Keep Losing Bluetooth Connection to Wireless Keyboard

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I had been using an Apple wireless keyboard with my MacBook Pro for several years with no problems. I then started intermittent and random loss of connection. Thinking I had expiring batteries, I changed them.... several times, but the problem persisted. I finally purchased a Logitech wireless keyboard thinking there was something I could not fix with the Apple. Turns out that did not solve the problem. The frequency of the problem is in the annoying class, but should not occur at all as my prior experience proved. By the way, the keyboard and laptop are about one foot apart, so distance is not a problem, and I do not have any other Bluetooth hardware in the vicinity.

Any thoughts on intermittent Bluetooth connection?
 
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MacInWin

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Some other BT device is probably interfering. Know you said you had nothing in the "vicinity" but it could be anywhere within 30 feet and still interfere. Also, BT is on a frequency that can be interfered with by USB3. I found this at Wikipedia (take with the usual caution about wikipedia "facts")
USB 3.0 devices, ports and cables have been proven to interfere with Bluetooth devices due to the electronic noise they release falling over the same operating band as Bluetooth. The close proximity of Bluetooth and USB 3.0 devices can result in a drop in throughput or complete connection loss of the Bluetooth device/s connected to a computer
 
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Rick do you have any other device nearby (30-50 feet)? In particular, a hands free phone will cause problems and as Jake says, USB3 can be a nuisance.
 
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Hi,

There is possibility of random loss of Bluetooth connection if there are nearby Products like

Microwave ovens
Wireless speakers
2.4 GHz or 5 GHz Cordless telephones
Power sources like Power lines, electrical road tracks and power station
 
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Rick T
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A year has passed and the original problem I described has actually gotten worse relative to frequency. First, thank you to those who responded last year. I have systematically eliminated each potential source and now wonder if the problem exists in the laptop.

Once the keyboard connection drops out, the only way I have been able to restore it is to do a restart. The time span between drop outs has decreased over time to the point where I need to restart the laptop every morning when I start work. Once I do that, the connection is immediately restored and remains constant unless I close the laptop and do not open it for several hours. At that point, the keyboard may or may not be connected, but as mentioned, overnight it will always be disconnected.

This may or may not be related, but is something I have always wondered about. When attached to the power adaptor, my sleep settings are 1 hour for the computer and 15 minutes for the display. All option boxes are checked. When I reopen the laptop after a few hours away, I almost always see the dialog box stating the computer is scheduled to sleep in x minutes and giving me the choice to not let it sleep. It should have gone to sleep after an hour, so that mystifies me. After being closed overnight, I do not get that box when I open it. It picks up right where it was when I closed it.

Not to muddy the water, but another odd thing just started happening and I believe it concurred with the installation of Sierra 10.12.3 (the first install of Sierra). When I click Restart, shutdown occurs and then I get the start tone with the display backlight, but that is where it stops. A force quit and subsequent restart have the same result. I can get it to restart normally once I disconnect a powered hub I use for three external drives I use for extra storage and backups. That has never occurred before and I have had this set-up for quite some time.

Sorry for describing what may be problems apart from the bluetooth issue in the same post, but I am an advocate of full disclosure of my observations.
 
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MacInWin

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The restart process is not working properly, obviously. Try a Safe Boot to see if it boots normally that way. If it does, start eliminating startup applications in your user profile until reboots occur normally. It's a PITA, but that's about the only way to isolate it.

As for the keyboard, are you in a neighborhood with close neighbors? The interference with the KB could be caused by something external to your home.

What third party software do you run (any antivirus, booster, cleaner, system watchers)? Most of them are worse than useless and can actually cause more problems than they claim to cure.
 
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Rick T
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Thank you for your response, Jake.

I will try the Safe Boot as you suggest.

No close neighbors. We live in the country.

The only third party software I use is Onyx.
 

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