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<Beebox N3000>Stuttering Bluetooth sound
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Jolltax View Drop Down
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    Posted: 02 Oct 2015 at 7:25pm
Stuttering Bluetooth sound,  Windows 10

<I have edited this due to my further troubleshooting>

I have a Beebox with 8GB RAM and Windows 10 Pro installed.  I have been experiencing periodic stuttering when playing back sound under Windows 10 on a Beebox N3000 through Bluetooth headphones.  I have two different BT Headphones and both are affected. 

The problem appears to be related to the very short range of the Bluetooth heaphones when connected to this device.

The result is that I cannot listen to bluetooth headphones 10 feet away using the onboard bluetooth, if I disable the onboard bluetooth and install a USB bluetooth dongle in the front USB port then this improves things considerably.

I am wondering whether the location of the BT module in the chassis limits its range.

When connected to other devices I own the same limitations do not apply i.e. using my mobile phone the same headphones have significantly longer range.

I have amended my original post in the hope that other might find it useful.

Regards

Jolltax


Edited by Jolltax - 04 Oct 2015 at 12:43pm
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JoshMe View Drop Down
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Joined: 27 Oct 2015
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I think you're right - it seems like a design flaw in the location of the bluetooth chip. I'm having a similar issue, but I'm also having awful WiFi reception (which is on the same chip). I even tried a wireless mouse with an RF nano receiver and it barely worked when the receiver was plugged into the Beebox. I plugged it into a USB extension cord instead and it works fine just a foot away from the Beebox. 

This is a major issue for me - WiFi and Bluetooth are essential. I've filed a support request and I'm waiting to hear back.

There's a related post about the WiFi signal being terrible here: http://forums.tweaktown.com/asrock/61612-asrock-beebox-n3150-wifi-problem.html
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Jolltax View Drop Down
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Thanks for your post.

I haven't noticed the wifi issues but the BT range for me is less than 5 feet.  This is a problem for me as I want to use the unit as an HTPC and use BT headphones.

I cracked my unit open and double checked the aerials are securely fastened to the card (they are)

I have bought a long USB lead and a BT dongle but this is a prettty nasty solution to the issue, its disappointing.

I am wondering whether a dffferent wifi / BT card would perform better.

J


Edited by Jolltax - 27 Oct 2015 at 4:06pm
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JoshMe View Drop Down
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FYI, I submitted a support request a few days ago and I got an email asking for my invoice. I sent that along but haven't heard back since.

This is very frustrating - if Asrock wants to sell computers and not just motherboards they need to provide some level of support. Much of their support site says to contact your computer manufacturer, which in this case is Asrock!
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Jolltax View Drop Down
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I actually swapped out the mini-PCI wireless card in my Beebox for an Intel one (7260) as an experiment to see whether the range issue could be a driver or hardware issue.

It made no difference at all, I think this is an issue with the design and positioning of the card and the effectiveness of the aerials.

Jolltax
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JoshMe View Drop Down
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Thanks for posting that, Jolltax! I was wondering about that - ASRock offered to send me a new wireless card, but I'd have to ship back the original one at my expense. I didn't think it would help. 

They also said they could ship me a new unit but I would again have to pay to ship back the old one. So instead, I'm going to return it through Newegg and I'll buy something else. I bet there will be some good Black Friday deals on tiny computers like this (assuming you're in the US).
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Jolltax View Drop Down
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Originally posted by JoshMe JoshMe wrote:

Thanks for posting that, Jolltax! I was wondering about that - ASRock offered to send me a new wireless card, but I'd have to ship back the original one at my expense. I didn't think it would help. 

They also said they could ship me a new unit but I would again have to pay to ship back the old one. So instead, I'm going to return it through Newegg and I'll buy something else. I bet there will be some good Black Friday deals on tiny computers like this (assuming you're in the US).

Good plan!  I am in the UK and having invested in the RAM, SSD and peripherals I am not inclined to get rid of mine although I might look at alternatives out of curiosity.  Out of interest I also have an Asus Chromebox, a very nice alternative with Linux installed you might want to consider.  I would much prefer Asrock to resolve the wireeless issues as I really like the overall design of the Beebox.

J
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I have the Beebox N3050.  I'm dealing with similar issues.  Bluetooth performance is extremely poor even within 3 feet of the Beebox (which means from the couch was not an option whatsoever).  I was trying to use a Bluetooth keyboard/touchpad.  The same keyboard works great with my old Dell laptop.  

WIFI performance is also very poor despite using 802.11 AC router.  Other devices work fine from the same location.

I really thought the Beebox would be the best NUC I could get for the equivalent price point.  I was really counting on these two functions working adequately so that I could enjoy the device connected to my TV.  

I hooked up a WIFI gaming adapter to the ethernet port.  Once I had a stable connection to the network, I was able to use my android phone as a mouse/keyboard which is actually pretty effective.  This configuration is working good, but it's disappointing that the Beebox couldn't adequately support a Bluetooth device and WIFI in of itself.  I hope that some options are offered that will make it work better.

As an FYI...I did upgrade to 8 GB (2X4GB) of RAM to make sure memory was not an issue.


Edited by beezy - 30 Mar 2016 at 6:01am
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Originally posted by beezy beezy wrote:

 I was really counting on these two functions working adequately so that I could enjoy the device connected to my TV.  


Hi Beezy, 

Sorry you are having issues.

Yes I have had the same problems with both wifi and BT and have moved the Beebox into a spare room where it is rarely used and disabled the internal card and now use external devices - both a USB wifi dongle and BT adapter a shame as it looks a mess so I have hidden it all behind the TV.  Kinda defeats the point of the form factor in my view.

As stated above I think the design of the Beebox does not allow for good reception.  I am not sure whether the newer designs have been improved.

Jolltax
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