Bluetooth peripherals just suddenly go laggy

[madihavu]

This happens maybe every 1-3 weeks, after initial login for the day, for no discernible reason, and battery of the devices has nothing to do with it (they're never low when it happens, in fact one's at 92%, and the other's at 100% because I left it plugged in earlier this week). I log in my user, which was just locked the night before, then the keyboard and the trackpad pointer on the screen are laggy. They work fine for a second then lag, then maybe a fraction of a second and lag (like, freeze momentarily), over and over and over. Turning off the devices and back on again sometimes fixes it, sometimes I have to unpair and repair them, sometimes I have to reboot the Mac. This is super frustrating.

I'm using an Apple wireless long keyboard and trackpad. These are not knockoffs. They cost about $100 each. Not cheap. I'm on Monterey. I keep everything up to date as much as possible. This problem has been happening since I started using the devices with Big Sur.

I don't know what else to do. This appears to be a Mac Bluetooth peripheral driver bug. I don't have any anti-malware installed.

 

[TonyAguila]

This happens maybe every 1-3 weeks, after initial login for the day, for no discernible reason, and battery of the devices has nothing to do with it (they're never low when it happens, in fact one's at 92%, and the other's at 100% because I left it plugged in earlier this week). I log in my user, which was just locked the night before, then the keyboard and the trackpad pointer on the screen are laggy. They work fine for a second then lag, then maybe a fraction of a second and lag (like, freeze momentarily), over and over and over. Turning off the devices and back on again sometimes fixes it, sometimes I have to unpair and repair them, sometimes I have to reboot the Mac. This is super frustrating.

I'm using an Apple wireless long keyboard and trackpad. These are not knockoffs. They cost about $100 each. Not cheap. I'm on Monterey. I keep everything up to date as much as possible. This problem has been happening since I started using the devices with Big Sur.

I don't know what else to do. This appears to be a Mac Bluetooth peripheral driver bug. I don't have any anti-malware installed.

One of the first things I would try in this case is to reinstall macOS. Monterey is readily available from the App Store. Open App Store and do a search for “macOS monterey,” click on View, and then Get. The installer will be downloaded into you Applications folder. When the download is done, the installer will be launched but DO NOT proceed. Quit and then make a copy of the file first (Install macOS Monterey.app).

Reboot, and the installation should start. If it does not, open the Applications folder and double-click on the installer. If successful, you should have a brand-new macOS Monterey system. If this does not alleviate the Bluetooth issue, it could be more of a hardware issue. Either way, a refreshed macOS system is always beneficial. Let us know if this helped. It is also helpful if you can provide your Mac ID (About This Mac -> System Report… -> Hardware Overview -> Model Identifier).

 

[madihavu]

reinstall macOS

Oh boy, there goes my weekend This is a company computer, I may have to ask permission for that. Regardless, it was a pain to set up for my work, which relies on a lot of outdated software. I'm not even sure how I got everything to work; it could be a gamble. I'll have to think about that. I think Linux is better for my job anyway, and I don't know that I need a Mac for that.

the installer will be launched but DO NOT proceed

Wait, does "reinstall macOS" mean just reinstalling the operating system, or its apps, or what? A lot of software I've installed and configured since Catalina (when I got the Mac new)... would those be erased, or break, or what?

Model Identifier

MacBookPro16,1

 

[TonyAguila]

Oh boy, there goes my weekend This is a company computer, I may have to ask permission for that. Regardless, it was a pain to set up for my work, which relies on a lot of outdated software. I'm not even sure how I got everything to work; it could be a gamble. I'll have to think about that. I think Linux is better for my job anyway, and I don't know that I need a Mac for that.


Wait, does "reinstall macOS" mean just reinstalling the operating system, or its apps, or what? A lot of software I've installed and configured since Catalina (when I got the Mac new)... would those be erased, or break, or what?


MacBookPro16,1

You 2019 MacBook Pro came with macOS Catalina when the dual-volume setup of system/data was introduced. Reinstalling macOS should leave your data volume untouched (except for Apple items that are installed by default, like apps, extensions, etc.) and the system volume will be refreshed. My suggestion of stopping the installation process is to provide you with a chance to save a copy of the installer, in case you would need it later.

Afterwards, you can restart the installation. I also suggest that you forego using the external keyboard and trackpad for now. Try to rule out hardware problems with them and with bluetooth. If no problem arises, reconnect the keyboard and trackpad and see what happens.

 

[madihavu]

dual-volume setup

OK that's good to know that the OS install is separate from my stuff.

(except for Apple items that are installed by default, like apps, extensions, etc.)

I honestly don't know what I'm relying on here that could be wiped/modified.

I have Time Machine going to a USB drive... would that be adequate to restore from should an OS reinstall break something I need? Or would it be more worth just trying to fix something that breaks (forward-moving)?

I also suggest that you forego using the external keyboard and trackpad for now.

I can try that but I'm out of USB ports :| ... I'm using one for the laptop power supply, one for a big monitor, one for a smaller monitor and an office tool (the adapter also has a USB-C port but I haven't gotten it to work with anything), and the last for the USB drive. I bought a "dock" that plugs into the two USB-C ports on the left side (I forget which are "Thunderbolt" or whatever), but it's getting cluttered around here, which is why I got the Bluetooth devices.

The problem I think is most likely Mac's Bluetooth HID drivers, though I suppose it could coincidentally be both the Apple keyboard and trackpad that I bought at different times (highly unlikely considering the problem happens at the same time with both and behaves the same way), but I suppose going a long enough time with a wired keyboard and mouse could show me that it's not a wired problem (?)... but how long do I go? A week? A month? A year...? Like, I don't think that's the best way to determine the problem.

What I was hoping for was something to look at in the UI or in CLI... like some sort of tracing or debug mode or logging to see what's actually happening with input. I mean, the problem isn't there often, but when it hits it hits hard, and seems completely related to Bluetooth HID driver software. I just don't know how to troubleshoot it in a concrete, non-vague way.

 

[madihavu]

Can someone answer my latest questions? I'm hoping to try things before attempting a Mac OS reinstall, as I'm on a work computer.

 

[TonyAguila]

Can someone answer my latest questions? I'm hoping to try things before attempting a Mac OS reinstall, as I'm on a work computer.

So what happens when you don’t have the external keyboard and trackpad connected? Do the built-in keyboard and trackpad still work? Disconnecting the external devices is one way of ruling them out of the equation. And make sure they are turned off.

You should also disconnect other USB devices that you won’t need for the immediate task, which is reinstalling macOS. The external USB drive can be disconnected as long as you are not installing macOS on that drive.

 

[madihavu]

So what happens when you don’t have the external keyboard and trackpad connected?

The cord is only for charging. The HID connection is only through Bluetooth. I'm assuming this is an Apple decision, as it works the same way on the keyboard and trackpad. Plugging them in doesn't affect connection unless the batteries need charging (as in, batteries empty, no connection, batteries not empty, a connection can be made).

You should also disconnect other USB devices...

It seems like you're saying having USB devices connected interferes with the peripherals' Bluetooth connection... so I don't see how an OS reinstall would fix this. The OS was pre-installed with Catalina (2019), and my boss set up the users and installed some programs.

I mean, an OS reinstall with USBs detached may fix the problem... but not if the problem is having USBs attached while Bluetooth HID peripherals need to behave properly... I kinda want to use all of the connections allowed on the Mac, including USB and Bluetooth, all of them simultaneously if needs be ... . .. I mean, the Mac shouldn't choke when they're all used, right? That seems like a failing on Apple's part.

Anyway, I was hoping for some CLI commands or Settings exploration to something, maybe log files (? I don't know, Console errors...?) before an OS reinstall attempt to try to troubleshoot this, at least to try to find the problem before nuking things.

 

[madihavu]

Looking at my RAM usage in Activity Monitor, here's some comparative info:

My computer:

Physical Memory: 16.00 GB, Memory Used: 12.25 GB, Cached Files: 1.61 GB, Swap Used: 8.76 GB
App Memory: 6.33 GB, Wired Memory: 3.63 GB, Compressed: 2.29 GB

My boss's computer:

Physical Memory: 16.00 GB, Memory Used: 11.32 GB, Cached Files: 4.37 GB, Swap Used: 1.49 GB
App Memory: 6.66 GB, Wired Memory: 3.32 GB, Compressed: 1.34 GB

The biggest differences are Swap Used, Cached Files, and Compressed... he uses his computer for managing an office, I use mine for programming. I know I use way more memory for my apps than he does, but I'm not sure if I need a RAM upgrade or if it would fix this problem. The Mac behaves great most of the time otherwise, but maybe there's a bug in Mac's memory usage when a lot of Swap is used that causes problems with Bluetooth HID responsiveness.