Can I remove USB transceiver?
QAs a long-term subscriber, I’d like to thank you for producing such a consistently brilliant magazine – it can’t have been easy in recent times.
My problem relates to my Acer Aspire Z24-891 all-in-one PC (pictured below). It’s great except for the flimsy keyboard, which came as part of the package, along with the mouse. I need to change the keyboard to one that’s better suited to my increasingly arthritic hands. On the underside of the machine, I can see what looks like a USB transceiver for the keyboard and mouse, but it appears to be permanently fixed – it certainly doesn’t want to move! Is it possible to remove this transceiver to fit a replacement for a new keyboard? If not, could I simply fit a new transceiver into one of the USB ports on the back of machine to run a new keyboard and mouse? Terry Donovan
AYes, the device you describe is the transceiver for the bundled keyboard and mouse. It’s fitted into a standard USB 2.0 port on the PC’S underside. However, it seems that Acer has taken to gluing them in place, perhaps to stop them falling out during transport. You may be able to break the bonds with a pair of pliers, say, but we really can’t recommend doing this, because you might damage it or your PC.
Besides, there’s no need to remove it, because it sounds as if you have spare USB ports, so you can just plug in another transceiver. These 2.4GHZ devices are ‘keyed’ to their specific keyboards and mice, so having two connected shouldn’t cause any problems. In fact, if you’re happy with your bundled mouse, you could continue to use that through the glued-in transceiver, and simply buy a new one as part of a wireless keyboard.