Exchange 2003 Account on iPad

[Bankesy]

Hello

 

If anybody knows the answer to this it will be great:

 

Configuring an iPad to pick up mail for an Exchange 2003 account has become problematic (I say become but as far as I know it has never worked on this network)

 

What I'm doing:

 

1. Click on Mail>Exchange

2. Enter my e-mail address and password

3. Enter the server name and my username

4. Then the error message 'Cannot Verify Server Identity' appears with the option to continue anyway

5. Continue>Then presented with the options of Mail, Contacts, Calendars and Reminders with the green tabs but Mail is sort of greyed out

6. Save>Account is added immediately followed by 'Cannot Get Mail-the connection to the server failed'

 

Does anybody know what could be going wrong? I have assumed it is an Exchange error as I have tried multiple up to date iPads.

 

If anybody has any information it would be such a help, thank you in advance

[pantscat]

Have you got other devices using activesync ok?

[Bankesy]

Hello again

 

Perhaps I should have explained I'm really new at this and not entirely familiar with the technologies.

 

The only devices that currently pick up e-mail here are the PCs connected to the domain, I have not tried to connect anything other than these iPads.

[pantscat]

Ah - ok. No problem.

 

In order for the iPads to pick up emails from your Exchange server you'll need to set it up for, ideally, ActiveSync, although you could also use POP or IMAP - activesync is probably the preferred mechanism.

 

This should help you out: Step-by-Step Guide to Deploying Windows Mobile-based Devices with Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 SP2

 

Feel free to ask any questions - I managed Exchange 2003 for years.

[round2it]

Ah - ok. No problem.

 

In order for the iPads to pick up emails from your Exchange server you'll need to set it up for, ideally, ActiveSync, although you could also use POP or IMAP - activesync is probably the preferred mechanism.

 

This should help you out: Step-by-Step Guide to Deploying Windows Mobile-based Devices with Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 SP2

 

Feel free to ask any questions - I managed Exchange 2003 for years.

 

have a look at this

http://www.petri.co.il/how-to-enable-imap-access-to-exchange-mailboxes.htm

 

i had a similar problem

Edited May 8, 2014 by round2it

[Bankesy]

Hello

 

Thank you both for your help so far, I really think we might be going in the right direction but if you don't mind I have a couple more questions:

 

1. With regards to ActiveSync-is this something that should be installed on the Exchange server? I see in Mobile Services>Properties that everything to do with Exchange ActiveSync is enabled but no mention of it in Add\Remove Programs. I found this download: Download ActiveSync 4.5 from Official Microsoft Download Center but thought I would ask first.

 

2. The Petri Article-I found the IMAP service which was disabled so took the steps to enable it and run automatically, now step 4 of my original post doesn't occur and in step 5 the Mail option is no longer greyed out. However still when accessing the Mail app the 'Connection to the server failed' message still appears. I did notice that the POP3 service was also disabled, could this be part of the problem?

 

Your thoughts are welcome

[pantscat]

Hi @Bankesy.

 

ActiveSync is an exchange feature that just needs enabling and then configuring correctly - the guide above that I linked to should explain the process.

 

I've not really ever used IMAP with an iPad so can't offer any advice on that front.

 

You could try using the Exchange Remote Connectivity Tool - this is useful for troubleshooting issues. https://testconnectivity.microsoft.com/

Make sure that you use a dummy account and change the password after using the tool, too...

[Bankesy]

Getting closer I think...

 

I ran that test and as expected it failed but I read here Exchange ActiveSync and Outlook Mobile Access errors occur when SSL or forms-based authentication is required for Exchange Server 2003 that there can be a problem with ActiveSync if Forms Based Authentication is turned on which for us it is due to using OWA. Is it safe to turn it off?

 

I have found Microsoft Server ActiveSync in Exchange System Manager under Protocols>HTTP but all its properties were greyed out.

 

So I went exploring in IIS where again I found Microsoft Server ActiveSync, this time with editable properties but didn't want to touch them.

 

Any of this mean anything?

[pantscat]

After doing that there should something in the Application Log in Event Viewer that will give you more information - the source will be "Server ActiveSync".

[Norphy]

I could be wrong but I think that the oldest version of Exchange that you can connect an iPad to via ActiveSync is Exchange 2007. The only way you're going to get an Exchange 2003 account connected to it is via IMAP or POP3.

[pantscat]

@Norphy - I don't think that's correct. At least I can't find any evidence to support that.

 

This may help too: Exchange 2003 and Activesync Configuration and Troubleshooting | Alan Hardisty's Blog - All Things IT Related

[Norphy]

@Norphy - I don't think that's correct. At least I can't find any evidence to support that.

 

This may help too: Exchange 2003 and Activesync Configuration and Troubleshooting | Alan Hardisty's Blog - All Things IT Related

 

Looks like I was wrong

 

http://images.apple.com/iphone/business/docs/iOS_Deployment_Technical_Reference_EN_Feb14.pdf

 

You still need SP2 installed though.

[alanhardisty]

Exchange 2003 works happily with Activesync, even with SP1, but it works much better and is much easier to configure with SP2 installed.

 

If you run through my blog article page that pantscat posted (Exchange 2003 and Activesync Configuration and Troubleshooting | Alan Hardisty's Blog - All Things IT Related), it should walk you through the settings you need on your server and then help you fix any problems after testing on the test site at https://testexchangeconnectivity.com

 

If after running through my blog article you are still stuck, I should be able to guide you further - but it is likely you have an internal DNS problem if you have exhausted my article.

 

Alan

[Bankesy]

Hello alanhardisty

 

I have printed off your instructions and begun to follow them.

 

At step 2 on canyouseeme.org when testing port 443 the error I get is the connection timing out, is this the same as it not being open?

[alanhardisty]

It's not the most promising start!

 

Unless you see SUCCESS - then assume the port is either closed, blocked, filtered or some other issue that will cause problems with Activesync.

 

Alan

[Bankesy]

Yes well this being a school I have contacted the ISP and reported this so they can look into it.

 

This might seem like a silly question but do the domain PCs not require ActiveSync? I have no problems with any PCs picking up email.

[alanhardisty]

No - nothing is required on any Personal Computer.

 

Activesync is a protocol and is installed on the Exchange server. All mobile devices implement the Activesync Protocl and this allows the communications to take place without the device having to go near a computer.

 

As long as communications are working properly and you get green ticks on the Microsoft test Site, then you should just add the account to the mobile device (iPhone / iPad / Android Device etc) and voila!

[Bankesy]

What I'm getting at is do the PCs not use ActiveSync to retrieve e-mail or is ActiveSync purely a mobile protocol?

 

If it is a protocol should I not expect to see it in the protocol list under the server name in Exchange System Manager?

[alanhardisty]

PC's will use other protocols to communicate with the server e.g., HTTPS for Outlook (RPC over HTTPS) or SMTP / POP3 / IMAP for non-Exchange accounts. They can't use Activesync. It is basically a protocol developed for mobile communications.

 

No - you won't see it listed under Exchange - it is built-in to the software and isn't something you can add/remove, so therefore you won't see it listed anywhere.

[Bankesy]

Ok that clears that up.

 

Next question...how to determine the IP address of the Exchange Server? Will it have its own IP address or is it just the IP address of the server running Exchange System Manager?

[alanhardisty]

The IP Address of the Exchange Server is the Public IP Address that points mail to it from the web (assuming it receives mail directly).

 

You can go to What Is My IP | The IP Address Experts Since 1999 from the Exchange server to see it's Public IP Address if you aren't sure.

[Bankesy]

Good morning again

 

First of all let me say how grateful I am for all of the responses so far, its all really helpful and I'm learning lots.

 

There was a slight breakthrough yesterday when reading your article (alanhardisty). The part about checking the certificate lead me to realise that I had in fact been using the wrong server name on the test connectivity site. My error came about due to the fact that the exchange server sits on another server (as in not dedicated) and they both have the same name to look at on the screen but the certificate details made me realise it was actually issued to say mail.testschool.testplace.sch.uk

 

Armed with this information I ran the connectivity test again, this time with very different results. There were many green ticks until the end until the following errors occurred:

 

1. An ActiveSync session is being attempted with the server. Errors were encountered while testing the Exchange ActiveSync session

2. Attempting the FolderSync command on the Exchange ActiveSync session. The test of the FolderSync command failed

3. Exchange ActiveSync returned an HTTP 500 response (Internal Server Error)

 

I have noticed that the ASP.net version is set to 2.0 and not 1.1 as you suggest but I did not want to change this in case something else stops working.

[alanhardisty]

You're welcome - I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for someone posting a link to my blog article!

 

Good news on the progress you made after putting in the different server name. The ASP.NET can be changed happily - but having said that, I have seen some servers work happily with v2.0 so for now please just leave it alone.

 

The 500 error is detailed on my article too - which involves blowing away the Exchange IIS virtual directories and letting Exchange recreate them (follow Method 2 of KB883380 to achieve this).

 

If that doesn't resolve the problem and you still get the 500 error, then you are looking at a DNS problem (most likely) and that is usually only something I can guide you on with hands-on unfortunately. The error basically means that Exchange can't find itself internally using DNS. You are also at the point where Microsoft will no longer support you because Exchange 2003 Extended Support is no more.

 

Hopefully you are planning to migrate to Exchange 2010 then 2013 at some point in the very near future!

[Bankesy]

Unbelievable! It's only gone and started working.

 

I took a re-read of your article very closely, line by line just to check everything and here was the problem:

 

Exchange Virtual Directory: Authentication only set to basic and not integrated. I had an iPad in my hand, changed this and saw it come to life : )

 

I cannot thank you for caring about this enough to help me, its a really big deal with the SLT here and especially because I'm new to the post. I've printed your article, highlighted the fix and put it in the safe lol

[alanhardisty]

Well done - it's all in the detail!!

 

Glad you got it working and hopefully it will stay that way.

 

My blog should be there for many years and will get updated with any new info I find, so if you have further problems, please re-visit it.

 

Best wishes