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Logitech MX Products are incompatible with AirPods

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Re: Logitech MX Products are incompatible with AirPods

#211

Post by elpescado »

SoftTalker wrote: post #149
toast0 wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

FM radio using headphones/headset as antenna is a common feature in phones. I've seen it on feature phones in 200x, and on some Androids as well. Only you can decide if it's important enough to outweigh other must have features though. There are also lots of apps to stream local radio if you have a consistent data connection (doesn't need to be fast, though)

The FM receiver is (or is claimed to be) better for battery life than using data to listen to local radio.

...and certainly better for your data plan.

Re: Logitech MX Products are incompatible with AirPods

#212

Post by chedabob »

davnicwil wrote: post #206
wodenokoto wrote: post #204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why did that stop happening? I remember back in the early 2000s you might even come across a live concert where an incoming text message got caught in the PA and broadcast to the entire audience.

Wow. I've just for the first time ever realised that you might be able to derive the content of the SMS from the specific pattern of interference you would hear on speakers. Like, it seems plausible that is the case. Is that what you mean here by broadcast - or just the fact there was a message was broadcast?

I thought communication between the tower and the device was encrypted?

That's not to say it's not using some archaic weak encryption scheme left in for backwards compatability though.

Re: Logitech MX Products are incompatible with AirPods

#213

Post by BluSyn »

wodenokoto wrote: post #204
torstenvl wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I used to be able to tell I was about to get a GSM text message by the way my (wired) computer speakers would make a distinct quiet staccato crackle sound.

Why did that stop happening? I remember back in the early 2000s you might even come across a live concert where an incoming text message got caught in the PA and broadcast to the entire audience.

Good question. Best guess: Better EMI shielding on newer products / different cell frequencies on newer phones. Perhaps combination of both?

Re: Logitech MX Products are incompatible with AirPods

#214

Post by globular-toast »

LinAGKar wrote: post #194
grumpyprole wrote: post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've tried compressed air. I still suspect mechanical wear. The port is after all, extremely small and intricate and of questionable design.

I don't know if that's enough, there wouldn't be much airflow at the bottom of the port. I've used a needle to clear out the compressed lint stuck at the bottom, and that made it hold the plug much better. But I suppose it could be mechanical, though that hasn't been my experience.

I had the same experience. I thought the USB-C plug was terrible and I was cursing it for being so badly designed. I tried different cables but even the better ones (better in terms of not falling out) eventually would fall out. I then used a pin to mechanically remove the lint from the port and I was amazed at how much came out! After that the plugs went in so much further and are completely secure. Nowadays I don't get so much lint build up, probably because I work from home.

Compressed air will never get it out. It gets really compacted in there. Don't be afraid of using a needle, the port is quite rugged. Just avoid the contacts in the middle.

Re: Logitech MX Products are incompatible with AirPods

#215

Post by pas »

chedabob wrote: post #212
davnicwil wrote: post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow. I've just for the first time ever realised that you might be able to derive the content of the SMS from the specific pattern of interference you would hear on speakers. Like, it seems plausible that is the case. Is that what you mean here by broadcast - or just the fact there was a message was broadcast?

I thought communication between the tower and the device was encrypted? That's not to say it's not using some archaic weak encryption scheme left in for backwards compatability though.

yes and yes indeed

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/A5/1

Re: Logitech MX Products are incompatible with AirPods

#216

Post by steinuil »

LeoPanthera wrote: post #3

To summarize: If you use a Logitech bluetooth device, it creates enough interference that high-bandwidth products like the Airpods will not function correctly. If you switch the Logitech device to use their "unifying" adapter, which doesn't use bluetooth but a different proprietary wireless protocol, the problem goes away. Logitech acknowledged the problem about six months ago but thus far have deflected any further…

I suspect I have a similar problem with my WH-1000XM4, the wifi hotspot on my Pixel 4a. Whenever I was listening to music from my phone connected while also using it as a hotspot for the laptop I would start losing tons of packets and couldn't reliably connect to a work VPN, and turning the headphones off would fix those issues. I'm not sure if it was interference or if they share the same antenna on the phone or something like that though.

Re: Logitech MX Products are incompatible with AirPods

#217

Post by gambiting »

steinuil wrote: post #216
LeoPanthera wrote: post #3

To summarize: If you use a Logitech bluetooth device, it creates enough interference that high-bandwidth products like the Airpods will not function correctly. If you switch the Logitech device to use their "unifying" adapter, which doesn't use bluetooth but a different proprietary wireless protocol, the problem goes away. Logitech acknowledged the problem about six months ago but thus far have deflected any further…

I suspect I have a similar problem with my WH-1000XM4, the wifi hotspot on my Pixel 4a. Whenever I was listening to music from my phone connected while also using it as a hotspot for the laptop I would start losing tons of packets and couldn't reliably connect to a work VPN, and turning the headphones off would fix those issues. I'm not sure if it was interference or if they share the same antenna on the phone or som…

Yes, in many devices Wi-Fi and Bluetooth share the same antenna. It's one of the reasons why bluetooth mice haven't really caught on, because in a lot of laptops the mouse would start jumping around as soon as you used wifi at all.

Re: Logitech MX Products are incompatible with AirPods

#218

Post by q-big »

fifteenforty wrote: post #159
ungamedplayer wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Get a ferrite ring for your cable, solves more of these issues than you'd imagine. Or a clip on, something like this : https://www.cablechick.com.au/cables/ferrite-core-rfi-and-em...

They used to be common on USB cables, especially USB A to B cables for printers. Not sure why they disappeared.

> Not sure why they disappeared.

Likely cost savings combined with design considerations ("these knobs look ugly").

Re: Logitech MX Products are incompatible with AirPods

#219

Post by Findecanor »

jakear wrote: post #54
noirbot wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I dunno, if you haven't run into audio or video interference on a wired device, you're lucky or have quality cables. I've definitely picked up radio stations on headphones or had nearby electrical currents induce an annoying buzz in a microphone or distort a video signal.

> I've definitely picked up radio stations on headphones Not exactly the same, but makes me reminisce the days of the iPod nano. It offered FM radio using the headphone cables as an antenna. I haven’t seen that supported anywhere since, which is a shame because I’d really like to get local stations on my phone.

Here in the EU, it tends to be disabled in software even if the hardware has it.

I blame the French. They introduced a law that forbids radio receivers that don't support DAB radio, as a way to make the newer DAB format take off. But globally, DAB never did so phone hardware don't have it. In the EU, distribution chains often cross borders and it would be too bothersome to have models with special firmware just for France — so instead, nobody gets FM-radio.

Re: Logitech MX Products are incompatible with AirPods

#220

Post by p_l »

toast0 wrote: post #67
jakear wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I've definitely picked up radio stations on headphones Not exactly the same, but makes me reminisce the days of the iPod nano. It offered FM radio using the headphone cables as an antenna. I haven’t seen that supported anywhere since, which is a shame because I’d really like to get local stations on my phone.

FM radio using headphones/headset as antenna is a common feature in phones. I've seen it on feature phones in 200x, and on some Androids as well. Only you can decide if it's important enough to outweigh other must have features though. There are also lots of apps to stream local radio if you have a consistent data connection (doesn't need to be fast, though)

IIRC, USA pushed for some time for inclusion of radio receiver as mandatory, while GP mentions the need to support DAB if selling to France, resulting in weird situation where it might be software "fuse" involved.
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