My external keyboard and mouse both drop-out / stutter / halt in Ubuntu on Macbook Pro

I've installed Ubuntu 16.04 LTS on my Macbook Pro 12,1. Details below.

It's hard to replicate or debug this issue, but as best I can describe it: occasionally when typing on an external keyboard, keys will stop being registered. For example, in that sentence, I had to retype the last four letters of "registered" because the keyboard stopped recognizing my input. The same occurs with my mouse. I will be moving it, and it will stop moving momentarily. I do not experience this issue with this the external keyboard/mouse in any other OS, and all keyboards and mice I have tried plugging in experience this issue. I am realizing that I have only tested this in 1 USB port ("top-right") and will report if my results vary plugged into another USB port.

As best as I can tell, this behavior is totally random. I cannot force the bug to occur, and I have no idea where to even start with debugging it. Google searches yield inconclusive results that I don't think apply, for example I don't think I lack processor power, RAM, etc.

How can I fix this issue, or at least, what paths can I begin to investigate to debug this issue and find the cause?

Ubuntu 16.04 LTS
Memory: 7.7 GiB
Processor: Intel® Core™ i5-5257U CPU @ 2.70GHz × 4
Graphics: Intel® Iris 6100 (Broadwell GT3)
Os Type: 64-bit
Disk: 37.0 GB

Edit: I expect this is possibly a driver issue, as I plugged in my mouse/keyboard combo usb into the left USB slot, causing the keyboard to work fine but the mouse to work just plain weirdly. Certain parts of the screen it'll be fine, other parts it'll drag down in speed, as if the DPI was changing or something. I'm not sure how to solve, still, will continue to explore.

Edit 2: A mouse-only external USB plugged into the top-right USB port is functioning normally. Still no keyboard "hang" now that the keyboard is plugged into the left port. I have yet to experience mouse hang in the right USB port. I suspect that it's the specific brand of mouse/keyboard combos I had plugged into the top-right usb that was causing issues (hp mouse/keyboard combo).

Answer

I have not discovered why this happens, however this is my hack to fix it:

1. Remove your external keyboard/mouse usb dongle.




2. Turn off the power switch on your keyboard and mouse.




3. Plug in the USB dongle.




4. Power on the keyboard/mouse.