Any other wireless devices nearby? That could be the problem.

I work at home a fair bit and enjoy the convenience of a wireless mouse and keyboard when curled up on the sofa with two monitors set-up (my law practice is paperless, hence the two monitors!) and my Tablet snapped into its docking station. From time to time for no apparent reason, the keyboard and/or mouse stop working. I tried unplugging the USB wireless connector (the piece that plugs into one of the Tablet's USB ports to allow the keyboard and mouse to 'talk to' the Tablet) and moving it to another USB port. Sometimes that worked. I've also tried re-booting with mixed results. I've also checked that the batteries in the keyboard and in the mouse are OK.

Recently, during a telemeeting with Dan Pinnington, I experienced the same old problem – the wireless mouse and keyboard stopped working when they had been working fine just moments before. Our telemeeting was delayed while I waited for my Tablet to re-boot. When I mentioned to Dan why I was in the midst of re-booting, he asked if a mobile phone was anywhere nearby. Sure enough, I had set my mobile phone down within a foot or two of the Tablet. Dan suggested that the mobile phone and wireless keyboard and mouse devices could be interfering with each other's signals and might be the cause of the problem. My husband, a hardware engineer, later confirmed that Dan was right. He also pointed out that my mobile phone could also be interfering with the indoor/outdoor thermometer that communicates wirelessly with the sensor located outdoors. My husband suggested that a good distance to separate the mobile phone from other wireless devices is at least three feet. Problem solved!