What is a Bluetooth enumerator device?

windows drivers bluetooth

42,129

Microsoft Bluetooth Enumerator comes into play when you plug the Bluetooth device without the driver wherein Windows 7 automatically installs its driver.

After Windows detect Bluetooth device, it is controlled by Microsoft Bluetooth Enumerator and not the third-party driver.

Source

In other words, it is used like a management system which can enumerate (cycle through) all the bluetooth devices and what each device can do.

42,129

Zero3

Updated on September 18, 2022

Comments

Zero3 over 1 year

My computer has a bluetooth device which uses the default Windows 7 driver stack. When the "Generic Bluetooth Adapter" device is activated in the device manager, a device named "Microsoft Bluetooth Enumerator" appears next to it.

What is the purpose of the enumerator device and why is it separate from the bluetooth device itself?

Additional explanation of the question as requested in the comments

I'd like to know why Microsoft (or whoever) decided to split Bluetooth functionality into 2 different devices (unlike most other devices, which are represented by just a single device in the device manager) as well as what the functionality of this secondary Bluetooth "enumerator" device is.

One answer below claims that the (sole?) purpose of the enumerator device is to enumerate/cycle through connected Bluetooth devices and return information about the capabilities of them. But if so, it seems odd that:

1) This functionality is not located in the main Bluetooth device but separated into a secondary device.

2) That this is the sole purpose of the enumerator device.

If this is indeed the case, it would be nice with an explanation of the rationale behind this decision.
- STTR over 10 years
  
  Systemboard model, vendor PC name? See superuser.com/questions/580380/… and superuser.com/questions/547979/…
- Zero3 over 10 years
  
  @STTR I'm not sure I see the relevance of those details nor the relevance of those linked questions. My Bluetooth works just fine - I'm trying to figure out the technical purpose of the enumerator device.
- STTR over 10 years
  
  DEVCON FindAll =Bluetooth
- Zero3 over 10 years
  
  @STTR I'm at a loss of words...
- fixer1234 over 5 years
  
  @Zero3, this old question came up in the Close queue. There's a lot of question clarification in comments on the answer that should really be edited into the question. But it sounds like you're asking for a more comprehensive explanation of how an element of Windows works (perhaps more computer science than computer problem), and much of what you're asking is about design decisions made by Microsoft, which people here can't really answer. (cont'd)
- fixer1234 over 5 years
  
  To me, it seems a bit off-topic/out-of-scope, but I'm open to considering any clarification you can provide. Also, your last 1/6/14 comment to STTR: it isn't clear whether your question was answered or you were being sarcastic.
- Zero3 over 5 years
  
  @fixer1234 Old, but still unanswered! I will update the question with more details from the comments. I don't know whether the "enumerator device" is part of the Windows implementation or part of the Bluetooth standard. Hopefully a real answer to this question can enlighten us on that! Either way, I think it is a relevant question, and perfectly in line with Super User is a question and answer site for computer enthusiasts and power users as the welcome tour for the site states. Microsoft employees often answer questions on these sites, so I don't think an answer is impossible.
- Zero3 over 5 years
  
  @fixer1234 ... more concretely, I'm looking for a basic understanding of the device and its purpose in order to become better at managing my computer and resolve various Bluetooth driver issues. Regarding my comments to STTR, they were indeed sarcastic, because of the utter uselessness and lack of relevance of his comments (sorry!).
- fixer1234 over 5 years
  
  @Zero3, thanks for getting back and expanding the question. I'm still wrestling with this one. I was even trying to figure out if there was a way I could tweak the wording in the question to address the off-topic issues and didn't come up with anything. The basic question is fine--what is it, what does it do? That part was answered by Dave, including a citation. A more comprehensive explanation of how it works and the complete detail of everything it does is kind of off-topic; the site is about solving specific computer problems. (cont'd)
- fixer1234 over 5 years
  
  The underlying theory, science, design principles, etc. of how things work (or how a specific product works), tend to be off-topic or out of scope, although the community makes exceptions. General learning/theory questions are considered too broad. For a lot of hardware, the hardware OEM may supply a driver specific to their product. Microsoft also has generic drivers for when they don't. When you plug in a device, Windows compares it to its list of available drivers to find a matching one. If there isn't a match, it uses its generic one. (cont'd)
- fixer1234 over 5 years
  
  If you're asking why the driver management function isn't just incorporated into the generic driver, that gets into design principles that aren't really on topic. If you're asking why Microsoft chose to do it that way, that type of question is always off-topic. Questions that can only be answered by someone with "inside" knowledge can't be reliably answered here, and answers can't be verified. There's nothing wrong with your wanting to know those details;it's great that you do. But this isn't the right place to find those particular answers. Luckily, SU isn't the only game in town.
- Zero3 over 5 years
  
  @fixer1234 Thanks for the thorough follow-up. I'm indeed looking for a deeper explanation than the (very) superficial one in the answer by Dave. If that is indeed off-topic for SU like you wrote, please feel free to close this question.
Zero3 over 10 years

I don't think this answer really explains the purpose of the enumerator device, nor why it is separate from the Bluetooth device itself.
Zero3 over 10 years

I'm asking "What is the purpose of the enumerator device and why is it separate from the bluetooth device itself?". The question seems quite straightforward to me. Is there a specific part of it that doesn't make sense to you? I'll try to rephrase it given your comment: I'd like to know why Microsoft (or whoever) decided to split Bluetooth functionality into 2 different devices (unlike most other devices, which are represented by just a single device in the device manager) as well as what the functionality of this secondary Bluetooth "enumerator" device is.
Zero3 over 10 years

To clarify further: You claim that the (sole?) purpose of the enumerator device is to enumerate/cycle through connected Bluetooth devices and return information about the capabilities of them. It seems odd that (and whose rationale I would like explained, if that is indeed the case): 1) This functionality is not located in the main Bluetooth device but separated into a secondary device and 2) That this is the sole purpose of the enumerator device.