Wi-Fi versus Bluetooth

[Tbone]

So yesterday I got my new Wireless Bluetooth 355 card from Dell (actually got it on eBay). Pretty cool - goes in the laptop and provides bluetooth for the computer. Well, a few hours later I start having problem with my connectivity to me wi-fi internet. Restarting the computer seemed to fix it, but today I started having the problem again.

My problem was massive lag in TS and MxO, and everything I was doing to my connection wasn't working. Finally, in a desperate attempt, I turned off the bluetooth radio and...voila! The wireless connection suddenly stabalized and everything is working smoothly again.

So my question is W...T...F. Bluetooth interferes with Wi-Fi?? Googling the problem, it seems this problem mostly occurs with 802.11b. Luckily MY router back in Memphis is on 802.11g, so I'm hoping I'll only get this problem at my parents', but I'm not sure. Is anyone familiar with this seemingly disasterous clash?

[Manic Velocity]

I use 802.11b in my apartment and never have any problems when I use Bluetooth on my cell phone.  Maybe it's your wireless router.

/shrug

[Tbone]

Not cell phone bluetooth. Computer bluetooth. My laptop is receiving bluetooth and wi-fi signals right next to each other, in other words. For some reason the bluetooth receiver is stealing some of the wi-fi signals.

[Anonymous]

What have you been told about computer equipment Tbone?  Do I have to get the newspaper out again?

What Bluetooth services do you have running by default anyway?

[Tbone]

No services running. Just the bluetooth radio active IN CASE I wanna connect something with it.

[Anonymous]

IRQ Conflict?  Have you tried switching slots?  Assuming you have more than one of course

[Anonymous]

i've noticed that if i put my dongle in any other usb port than its usual that it wants to use it as a network connection to the internet.  then again, i can turn it on and off whenever.  doesn't sound like you have that option.

[Sared]

I've noticed that if I put my dongle in any other usb port than its usual that it wants to use it as a network connection to the internet.

Fuck that was hot.

[Pirus]

yeah that kind of turned me on how about you tweak my dongle a bit to make a better connection lol j/k

[Anonymous]

Didn't he say it was a card though?  I'm assuming PCMCIA or whatever the hell it is.  Good point though if it's using a Bluetooth Network Connection by default that could well be causing an issue.  Should also turn off polling for new devices just in case.

What are the odds T didn't understand a word of that?

[Tbone]

It's a card designed for a special 10-pin connection in a small bottom corner of my laptop. I had to unscrew it, plug the little card in and kinda fit it in there, and screw it back. There was a bluetooth network thingie in "Network Connections" that I disabled in an attempt to fix it, but that didn't do anything. It took turning off the bluetooth radio altogether.

[Anonymous]

How very strange.  And this is stuff you bought from the manufacturer too, so you would think...

What did their tech support say?

[Avzeke (Khr0n1k)]

I suggest with the plethora of computer issues we have, we make a computer/electronics support board.

[Tbone]

Now I can't figure out how to turn the bluetooth radio back on. The device is listed as "stopped", and it says to right click the bluetooth icon in the system tray and choose "Turn on bluetooth radio". However, when I do this, there is no option to "Turn on bluetooth radio". Arrrggg...

Edit: Had to unscrew and replug. Now we'll see if the bluetooth interferes with my wireless g connection. So far all I've noticed is that ever since I've enabled it, my connection monitor has been fluctuating between "excellent" and "very good", whereas normally it remains at "excellent".

[likwidtek]

It's probably just radio interference.  Just go into your wireless router and choose an opposite channel than what is chosen now.

You can choose 1 - 11.  So if yours is on 6 choose 1 or 11 or if it is 1 choose 11 if 11 then choose 1 etc.

Experiment and you should be able to get around it.