Wireless peripherals turning to e-waste in record time

[SpittinFax]

This is a really serious problem that has been plaguing my tech life for years now and it's time we actually brought it to light.

It's completely normal if a wired keyboard lasts at least five years, meanwhile wireless keyboards struggle to reach two years of use before showing intermittent issues. I've seen it happen time and time again.

I personally use wired-everything and avoid wireless devices at all costs, but of course I have to help out friends who bought wireless peripherals when they inevitably run into connectivity issues. The sad thing is that even THOSE people in my life have become fed up with flaky connectivity issues and are turning away from wireless after learning how unreliable it is. That's how bad it is.

So far I've seen one Logitech K380 Bluetooth keyboard that lost connection and refused to re-connect. In the bin it goes. I've also seen TWO sets of Microsoft Sculpt Ergonomic keyboards encounter a mix of flaky issues like sending random wake-up signals during computer sleep, becoming unresponsive, even USB connection issues with the dongles themselves. When anything goes wrong with either the keyboard or wireless dongle (of which there's a good chance something will), they are proprietary paired to each other and cannot be replaced. Into the bin they go. Oh and the amount of times that wireless mice have stopped responding and refuse to reconnect no matter what USB port I try. Straight into the bin.

Surely I'm not the only one noticing so many wireless devices being pre-maturely discarded, sometimes even within a year from purchase. I'm no tree-hugger by any stretch but it's painful to watch this happen.

 

[Nike_486DX]

IMO it really depends on the quality of the peripherals. I have witnessed 2 chinese keyboard and 1 mice die within 6 months, and all were wired. Then switched to an old ibm keyboard which is 2005 afaik. It works great. On the other hand also have an apple bluetooth keyboard which was purchased in 2011 and it still works great. And those mechanical keyboards also look like a great option, currently using a wireless K539 with brown switches, every switch is detachable btw so in case of a spill there is a possibility to individually replace the keys, unlike membrane keyboards which indeed go directly into trash.

Wireless is a good thing as long as the devices are properly engineered, and it saves you from the cable clutter nightmare. For example i sometimes test a second rig (so i need a second keyboard and a second mice, alongside the primary ones, and the cables just become a one cluttered mess (btw cant make cable management cuz once testing is finished i need to take the second set of peripherals away).

 

[phanbuey]

Some issues I have in this vein:
1 designs that are non-repairable, esp the dongle pairing situation.
2. agree with @Nike_486DX - ive gone through several sets of wired mice where the switches burned out after a few months, and have thrown out literally every wired keyboard (or put it in the hoard of unused peripherals in my garage -- to be thrown out or given to Salvation army to throw out at a later date).

Also OEMs don't help with their landfill keyboards and mice that come bundled with the pc.

Tons of waste overall -- very unfortunate.

 

[Shrek]

ive gone through several sets of wired mice where the switches burned out after a few months

I tend to replace worn switches.
Computer Mouse Repair (switch replacement) | Electronics Repair And Technology News Computer Mouse Repair (switch replacement) (jestineyong.com)

I suspect that even more failures come from soldering
AUKEY (CB-H5) USB 3.0 Hub Repair | Electronics Repair And Technology News AUKEY (CB-H5) USB 3.0 Hub Repair (jestineyong.com)

 

[bug]

I'm waiting for these true-wireless pods that are all the rage today to start kicking the bucket.
I mean, they're nice and everything, but there should be a law against non user replaceable batteries.

 

[phanbuey]

I'm waiting for these true-wireless pods that are all the rage today to start kicking the bucket.
I mean, they're nice and everything, but there should be a law against non user replaceable batteries.

This would have a massive impact on waste/the environment and forced obsolescence. So naturally it will never happen.

 

[FreedomEclipse]

Thank companies like Apple who charge stupid money for repairs just to make you throw your device away and buy a new one instead. All the while making it as difficult as possible for consumers to have their broken devices repaired at independent repair shops. Forced obscelence is a a real thing when quite a lot of people are still more than happy running with 3-5year old devices because it forfills their needs

 

[The red spirit]

I wouldn't say it's normal

 

[80-watt Hamster]

This doesn't match my experience. Almost every wireless PC peripheral I've had years later. Caveat: Most of my wireless stuff gets relatively light use compared to wired. But I've thrown out many more $#!+3 wired mice (countless) than quality wireless (1). And that was due to physical defects, not connectivity issues. Also after much longer than 2 years.

Are perma-paired devices really the norm? My collection skews Logitech, and most of their wireless peripherals use the Unifying dongle, which can be arbitrarily paired to any compatible device.

This would have a massive impact on waste/the environment and forced obsolescence. So naturally it will never happen.

It may not be planned obsolescence as much as manufacturing optimization. It costs not-insignificantly more to make something user-serviceable, and downward price pressure and margin squeeze are huge factors in consumer products. Obsolescence is probably a nice bonus, though (for the manufacturer).

iPhone design meeting (probably):

Project Manager: We're looking to shave $0.30 from unit cost. Where can we get it?

Manufacturing Engineer: We'd make up at least that if we ditch user-replaceable batteries.

Design Engineer: That's one of the design specs, though, and reduces service life of the device.

PM: How many original purchasers replace their battery over the ownership of their phone?

Marketing Manager: Less than 5%.

PM: Eff 'em. Ditch the replaceable battery.

 

[Shrek]

Thank companies like Apple who charge stupid money for repairs just to make you throw your device away and buy a new one instead. All the while making it as difficult as possible for consumers to have their broken devices repaired at independent repair shops. Forced obscelence is a a real thing when quite a lot of people are still more than happy running with 3-5year old devices because it forfills their needs

I was an Apple fan boy till they started gluing the Mac shut; then I jumped to Windows.

Project Manager: We're looking to shave $0.30 from unit cost. Where can we get it?

This is where they go for cheaper capacitors with the same specs; but the cheap ones don't last so long.

 

[ShiBDiB]

EWaste in general is an issue. I have a bunch of hardware like monitors sitting in my garage than I need to get rid of. Preferably not by sneaking it into my garbage can one at a time.

 

[Shrek]

Best Buys accepts e-waste
Electronics and Appliances Recycling at Best Buy

Many monitors just need new capacitors, so you might want to repair some of what you have.

 

[Bill_Bright]

IMO it really depends on the quality of the peripherals.

^^^This^^^

Sure, I have seen my share of wireless devices fail - but I have also seen my share of wired devices fail too. Anecdotal but my Microsoft Wireless Comfort Keyboard 5000, manufactured (according to its serial number sticker) 02/02013 is still going strong. And a similar 5050 keyboard on this machine made 09/2017 still registering every keystroke despite the lettering on the M, E and "," and "." keys being totally warn off.

I also have a Logitech V450 Nano wireless mouse I bought with my old notebook back in 2010 that is still working just fine with my new MSI notebook.

None of these peripherals were "top-of-the-line but none were budget/entry level models either.

As far as user-replaceable batteries, I think there should be laws that dictate ALL batteries should be user replaceable. If I have a choice between two identical products, I will take the one with user replaceable batteries every time, even if the price is higher. I also think such batteries should be one of industry standard configuration - NO PROPRIETARY crap.

Last, I do not think it is fair to compare wired vs wireless in terms of longevity. Wireless connections are much more complex, involving several more technologies, and additional parts. There is always a greater chance of premature failure as the number of components increase.

This would have a massive impact on waste/the environment and forced obsolescence.

As far as forced obsolescence, I think that is often politically motivated (due to politicians turning a blind eye while corporations line their pockets). But I also feel the concept of "planned obsolescence" is very often simple "tin-foil hat" stuff. Therefore, that should be left to a totally different discussion.

A waste on the environment, however, impacts us all - as well as our kids, grandkids, and so on. But it is up to use consumers to stop throwing old electronics, including batteries, in regular trash bins where this waste ends up in landfills. We all much do our parts, research, find then take our old electronics, batteries, lightbulbs, etc. to official, certified electronics recycling centers for proper disposal. Best Buy, for example, as mentioned takes most electronics. Car parts stores take UPS batteries.

If you have lots of old electronics like I did - check for recycling centers in your area. They paid me $80 for the steel, copper, aluminum and other precious metals - and then they properly recycled the rest. Of course, I paid $1000s for everything new, but now I have a very nice guest bedroom in the basement.

I was an Apple fan boy till they started gluing the Mac shut; then I jumped to Windows.

I was never an Apple fan because of one, dirty 4-letter word: "proprietary parts". Okay, 2 words and more than 4 letters but you get the point.

 

[bug]

This would have a massive impact on waste/the environment and forced obsolescence. So naturally it will never happen.

"Naturally". I see what you did there

 

[oobymach]

I tend not to toss things as I grew up in a generation where we fix things ourselves so for every issue I've had I found or made a fix, plastic can be easily recycled, electronic components not so much. If I do toss electronics they go in the recycle bin rather than the trash.