How do I stop two Microsoft wireless mice from interfering with each other?

[Brian Kendig]

I've got a pair of laptops located about ten feet apart. I just picked
up a pair of "Microsoft Wireless Desktop 1000" packages for them. Each
contains a Microsoft Wireless Multimedia Keyboard 1.1 and a Microsoft
Standard Wireless Optical Mouse, as well as a USB receiver.

Problem is, when the user on the left moves his wireless mouse, the
mouse belonging to the user on the right stops working. It's as if one
wireless mouse takes precedence over the other; the right-user's mouse
simply stops working as long as the left-user moves his mouse. When the
left-user stops moving his mouse, the right-user's mouse works fine
again.

Sometimes if the left-user is moving his mouse around a lot, the
right-user's laptop will bring up a dialog saying the signal strength
from her mouse is weak. As soon as the left-user stops mousing, the
right-user's laptop sees the signal from its wireless mouse as strong
again.

I've tried changing the channel each device uses by pressing the button
on the bottom, but that hasn't affected the problem at all.

How do I solve this? I can't imagine that it would be impossible to use
two Microsoft wireless mice in range of each other!

 

[Steven Wabik]

what kind ofwireless mouse are you using for each?
are they bluetooth devices?
are they wi-fi devices are what?

i need to know this info to be able to help you.

 

[Sharon F]

I've got a pair of laptops located about ten feet apart. I just picked
up a pair of "Microsoft Wireless Desktop 1000" packages for them. Each
contains a Microsoft Wireless Multimedia Keyboard 1.1 and a Microsoft
Standard Wireless Optical Mouse, as well as a USB receiver.

Problem is, when the user on the left moves his wireless mouse, the
mouse belonging to the user on the right stops working. It's as if one
wireless mouse takes precedence over the other; the right-user's mouse
simply stops working as long as the left-user moves his mouse. When the
left-user stops moving his mouse, the right-user's mouse works fine
again.

Sometimes if the left-user is moving his mouse around a lot, the
right-user's laptop will bring up a dialog saying the signal strength
from her mouse is weak. As soon as the left-user stops mousing, the
right-user's laptop sees the signal from its wireless mouse as strong
again.

I've tried changing the channel each device uses by pressing the button
on the bottom, but that hasn't affected the problem at all.

How do I solve this? I can't imagine that it would be impossible to use
two Microsoft wireless mice in range of each other!

Every wireless mouse I've ever used, no matter the brand, recommended a
specific distance between similar devices. For some reason 15 feet is
popping into my head - exact amount should be stated in the manual or
online tech documents.

 

[Brian Kendig]

As I said, each mouse is a Microsoft Standard Wireless Optical Mouse.
They're not Bluetooth.

 

[Steven Wabik]

since they are working off of a wireless frequency, you should be able to
change the channel they are working off of. there might be something in the
manual about it or even in the mouse settings in the control pannel.

 

[paulmd]

I've got a pair of laptops located about ten feet apart. I just picked
up a pair of "Microsoft Wireless Desktop 1000" packages for them. Each
contains a Microsoft Wireless Multimedia Keyboard 1.1 and a Microsoft
Standard Wireless Optical Mouse, as well as a USB receiver.

Problem is, when the user on the left moves his wireless mouse, the
mouse belonging to the user on the right stops working. It's as if one
wireless mouse takes precedence over the other; the right-user's mouse
simply stops working as long as the left-user moves his mouse. When the
left-user stops moving his mouse, the right-user's mouse works fine
again.

Sometimes if the left-user is moving his mouse around a lot, the
right-user's laptop will bring up a dialog saying the signal strength
from her mouse is weak. As soon as the left-user stops mousing, the
right-user's laptop sees the signal from its wireless mouse as strong
again.

I've tried changing the channel each device uses by pressing the button
on the bottom, but that hasn't affected the problem at all.

How do I solve this? I can't imagine that it would be impossible to use
two Microsoft wireless mice in range of each other!

Tinfoil shielding between cubicles?

Wireless mice in close quarters is trouble.

 

[Richard Urban]

Change the channel on one of the devices.

--
Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User

Quote from George Ankner:
If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!

 

[Brian Kendig]

As I said - I've tried changing the channel each device uses by
pressing the button on the bottom, but that hasn't affected the problem
at all.

 

[Richard Urban]

That's because, if they are talking to each other now, changing the channel
on one changes the channel on both. Turn one of the computers off. Unplug
the mouse from the power. Change the channel on the one you still have
running. LOOK and see what channel it is running on. If the mouse software
for one mouse says channel 1, the other had darn well better be set up as
channel 2.

If you haven't installed the mouse software you won't even be able to tell.

--
Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User
(For e-mail, remove the obvious from my address)

Quote from George Ankner:
If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!

 

[Filthy McNasty]

Using at least one appendage, the entity known in this space-time continuum

If

I'm sorry I can't help, but you win my prize for best Topic-Line of the
year so far

 

[Brian Kendig]

LOOK and see what channel it is running on. If the mouse software
for one mouse says channel 1, the other had darn well better be set up as
channel 2.

I installed the software that came with the mice and keyboards, but I
can't find anywhere that it tells me what channels they're using. The
'Wireless' tab of the Mouse control panel only shows battery strength
and signal strength, both of which appear fine.

Where do I see what channel each device is using?

 

[Carlos]

Unfortunately it's not very straight forward.
That mouse model only has 1 channel. That means that pressing the button
will not change channels and will not solve your problem.

The definite way of gettting rid of that problem is to use bluetooth
products:
http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/mouseandkeyboard/productdetails.aspx?pid=033.
Some standard mice do have 2 channels, like this one:
http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/mouseandkeyboard/productdetails.aspx?pid=052.
You could replace one of the sets with either one of those and you'll get it
to work

However, that's probably not what you're looking for.

The other way of doing it is to increase the SNR for each mouse. To do that
place the receiver so that it's as far away as possible from the interfering
mouse, but relatively close to the correct mouse:

for example:


(receiver A)-------(mouse
A)---------------------------------------------------(interfering mouse
) --- (receiver B)

Try to not have your receivers between your mice.
You can get even more quirky by using batteries that are NOT new (the range
of the devices drops as the batteries run out)...but I see how that wouldn't
be a feasible solution either.