Logitech wireless keyboard / mouse hangs

Problems

Intermittent nature
The mouse will often hang (won't move)
The keyboard will often not type
Sometimes, the keys get saved up and come out later all at once, and sometimes they never come out
The mouse seems to have difficulty traveling to the top left of the screen.

Equipment

Dell Precision M3800 Laptop
Windows 10 Professional operating system
Logitech wireless keyboard (K270)
Logitech wireless mouse (M185). They came in the same box / use the same dongle.
"Plugable USB 3.0" docking station that runs the DisplayLink software. It has two monitors attached to it, one by DVI and the other by HDMI. It's plugged into the laptop by USB.

Troubleshooting Steps Taken

Wired keyboard and wired mouse work great.
When wireless was plugged in, it was in a USB port on the laptop itself, not the docking station
I rerouted the monitors to plug directly into the laptop (take this docking station out of the equation). So far the wireless keyboard/mouse are not malfunctioning. This seems to indicate that the docking station is a necessary component to reproduce the problem). But I have to give it 1-2 days to make sure because the problem is intermittent.

Question

What would be a good first choice for a fix I can try that won't hurt anything (update a driver...where?)?

toddmo

Posted 2016-02-17T19:43:03.853

Reputation: 354

there is a "plugable usb 3.0" docking station Is there anything actually plugged into that USB 3 port on the docking station? That could possibly cause problems, see for example Intel's note on USB 3.0 Radio Frequency Interference on 2.4 GHz Devices. – dxiv – 2016-02-18T04:32:00.390

Answers

Given the new details, this looks to be a case of USB 3 interference in the 2.4 GHz band.

From Intel's note on USB 3.0 Radio Frequency Interference on 2.4 GHz Devices (page links to the full PDF download):

The purpose of this document is to create an awareness of radio frequency interference to wireless devices operating in the 2.4 GHz ISM band as a result of certain USB 3.0 devices and cables. [...] The 2.4 GHz ISM band is a widely used unlicensed radio frequency band for devices such as wireless routers, as well as wireless PC peripherals such as a mouse or keyboard.

Among recommendations to mitigate the issue, posted in a Logitech wiki at Potential USB 3.0 interference:

If your PC has multiple USB 2.0 connectors available, separate your USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 receivers by as much distance as possible. For example, if your PC has a choice of USB 2.0 connectors, use the one on the opposite side of the PC from the USB 3.0 connector.

Position your USB 2.0 receiver as close as possible to your wireless peripheral (mouse, keyboard, headphones, etc.).

Use a standard, USB-adapter cable to position your USB 2.0 wireless receiver as far away as possible from your USB 3.0 connector.

The last one might be the best one to try in the case of a docking station, where space between USB connectors is usually tight.

dxiv

Posted 2016-02-17T19:43:03.853

Reputation: 1 784

This might be obvious to you, but are you saying my wireless m/kb are usb 2.0? And that my USB 3.0 docking station is interfering with it? And it's doing that via the usb cable that plugs it into the laptop (which, by the way, was plugged in right next to the logitech receiver)? – toddmo – 2016-02-18T18:28:05.983

@toddmo Yes, the unifying receiver is a 2.4 GHz USB 2 device (the Logitech wiki linked in the answer refers to it as a "USB 2.0 receiver"). And, yes, the USB 3 R/F "noise" interferes with the operation of the receiver. The last suggestion of the 3 above is to use a USB cable plugged into a USB 2 port at one end, and into the wireless receiver at the other end, so that the receiver is physically farther away from the USB 3 port, and therefore less subject to the respective interference. In my experience, a short 3ft or 6ft cable will suffice. – dxiv – 2016-02-18T18:39:46.447

1ok as per bullet point 1 and 2 in your answer, I have put the unifying receiver on the left of my laptop where the mouse and kb are, and the docking station 3.0 cable on the left side of my laptop. No issues so far. I'll mark as answer if still no issues by 5 p.m. Fingers crossed. – toddmo – 2016-02-18T18:43:29.637

1The wireless m/kb transceiver dongle uses radio waves at about 2.4GHz to communicate with the mouse and keyboard. The "strength" of radio waves from an omnidirectional transmitter falls off in proportion to the square of the distance from the transmitter, so every extra bit of separation you can get between the USB 3 interference and the dongle will help. – Andrew Morton – 2016-02-18T18:43:38.183

@AndrewMorton, if the width of the laptop is not enough, I'll try an extension cable as per bullet 3 of this answer. Thanks! – toddmo – 2016-02-18T18:44:36.483

1Thanks for this answer, solved my exact problem on a Dell XPS 15 I had the Logitech wireless receiver on the left-side of the laptop next to the power and HDMI cables. Moving it over to the right-side USB port has solved the issue. – peacemaker – 2017-06-15T18:31:06.843

1I just marked as answer. Sorry it took 3.5 years. It did solve my problem. – toddmo – 2019-07-15T16:03:48.683

USB 3.0 has been interfering. I disconnected the mass storage device adapter connected to the USB 3.0 back plane and now I have no problems with my wireless keyboard and mouse.

Craig Crandall

Posted 2016-02-17T19:43:03.853

Reputation: 21

Can you specify the model of the mass storage device adapter? Just add it to the answer. – alljamin – 2017-02-04T03:17:44.520

Moving the mouse receiver from the back of the computer to a USB port on the front solved this for me.

I recently got new desktop computers, with Win 10/64-bit, at work and at home. The old computers were running Win XP/32-bit, and each had a Logitech M510 mouse with the receiver plugged into a USB port on the back panel.

On the old computers the mice worked smoothly, but on the new ones mouse behavior was erratic (sticky and jerky). As soon as I moved the mouse receivers from rear USB ports to front USB ports, the problem went away on both machines.

If you don't have front USB ports, try using a USB extension cord.

This was an infuriating problem and I'm glad the solution was simple.

user37765

Posted 2016-02-17T19:43:03.853

Reputation: 11

-1

I too had two Logitech mice that were hanging in Win7 and Win10. I resolved much of the issue by replacing the mouse pad. My old pad had a very slick surface. I replaced it with a new Staples (brand unimportant) mouse pad with one of those surfaces that is textured like fabric. Mouse works a lot better.

bartNva

Posted 2016-02-17T19:43:03.853

Reputation: 9