was done perfectly, you would still get the occasional problems, because, physics. This is is not seen as clearly with wifi or bt, but try to connect to a wireless monitor instead. There, you will see the problems 100x fold. It's flaky. So it's best to always be wired. Ethernet, usb etc.
- Well I clearly know that wired is way more reliable and efficient for a lot of things. I’d never charge my phone without a wire for instance.
  
  Still I’m happy to have wifi at home or wireless controllers for my Playstation 5.
  
  Depending on how your home is set up, it can be awful to have cables everywhere.
- Wireless devices let me use 2 different tables and an armchair+TV. That would simply not be an option otherwise.
  
  The benefits of going wireless vastly outweigh an occasional connection annoyance to me. And worst case I can still plug them in.
- My wireless g304 has been rock solid for years now. The battery lasts about 48 hours of active use before needing to be recharged. My Logitech ergo lift mouse has been rock solid for the past year as well and it's still running on it's very first battery!
  
  I bought both for wrist pain reasons and for the most part they have also been very helpful for that too. Part of the reason I went wireless even for gaming is that the cable always dragged and caused issues with the mouse catching on occassion. It's very worth whatever "instability" you might see for any product that moves.
  
  My wireless earbuds have been rock solid for several years as well. As far as I'm concerned, wireless has been a solved problem for a little while now, similar to printers. There's no point in needing a battery for something that doesn't move, like a keyboard, but damn if it isn't really nice for something that does.
  
  I agree with the wireless being solved part, but printers still suck lol
Was it working fine before? I've been using Bluetooth headphones and wireless mouse on popos for a few months now and only had an issue on a machine yesterday. I think it was because I was swapping the drive with the os on the several different motherboards to test different cpus
- It was working okay until 2-3 weeks ago, but there were always a few disconnection issues or the mouse would take time to be detected on startup.
  
  The Surface Kernel was an improvement over the stock kernel, but it never really solved everything.
  
  If I go back to wired, I’ll just reverse to the stock kernel.
I gave up on Bluetooth and Linux, made sure the wireless peripherals I wanted had 2.4ghz dongles. Been using Logitech 2.4ghz lightspeed for a while. Dongle is plugged into a hub mounted under the desk. Use piper to get all my Logitech mouse features. No complaints.
Wired is king.

If I gotta do wireless I get one with a RF dongle/base.

Astro A50 Wireless. Needs a dongle but it's waaaay more stable than any bluetooth headset. Both on range and audio quality.
Air is fundamentally a terrible conductor of electricity and is full of noise. Use a wire.
- Bluetooth and the 2.4 GHz ISM band is not electricity and is highly resilient to moderate noise over short distances. Problems are usually caused by hardware related issues.
  
  To expand on that, just because I think it's cool, radio frequencies are in the same category as visible light, gamma rays, microwaves, etc. (electromagnetic spectrum).
- He says while using WIFI, phone calls, GPS, and who knows what else every single day.

24 comments