Exchange DirectPush/ActiveSync not pushing - Desire General

We run Exchange 2003 here. Push sync is apparently not working on our T-Mobile HTC Desires. The device makes no attempt to sync unless and until you visit the Mail app. We're due to be upgrading to Exchange 2010 this year but until then I'm wondering if anyone else has similar experiences or ideas for a workaround (other than changing to a 5 minute poll frequency).
Actually this seems to be just one of many things (e.g. buggy IMAP implementation) that's broken with the stock Mail app. Haven't tried a reboot yet but even if that fixes this for our phones, it's hardly a "fix"...

Go to Settings > Accounts & Sync and make sure 'Auto-sync' is checked. I was stumped for the better part of a week before I figured out why my Gmail/exchange push wasn't working - this was the reason.

Have you tried Touchdown to see if that works ok? Whilst it is a paid app, it is better suited to a corporate environment than the standard HTC offering.
Regards,
Dave

@carrige: 'fraid not. Syncing is all set up correctly.
@foxmeister: Yes, TouchDown is on my radar. So far however, none of my users require Task syncing, which as far as I can see is the only particular feature advantage that TouchDown has over the HTC app (assuming the app works). Plus, TouchDown is uglier.
I appear to have found the solution though. It's obscure, so bear with me.
Ever since we started using DirectPush, our Exchange server has been logging errors along the following lines:
Event Type: Error
Event Source: Server ActiveSync
Event Category: None
Event ID: 3005
Date: 13/05/2010
Time: 11:32:22
User: OURDOMAIN\joe.bloggs
Computer: OURSERVER
Description:
Unexpected Exchange mailbox Server error: Server: [ourserver.ourdomain.local] User: [[email protected]] HTTP status code: [400]. Verify that the Exchange mailbox Server is working correctly.
For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Push email and Outlook Web Access always worked fine, so I just filed this under "annoyances". Well, it transpires that the problem is down to a misconfiguration within IIS. From EventID.net:
Removed this error message by removing all host headers from the Default Website in IIS. Go to Properties for the default Website for IIS:
- Click on ''website'' tab.
- Click on ''advanced'' next to IP Address.
- Remove all headers except an entry for ''Default 80'' with no host header value.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Now, this doesn't make sense, since we enforce HTTPS on a custom port. Nevertheless, making this change has simultaneously stopped the annoyance logging, and resolved the push email problem on the HTC mail app.
Result!

Exchange Active Sync on HTC Desire stopped pushing
Hi Rob - got a similar problem that only started on Tuesday this week 11th and haven't been able to figure it out. Guess it must be EAS on 2003 on my home server as I haven't lost any other functionality on the phone (eg internet access data connection, SMS etc)
However I don't have the error 400 code on my server admin and trying the fix you suggested didn't work as there were no header to delete.
Any clues? Seems to be a widespread problem...? Thanks.

If you force a sync and look in your application/security logs, can you see the connection being made by the phone?

Fixed it
Rob - thanks for advice. I seem to have fixed the problem by deleting the acount and re-instating it. Not very scientific and doen't help understand whay it broke in the first place, but at least it work now.. Lets see how long it lasts.
BTW called Orange and whilst they were very helpful, they weren't aware of a generic problem.
Also, have now changed the APN setting which were mostly blanks so could have been these (or lack of them( that might have caused the problem.

Southbarn said:
Rob - thanks for advice. I seem to have fixed the problem by deleting the acount and re-instating it. Not very scientific and doen't help understand whay it broke in the first place, but at least it work now.. Lets see how long it lasts.
BTW called Orange and whilst they were very helpful, they weren't aware of a generic problem.
Also, have now changed the APN setting which were mostly blanks so could have been these (or lack of them( that might have caused the problem.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting that you resorted to removing the account, I had to do the same when my HTC Desire stopped being able to send emails. Receiving was fine, but impossible to send. Deleted account and re-installed, problem resolved.
Only issue now, which is what I was searching for when I came across this thread, is that occassionally I get emails that simply will never arrive on the handset. At home I mix between WIFI and GSM connection, and push appears to work perfectly. Today I discovered that 3 or 4 internal corporate emails of 20 or more received during my manual sync off-peak period, just will not come down to the phone. They are on the server, on my laptop, but not on the phone. Touchdown, running in paralll to Android mail client, has them perfectly.
Any ideas anyone?

For me unfortunately the conclusion is absolutely inescapable. In a corporate environment, the niggles with the stock HTC mail app are unacceptable.
But the good news is that Touchdown is only $20, which really isn't that much to pay if you take into account the overall cost of whatever package your users are on. After a short trial of Touchdown, I'm going to start deploying it to my user base shortly.
Shame on HTC for releasing the phone to market with so many bugs. But I suppose that's what we get for being early adopters...

Related

email client sucks badly

Basically there are two main flaws which MUST be fixed by HTC!
1) 9 times out of 10 when you try to create a new imap account, the setup doesn't proceed over the incoming server page so you can't configure it at all
2) you can't add untrusted certificate when syncronizing with an exchange server (this function is supported by standard android client and I can't understand why htc removed it!): I'm not able to recieve push corporate mails becouse of this and was forced to use K-9 client (which works as a charm)
HTC must fix these issues as soon as possible, as they make the Desire unusable as a reliable business tool. Seriously
massimax said:
2) you can't add untrusted certificate when syncronizing with an exchange server (this function is supported by standard android client and I can't understand why htc removed it!): I'm not able to recieve push corporate mails becouse of this and was forced to use K-9 client (which works as a charm)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
When creating my excahnge account, it just asks me if I want to acccept the untrusted certificate and thats it, thats the last I hear about that.
ritdaw said:
When creating my excahnge account, it just asks me if I want to acccept the untrusted certificate and thats it, thats the last I hear about that.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
It asks me to accept the certificate EVERY TIME it checks the email, even if I always allow it...
massimax said:
It asks me to accept the certificate EVERY TIME it checks the email, even if I always allow it...
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Click to collapse
Odd, mine hasn't ever done that. I've been using a Hero with exchange for 10 months or so and now the desire a few days with no issues.
ritdaw said:
Odd, mine hasn't ever done that. I've been using a Hero with exchange for 10 months or so and now the desire a few days with no issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I haven't had any problem with corporate exchange certificate when was using my old windows mobile phones nor with my former Androids (Hero and Magic) but with this Desire it's a nightmare. When using K-9 client everything works fine so I think it's HTC client's fault...
Will be interesting to see whether anyone else has the same issue. I can't fault it, works just as well as it did on my Hero!
Untrusted certificate problem...
I've got this problem too, but, I don't know why, after few attempts, the problem is switched off by itself.
I don't know if it is possible to load the certificate into the phone via browser, but you can try this way.
Sending email via outbox without data connection is not possible...
This is another odd issue:
If there is not a data connection, the email client is NOT able to send email. Normally the email clients move email into the outbox folder for a future sending when a data connection will be available.
It's simple to test. You can try this issue, disabling every data connection on your phone.
This is very boring issue, mostly for those people that strongly use email for business.
Any feedback about?
ritdaw said:
Odd, mine hasn't ever done that. I've been using a Hero with exchange for 10 months or so and now the desire a few days with no issues.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Exactly the same with me too. Which version of Exchange are you using? If it is 2007 just remove the handset from exchange managed devices then recreate the account on the handset. Might help?
Just to confirm, currently using Exchange 2003.
Weird, the client is working perfectly for me, with Exchange 2007. I wonder what it is about your environment that triggers the problem?
I've setup IMAP acounts many many times with no issues at all on my Magic because of constant re-flashing ROMs ;-) (most of the time with the HTC mail client). Also the 2 IMAP acounts on my desire were setup in minutes with no problem. Maybe your device is faulty?
i had as well no problems setting up my corporate exchange account. it was exactly like on my hero. it showed me a warning about the certificate once, i think i pressed ignore and that's it. no more problems.
Exchange 2003
Cheers
Chaos42
Oh yeah I forgot about the IMAP bit. I use IMAP for my personal email account and again, it worked first time and has worked perfectly since. Same on my G1, though the default client lacked some functionality on there.
Do you have good connectivity when you run through the IMAP set up process? When you enter your details it tries to connect and verify that they are correct, so I wonder whether this is the delay/hang you're seeing?
massimax said:
Basically there are two main flaws which MUST be fixed by HTC!
2) you can't add untrusted certificate when syncronizing with an exchange server (this function is supported by standard android client and I can't understand why htc removed it!): I'm not able to recieve push corporate mails becouse of this and was forced to use K-9 client (which works as a charm)
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Indeed have this issue with exchange 2003.. Just to bad.. It's so close to being perfect, but now I have do dig out my iphone again..
I've been in touch with HTC customer service. They don't see this as a bug, but agreed to open a feature request to allow 'download and trust certificate' aka TouchDown does..
not had any exchange issues on my desire with exchange 2007 or 2010 as of yet. really pleased with the email client actually, works a lot better than my n97 one did!

Exchange sync not working

Had the Desire for about a week and like it a lot but will have to return it because Exchange sync doesn't work and that's a key feature for me.
1. Set up account and set 1 home screen to the mail widget and for a couple of days it worked perfectly until I saw new emails on the home screen widget that didn't appear in the mail app itself! How can the widget apparently be more up to date than the source of the data - the mail app?
2. After this could no longer sync e-mail - it appears that contacts and calendar sync but e-mail shows "sync protocol error"
3. Removed account and set it up again and it worked perfectly for about 24 hours and then exactly the same thing happened. Removed account, removed battery, reset account and its working again....for about a day before I get the same result (home screen widget showing e-mails that aren't showing on the mail app itself and I get sync error).
4. Removed all apps and reset to factory settings and set up account again but the same thing has happened again after about a day. It seems that if it tries to sync and can't connect because there's no signal eg I'm on underground then it locks and can no longer sync
It's Microsoft Exchange server 2003 SP2 and colleagues have no problem with i phones or blackberries and I've been using WM phones for years without any problems. Unfortunately phone is useless to me if this doesn't work and disappointed that HTC claiming feature that in my case clearly doesnt work
More information on above
Forgot to say that although I wasn't getting any e-mail update I was able to send e-mails all the time that this was going on! So I could send but not receive.
apart from a similar issue the first few days in, my Desire sync's fine with my exchange 2007 server. although I've not used the mail widget
Sent from my HTC Desire using the XDA mobile application powered by Tapatalk
fredfox_uk said:
apart from a similar issue the first few days in, my Desire sync's fine with my exchange 2007 server. although I've not used the mail widget
Sent from my HTC Desire using the XDA mobile application powered by Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After posting the above, I had this happen again this evening. If occurred when the connection changed from "H" to "G" I'm missing 55 mails
I'll have to try and figure out what's happening
I've had exchange working great for the last 3 weeks. Then it decided to stop working. I've deleted the account and re created it and no joy. Just won't sync. I'm gonna try with moxier now and see if that works.
Sent from my HTC Desire
Identical problem here with my Desire.
It is not just a simple receive problem because I can delete emails from the main "Inbox" folder, than switch to the "Deleted Items" folder, sync and retreive the emails I've just deleted.
But syncing the main "Inbox" folder is not working anymore.
Seems like internal index data for that folder is broken.
This is not a server problem because just deleting the sync account and re-creating it magically fixes it until something screws up again.
This is clearly a case of bad application coding. Damn try-catch statements
Had the same problem myself on 2 different phones, I found that going into account settings and doing a save without changing anything (it says it is checking your password) fixes it.
Seems to happen if you make a lot of changes via outlook and the phone looses its place.
LM
MufDvr said:
Had the same problem myself on 2 different phones, I found that going into account settings and doing a save without changing anything (it says it is checking your password) fixes it.
Seems to happen if you make a lot of changes via outlook and the phone looses its place.
LM
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Tried, but does not work for me.
I wonder if the application event logs on the Exchange server will give more information on the failure? Is SSL set up correctly? Some people have been having problems with self-issued certificates.
fredfox_uk said:
After posting the above, I had this happen again this evening. If occurred when the connection changed from "H" to "G" I'm missing 55 mails
I'll have to try and figure out what's happening
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Funny you mention about it breaking when going from "H" to "G". I thought I had seen bandwidth related success with my exchange syncing. On WIFI, I could sync the whole inbox, but I would get failures when trying on 3G. I then reduced the inbox to "last 7 days only" and it worked. Going back to higher bandwidth, suddenly I could have the whole inbox without sync errors.
Deleting & recreating Exchange sync account works
For me, deleting and recreating the Exchange sync account workedto get rid of "Sync protocol error". Not funny, but at least there's a way out.
So far so good...
Suspecting some local index file is broken if the sync task is suddenly aborted, I have avoided killing any task and guess what ? So far so good...
Will keep you informed.
P.S. Even if this is the real issue, the sync code is BROKEN.
Hi,
Has anybody gotten to the bottom of this? I've found several threads about the same error across several HTC phones on several different forums.
Deleting and re-adding the account seems like a last resort?
All my contacts are synched via Exchange so if i delete it i assume i lose all of them? And then would i lose corresponding text messages? Anything else? Do all my links to Facebook, Flickr etc get lost? I can see some weird strings of code in my contacts on Outlook now so is the Desire clever enough to pick these up and link everything back together again?
If i can get everything back by just re-adding the account then I'll give it a go but it really does seem far from ideal.
Hi all,
Sorry to bump but i've still not taken the step of deleting my exchange account through fear of losing information.
Obviously it will delete my contacts but will it also delete corresponding SMSs, links to facebook, twitter etc (in Outlook I can see some funny code strings in each contact which i think may be the links)?
Basically, will anything be permanently lost or will i simply need to re-add the account to get everything back as it was?
Is there a way to back up my contacts first? HTC Sync?
Thanks
When I removed an Exchange account from the stock mail app it didn't remove the linking data (which appears in the notes field of your contacts). And there would be no reason for it to delete SMSes, although with the contacts gone, it may not be able to link the phone numbers to names.
HTC Sync could sync your contacts to a separate Outlook installation, or you could use one of the many backup apps (search around here for reviews).
I've only had my Desire for 24 hours but I elected to go with Touchdown right from the get-go after advice from a colleague. So far, it's working a treat (fingers crossed it stays that way). Is anyone here using TD and experiencing these issues, or is it just with the native mail app?
I have a simular issue where Exchange mail stops receiving and sending emails. I only pick up that there is an issue, when attempting to send a email.
This happens regularly, and I have reported this issue to HTC.
My fix when this occurs is to untick and retick SSL option and save.
Well i've removed and re-added the exchange account and so far everything seems to be working ok. Will keep you folks posted - hopefully it doesn't happen again!
Chaps,
Just joined, but I think I have your answer... Task Killer. If you run any of the task killer apps, they can kill the exchange as it is happening, leaving the inbox status in a corrupt state, and the only way to fix this is to delete the account and start over. But then, if the task killer kills the sync, you will have to do it oveer, and over again. Task Killers are great for killing the main apps, but use them on the desire in manual mode only, and only kill the main apps, not the background processes.
Regards
Jaffa
I don't believe it is caused by task killers - I use Advanced Task Killer but it doesn't even list email as open even though it is. I noticed my inbox started having issues after changing sync from 7 days to 14 - it kept re-downloading the last few messages, then after 1 day simply stopped updating the inbox. All other folders fine. I suspect it's a space/size issue - some reports from POP users sound similar. HTC / Android really need to address this. Slowly getting sick of my HTC Legend...(Legendary failure!)

Exchange Mail Problem with HTC Mail - Help Needed

Let me start off by saying that this issue has had me running in circles going batsh!t crazy for weeks now. Generally speaking, Exchange contacts and mail worked for me right out of the box using the built in Sense Mail and continued to work through several iterations of the Fresh ROM. Definitely occasional issues but all in all it worked. And, since I was constantly experimenting with new ROMs, I always just assumed it was me who had done something when syncing stopped working.
That said, after weeks of no tweaking Exchange Mail suddenly stopped working and despite all efforts I can't get it to work well again. Moxier, Roadsync, and Touchdown all work without a hitch. And, even the AOSP Email app I used when trying out Cyanogen continued to sync despite the occasional "connection error." Unfortunately, I would really prefer to use the built in Sense Mail app and hope someone here can help me fix whatever it is that is not working.
What Works and What Doesn't:
Exchange Mail - If I delete the account and start over I can nearly always set the account up but, on occasion get continuous "Failure, Try Again Later" dialogs. Once set up, the phone immediately starts trying to sync. The most frequent result at this point is no mail shows up but the syncing icon will spin for hours to no avail. However, if I go to view the folders, I can see my different folders which are clearly from my exchange account. However, sometimes after I set the account up and it starts syncing, some mail WILL start to show up in the inbox (10-20 messages) but then stop while the sync icon spins indefinitely.
Exchange Contacts - Always worked and continues to work
Exchange Calendar - From the very beginning had "connection timeout socket" issues but so I use a workaround using Google Calendar Sync. I am perfectly fine with this workaround so, if it can't be fixed it is no big deal.
Numerous times I have tried
-deleting and re-adding the account
-changing up the sync options
-wiping the phone and re-flashing ROM's (including stock)
-Using apps that prevent the phone from locking
-screaming and yelling
If anyone can help I would be very grateful. I also attached a logcat that ran this morning.
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/4716709/Log.txt
hmmmm...
For clarification:
After a hard reset, no rooting, no ROM, just a plain stock 2.2 EVO, you cannot sync Exchange mail? Contacts are OK, and Calendar requires workaround?
I would check with your IT dept and see if they have any restrictions on device synchronization. Ensure they are running at least Exchange 2007, and try having them delete the synchronization from the server-side.
I would test on a different EVO, preferably one that has never been rooted or flashed. Does your account sync, or can you duplicate the symptoms?
Fully stock EVO has the same inconsistencies. I'm on my second EVO due to a screen issue with the first one and was traveling so didn't root the new one for about a week and had same issues. Additionally, there is someone in our IT dept with an EVO who has had the same issues but, lacking my perseverance (or stupidity) gave up for touchdown.
It seems to be completely isolated to the HTC Mail app because even if I install the AOSP Email app on a Sense Rom I can sync email fine. Unfortunately, the AOSP Email app has little functionality in comparison and what I like most is the full screen widget of the Sense...
okolowicz said:
Fully stock EVO has the same inconsistencies. I'm on my second EVO due to a screen issue with the first one and was traveling so didn't root the new one for about a week and had same issues. Additionally, there is someone in our IT dept with an EVO who has had the same issues but, lacking my perseverance (or stupidity) gave up for touchdown.
It seems to be completely isolated to the HTC Mail app because even if I install the AOSP Email app on a Sense Rom I can sync email fine. Unfortunately, the AOSP Email app has little functionality in comparison and what I like most is the full screen widget of the Sense...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Check your settings for SSL and TLS. Maybe something is off there. Also check how much mail you are trying to sync and the size of the mails you're trying to download. These are all in the account settings.
Also find out if your IT dept has changed anything on their end. I had issues when upgraded from Exchange 2007 to Exchange 2010, it could be something related to that also...
Perhaps you can provide your settings and we can take a look. It's hard to pinpoint a problem without specific info.
there are some good suggestions in the thread already, but I have something relatively basic you could try. At anytime after deleting your exchange info, did you ever go into manage applications and see if there was any data still in the mail app, and if so, did you try to clear the data and cache before reloading your exchange info?
Regarding the amount of mail I am trying to sync, I've tried the default 14 days down to 3 days with no difference in reliability. I've also tried changing up the allowed size of emails from anywhere between 10kb and entire mail but still no consistency.
The settings I use are pretty straight forward and haven't messed around too much because I haven't seen to many areas to tweak. The server address is mail.companyname.com and the domain is companynameI've tried with and without the SSL box checked which has made no real difference.
What makes it frustrating is the inconsistency. For example, yesterday I deleted and set the account up again with another combination of settings and email started syncing almost immediately. But, as is typical, after syncing the first 20 messages or so nothing else showed up and the sync icon spun indefinitely. And, contacts of course synced without issue.
If there are other settings you recommend me looking at, please let me know.
fachadick had an excellent suggestion. I've seen similar sync issues when the local cache remains even after having removed the account (client-side), or if a particular mailbox in Exchange was previously synced with a Windows Mobile device (server-side).
1. Try removing the account from your EVO, and wiping out the local cache in Settings - Applications - Manage Applications (the 'All' tab). Check every app that is associated: Calendar, Calendar storage, Calendar Sync Adapter, Contacts Storage, etc, etc
2. Have your IT dept delete any and all sync relationships on the server side.
After these two items, reboot your phone, wait a while, and try again. Question: what version of Exchange does your company run?

Hotmail.co.uk addresses query

Hi,
I have been searching around and can't find the answer I'm looking for.
Can someone advise if they have managed to sync their hotmail.co.uk to their HOX (or any other Android device) specifically using the MS Hotmail mail option (which defaults to server m.hotmail.com) or via the exchange option??
Hotmail.com addresses sync ok, just can't get my UK address to work. Just to add the hotmail.co.uk mail account is succesfully added however no mails are synced. Looking at the account under sync options the sync icon is red and at the bottom there is an error which highlights something like 'experiencing difficulties at this time - please try again later'. This error appears to be constant.
I know syncing hotmail.co.uk addresses is possible via the 'other' mail account option (which defaults to POP3 settings) and also alternatively by using the MS Hotmail app but would prefer the above - just would like to know if it's possible or not.
Thanks in advance,
GW
It just start happening yesterday so its not anything to worry about yet, I have the same problem.
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium
UPDATE - I've just stumbled across something on Microsoft Answers where one user suggests to configure the account manuallly which you can only do through the exchange option (when you select the MS Hotmail option, various fields including the server name are greyed out).
Advises to use prefixes snt-m, dub-m, bay-m or debug-m in front of .hotmail.com in the server however unfortunately none of these work for me.
west2cool said:
It just start happening yesterday so its not anything to worry about yet, I have the same problem.
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not the case for me, I've been trying to do this for over a week now.
Did this use to work then but now it doesn't?
Hi
Gulioth said:
Not the case for me, I've been trying to do this for over a week now.
Did this use to work then but now it doesn't?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
There are on-going problems it seems, mine periodically stopped sycning several weeks ago, would be okay for a bit, then eventually never sync'd at all. Microsoft don't seem to be bothered helping people fix this.
I then started using debug-m.hotmail.com and that got it working, then seeing the same advice others have mentioned I used the letter prefix I see when I log into Hotmail on a PC browser, and it has been working since.
There also seems to be another issue related to individual accounts that can only be fixed by Microsoft, so I'm thinking there are two issues.
Try logging into Hotmail on a PC and going into your calendar, a few weeks ago I was offered to upgrade to a new calendar, I think this has the effect of moving your account to a new server, which might help kick start everything again.
All in all though it is a mess from Microsoft.
Regards
Phil
PhilipL said:
Hi
There are on-going problems it seems, mine periodically stopped sycning several weeks ago, would be okay for a bit, then eventually never sync'd at all. Microsoft don't seem to be bothered helping people fix this.
I then started using debug-m.hotmail.com and that got it working, then seeing the same advice others have mentioned I used the letter prefix I see when I log into Hotmail on a PC browser, and it has been working since.
There also seems to be another issue related to individual accounts that can only be fixed by Microsoft, so I'm thinking there are two issues.
Try logging into Hotmail on a PC and going into your calendar, a few weeks ago I was offered to upgrade to a new calendar, I think this has the effect of moving your account to a new server, which might help kick start everything again.
All in all though it is a mess from Microsoft.
Regards
Phil
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Hi Phil,
Thanks for the reply.
Can you just confirm that you actually got it working (previously) with a hotmail UK address with debug-m.hotmail.com as the server? If so I assume you setup a manual MS exchange account under the mail account options to do this?
Just loaded up MSN calendar on desktop but there was no option to upgrade or anything :-s.
I've raised a question on MS answers site, hoping someone from MS will look at it and check out my account to see if they can do anything. Other than that I guess it's just a waiting game or switch to POP3!
GW
Anyone experiencing issues with hotmail UK email addresses?
Hotmail.co.uk addresses still not working with the m.hotmail.com server - anybody got this working or has an alternative solution, except using POP3 or forwarding?
Sent from my HTC One X

[FIX] Exchange Active Sync with Hotmail (post Hotmail Server Upgrade-Jun 2012))

MODS: This is my first post on "how to fix something". If I've done anything wrong, please correct me (and the post).
I (and a lot of other people) started having problems with Exchange ActiveSync with Hotmail around the mid-to-end of Jun 2012.
The symptoms on HTC Sense 4.0 phones include the error message "Sync is currently experiencing problems. It will be back shortly" when you try to sync with your Hotmail account.
On searching for a solution, I've found this is a known problem affecting multiple OS platforms (AOSP Devices, iPhones, BB’s, etc). Microsoft is updating their Hotmail servers with a newer version of the protocol, and this is breaking ActiveSync with Hotmail on many devices.
At some point in the future, many people expect that HTC will need to update their client software to support this new protocol. Until they do, I think that I’ve discovered a solution that may fix problems people have been having with syncing with their Hotmail accounts (and getting the "Sync is currently experiencing problems. It will be back shortly" errors.).
I make no promises that this will fix your problem (it worked for me). I only have one phone (to test with) and no friends (who could help with testing). The solution I’m recommending will cost you $3.00 so if you don’t want to initially spend the money on an application, then I’d recommend waiting for a few other users (who will hopefully report back) on whether or not this fixed they EAS issue with Hotmail.
I’ve applied this change and I’ve been able to successfully (manually) sync with my Hotmail Account successfully for the past 24 hours. I have not tested this with Contacts, Calendars, Tasks or with Push Mail (if this method allows for the successful sync of any/all those fields, please report back). I’ve been successfully syncing over WiFi and via my cellular connection.
Assumptions:
1) OS is ICS and you’re using the HTC Mail.apk (default HTC Mail Application) to sync with Hotmail.
2) Your phone is rooted.
3) You have SuperSU intstalled from Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=eu.chainfire.supersu
4) You’re willing to spend $3.00 to buy SQLite Editor. (If someone know of a free version, please let me know and I’ll update the post).
Steps:
1) Create your EAS Hotmail Account just like you normally would: Settings->Accounts & Sync->Add->Exchange ActiveSync
2) Once you’ve completed your Account configuration, go to the Play Store and buy (sorry) SQLite Editor: https://play.google.com/store/search?q=sqlite+editor . It’ll cost you 3 bucks and it’s a great program (I’m not associated with the program at all (no conflicting interest)).
3) Launch SQLite Editor (once installed). It will ask for SU permissions the first time you launch it: Please allow SU access.
4) After a few minutes of scrubbing your phone’s databases, you’ll see a list. Scroll down to the one titled “Mail” (in smaller print right below the title “Mail”, you should see “com.htc.android.mail”). Tap on “Mail”->”mail.db”->”accounts”.
5) After clicking on “accounts, you should see a screen with all of your email accounts listed (if you have more than one). Tap AND HOLD on your Hotmail Account. From the pop-up menu, click on “Edit Record”.
6) Scroll down to you find the Field titled “_easSvrProtocol”. You should see a value in the field (mine had a 14 in the field). Change the value to 2.5 and click on “Save”.
7) Reboot your phone
8) Trying syncing your Hotmail account. It should now sync without the annoying message “Sync is currently experiencing problems. It will be back shortly"
Please provide feedback.
If anyone is wondering: I don't have a HTC One X (rather I have the Sprint EVO 4g LTE). It's S-Off/Rooted and I'm using a custom ROM (see signature).
Justin
Hi
weatheryoko said:
MODS: This is my first post on "how to fix something". If I've done anything wrong, please correct me (and the post).
I (and a lot of other people) started having problems with Exchange ActiveSync with Hotmail around the mid-to-end of Jun 2012.
The symptoms on HTC Sense 4.0 phones include the error message "Sync is currently experiencing problems. It will be back shortly" when you try to sync with your Hotmail account.
On searching for a solution, I've found this is a known problem affecting multiple OS platforms (AOSP Devices, iPhones, BB’s, etc). Microsoft is updating their Hotmail servers with a newer version of the protocol, and this is breaking ActiveSync with Hotmail on many devices.
At some point in the future, many people expect that HTC will need to update their client software to support this new protocol. Until they do, I think that I’ve discovered a solution that may fix problems people have been having with syncing with their Hotmail accounts (and getting the "Sync is currently experiencing problems. It will be back shortly" errors.).
I make no promises that this will fix your problem (it worked for me). I only have one phone (to test with) and no friends (who could help with testing). The solution I’m recommending will cost you $3.00 so if you don’t want to initially spend the money on an application, then I’d recommend waiting for a few other users (who will hopefully report back) on whether or not this fixed they EAS issue with Hotmail.
I’ve applied this change and I’ve been able to successfully (manually) sync with my Hotmail Account successfully for the past 24 hours. I have not tested this with Contacts, Calendars, Tasks or with Push Mail (if this method allows for the successful sync of any/all those fields, please report back). I’ve been successfully syncing over WiFi and via my cellular connection.
Assumptions:
1) OS is ICS and you’re using the HTC Mail.apk (default HTC Mail Application) to sync with Hotmail.
2) Your phone is rooted.
3) You have SuperSU intstalled from Play Store: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=eu.chainfire.supersu
4) You’re willing to spend $3.00 to buy SQLite Editor. (If someone know of a free version, please let me know and I’ll update the post).
Steps:
1) Create your EAS Hotmail Account just like you normally would: Settings->Accounts & Sync->Add->Exchange ActiveSync
2) Once you’ve completed your Account configuration, go to the Play Store and buy (sorry) SQLite Editor: https://play.google.com/store/search?q=sqlite+editor . It’ll cost you 3 bucks and it’s a great program (I’m not associated with the program at all (no conflicting interest)).
3) Launch SQLite Editor (once installed). It will ask for SU permissions the first time you launch it: Please allow SU access.
4) After a few minutes of scrubbing your phone’s databases, you’ll see a list. Scroll down to the one titled “Mail” (in smaller print right below the title “Mail”, you should see “com.htc.android.mail”). Tap on “Mail”->”mail.db”->”accounts”.
5) After clicking on “accounts, you should see a screen with all of your email accounts listed (if you have more than one). Tap AND HOLD on your Hotmail Account. From the pop-up menu, click on “Edit Record”.
6) Scroll down to you find the Field titled “_easSvrProtocol”. You should see a value in the field (mine had a 14 in the field). Change the value to 2.5 and click on “Save”.
7) Reboot your phone
8) Trying syncing your Hotmail account. It should now sync without the annoying message “Sync is currently experiencing problems. It will be back shortly"
Please provide feedback.
If anyone is wondering: I don't have a HTC One X (rather I have the Sprint EVO 4g LTE). It's S-Off/Rooted and I'm using a custom ROM (see signature).
Justin
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The first option to try is to change the Exchange Active server name, this is something that seems to work on HTC devices. It worked in my case. One of the problems is the new protocols/servers that Microsoft are using needs a redirect to what seems to be a particular data centre your account is held at, this redirect isn't understand by a lot of devices. So try this first, you will need to remove the Active Exchange account first which will clear contacts etc until you resyns.
1) Log into Hotmail via the internet, and look at the Url you are redirect to, for example: https://snt108.mail.live.com/default.aspx
2) Take the first three letters after the //, in this example snt. The three letters appear to identify the data centre holding your account.
3) Re-add your Exchange account, select manual setup, enter your details, and for the domain name use those first 3 letters then add -m.hotmail.com, in this example the server becomes snt-m.hotmail.com
4) For your username, use your email address, this might be populated already with just the first part of your email address, but it is important to then add the rest, so essentially your email is appearing twice in the settings.
Then complete the set-up and try and sync.
Hope that helps. If not, it is worth trying the other suggestion.
Regards
Phil
PhilipL said:
Hi
The first option to try is to change the Exchange Active server name, this is something that seems to work on HTC devices. It worked in my case. One of the problems is the new protocols/servers that Microsoft are using needs a redirect to what seems to be a particular data centre your account is held at, this redirect isn't understand by a lot of devices. So try this first, you will need to remove the Active Exchange account first which will clear contacts etc until you resyns.
1) Log into Hotmail via the internet, and look at the Url you are redirect to, for example: https://snt108.mail.live.com/default.aspx
2) Take the first three letters after the //, in this example snt. The three letters appear to identify the data centre holding your account.
3) Re-add your Exchange account, select manual setup, enter your details, and for the domain name use those first 3 letters then add -m.hotmail.com, in this example the server becomes snt-m.hotmail.com
4) For your username, use your email address, this might be populated already with just the first part of your email address, but it is important to then add the rest, so essentially your email is appearing twice in the settings.
Then complete the set-up and try and sync.
Hope that helps. If not, it is worth trying the other suggestion.
Regards
Phil
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I tried "snt-m.hotmail.com" but the sync never completes.
For the moment, I use the "Hotmail" app from the store. I hope it will be fixed in next rom.
PhilipL said:
Hi
The first option to try is to change the Exchange Active server name, this is something that seems to work on HTC devices. It worked in my case. One of the problems is the new protocols/servers that Microsoft are using needs a redirect to what seems to be a particular data centre your account is held at, this redirect isn't understand by a lot of devices. So try this first, you will need to remove the Active Exchange account first which will clear contacts etc until you resyns.
1) Log into Hotmail via the internet, and look at the Url you are redirect to, for example: https://snt108.mail.live.com/default.aspx
2) Take the first three letters after the //, in this example snt. The three letters appear to identify the data centre holding your account.
3) Re-add your Exchange account, select manual setup, enter your details, and for the domain name use those first 3 letters then add -m.hotmail.com, in this example the server becomes snt-m.hotmail.com
4) For your username, use your email address, this might be populated already with just the first part of your email address, but it is important to then add the rest, so essentially your email is appearing twice in the settings.
Then complete the set-up and try and sync.
Hope that helps. If not, it is worth trying the other suggestion.
Regards
Phil
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Phil,
I've tried that (mine started with "bay" so I tried changing my server to bay-m.hotmail.com) but I couldn't get it to work. I know some people have had sucess but others didn't (I was one of those who still couldn't sync). By changing the “_easSvrProtocol” from 14 to 2.5 was the only way I could get it to work. Currently I'm sync'ing using the default server (m.hotmail.com) and everything is working as designed.
Justin
Hi
weatheryoko said:
Phil,
I've tried that (mine started with "bay" so I tried changing my server to bay-m.hotmail.com) but I couldn't get it to work. I know some people have had sucess but others didn't (I was one of those who still couldn't sync). By changing the “_easSvrProtocol” from 14 to 2.5 was the only way I could get it to work. Currently I'm sync'ing using the default server (m.hotmail.com) and everything is working as designed.
Justin
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think the problem arises when they stop supporting these older protocols, hopefully by then HTC or Microsoft will have worked out the problems, until then we have to find our own solutions, nice one Microsoft.
Regards
Phil
Just confirming the solution in post #1 worked for me.
Big thanks here but curious to know how you would figure this out? What changed when the figure was altered from 14 to 2.5 as it was in my case also?
Funny thing i had similar problems with a normal exchange account, even after installing stock RUU.
Sent from my HTC One X using xda premium
Maybe a dev can see if a mod can be made for solving this problem?
Sent from my HTC One X using xda app-developers app
Risingson said:
Just confirming the solution in post #1 worked for me.
Big thanks here but curious to know how you would figure this out? What changed when the figure was altered from 14 to 2.5 as it was in my case also?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
After reading about this on multiple threads (both within XDA and outside), I kept seeing reports from various posters that said "If you force the 2.5 Protocal, EAS works on Hotmail". So I started digging around and came up the the solution above.
Risingson: May I ask what you are sync'ing? (i.e. Contacts, Calendar, Email?) I only sync email so I'm curious if this fix allows for full EAS capability with Hotmail. I would think it would, but I'd like confirmation.
Justin
Funnily enough, the Hotmail app works fine for syncing contacts, emails and calenders.
weatheryoko said:
Risingson: May I ask what you are sync'ing? (i.e. Contacts, Calendar, Email?) I only sync email so I'm curious if this fix allows for full EAS capability with Hotmail. I would think it would, but I'd like confirmation.
Justin
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Just email. Contacts and calendar are linked to Gmail which I am slowly making the switch to.
Push email works perfectly for hotmail now. It's a .co.uk account FWIW.
Risingson said:
Just email. Contacts and calendar are linked to Gmail which I am slowly making the switch to.
Push email works perfectly for hotmail now. It's a .co.uk account FWIW.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You've got the exact same set up that I have (except I'm using hotmail.com).
Justin
YES! works for me! big Thanks...
This worked for me as well on my Evo 4G LTE. Thanks weatheryoko .
For what it's worth, you don't need the $3 app. You can use something like SQLite Database Browser on your computer instead.
jadeboy7 said:
This worked for me as well on my Evo 4G LTE. Thanks weatheryoko .
For what it's worth, you don't need the $3 app. You can use something like SQLite Database Browser on your computer instead.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Is it possible to make this modification without root? Copy and modify the file on pc and copy it again to the device with a "adb push command"?
Sent from my HTC One X using xda app-developers app
MickyMax said:
Is it possible to make this modification without root? Copy and modify the file on pc and copy it again to the device with a "adb push command"?
Sent from my HTC One X using xda app-developers app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Can you mount the /data partition without root? The database file (mail.db) is in /data/data/com.htc.android.mail/databases. If you can push/pull to/from there, it should work. I don't have much experience with unrooted devices though.
jadeboy7 said:
Can you mount the /data partition without root? The database file (mail.db) is in /data/data/com.htc.android.mail/databases. If you can push/pull to/from there, it should work. I don't have much experience with unrooted devices though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very good question... Someone can help?
MickyMax said:
Very good question... Someone can help?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You can always try it and see if it works.
This is interesting, so this would mean that recently Microsoft has upgraded their Exchange server from Exchange 2003 sp2 to Exchange 2010. They have always run a very old version of Exchange which is why the utilized Activesync version was 2.5. So if the fix is to change it from Activesync 14.0 to 2.5 that means some software upgrade happened recently on Microsoft's side which is what is causing this issue.
It's working!
FYI: My phone isn't rooted but is unlocked with custom recovery
So the adb commands are working fine! :good:
I have a folder with fastboot stuff : "D:\fastboot"
I have created a hotmail account on my phone and the fist sync doesn't work.
My phone is connected with debugging enabled and I run these commands
adb pull /data/data/com.htc.android.mail/databases/mail.db
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I now have the "mail.db" file on my fastboot folder.
I downloaded SQLite Database Browser as suggested before. With the tool, I open the data of the table "account". I search my hotmail account and updated the "easSvrProtocol" to "2.5". Do not forget to save!
View attachment 1226181
I launched the push command
adb push mail.db /data/data/com.htc.android.mail/databases/
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Reboot the phone and voilà!
The sync is working fine!
Thanks to jadeboy7 and weatheryoko
Please click Thanks if this post helps you.

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