Why is Bluetooth so much flakier than USB, WiFi, etc?

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For ~20 years now, basic USB and WiFi connection have been in the category of “mostly expected to work” – you do encounter incompatibilities but it tends to be unusual.

Bluetooth, on the other hand, seems to have been “expected to fail or at least be flaky as hell” since Day 1, and it doesn’t seem to have gotten better over time. What makes the Bluetooth stack/protocol so much more apparently-unstable than other protocols?

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18 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Radio interference is the worst. Everyone simultaneously trying to speak over a walkie talkie is the problem. Radio interference is why Bluetooth has issues. WiFi reach farther with 2.4GHz but has more channels to use with 5GHz. Too many WiFi devices in the area disconnects them often. Maybe you don’t notice them or you have a good WiFi adapter that adds buffering to hide disruptions. The 2.4GHz spectrum is allowed for many consumer devices that the FCC doesn’t regulate. Hence the local carriers and cable companies use 2.4GHz for last mile commercial purposes that steal what little bandwidth is remaining. Sometimes your ISP uses your WiFi Internet modem to serve other people. (I’m sure they could be forced in court to stop doing this as it uses more of your electricity.) Some 2.4GHz WiFi APs have started implementing Bluetooth co-existence mode to detect low bandwidth devices and allow them to speak but not everyone is this polite. Your 2.4GHz wireless landline phone or your 2.4GHz wireless mouse could interfere with your Bluetooth. Even a cheap USB3 data cable can interfere with devices near it in the 2.4GHz spectrum. The solution is to demand the FCC to open up more wireless spectrums for end-consumers, demand commercial entities can’t use consumer spectrums, and demand lower power. Lastly, demand the FCC to monitor radio pollution.

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