Android 2.2 Killed Exchange

C

Chelsie K

New member
Hello all,

I need a little help here. I have the original Moto Droid and recently upgraded to the new Android 2.2 platform. At first I was really impressed with it, but now Im very unhappy.

Shortly after the update I noticed that my Microsoft Exchange was disabled due to the update. I went to VZW and they were not fully aware of the problem, although, some IT guy did say he was starting to get calls about it but since it is not their OS they were not responsible for anything it may cause or something to that effect. I was redirected to Motorola. An IT from Motorola told me that it was a known issue and that I should just downlaod the program Touchdown to restore my exchange capability and that as soon as I download the program to call them back and they would do something to give me the full program (instead of paying 19.95 for a fix). However, when I called back I was told that they would not let me have the program for free since it was a Google Application and that the problem was theirs since its a Google OS programming error that disabled Exchange.

Can anyone help me restore the exchange on the Droid WITHOUT me having to deal with another 800 number? I am really at a loss here and I am not sure what I sure do.
 
Hi bstuth and welcome to the AC Forums.

What you've been told is correct. Your network has no control over what Google do with Android, nor do they have any control over what developers choose to charge for their software. Touchdown isn't made by Google or your network, it's made by another company (or person) and they choose to charge for it.

There were some changes to Exchange support in Android 2.2. These are probably what's causing the problem. One of the biggest changes was that Android now properly supports the security profiles put in place by whoever provides your Exchange email (probably the company you work for?).

There was some issue in Android 2.1 about support for Exchange security profiles. I forget the full details, but some people were finding that they had to enter a pin number to access their phone every time they turned their screen on. This additional security feature is activated by using Exchange servers that require that security level on remote devices.

So... there are two ideas (possible solutions) I have:

1 - check the settings on your phone for your Exchange account. There may be some security related option related to the above that you may need to turn on.

2 - talk to your IT department who deal with the Exchange server that you use. They may changed what devices can use their server (i.e. turned off access from Android phones, or even all phones), or they may need to alter their security profile to allow it.
 
Definitely talk to your IT department. You may need to change your settings for it to work correctly now. After the FroYo update, I had some trouble but now that I've got everything worked out, my work email and calendar work better on the Droid than they did before.
 
Actually, I never had a problem with 2.1 at all. At first on 2.1 we couldnt connect, but then we realized our company uses a homegrown SSL and had to add the Phones to the server in order to go through with the connection. (Basically, had to check Accet all SSL).

I went back to our IT department and checked with them and everything is still set up to allow for the phone to connect.

To test, I downloaded Touchdown anyways (Which is vastly superior to regular Email in my opinion) and entered all the information to connect o our exchange. Worked perfectly.

Went back to the innate Email program on the phone and it still will not work.

Ive trolled a few other forums and some people were saying that there was a problem with the Droids SSL after the update. Something about the Secure Certificate button working properly, but the "Accept all SSL" button does not.

Overall, very weird.


I tried a reboot, and clearing the cache and data to see if this might solve my issue but both did not work. Also, two more people in my firm (we all have droids) downloaded 2.2 and the same thing happened to them. Other paid apps for email work, but the stock Email, Calendar, Corporate Calendar do not work.

Any more suggestions?

Oh yea, I feel like a total moron for Mispelling Adroid in the title....oh well...
 
What misspelling?

So when you try to connect with the stock applications, what happens? Any error message?

What about VPN? Does it connect fine?
 
I never use VPN on my phone. If I need VPN access I have to use my secure laptop as I work for a government agency and a regular VPN connection would cause unescessary security risks.

That being said, like I said, the regular Email will not connect. The error that comes up is that it cannot open a connection to the server.

However, when I use a program like Touchdown for email and calendar's, etc, it works completly fine. I just dont want to have to pay for a fix on my phone.

I am still looking into our server to make sure all the rules and exceptions are correct for it to allow a connection. I am thinking that with the new 2.2 software there might be new rules and exceptions that our server hasnt taken into account yet; however, I dont think this is the case.
 
So if you don't use VPN, then it's not a VPN related issue. So we can rule that out.

Not being able to open a connection to the server most likely means the wrong server address or port, or the server is refusing the connection from your phone. Triple check the connection settings (server and port). Maybe see if they're the same in Touchdown.
 
The server address is correct. How do I check the port settings for both the Email app and the Touchdown App within the phone to compare them to what we have on the server?
 
I don't use either app so to be honest I don't know. They should be in the connection settings though somewhere near to or one click away from the address. If either the port or the address is wrong it won't work, but it is possible that the server works with more than one port. For example port 25 is the standard POP3 port, but 587 is also often used.
 
I checked both apps on the phone and there isnt a place where I can check the port settings. However, I checked the server and we have opened all port numbers to allow for any smart phone to connect provided the correct password, domain, user, and server address is correctly input. So far, they are all inputed into the phone correctly. I checked Touchdown and compared the inputs to the Email App and they are exactly the same.

Its getting wierder...

Oh, and I checked with all the other Droid users in the company. Of the 20 droid phones here, only three of us updared to 2.2. Of the three that updated, ALL of us lost connectivity to the email exchange server through the Email App; however, all of us were able to restore email functionaility to the phone using Touchdown. The 17 other people who did not update to 2.2 yet (remain operating on 2.1) still retained their Email functionality. Naturally, the 17 others are holding off the update now until we get this figured out.
 
My Incredible updated to 2.2 Friday morning and I can no longer connect to my exchange. My IT guy looked at it and settings are fine/same as before. Spent an hour on phone with Verizon and they had be do a factory reset. No change. Just spoke to HTC and they said they were aware of a problem and were working on a fix. Didn't know how long...maybe a week. Oh and my battery is completely draining within 3-4 hours. It was on charger overnight and by within 4 hours today it was 10%. I made one five minute call and maybe spent 10 minutes looking at fixing all my apps/icons from the reset. They said they were also aware of the battery drain issue and that would be updated as well. Back to my BB for the time being.
 
Everyone at my company that upgraded to 2.2 is also having the same problem described above: the native email client is not connecting to the exchange server. Those that use Touchdown and those that didn't upgrade don't have any trouble. My IT department talked to Verizon, and they stated that 2.2 is not compatible with Microsoft Exchange Server 2010, and won't be until the next update. What's up with that? I guess no email on my Droid? Or any creative solutions out there - maybe rooting my phone? My IT department is stumped.
 
This problem is caused because of two things.

Firstly, Android does not support remote wiping via Exchange (and personally I wouldn't want my company to be able to factory reset my phone and format my SD card remotely as and when they choose), and also the phone does not require a PIN when you turn it on.

Both of these things can be enforced by your exchange server, and if these policies are enforced then the server will refuse to allow you to connect.

PIN entry is supported on some Android phones (I forget which). So some people find that when they add their exchange account suddenly their phone starts asking them for a PIN number every time they turn the screen on.

Remote wipe is not supported. So if this is a required policy by your company you're out of luck.

These requirements can be disabled on the server. To disable the PIN requirement get your IT department to do this:
Open Exchange System ManagerExpand Global Settings and then right click on Mobile Services and choose PropertiesClick the Device Security buttonThe "Enforce password on device" tick box is the culprit here, but it's better to turn it off for one specific user rather than the whole domain, so push the Exceptions buttonPush Add and select the user you want added to the exception listPush OK three times to get back to Exchange System Manager and you?re done
There may be other device security options that may help you connect. See of the remote wipe is there too.
 
Switched back to my Incredible today just to try to see if anything has changed. Setup my exchange account and it flew right through and re-sync'd within minutes. So either they've updated something or being shut-down for a few days did the trick. So far my battery is holding charge as well. Now if I can figure out how to kill all these new apps and extra icons....
 
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