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I have a USB mouse, keyboard, headset and speaker all connected through the Aten US224 USB hub (edit: a KVM switch, really), allowing me to switch between the "bad PC" and the "good PC" when I "go to work" and back in my home office setup.

Recently, I got a new "bad PC" from my corporate overlords (Lenovo T495 instead of T460) and the strangest thing is happening. The mouse movement slows down to absolute minimum. The triggering element seems to be the keyboard being connected through the same hub (which is not a problem on my personal PC, nor was it a problem on the T460 laptop). No amount of switching ports affects the situation.

I have discovered a rather strange (and unwieldy) work-around - whenever I open a MS Teams meeting, the mouse cursor starts behaving normally. I have a suspicion it has something to do with the headset, or specifically microphone, being active at the moment and sending signals through the hub (the same thing does not occur when the headset is connected outside the hub through the laptops own USB port).

Unfortunately my new laptop has much more limited USB ports number, so I need a USB hub and I have already messy cable situation as it is without reconnecting all the stuff twice a day between the PCs... Also I am not very keen to invest in a complete wireless setup just yet.

EDIT:

So to clear some things out:

a) "bad" and "good" PCs are just my work laptop and my personal desktop; bad is bad because it is work, not because it has an a priori bad config:)

b) the issue occurs only and only for the Lenovo T495, not for either of the two other PCs;

c) I do not think this has to do with latency - the mouse is responsive, it just moves veeeerrryyy slooooow, as if the sensitivity were turned down to the barest minimum (it is not). Also note that when the Teams meeting starts (i.e. the mic input fires up, even if the mic itself is muted), the issue subsides

EDIT2:

OK, so the issue seems somehow to be tied to the mouse itself, as a type. I have two mice of the same type (Gigabyte M6800), one at home, another I carry with myself / have it at work. Both these mice exhibit exactly the same behaviour. However I took a different mouse type and... this one works okay.

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  • Have you tried swapping the hub for a different model? That's the cheapest hardware troubleshooting option.
    – gronostaj
    Commented Dec 18, 2020 at 10:05
  • I specifically have this hub as it is a splitter, allowing to connect multiple devices to multiple PCs and switch PCs with the push of a button. Did not see an alternative to the device with a similar functionality really.
    – Eleshar
    Commented Dec 18, 2020 at 15:27
  • So it's actually a KVM switch with an integrated USB hub. Try a regular hub then to check if eliminating it fixes the issue.
    – gronostaj
    Commented Dec 18, 2020 at 15:42
  • @gronostaj The issue is limited to the T495 laptop. It does not occur on the older T460 nor on my personal desktop PC.
    – Eleshar
    Commented Dec 18, 2020 at 16:28
  • Yes, I know. That's either laptop's fault (in which case it will occur with a regular hub without KVM) or an incompatibility (in which case avoiding the KVM will fix it). This troubleshooting step will tell you if replacing the KVM with another model is the way to go. If not, you either have to hope for a BIOS update that will fix the issue or replace the laptop.
    – gronostaj
    Commented Dec 18, 2020 at 19:11

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I feel for you. High latency on a mouse or keyboard drives me crazy and seriouisly effects productivity.

One idea: assuming you have at least 2 USB ports even on the 'bad' PC (I assume you mean 'low spec'). You could try having two small USB hubs and put the problem device(s) on one hub and the must-be-low-latentcy devices on the other. Having two plugs to switch rather than one is probably worth the upside!

Also make soure you know which of your ports are USB 2 or USB 3, whether your hub is USB 2 or 3 etc. And if you can make sure you have USB3 all the way through for the critical items.

I know you say you don't want to invest in a wireless setup, but I have been using a Logitech MK270 wireless keyboard and mouse, which cost me not that much more than USB hub would. It has a tiny USB dongle that links both.

The connection is robust and established quickly even when I pop it out to directly access my Raspbery Pi NAS or some other computer.

Avoid bluetooth wireless keyboard because again you get the same latency issues from using a communications channel that is contested by other high-throughput devices.

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    I have a feeling this is not a latency issue. The mouse responds immediately, it's just as if sensitivity went real down. And as said, when I connect to a Teams meeting, it shoots back up (with no change in devices - jut the mic gets fired up). Also "bad" PC is bad because it is work PC, not a bad config:) The ports are USB 3 and it does not matter which one I use. The setup is just a matter of convenience.
    – Eleshar
    Commented Dec 18, 2020 at 15:25
  • Oh I see - you mean different applications are somehow altering mouse sensitivity. I am afraid I have never come across application-specific over-rides to mouse sensitivity. Nothing helpful to add...
    – Duke Bouvier
    Commented Dec 18, 2020 at 16:43
  • Hm, it did not occur to me that another application may be turning the sensitivity down while Teams meeting somehow corrects it. Interesting, I will experiment with that a bit.
    – Eleshar
    Commented Dec 18, 2020 at 16:45
  • It doesn''t seem to be a standard capability but if anyone can mess around with mouse sensitivty behind the scenes it would be Microsoft
    – Duke Bouvier
    Commented Dec 18, 2020 at 16:53

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