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Android and MSExchange

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vavs

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I am having a rough time with the Android phones. We just started switching people over from BB to Droid. So far the biggest complaint is syncing email. I am running firmware 2.1 update 1 on Verizon. I checked for updates and found none. I am using a Samsung SCH-I500 Facinate.

I configured the device to connect to our Exchange server using the DNS name. The user name and password have been checked. The user was getting mail up until the 17th. Then for some reason it has decided to not connect to the server. I checked the name of the server and it is correct, however I also entered both the internal and external ip address to the server. I adjusted the Exchange server to include the user in the device exceptions for the mobile services properties.

I added the trial version of Dataviz Road Sync and it is working but I cannot for the life of me figure out what is going on. We have several iPhones and iPads that connect relatively easily, but the Droids are not syncing well.

It anyone can add some insight I would appreciate it. BTW, two of the users affected are the President of my Company and his son. Hence my urgency.
 
I have read good things about it also, however it is total unbelievable to me that the native email application does not work with Exchange. Many businesses are looking to increase productivity by using more advanced phones than are available through BB. But I will say BB can do email like nothing I else have seen.
 
Well, now that surprises me. I always preferred WM phones cause I expected a lot of trouble connecting a non WM phone to exchange. Recently I bought a Galaxy Tab for my wife however. And she absolutely needs the Exchange connection.

What can I say! To set up the Exchange connectivity was in fact a lot easier than on a WM phone where I had to import security certificates etc . and it worked ever since without a hitch.

To be specific, I am running an Exchange 2003 server, the Galaxy Tab is on Android 2.2 (Froyo) and is unbranded.

I believe you are desperate :) with the big guys breathing down your neck, so I will be checking the exact settings I entered as soon as my wife and her fantastic Galaxy Tab is back home (in about 3 hours time)

wbr,
Mick
 
Heifius

Thanks for the concern. I did find a problem and one I am not sure others will experience. We recently changed our licensing on Trend Micro to exclude email filtering. We are using barracuda to filter email off site so the Trend filter is unnecessary. Like most anti-virus programs uninstall and upgrades or downgrades are not handled without special tools. I down graded the software on the server and suddenly all is right with the world again. The android phones are connecting with the server. This all started because I wanted to save the company a few hundred dollars on license costs.
 
I wish :)

Anyway, glad you did it. I was just so stunned about your difficulties because on my side it was so unexpectedly easy. So I had to just jump in :)

Take care

Mick
 
vavs said:
Heifius

Thanks for the concern. I did find a problem and one I am not sure others will experience. We recently changed our licensing on Trend Micro to exclude email filtering. We are using barracuda to filter email off site so the Trend filter is unnecessary. Like most anti-virus programs uninstall and upgrades or downgrades are not handled without special tools. I down graded the software on the server and suddenly all is right with the world again. The android phones are connecting with the server. This all started because I wanted to save the company a few hundred dollars on license costs.
Click to expand...

What software did you downgrade specifically?
 
I am using Trend Micro's Worry Free Business Security. You can add email options to it or as I am doing use a third party for the external email scanning. I am on version 6.0 SP 3
 
Glad you got it working again.

I wasn't impressed by 2.1's native Exchange support. Not that it didn't work or was hard to setup. I just didn't like that I only could sync email and contacts. I came from Blackberry using a BES server to sync everything in exchange. Blackberry does an outstanding job of this. Vanilla Android has some work to do.

With Android since you are back to utilizing ActiveSync you lose some of that functionality that Blackberry had and thats where my problems were.

The solution to most of the issues I had with Exchange and Android were fixed by the Touchdown App though. Works on 2.1 pefectly and is very robust. Has all the features I needed and was a snap to setup and use.

Not sure where Verizon is with releasing 2.2 to the Fascinate but if you can wait till then you will at least get Exchange Calendar support too. I actually have 2.2 on my phone right now and I still use Touchdown over the native Exchange email and calendar just because I get the added functionality of Exchange Task syncing as well.

I would say if the Android users in your orginization use their phone for Exchange syncing heavily you should invest in Touchdown. It will add so much more functionality to a 2.1 phone that it is worth the $20.

Good luck on your Android endeavor.
 
You guys are using "Native" exchange support. in 2.1. That seems confusing to me. My HTC Incredible comes with HTC's mail client which I've had ZERO issues connecting to exchange.

A coworker has a Samsung and his Samsung Mail client does not work that well.

"Native Android" to me would be only available on the Nexus One. I believe the problem is because these handset manufactures are putting there own mail clients on the handsets which don't all work that well.

HTC's seems to do pretty good for exchange
Samsung's does not
Motorola's seems hit or miss. Mail seems to work ok, but calendar syncing can have issues.

The above statements are just based on personal experience with coworkers phones. We have a number of people in our office with various Android devices, and those of use with HTC seem to have the least problems.
 
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