Input freezes or gets stuck, losing control for a few seconds

[linaori]

Not sure what could be causing this or if it's even a bug, perhaps someone has pointers as I can't find any related issues on google. A lot of times, and I'm talking 10~50 times per hour, I have either of the following issues:

• My key press gets stuck, making it repeat the input as if I was holding the key
• I lose control over my mouse and keyboard. I could be typing and suddenly it stops responding for a few seconds and then catches up. This is particularly annoying when I want to select some code, and it just randomly stops moving my mouse

Operating Systems

Server: Win 10 (1909)

Client: Ubuntu 18.04

Barrier Version

2.3.2-snapshot-210c2b70 (server) 3 oct 2019
2.3.2-snapshot-9080ce45 (client) 10 nov 2019

I'm not sure how to get the exact same versions, as the linux version is installed via the software manager, and this gives me a newer version than available here in releases.

Steps to reproduce bug

Use the software

Other info

Connected via WiFi because Dell refuses to give support for this particular USB-C dongle, LAN not working so I can't test if that fixes it

[akisman]

I'm seeing the exact same behavior. I haven't managed to isolate the issue, but there is one scenario I can repeatedly reproduce:
Pressing left shift while holding right shift(tried it when typing on Konsole or Kate) always results in the first issue mentioned:

My key press gets stuck, making it repeat the input as if I was holding the key.

Using the hotkey assigned to switch desktops back and forth "releases" it.

Anecdotally it feels like it occurs often when typing & using shift. I haven't noticed any pattern yet on the occurrence of the second issue mentioned, in which seemingly randomly I also loose control of both keyboard & mouse.

It seems to be related to this issue on the synergy-core repository.

--

Operating Systems
Server: Windows 10 Pro (Build 2004)
Client: Kubuntu 18.04 (Kernel 5.3.0-45-generic)

Barrier Version
Server: 2.3.2-snapshot-210c2b70
Client: 2.3.2-snapshot-9080ce45

Other Info
Connected via gigabit ethernet

[justdeth]

I'm also experiencing this issue.
Similar issue seen in synergy: https://github.com/symless/synergy-core/issues/6487

[brenix]

It looks like this was fixed in synergy-core. Do fixes like this typically get pulled down into barrier? I've applied this patch to my install of barrier to see if it helps, but curious if these fixes get pulled into barrier at some point..

[shymega]

No, they don't AFAIK.

[axtux]

The issue seems to be fixed by https://github.com/symless/synergy-core/pull/6685

I have same issue: sometimes the mouse freezes and movements are delayed by a few seconds.

Operating Systems
Server: Ubuntu 18.04 (Kernel 4.15.0-99-generic)
Client: Ubuntu 18.04 (Kernel 5.3.0-51-generic)

Barrier Version
Server: barrierc 2.3.2-13-g9080ce45
Client: barriers 2.3.2-13-g9080ce45

Other Info
Connected via Ethernet cable, ping running during freeze is never higher than 1ms so this excludes eventual network issues

[shymega]

That patch applies fine to the current Barrier version. I'm not sure what the official position is about using upstream patches from Symless's Synergy core though. @walker0643 Thoughts?

[brenix]

After running barriers with the upstream patch for over a day, I can confirm the issues (lag, input freezes, etc) I was seeing have been resolved.

[shymega]

Thanks for confirming. I'm keen to get it merged, but I need to check a few factors first. Will keep this updated.

[p12tic]

I think the upstream fix is a total hack. We could as well just throw away most of the X11 event queue code :-) It will cause higher power usage on laptops even when barrier is not actively used (i.e. no event) as the event polling will be a thousand times more frequent.

[p12tic]

I looked into this issue and have a preliminary fix that I'm testing. The problem in my case is that's the occasions when the input is stuck are very rare, maybe once an hour or so, but so far I have not seen the issue return.

[shymega]

Hm, interesting. Mind sharing the patch so far @p12tic? Thanks 👍

[p12tic]

@shymega See #679. So far no freezes for a couple of days.

[linaori]

Been running 2.3.3 for about 2.5 hours now and haven't had a single hickup yet. So far it seems the changes are working!