when i plug in my bt211, it reads as AR3011 bluetooth device which seems weird. the module says bt211 right on it. regardless, i opened DS3 tool and it failed. gives me an error and has an X next to it.

ok - finally - found on a thread here - https://steamcommunity.com/discussions/ ... 3421462660

had to change date on my computer to 2014. now the module is working.. this is unnecessarily difficult. i hope others will find this useful!

I guess you might turn off driver signature enforcement instead. Because MiJ drivers' signature is outdated, and Windows 8+ won't install such drivers normally.
Actually, there is a not about this problem in our docs (in the beginning of the section)
http://docs.ipisoft.com/PlayStation_Move_with_Motion_in_Joy_drivers#Motion_in_Joy_Drivers_Installation

AR3011 is the name of Bluetooth chipset which is contained inside USB-BT211 dongle. Generic OS driver for Bluetooth dongles does not know exact dongle model name, just the name of the chipset it negotiates with.