Weird surface p4 vs surface 3 miracast problem

[bcargnel]

So this is a weird one. I am a teacher here in Canada and another teacher at my school has been having issues with using miracast on his SP4. He can connect no problem, but after a few minutes the connection is lost. The IT department has swapped out the Microsoft adapter twice now thinking that was the problem. No dice. So my thought was it has to be the SP4. Since I just got one myself I went down to his room and low and behold I connected right away and streamed a video no problem for about 15 minutes straight. Problem solved right. Nope. Then my SP4 started losing the connection too. Would connect, then disconnect. Both SP4 are i5, 256gb with 8 gn of ram. Now I just happened to have a surface 3 on hand as the district just got a bunch for student use and as a last ditch attempt tried it. That was 2 days ago and it still running fine. Not one disconnect.

So I know that the driver versions are different on the 2 devices (both SP4's are the same) and that the actual chip set are different. But why would the lower end device work fine and the newer higher end one not work? So I thought it maybe the Microsoft Wireless Adapter so went out last night and bought a new one and installed it on my home TV. Streamed for 4 hours straight no problem. So I have eliminated that the problem is the device. This morning went into the other teachers room and once again the device disconnected after about a minute.

I'm stumped, the IT department is stumped, the teacher is frustrated and has resorted to a wired connection which defeats the whole reason for the surface in the first place or mobility. So anyone have any thoughts?

 

[sharpuser]

Welcome to the forum, @bcargnel. Sorry you are having Miracast problems.

I would guess that you have some Bluetooth interference. The usual culprits are BT speakers, cameras, smartphones, or security systems, and poorly grounded fluorescent lighting or power supply. Also consider that proximity to very strong WiFi 2.4 GHz WiFi could be the problem. BT also uses 2.4 GHz, and interference can be severe, especially around metal plumbing or wiring behind the walls. The school may have this issue. If other BT devices are known to disconnect, or connect poorly at that venue, that would be more proof.

A fix can be as simple as placing a metal sheet between the TV and the wall, or moving the TV. You can temporarily move the TV to another location and test.

Hope this helps. Let us know.

 

[bcargnel]

Welcome to the forum, @bcargnel. Sorry you are having Miricast problems.

I would guess that you have some Bluetooth interference. The usual culprits are BT speakers, cameras, smartphones, or security systems, and poorly grounded fluorescent lighting or power supply. Also consider that proximity to very strong WiFi 2.4 GHz WiFi could be the problem. BT also uses 2.4 GHz, and interference can be severe, especially around metal plumbing or wiring behind the walls. The school may have this issue. If other BT devices are known to disconnect, or connect poorly at that venue, that would be more proof.

A fix can be as simple as placing a metal sheet between the TV and the wall, or moving the TV. You can temporarily move the TV to another location and test.

Hope this helps. Let us know.

But if all of those are problems, why would,the surface 3 connect without problems? I was aware of these and did adjust testing. And this is a projector setup, not easily moved. Thanks for the input though.

 

[sharpuser]

Interference usually is most severe close to the receiver or the transmitter. In this case, both the TV side and the Surface side are transmitting and receiving. Interference may be be right around your Surface, which is different than your Surface 3, due to power supply proximity, connection geometries, etc. Also consider the desk that the device is on. Try metal or wood or combinations, and also try rotating your Surface 90 degrees or so to see if that helps. After identifying what works, you can start the abatement step.