On Tue, 2025-04-15 at 20:47 +0100, debian-u...@howorth.org.uk wrote: > Jan Claeys <li...@janc.be> wrote: > > On Sun, 2025-04-06 at 17:42 +0300, Serkan Kurt wrote: > > > Hello. A USBA (ss) wireless mouse is connected to the laptop. > > > When I connect a WD Element 1 TB or WD Element 4 TB external disk > > > to the other USBA (ss) port, the working distance of the mouse > > > drops to about 0.5 meters. Normally 10 meters. The laptop has 2 > > > USBA (ss) ports. The two ports are side by side. Could there be a > > > hardware problem? Do you have any suggestions for solving the > > > problem? > > > > This is a well-known problem: USB 3 high-speed connections (such as > > you would typically have with USB mass storage devices) can cause > > electromagnetic interference to wireless devices that operate in > > the 2.4 GHz frequency bands. > > > > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USB_3.0#Radio_frequency_interference > > The article says that may be a problem with USB 3.0 devices. The > disks are USB 3.2. One hopes the early problems have been overcome by > now.
The problem is because of the specific data rate (5 Gbit/s, and possibly also multiples of that?) creating electromagnetic interference in just the wrong frequency band for a lot of wireless devices (2.4-2.5 GHz). I doubt that can be overcome without significant (and possibly incompatible?) change to (some of) the USB protocols. It definitely affects some USB 3.1 & 3.2 devices as well. The USB standards organisation even has a document about this problem: https://www.usb.org/document-library/usb-30-radio-frequency-interference-impact-24-ghz-wireless-devices (Link to the PDF is on the right.) You can try using a (better) shielded cable to connect the disk (some USB disks already come with a shielded cable). But the interference can also “escape” from e.g. the USB port or controller, which is harder to replace or fix, of course. It’s generally something the hardware manufacturers should have done better. What I would suggest is to move the wireless receiver away, either by plugging it in an USB port in another location (many computers have some in 2 or 3 locations), or by plugging it in an USB extension cable (with a plug on one side & a socket on the other side) or in an USB hub, so that the wireless receiver isn’t near the USB cable & ports used by the disk anymore. -- Jan Claeys (please don't CC me when replying to the list)
