TrueSpec USB cable shielding?

[REVERSEDSKIES]

Sorry in advance if this isn't the right place to post this. I've copied this post text to a quick temporary text file in case it gets deleted and I need to re-post it in another section of the forum.

 

So today I learned that USB 3.0 devices can interfere with WI-FI and Bluetooth if stuff isn't properly shielded. I didn't know this was a thing until I looked up random things that eventually led me to read a line about USB 3.0 deices causing interference with 2.4 GHz WI-FI and Bluetooth, since that also operates on 2.4 GHz.

Apparently this is still an issue with modern devices and cables, so I'm curious if anyone (perhaps from the team?) could enlighten me? I'm aware it's not just the cables that cause the interference but also the devices, but because cables are just as much a part of USB devices (I mean, they're necessary to connect them lol) it's definitely a part of the potential problem.

 

When I heard about this it immediately made sense to me because my Bluetooth headphones work better and with slightly more range sometimes when my PC is off, because if it's on and either my phone or my headphones are close to my PC it causes the occasional drop of audio when these USB 3.0 devices are active, or the range gets slightly worse and I can't walk around the house as much. After doing a little bit of testing with these USB 3.0 devices of mine and some higher end cables I ordered a while ago I noticed that one device is a main problem and on another end there was a cable causing issues. So I'm now faced with potentially having to replace the device and get more cables, but the ones I have aren't in stock. Hence why I'm asking about the TrueSpec cables. Both A to C and C to C cables would be a nice to have if they're shielded properly. 

 

So any info is appreciated!

[Timme]

8 minutes ago, REVERSEDSKIES said:

Sorry in advance if this isn't the right place to post this. I've copied this post text to a quick temporary text file in case it gets deleted and I need to re-post it in another section of the forum.

 

So today I learned that USB 3.0 devices can interfere with WI-FI and Bluetooth if stuff isn't properly shielded. I didn't know this was a thing until I looked up random things that eventually led me to read a line about USB 3.0 deices causing interference with 2.4 GHz WI-FI and Bluetooth, since that also operates on 2.4 GHz.

Apparently this is still an issue with modern devices and cables, so I'm curious if anyone (perhaps from the team?) could enlighten me? I'm aware it's not just the cables that cause the interference but also the devices, but because cables are just as much a part of USB devices (I mean, they're necessary to connect them lol) it's definitely a part of the potential problem.

 

When I heard about this it immediately made sense to me because my Bluetooth headphones work better and with slightly more range sometimes when my PC is off, because if it's on and either my phone or my headphones are close to my PC it causes the occasional drop of audio when these USB 3.0 devices are active, or the range gets slightly worse and I can't walk around the house as much. After doing a little bit of testing with these USB 3.0 devices of mine and some higher end cables I ordered a while ago I noticed that one device is a main problem and on another end there was a cable causing issues. So I'm now faced with potentially having to replace the device and get more cables, but the ones I have aren't in stock. Hence why I'm asking about the TrueSpec cables. Both A to C and C to C cables would be a nice to have if they're shielded properly. 

 

So any info is appreciated!

It isn't the cable; it's the USB port's activity that causes the interference.

[REVERSEDSKIES]

44 minutes ago, Timme said:

It isn't the cable; it's the USB port's activity that causes the interference.

It is still the cable that can be part of the cause. Even if the device is shielded properly, if the cable isn't, the cable can be the thing causing the interference

[CasualExtremist]

31 minutes ago, REVERSEDSKIES said:

It is still the cable that can be part of the cause. Even if the device is shielded properly, if the cable isn't, the cable can be the thing causing the interference

How are you isolating the cable from the port?

[REVERSEDSKIES]

5 minutes ago, CasualExtremist said:

How are you isolating the cable from the port?

Do you mean how would you shield it or do you mean how can you figure out which one it is?

[CasualExtremist]

3 minutes ago, REVERSEDSKIES said:

Do you mean how would you shield it or do you mean how can you figure out which one it is?

I mean you started with

1 hour ago, REVERSEDSKIES said:

so I'm curious if anyone ... could enlighten me?

Then you get a response

1 hour ago, Timme said:

it's the USB port's activity that causes the interference

Then you lean away from that input

40 minutes ago, REVERSEDSKIES said:

It is still the cable

So I am asking you how you have gotten to the point in which you have convinced yourself one way vs another? My first guess was you got anecdotal feedback from your personal setup. So from there, how did you go about isolating variables in question? Or how else did you come to that conclusion?

[Timme]

45 minutes ago, REVERSEDSKIES said:

It is still the cable that can be part of the cause. Even if the device is shielded properly, if the cable isn't, the cable can be the thing causing the interference

Cable or not, you cannot fully shield the 2.4GHz antenna plugged into the back of the case, where all the USB ports are. The most you can do is position the antenna as far away from an active USB port as possible. 

[manikyath]

you guys... literally just a google search shows that USB 3.0 data transfer can cause wifi/bt interference, as per a whitepaper from usb.org...

Quote

The noise generated due to the USB 3.0 data spectrum can have an impact on radio
receivers whose antenna is placed close to a USB 3.0 device and/or USB 3.0
connector. The noise is a broadband noise that cannot be filtered out, since it falls
within the band of operation of the wireless device (2.4–2.5 GHz). The noise degrades
the signal-to-noise ratio that the wireless receiver sees and limits its sensitivity. This
then reduces the operating wireless range of the device.

https://www.usb.org/sites/default/files/327216.pdf

 

on that note... LTTstore page answers this for you as well:

Quote

Material Composition:
- Conductors: Individually shielded copper conductors
- Shielding: Multi-layer electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding
- Outer jacket: UV- and bend-resistant silicone
- Connector housing: Flexible TPE

off memory i recall some talk on the WAN show mentioning shielding around the data pairs, which i presume is simply already a necessity for data integrity in the cable itself.

[REVERSEDSKIES]

Sorry, I'm not gonna quote everyone lol

 

I indeed also found that whitepaper and was gonna send it as a reply at some point haha

 

Reason I found out that at least somewhere it was a cable was because I've been testing this nearly all day. Since I obviously don't have a replacement device lying around for everything, and not everything runs at USB 3.0, all I could really do was swap out some cables. I still had some unused, relatively expensive USB 3.0 cables lying around, so I swapped the 2 USB cables on my most used USB 3.0 devices. From there, since I don't have any way of seeing exactly what the connection between my phone and my sony wireless headphones is like at every millisecond, all I could do was just try and see what the connection was like in terms of stability bu putting my phone at its usual spot on my desk and just walking through the house a bit. I had already noticed a bunch of time that I at the very least got a little bit more range when my PC was off, or at the very least a more stable connection when walking into my backyard when my PC was off vs when it was on. By swapping out the cables it became a little better. Not sure which cable was the real offender since they were different cables that got replaced, and it's not entirely gone. The 2.4 GHz is already disabled on my own router which is sitting on my desk though so that's a thing I won't have to worry about. Again, I don't have any equipment to measure these things precisely and I don't know if there's any way to properly measure a Bluetooth connection between a phone and a pair of wireless headphones (if you have anything lemme know, might be interesting to check out).

 

59 minutes ago, manikyath said:

you guys... literally just a google search shows that USB 3.0 data transfer can cause wifi/bt interference, as per a whitepaper from usb.org...

https://www.usb.org/sites/default/files/327216.pdf

 

on that note... LTTstore page answers this for you as well:

off memory i recall some talk on the WAN show mentioning shielding around the data pairs, which i presume is simply already a necessity for data integrity in the cable itself.

I seem to have missed that one. I don't really follow the WAN show all that much anymore, mostly the clips of it, so I most definitely missed that one.

 

But now I am starting to wonder if there is anything you can do yourself?

I mean, for an electric guitar for example you can use aluminium tape on the inside. As long as you make sure it's properly conductive (also on the adhesive side) and you get full continuity through every piece you stick on, and make sure it's connected to any part that's connected to ground through the jack cable, it can reduce interference. Which I have successfully done on my own electric guitar. Of course I'm not gonna line my USB ports with aluminium tape lol, but I'm now just wondering if there's anything you can do to shield devices yourself. Something I'll have to look into

[manikyath]

6 hours ago, REVERSEDSKIES said:

now I am starting to wonder if there is anything you can do yourself?

move the wifi/bt antenna's away from the usb lines. realisticly this effect should be minimal even at short range. if you have issues, let's say a meter away, there's other problems as well.

 

remember that 2.4 Ghz is a VERY crowded band to operate in.

[REVERSEDSKIES]

10 hours ago, manikyath said:

move the wifi/bt antenna's away from the usb lines. realisticly this effect should be minimal even at short range. if you have issues, let's say a meter away, there's other problems as well.

 

remember that 2.4 Ghz is a VERY crowded band to operate in.

Yeah I don't expect it to go very far. I guess it might just be close enough to be affected. The weird thing is that when I connect my headphones to my PC, even though my Bluetooth dongle is literally connected to a USB 3.0 hub and is much closer to my other devices, it seems to have less of an issue.
I also haven't checked the 2.4 GHz spectrum in my area to see how crowded it really is since I have 2.4 GHz WI-FI disabled. Despite knowing that Bluetooth operates on the same frequency I always forget it is also affected by congestion