14 DAY TRIAL // Don’t be fooled, it’s not the Magic Mouse that’s suffering from any battery issues. The ignorant, little rodent couldn’t be healthier, especially with all the updates installed. It’s the wireless Apple keyboards whose batteries are being sucked dry. However, it appears that the problem stems from interference caused by the multi-touch peripheral.
TUAW points out to a group of Apple Discussions users who are very disappointed with the battery life on their Bluetooth keyboards whose batteries started being devoured ever since they began to use a Magic Mouse. “Despite switching to rechargeable batteries and running all pertinent updates, the problem persists,” the unofficial Apple weblog outlines, adding that most of the posters claim to be changing their keyboards’ batteries on a weekly basis.
One participant to the discussion, cbcirrus, chimes in with a few interesting details. He claims to have had a chat with Apple’s tech guys, who have allegedly informed him that a firmware fix for the issue is on the way. Apparently, the cause of these problems has been found – interference – while isolating the issue is just a matter of time for Apple engineers.
“Apple Tech Support furnished three replacement aluminum keyboards (unfortunately one DOA and all three were three battery version). All replacement keyboards suffer from the low battery life issue,” cbcirrus begins his post. “They now claim it is a bluetooth driver issue and the engineers are working on a solution, presumably a new driver or patch. One tech said engineering believes the magic mouse bluetooth is interfering with keyboard bluetooth communication and/or sleep mode. No estimate as to time frame for solution just a suggestion to use rechargeable batteries until issue is resolved.”
We’ll keep our eyes peeled and our ears to the ground for any word on this firmware update / patch. In the meanwhile, let us know how your experience has been with wireless Apple peripherals.