• New Savings Are Here 34 Off Lifeworks Ihome Bluetooth Mouse For Mac

Bluetooth mice are conveniently cordless, but it’s very frustrating when they lose their connection. Read on as we troubleshoot a reader’s Windows laptop and help them keep their mouse awake and in communication with their computer. Dear How-To Geek, I’m so annoyed with my mouse I’m about to switch back to a full size corded model.

I bought a Microsoft Bluetooth Notebook Mouse 5000 about six months ago and started using it with my Windows 7 laptop. Don’t get me wrong, the mouse itself is great and I have no issue with it. What I do have an issue with is that Windows will randomly fail to see the mouse. No amount of trouble shooting will fix it, short of outright removing the mouse from the Devices menu and then re-syncing it. This happens every other day. I can’t just turn the mouse on and off, I have to full out “re-install it,” if you will. The mouse in question is very highly reviewed and everyone seems to love it (and I’d love it too if it weren’t for this connectivity issue).

Barring that my actual mouse is defective and there’s no fixing it, what can I do to remedy the situation? Sincerely, Mouse Frustrated If ever there was an email to motivate us to get around to fixing a problem with one of our infrequently used laptops, this is it. For months we’ve been meaning to take a moment to troubleshoot an identical problem: we too have a Windows 7 laptop laying around the office that frequently forgets it has a little Bluetooth friend. Now that your email has lit a fire under us, let’s boot up the ole laptop in question and document the troubleshooting steps required to remedy the situation. Update Your Drivers Most Bluetooth mice don’t have their own individual drivers and simply use the default drivers for a Windows Bluetooth/HID compliant device. That said, the first stop should always be to check for device drivers by searching for the devices name and your operating system.

In the case of the Microsoft mouse you’re using there are no device-specific drivers as it uses the generic Windows ones. There’s a good chance your Bluetooth radio itself, however, (whether you have an on-board one or a dongle) has drivers.

There’s also a good chance that they’re out of date. Before attempting the manual fixes we’re about to outline you should ensure you have the most current drivers for your Bluetooth radio. If you’re using generic Windows drivers for the Bluetooth radio you’ll likely find several of the settings you need to toggle will be unavailable. Enable Automatic Bluetooth Services The first stop on the troubleshooting trail is the Services menu. Open your Windows start menu and type “Services” in the search box or hit WIN+R and type “services.msc” in the run dialog box to launch the Services menu.

Sort the columns by name and look for the “Bluetooth Support Service” entry. Right click on that entry and select “Properties.” In the Properties menu look for the “Startup type” entry under the “General” tab. Switch the type to “Automatic” and hit apply. Close the Services menu. Disable Bluetooth Power Management The updated drivers and the Services tweak are moving us in the right direction. Now it’s time to finish the job.

Can i download my ibank4 file into quicken 2016 for mac. While poor drivers or poor Service management may have been the culprits, it’s also possible that your laptop is aggressively managing the power for Bluetooth devices and, in the process, dropping the Bluetooth connection. Fire up the device manager by typing “Device Manager” in the Start Menu search box or by pressing WIN+R and typing “devmgmt.msc” in the run dialog box. Checking the Device Manager is going to be the most tedious part of resolving this problem. You need to look down through the sections of the Device Manager for any mention of a Bluetooth device and/or mouse and check the properties of each instance. Look under “Bluetooth Radios,” “Mice and other pointing devices,” and “System devices.” What you’re looking for is “Power Management” tabs like this one. Any instance of “Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power” should be unchecked.

You absolutely do not want to allow the computer to turn off either the Bluetooth radio or the attached Bluetooth devices to save power as this is the primary cause of the un-syncing issue you’re seeing with your mouse. In addition to checking through everything for anything Bluetooth related don’t neglect the USB section at the bottom if you have a mouse connected via any kind of USB dongle. If you do, you’ll have to comb through the USB devices listed in the “Universal Serial Bus controllers” section to ensure that the computer isn’t set to turn off USB ports/hubs to save power (which would cause communication problems with the USB-powered dongle and the mouse). After you’ve updated the drivers, toggled the Services, and unchecked the power management options, reboot your computer.

If you’re not enjoying interruption free mouse use at this point we’d strongly recommend finding another Bluetooth mouse to test the system with to rule out a faulty mouse and/or Bluetooth dongle. Have a pressing tech question? Shoot us an email at ask@howtogeek.com and we’ll do our best to answer it.

In the box, you’ll find the alarm clock, AC power adapter, 3.5 mm auxiliary cable, and an instruction manual. I thought it was a nice touch to add in the auxiliary cable. On the top of the clock, you’ll find all the buttons for day to day use. You can set two separate alarms and can wake to a buzzer, Bluetooth audio, dock, or the FM radio. If needed, you can use this as a speakerphone and answer calls with a touch of a button, not needing your phone at all.

The sleep button will play your music for a set amount of time (adjustable) before turning the music off. When your music is playing, the volume buttons change the volume on your device, and of course, the plus and minus buttons change your tracks. The mode button is used to choose which device to play music from, and when you have a Bluetooth device already paired with the clock, will automatically connect to your device when choosing the Bluetooth setting.

You’ll also find the Lightning dock on the top of the alarm clock, which I was able to use without taking the case off of my phone. My husband’s Speck brand case could dock as well, where on the previous alarm clock he could not. Docking was easy and charged right away. Since the Lightning dock is recessed, I could not use my iPad Air on it like my previous alarm clock. There are even more buttons and ports on the backside of the unit, with a USB port, auxiliary port, and an AC charging port. You’ll also find the time set/sync button, that I never used due to my phone setting the time on the clock for me. Lastly, there is the Bluetooth pairing button, which paired very easily with my iPhone 7 Plus.

One comment I will make about the USB port is that it is solely for charging. You cannot listen to music via the USB port.

That’s one thing I miss from the old alarm clock, as sometimes I will lay in bed charging my phone and watch music videos. Now I have to connect it to Bluetooth, which is a few extra steps. Not a deal breaker by any means, but something to note.

Lastly, on the bottom, you’ll find switches for daylight savings time (on, off, auto) and auto dimming of the display. I tried automatically dimming the display, but I noticed at night it would randomly brighten for two seconds, then drop back to a low brightness. There seemed to be no trigger causing it. When on the manual setting, you can choose between 6 different brightness levels by pressing the snooze button. The Apple Watch dock was super easy to use.

I was prepared to have to plug in my previous charging cord and insert it into the dock, but I was thrilled to find the dock had a built in charging pad! It is magnetic, holds the watch well, and I have yet to have the watch fall off. I love being able to just toss it on the charger when I shower or head to the dojo, and it charges the watch very quickly. The sound quality of the speakers was pretty average. I don’t expect too much from an alarm clock, so this was on par with my expectations. There is very little bass, but the music comes out cleanly. There wasn’t much of a difference between the dock, Bluetooth, or auxiliary ports in terms of sound, and the radio sounded pretty good and connected easily enough to the stations I listen to without having to rig the antenna in any way.

The ability to have different alarm settings for weekdays, weekends and all seven days make setting the alarm something you can set and forget, which I love. I always used that feature on my iPhone, and it is nice to be able to have a different setup for the weekday and weekends. Compared to my previous alarm clock, this one is actually a bit smaller, though with the watch charger on the side, it comes out to roughly the same width. Between the two, the look of this alarm clock is much nicer than the old. It is sturdy, well made, and doesn’t slide around at all on my night stand. Just like the old, the display is easy to read.

Overall, I loved the iHome Bluetooth stereo FM clock radio with both the Lightning and Apple Watch docks. It is just so easy to use, and if you are someone in the Apple ecosystem with both phone and watch, it may work great for you if you are planning to upgrade your alarm clock anytime soon. Source: The sample for this review was provided.

New Savings Are Here 34 Off Lifeworks Ihome Bluetooth Mouse For Mac

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