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Bluetooth RFCOMM

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This topic provides an overview of Bluetooth RFCOMM in Universal Windows Platform (UWP) apps, along with example code on how to send or receive a file.

Important APIs

Important

You must declare the "bluetooth" capability in Package.appxmanifest.

<Capabilities> <DeviceCapability Name="bluetooth" /> </Capabilities>

Overview

The APIs in the Windows.Devices.Bluetooth.Rfcomm namespace build on existing patterns for Windows.Devices, including enumeration and instantiation. Data reading and writing is designed to take advantage of established data stream patterns and objects in Windows.Storage.Streams. Service Discovery Protocol (SDP) attributes have a value and an expected type. However, some common devices have faulty implementations of SDP attributes where the value is not of the expected type. Additionally, many usages of RFCOMM do not require additional SDP attributes at all. For these reasons, this API offers access to the unparsed SDP data, from which developers can obtain the information they need.

The RFCOMM APIs use the concept of service identifiers. Although a service identifier is simply a 128-bit GUID, it is also commonly specified as either a 16- or 32-bit integer. The RFCOMM API offers a wrapper for service identifiers that allows them be specified and consumed as 128-bit GUIDs as well as 32-bit integers but does not offer 16-bit integers. This is not an issue for the API because languages will automatically upsize to a 32-bit integer and the identifier can still be correctly generated.

Apps can perform multi-step device operations in a background task so that they can run to completion even if the app is moved to the background and suspended. This allows for reliable device servicing such as changes to persistent settings or firmware, and content synchronization, without requiring the user to sit and watch a progress bar. Use the DeviceServicingTrigger for device servicing and the DeviceUseTrigger for content synchronization. Note that these background tasks constrain the amount of time the app can run in the background, and are not intended to allow indefinite operation or infinite synchronization.

For a complete code sample that details RFCOMM operation, see the Bluetooth Rfcomm Chat Sample on Github.

Send a file as a client

When sending a file, the most basic scenario is to connect to a paired device based on a desired service. This involves the following steps:

using System;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
using Windows.Devices.Bluetooth.Rfcomm;
using Windows.Networking.Sockets;
using Windows.Storage.Streams;
using Windows.Devices.Bluetooth;

Windows.Devices.Bluetooth.Rfcomm.RfcommDeviceService _service;
Windows.Networking.Sockets.StreamSocket _socket;

async void Initialize()
{
    // Enumerate devices with the object push service
    var services =
        await Windows.Devices.Enumeration.DeviceInformation.FindAllAsync(
            RfcommDeviceService.GetDeviceSelector(
                RfcommServiceId.ObexObjectPush));

    if (services.Count > 0)
    {
        // Initialize the target Bluetooth BR device
        var service = await RfcommDeviceService.FromIdAsync(services[0].Id);

        bool isCompatibleVersion = await IsCompatibleVersionAsync(service);

        // Check that the service meets this App's minimum requirement
        if (SupportsProtection(service) && isCompatibleVersion)
        {
            _service = service;

            // Create a socket and connect to the target
            _socket = new StreamSocket();
            await _socket.ConnectAsync(
                _service.ConnectionHostName,
                _service.ConnectionServiceName,
                SocketProtectionLevel
                    .BluetoothEncryptionAllowNullAuthentication);

            // The socket is connected. At this point the App can wait for
            // the user to take some action, for example, click a button to send a
            // file to the device, which could invoke the Picker and then
            // send the picked file. The transfer itself would use the
            // Sockets API and not the Rfcomm API, and so is omitted here for
            // brevity.
        }
    }
}

// This App requires a connection that is encrypted but does not care about
// whether it's authenticated.
bool SupportsProtection(RfcommDeviceService service)
{
    switch (service.ProtectionLevel)
    {
        case SocketProtectionLevel.PlainSocket:
            if ((service.MaxProtectionLevel == SocketProtectionLevel
                    .BluetoothEncryptionWithAuthentication)
                || (service.MaxProtectionLevel == SocketProtectionLevel
                    .BluetoothEncryptionAllowNullAuthentication))
            {
                // The connection can be upgraded when opening the socket so the
                // App may offer UI here to notify the user that Windows may
                // prompt for a PIN exchange.
                return true;
            }
            else
            {
                // The connection cannot be upgraded so an App may offer UI here
                // to explain why a connection won't be made.
                return false;
            }
        case SocketProtectionLevel.BluetoothEncryptionWithAuthentication:
            return true;
        case SocketProtectionLevel.BluetoothEncryptionAllowNullAuthentication:
            return true;
    }
    return false;
}

// This App relies on CRC32 checking available in version 2.0 of the service.
const uint SERVICE_VERSION_ATTRIBUTE_ID = 0x0300;
const byte SERVICE_VERSION_ATTRIBUTE_TYPE = 0x0A;   // UINT32
const uint MINIMUM_SERVICE_VERSION = 200;
async Task<bool> IsCompatibleVersionAsync(RfcommDeviceService service)
{
    var attributes = await service.GetSdpRawAttributesAsync(
        BluetoothCacheMode.Uncached);
    var attribute = attributes[SERVICE_VERSION_ATTRIBUTE_ID];
    var reader = DataReader.FromBuffer(attribute);

    // The first byte contains the attribute's type
    byte attributeType = reader.ReadByte();
    if (attributeType == SERVICE_VERSION_ATTRIBUTE_TYPE)
    {
        // The remainder is the data
        uint version = reader.ReadUInt32();
        return version >= MINIMUM_SERVICE_VERSION;
    }
    else return false;
}

...
#include <winrt/Windows.Devices.Bluetooth.Rfcomm.h>
#include <winrt/Windows.Devices.Enumeration.h>
#include <winrt/Windows.Networking.Sockets.h>
#include <winrt/Windows.Storage.Streams.h>
...
Windows::Devices::Bluetooth::Rfcomm::RfcommDeviceService m_service{ nullptr };
Windows::Networking::Sockets::StreamSocket m_socket;

Windows::Foundation::IAsyncAction Initialize()
{
    // Enumerate devices with the object push service.
    Windows::Devices::Enumeration::DeviceInformationCollection services{
        co_await Windows::Devices::Enumeration::DeviceInformation::FindAllAsync(
            Windows::Devices::Bluetooth::Rfcomm::RfcommDeviceService::GetDeviceSelector(
                Windows::Devices::Bluetooth::Rfcomm::RfcommServiceId::ObexObjectPush())) };

    if (services.Size() > 0)
    {
        // Initialize the target Bluetooth BR device.
        Windows::Devices::Bluetooth::Rfcomm::RfcommDeviceService service{
            co_await Windows::Devices::Bluetooth::Rfcomm::RfcommDeviceService::FromIdAsync(services.GetAt(0).Id()) };

        // Check that the service meets this App's minimum
        // requirement
        if (SupportsProtection(service)
            && co_await IsCompatibleVersion(service))
        {
            m_service = service;

            // Create a socket and connect to the target
            co_await m_socket.ConnectAsync(
                m_service.ConnectionHostName(),
                m_service.ConnectionServiceName(),
                Windows::Networking::Sockets::SocketProtectionLevel::BluetoothEncryptionAllowNullAuthentication);

            // The socket is connected. At this point the App can
            // wait for the user to take some action, for example, click
            // a button to send a file to the device, which could
            // invoke the Picker and then send the picked file.
            // The transfer itself would use the Sockets API and
            // not the Rfcomm API, and so is omitted here for
            //brevity.
        }
    }
}

// This App requires a connection that is encrypted but does not care about
// whether it's authenticated.
bool SupportsProtection(Windows::Devices::Bluetooth::Rfcomm::RfcommDeviceService const& service)
{
    switch (service.ProtectionLevel())
    {
    case Windows::Networking::Sockets::SocketProtectionLevel::PlainSocket:
        if ((service.MaxProtectionLevel() == Windows::Networking::Sockets::SocketProtectionLevel::BluetoothEncryptionWithAuthentication)
            || (service.MaxProtectionLevel() == Windows::Networking::Sockets::SocketProtectionLevel::BluetoothEncryptionAllowNullAuthentication))
        {
            // The connection can be upgraded when opening the socket so the
            // App may offer UI here to notify the user that Windows may
            // prompt for a PIN exchange.
            return true;
        }
        else
        {
            // The connection cannot be upgraded so an App may offer UI here
            // to explain why a connection won't be made.
            return false;
        }
    case Windows::Networking::Sockets::SocketProtectionLevel::BluetoothEncryptionWithAuthentication:
        return true;
    case Windows::Networking::Sockets::SocketProtectionLevel::BluetoothEncryptionAllowNullAuthentication:
        return true;
    }
    return false;
}

// This application relies on CRC32 checking available in version 2.0 of the service.
const uint32_t SERVICE_VERSION_ATTRIBUTE_ID{ 0x0300 };
const byte SERVICE_VERSION_ATTRIBUTE_TYPE{ 0x0A }; // UINT32.
const uint32_t MINIMUM_SERVICE_VERSION{ 200 };

Windows::Foundation::IAsyncOperation<bool> IsCompatibleVersion(Windows::Devices::Bluetooth::Rfcomm::RfcommDeviceService const& service)
{
    auto attributes{
        co_await service.GetSdpRawAttributesAsync(Windows::Devices::Bluetooth::BluetoothCacheMode::Uncached) };

    auto attribute{ attributes.Lookup(SERVICE_VERSION_ATTRIBUTE_ID) };
    auto reader{ Windows::Storage::Streams::DataReader::FromBuffer(attribute) };

    // The first byte contains the attribute's type.
    byte attributeType{ reader.ReadByte() };
    if (attributeType == SERVICE_VERSION_ATTRIBUTE_TYPE)
    {
        // The remainder is the data
        uint32_t version{ reader.ReadUInt32() };
        co_return (version >= MINIMUM_SERVICE_VERSION);
    }
}
...

Windows::Devices::Bluetooth::Rfcomm::RfcommDeviceService^ _service;
Windows::Networking::Sockets::StreamSocket^ _socket;

void Initialize()
{
    // Enumerate devices with the object push service
    create_task(
        Windows::Devices::Enumeration::DeviceInformation::FindAllAsync(
            RfcommDeviceService::GetDeviceSelector(
                RfcommServiceId::ObexObjectPush)))
    .then([](DeviceInformationCollection^ services)
    {
        if (services->Size > 0)
        {
            // Initialize the target Bluetooth BR device
            create_task(RfcommDeviceService::FromIdAsync(services[0]->Id))
            .then([](RfcommDeviceService^ service)
            {
                // Check that the service meets this App's minimum
                // requirement
                if (SupportsProtection(service)
                    && IsCompatibleVersion(service))
                {
                    _service = service;

                    // Create a socket and connect to the target
                    _socket = ref new StreamSocket();
                    create_task(_socket->ConnectAsync(
                        _service->ConnectionHostName,
                        _service->ConnectionServiceName,
                        SocketProtectionLevel
                            ::BluetoothEncryptionAllowNullAuthentication)
                    .then([](void)
                    {
                        // The socket is connected. At this point the App can
                        // wait for the user to take some action, for example, click
                        // a button to send a file to the device, which could
                        // invoke the Picker and then send the picked file.
                        // The transfer itself would use the Sockets API and
                        // not the Rfcomm API, and so is omitted here for
                        //brevity.
                    });
                }
            });
        }
    });
}

// This App requires a connection that is encrypted but does not care about
// whether it's authenticated.
bool SupportsProtection(RfcommDeviceService^ service)
{
    switch (service->ProtectionLevel)
    {
    case SocketProtectionLevel->PlainSocket:
        if ((service->MaxProtectionLevel == SocketProtectionLevel
                ::BluetoothEncryptionWithAuthentication)
            || (service->MaxProtectionLevel == SocketProtectionLevel
                ::BluetoothEncryptionAllowNullAuthentication))
        {
            // The connection can be upgraded when opening the socket so the
            // App may offer UI here to notify the user that Windows may
            // prompt for a PIN exchange.
            return true;
        }
        else
        {
            // The connection cannot be upgraded so an App may offer UI here
            // to explain why a connection won't be made.
            return false;
        }
    case SocketProtectionLevel::BluetoothEncryptionWithAuthentication:
        return true;
    case SocketProtectionLevel::BluetoothEncryptionAllowNullAuthentication:
        return true;
    }
    return false;
}

// This App relies on CRC32 checking available in version 2.0 of the service.
const uint SERVICE_VERSION_ATTRIBUTE_ID = 0x0300;
const byte SERVICE_VERSION_ATTRIBUTE_TYPE = 0x0A;   // UINT32
const uint MINIMUM_SERVICE_VERSION = 200;
bool IsCompatibleVersion(RfcommDeviceService^ service)
{
    auto attributes = await service->GetSdpRawAttributesAsync(
        BluetoothCacheMode::Uncached);
    auto attribute = attributes[SERVICE_VERSION_ATTRIBUTE_ID];
    auto reader = DataReader.FromBuffer(attribute);

    // The first byte contains the attribute's type
    byte attributeType = reader->ReadByte();
    if (attributeType == SERVICE_VERSION_ATTRIBUTE_TYPE)
    {
        // The remainder is the data
        uint version = reader->ReadUInt32();
        return version >= MINIMUM_SERVICE_VERSION;
    }
}

Receive File as a Server

Another common RFCOMM App scenario is to host a service on the PC and expose it for other devices.

  • Create a RfcommServiceProvider to advertise the desired service.
  • Set the SDP attributes as needed (using established data helpers to generate the attribute’s Data) and starts advertising the SDP records for other devices to retrieve.
  • To connect to a client device, create a socket listener to start listening for incoming connection requests.
  • When a connection is received, store the connected socket for later processing.
  • Follow established data stream patterns to read chunks of data from the socket's InputStream and save it to a file.

In order to persist an RFCOMM service in the background, use the RfcommConnectionTrigger. The background task is triggered on connection to the service. The developer receives a handle to the socket in the background task. The background task is long running and persists for as long as the socket is in use.

Windows.Devices.Bluetooth.Rfcomm.RfcommServiceProvider _provider;

async void Initialize()
{
    // Initialize the provider for the hosted RFCOMM service
    _provider =
        await Windows.Devices.Bluetooth.Rfcomm.RfcommServiceProvider.CreateAsync(
            RfcommServiceId.ObexObjectPush);

    // Create a listener for this service and start listening
    StreamSocketListener listener = new StreamSocketListener();
    listener.ConnectionReceived += OnConnectionReceivedAsync;
    await listener.BindServiceNameAsync(
        _provider.ServiceId.AsString(),
        SocketProtectionLevel
            .BluetoothEncryptionAllowNullAuthentication);

    // Set the SDP attributes and start advertising
    InitializeServiceSdpAttributes(_provider);
    _provider.StartAdvertising(listener);
}

const uint SERVICE_VERSION_ATTRIBUTE_ID = 0x0300;
const byte SERVICE_VERSION_ATTRIBUTE_TYPE = 0x0A;   // UINT32
const uint SERVICE_VERSION = 200;

void InitializeServiceSdpAttributes(RfcommServiceProvider provider)
{
    Windows.Storage.Streams.DataWriter writer = new Windows.Storage.Streams.DataWriter();

    // First write the attribute type
    writer.WriteByte(SERVICE_VERSION_ATTRIBUTE_TYPE);
    // Then write the data
    writer.WriteUInt32(MINIMUM_SERVICE_VERSION);

    IBuffer data = writer.DetachBuffer();
    provider.SdpRawAttributes.Add(SERVICE_VERSION_ATTRIBUTE_ID, data);
}

void OnConnectionReceivedAsync(
    StreamSocketListener listener,
    StreamSocketListenerConnectionReceivedEventArgs args)
{
    // Stop advertising/listening so that we're only serving one client
    _provider.StopAdvertising();
    listener.Dispose();
    _socket = args.Socket;

    // The client socket is connected. At this point the App can wait for
    // the user to take some action, for example, click a button to receive a file
    // from the device, which could invoke the Picker and then save the
    // received file to the picked location. The transfer itself would use
    // the Sockets API and not the Rfcomm API, and so is omitted here for
    // brevity.
}

...
#include <winrt/Windows.Devices.Bluetooth.Rfcomm.h>
#include <winrt/Windows.Networking.Sockets.h>
#include <winrt/Windows.Storage.Streams.h>
...
Windows::Devices::Bluetooth::Rfcomm::RfcommServiceProvider m_provider{ nullptr };
Windows::Networking::Sockets::StreamSocket m_socket;

Windows::Foundation::IAsyncAction Initialize()
{
    // Initialize the provider for the hosted RFCOMM service.
    auto provider{ co_await Windows::Devices::Bluetooth::Rfcomm::RfcommServiceProvider::CreateAsync(
        Windows::Devices::Bluetooth::Rfcomm::RfcommServiceId::ObexObjectPush()) };

    m_provider = provider;

    // Create a listener for this service and start listening.
    Windows::Networking::Sockets::StreamSocketListener listener;
    listener.ConnectionReceived({ this, &MainPage::OnConnectionReceived });

    co_await listener.BindServiceNameAsync(m_provider.ServiceId().AsString(),
        Windows::Networking::Sockets::SocketProtectionLevel::BluetoothEncryptionAllowNullAuthentication);

    // Set the SDP attributes and start advertising
    InitializeServiceSdpAttributes();
    m_provider.StartAdvertising(listener);
}

const uint32_t SERVICE_VERSION_ATTRIBUTE_ID{ 0x0300 };
const byte SERVICE_VERSION_ATTRIBUTE_TYPE{ 0x0A };   // UINT32.
const uint32_t SERVICE_VERSION{ 200 };

void InitializeServiceSdpAttributes()
{
    Windows::Storage::Streams::DataWriter writer;

    // First write the attribute type
    writer.WriteByte(SERVICE_VERSION_ATTRIBUTE_TYPE);
    // Then write the data
    writer.WriteUInt32(SERVICE_VERSION);

    auto data{ writer.DetachBuffer() };
    m_provider.SdpRawAttributes().Insert(SERVICE_VERSION_ATTRIBUTE_ID, data);
}

void OnConnectionReceived(
    Windows::Networking::Sockets::StreamSocketListener const& listener,
    Windows::Networking::Sockets::StreamSocketListenerConnectionReceivedEventArgs const& args)
{
    // Stop advertising/listening so that we're only serving one client
    m_provider.StopAdvertising();
    listener.Close();
    m_socket = args.Socket();

    // The client socket is connected. At this point the application can wait for
    // the user to take some action, for example, click a button to receive a
    // file from the device, which could invoke the Picker and then save
    // the received file to the picked location. The transfer itself
    // would use the Sockets API and not the Rfcomm API, and so is
    // omitted here for brevity.
}
...

Windows::Devices::Bluetooth::Rfcomm::RfcommServiceProvider^ _provider;
Windows::Networking::Sockets::StreamSocket^ _socket;

void Initialize()
{
    // Initialize the provider for the hosted RFCOMM service
    create_task(Windows::Devices::Bluetooth.
        RfcommServiceProvider::CreateAsync(
            RfcommServiceId::ObexObjectPush))
    .then([](RfcommServiceProvider^ provider) -> task<void> {
        _provider = provider;

        // Create a listener for this service and start listening
        auto listener = ref new StreamSocketListener();
        listener->ConnectionReceived += ref new TypedEventHandler<
                StreamSocketListener^,
                StreamSocketListenerConnectionReceivedEventArgs^>
           (&OnConnectionReceived);
        return create_task(listener->BindServiceNameAsync(
            _provider->ServiceId->AsString(),
            SocketProtectionLevel
                ::BluetoothEncryptionAllowNullAuthentication));
    }).then([listener](void) {
        // Set the SDP attributes and start advertising
        InitializeServiceSdpAttributes(_provider);
        _provider->StartAdvertising(listener);
    });
}

const uint SERVICE_VERSION_ATTRIBUTE_ID = 0x0300;
const byte SERVICE_VERSION_ATTRIBUTE_TYPE = 0x0A;   // UINT32
const uint SERVICE_VERSION = 200;
void InitializeServiceSdpAttributes(RfcommServiceProvider^ provider)
{
    auto writer = ref new Windows::Storage::Streams::DataWriter();

    // First write the attribute type
    writer->WriteByte(SERVICE_VERSION_ATTRIBUTE_TYPE);
    // Then write the data
    writer->WriteUInt32(SERVICE_VERSION);

    auto data = writer->DetachBuffer();
    provider->SdpRawAttributes->Add(SERVICE_VERSION_ATTRIBUTE_ID, data);
}

void OnConnectionReceived(
    StreamSocketListener^ listener,
    StreamSocketListenerConnectionReceivedEventArgs^ args)
{
    // Stop advertising/listening so that we're only serving one client
    _provider->StopAdvertising();
    create_task(listener->Close())
    .then([args](void) {
        _socket = args->Socket;

        // The client socket is connected. At this point the App can wait for
        // the user to take some action, for example, click a button to receive a
        // file from the device, which could invoke the Picker and then save
        // the received file to the picked location. The transfer itself
        // would use the Sockets API and not the Rfcomm API, and so is
        // omitted here for brevity.
    });
}