NolNov 22
Scott Hanselman 👸🏽🐝🌮

I just spent the last two hours debugging the Bluetooth stack *in anger* because for the last few weeks I've had to re-pair my mouse with my laptop. Every time. Remove mouse, re-pair.

Turns out I had two identical mice in my backpack and I've been switching between them.

It was me.

Nov 22 at 12:16amWeb
Show threadTim McNamaraNov 22
@shanselman oof.
Show threadJonathan SchusterNov 22
@shanselman You figured it out in only 2 hours? That still sounds like a win, compared to some other personal equipment debugging sessions I've had.
Show threadMatt HallNov 22

@shanselman

"I has met the enemy and they am I."

👀

Show threadMark HarrisNov 22
@401matthall @shanselman /pogoing off into the distance...
Show threadSpaceLifeFormNov 22

@shanselman

Good debugging. The fix is a Sharpie note on one.

Show threadgbsillsNov 22
@shanselman I have also done this. I hated myself so much...
Show threadSadieNov 22
@shanselman
❤️
Show threadBilly O'NealNov 22
@shanselman I don’t know which would be more frustrating: realizing this means culpa or that I had been carrying an extra mouse everywhere for who knows how long
Show threadScott Hanselman 👸🏽🐝🌮Nov 22
@malwareminigun which I likely threw in my bag thinking "I should take an extra"
Show threadMark WhybirdNov 22
@shanselman @malwareminigun Funnier version: you inadvertently stole someone else’s mouse.
Show threadScott Hanselman 👸🏽🐝🌮Nov 23
@whybird @malwareminigun omg I hope not
Show threadLyonsNov 22
@shanselman this post has a better twist than most Shyamalan movies.
Show threadFlaming CheetoNov 22
@shanselman PBCAM
Show threadjoeNov 22
@shanselman
aaah m)
Show threadThat one Jewish network nerdNov 22
@shanselman Relatable.
Show threadIrenes (many)Nov 22
@shanselman impressive
Show threadslamrNov 22

@shanselman

🤣🤣 I've been so angry at Bluetooth for that reason. Maybe it's also me

Show threadDaniel Berman 🇨🇦Nov 22
@shanselman Thank you for sharing this!
Show threadColinNov 22
@shanselman A reproducible bug you know how to fix is better than one that goes away but might come back. Watch for people connecting more mice to your system without your knowledge.
Show threadBeccaNov 22
@shanselman PEBKAC meets PEBBAM
Show threadSarah SammisNov 22
@shanselman but now you know and you can label the two with a sticker or something.
Show threadScott Hanselman 👸🏽🐝🌮Nov 22
@pussreboots funny I did exactly that today
Show threadRichard JohnsonNov 22

@shanselman @pussreboots

Two laptops, three mice...
Even I eventually figured out what I was doing to myself. Labels came out: "NO this is the spare"
But eventually the labels fall off. Augh.

Show threadVon XylofonNov 22

@tab2space @shanselman @pussreboots Etch it with a rusty knife.

Well, any knife would do, the rust is for bonus points for style.

Show threadGemma ⭐️🔰🇺🇸 🇵🇭 🎐Nov 22
@shanselman This could totally be me, as I have multiple Logitech M720 3-device mice that can work with dongles or Bluetooth. One is for my home use, the other for my road use, because I loathe trackpads. I only use Bluetooth when attaching to my iPhone or iPad, though. For my desktops and laptops, I use the dongles.
Show thread🐜Nov 22
@shanselman tell em 2 share ;)
Show threadsandyNov 22
@shanselman I feel terrible for you Scott, but this story has filled my heart with joy, so your sacrifice wasn't in vain
Show threadBig BenNov 22
@shanselman @alice This toot sparked a bucket full of kerosene anger in my brain. I’ve done this exact thing so many times in so many different contexts and it ALWAYS sucks
Show threadPreston Maness ☭Nov 22
@shanselman
Show threadJordan Kendrick Nov 22
@shanselman It’s not me. There’s no way it’s me. It was me.
Show threadPreston Maness ☭Nov 22
@jorjorbinks @shanselman
Show threadAudrey Winter has moved!Nov 22
@shanselman That would be me. I can't begin to deny it. It would happen.
Show threadshironekoNov 22
@shanselman watch out for little mice poppin up.
Show threadMark HarrisNov 22
@shanselman Hate that.
Show threadJulia ClementNov 22
@shanselman I once had 3 computers controlled from 3 keyboards & mice on my desktop. After much swearing and self induced confusion I used a bright yellow paint pen from my local Daiso to write "Desktop", "Laptop" & "RPi" as appropriate on them.
Show threadZen Zero ☯️ ◯Nov 22
@shanselman @SRDas Technician, repair thyself.
Show threadWhaargaarblNov 22
@shanselman
Show threadgkrnoursNov 22
@shanselman that's a benefit of colorful stuff. You can have two mechanically identical item but one is grape purple and the other is lime green and there is no way you mix up the two
Show threadMomoNov 22
@shanselman
So, it was a layer 8 issue then...
Show threadÞór SigurðssonNov 22

@shanselman But... even if they're identical, they still have different BDA/BMAC and as such should be able to stay paired, both of them?

Funny still though 😆

Show threadbitbonkNov 22

@shanselman
Lesson learned:

If you ignore a problem long enough, it will go away.

(The battery from the other mouse would have eventually died.)

😉😊

Show threadGreenSkyOverMe (Monika)Nov 22
@shanselman Problem was not between keyboard and chair. Problem was behind or under the chair, in the backpack: the secret second mouse.
Show threadCédric LevasseurNov 22
@shanselman 😂
Did you stole the other mouse from someone else ?
Show threadEdelruth, PBS Passport HolderNov 22

@shanselman

Hugs.

Show threadMissConstrueNov 22
@shanselman If it makes you feel any better, I did something similar with headphones. :)
Show threadKewlCatNov 22
@shanselman I'm sorry but I'll have to disagree there. Why the heck isn't your laptop capable of remembering two Bluetooth mice, and using whichever one is present at the moment?
The de-pairing is the problem. Not you.
Show threadScott Hanselman 👸🏽🐝🌮Nov 22
@KewlCat no, the issue was I would pull out a mouse, move it around and see that it wasn’t pairing. Then I would go and remove and repair the other mouse. Then the next day I would pull out the other mouse, move it and see if it didn’t work, remove and repair this mouse. If I had simply paired them both I never would’ve known there were two mice in my bag
Show threadKewlCatNov 22
@shanselman Oh. Wow. I missed the voluntary de-pairing part. That really does make it worse than I thought 😅
I'm so sorry+relieved for you!
Show threadJernej Simončič �Nov 22
@shanselman @KewlCat Why bother unpairing at all?
Show threadScott Hanselman 👸🏽🐝🌮Nov 23
@jernej__s @KewlCat I like a tidy Bluetooth list. Same on my Mac and iPhone. I don’t like vestigial Bluetooth devices
Show threadVincent BiretNov 23

@shanselman @jernej__s @KewlCat that's actually been one of my great questions. I use a car sharing service. I connect to every car to get maps, music etc...
As I do so, I'm under the impression the car system imports some of my phone information.

So every time I'm done with a car, I take the time to remove my phone from the car, and vice versa.
But what would happen if I didn't? Some of my data stays with the car?

Show threadPete JohansonNov 23
@shanselman @jernej__s @KewlCat you would cringe to see my list... My #ZMK work means my list is... Untenable? Ridiculous? Triming the list would be like trying to achieve inbox zero.
Show threadÖlbaumNov 25

@shanselman Sounds like a you-problem.

Just kidding, there’s no such thing as a you-problem with Bluetooth. Bluetooth *is* a problem, with some side effects that can, with great care, be coerced into being anecdotally useful.
@jernej__s @KewlCat

Show threadUnus NemoNov 22

@shanselman

Lol, sounds like a productive few hours. 🤣😂😅

Show threaddummzeuchNov 22
@shanselman cable beats Bluetooth, again. ;-)
Show threadpocketsNov 22
@shanselman
Just make sure you separate them before they start breeding.
Show threadOwl EyesNov 22
@shanselman "pebkac"  
Show threadGötz HoffartNov 22
@shanselman That’s a long post for saying that you’re not using mac OS.
Show threadJosh JusticeNov 22
@shanselman reminds me of the multiple times I was getting garbage keyboard inputs, and I found out it was because I didn’t realize I had a paired Bluetooth keyboard and something was sitting on top of one of the keys
Show threadI AM BANKSY ☕ / 🗑‍🔥Nov 22

@shanselman
Just the other say, I went down the path of debugging and reinstalling my reverse proxy, reinstalling certs, clearing firewall rules, reinstalling server packages... Then noticed I forgot to create a directory.

We are all too often our own worst enemies.

I mean, the service could have been more clear with the error message, so it really felt like a network issue and not a missing directory.