Wireless mouse Vs Bluetooth mouse (RF vs Bluetooth)

wireless mouse vs Bluetooth mouse
Credit: Wirecutter
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Just imagine the convenience that comes with using either Bluetooth or a wireless mouse. The Wired/USB mice may seem a little bit rigid. Besides who doesn’t want the flexibility when it comes to working with their computers.

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Among the flexible mice to work with, is the Bluetooth and wireless mouse. These two devices may seem confusing especially when it comes to choosing the right mouse. After all, they all provide the same flexibility.

However, the flexibility in any of these mouse devices may come at an extra cost than the other.

In this article, we want to examine the difference between a Wireless mouse and a Bluetooth mouse. Which is better and Why?

Read Also: Best fitness trackers with heart rate monitor

Contents

Wireless Mouse

Wireless mouse Vs Bluetooth mouse
Credit: PC World

The RF Wireless mouse uses radio frequency to connect to PC. You may require a dongle that is connected to your USB port as a receiver for the wireless mice. The setup is simply plug and play.

You need to add a small battery to your Wireless mouse before you can switch it on/off. The RF Wireless mouse solely relies on the single transmitter that comes with it.

Lose or misplace the dongle, and the device becomes totally useless, you can’t get a replacement receiver.

Bluetooth Mouse

Credit: Amazon

The Bluetooth mouse, on the other hand, relies on pairing to connect to a computer. This shouldn’t be a problem if you have worked with Bluetooth before.

However, a Bluetooth mouse would be your favorite choice if you do not have enough USB ports on your computer. This works the other way round, a wireless mouse is fine if your Bluetooth drivers aren’t acting straight or you don’t have any.

Wireless mouse Vs Bluetooth mouse

Wireless mouse devices come in two varieties; radio-frequency (RF) and Bluetooth technology. RF uses a USB dongle to connect to a computer whereas a Bluetooth mouse connects to the inbuilt receiver available to the most modern computer.

Setup/Connection

Unlike the Bluetooth mouse which connects directly to the inbuilt receiver, the wireless RF mouse requires a USB dongle to connect. The dongle is connected to a USB port and a battery added to the RF wireless mouse before it can be switched on for use. 

On the other hand, the Bluetooth mouse doesn’t come with any dongles, instead, the Bluetooth device uses a special transmitter to connect to the inbuilt receiver on your computer.

It’s important to note that the computer you’re using must be supporting Bluetooth otherwise this device won’t connect.

To connect, simply turn on the Bluetooth mouse and pair it with your computer. After this, you’ll be set to go.

Support Equipment

For an RF wireless device, you need a dongle to connect a mouse to a computer, without this, you can hardly use the wireless device unless if the mouse must be replaced.

However, this is not the case with the Bluetooth mouse, the mouse supports any Bluetooth-enabled computer.

Note: If the USB adapter or inbuilt receiver fails, you may need to replace it before you can use your mouse again. If the transmitter in your mouse fails, you’ll likely have to replace the mouse outright.

Compatibility

One of the major differences between a Wireless mouse and a Bluetooth mouse is their compatibility with a number of devices.

Besides connecting to computers and laptops, a Bluetooth mouse can be interoperable with a huge range of devices as long as they support Bluetooth technology.

Take an example, you can easily connect your Bluetooth mouse to smartphones, tablets, and others, unlike the wireless mouse which works for devices with a USB port. (Wireless mouse’s dongle is connected to a USB port)

Performance

The actual performance of these mice will depend on the technology they use to detect and track your hand’s movement.  The more dots per inch the mouse can detect, the more sensitive it will be.

Bluetooth vs wireless mouse power consumption

On the other hand, the battery life of this mouse will depend on a number of features such as programmable buttons on your device, extra buttons, and others.

The Bluetooth and RF wireless mouse use AA and AAA batteries. These are non-re-chargeable batteries you can obtain from any nearest shops or vendors.

Some users believe that as Bluetooth requires two-way communication, a Bluetooth mouse has to stay ON for longer spells to maintain a connection. Otherwise, it would take a couple of seconds to reconnect. This the more battery power than its RF counterpart

Interference

Bluetooth and Wifi mice can sometimes create interference, unlike the wired USB mice.

RF wireless mouse can sometimes mess up with the wireless connection and turn it off. On the other hand, Bluetooth devices may once in the while cross the wires and turn off for some time.

Besides that, all these interference happen on just rare occasions, however, we thought it was worth noting.

Responsiveness

When it comes to booting up, there is some extra time lag for a Bluetooth mouse as compared to an RF mouse. The same may happen when coming out of sleep.

This is not a genuine fact, because different users have different experiences with the responsiveness of the two mice. For example, some users mention that there is always an unabrupt disconnect by Bluetooth mice, unlike the Wireless RF.

This difference is generally based on opinions, but most buyers would say that the RF mouse is the most responsive of the two.

Price

The downside of the Bluetooth mice over their rival, the RF wireless mouse is, they are slightly expensive. If your computer doesn’t support Bluetooth technology, you may as well need to purchase a new BluetoothBluetooth adapter.

Final Verdict

You may find a couple of instances where each of the mouse is better than the other. The RF mouse, is the most used type among laptops and computers as compared to the Bluetooth mouse.

Bluetooth devices are hardly limited to any type of device as long as it supports Bluetooth technology.

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