Database Users

MS Exchange G1 vs Magic

Hi all,
Am I correct in thinking that the Magic will sync with a MS exchange server without additional software, where as the G1 requires a third party application?
If so, can the Magic version of Android be install on the G1?
Apologies if this has already been covered but I havent found a thread covering this despite yet.
Cheers
Pug

Hi,
Neither of the phones have exchange support out of the box. HTC had put exchange support in their Hero rom and people have ripped it out and used it in their own cooked roms.
Your correct there are 3rd party apps for using exchange in the market place.
Personally i dont have any recommendations for any of them though.
thanks,
Jon

The Android builds with Exchange support work OK, but it's pretty barebones in features, and you can't select folders other than Inbox and Sent Items to be automatically synced. I started using Nitrodesk's Touchdown and it seems to fit the bill.

Thanks for the answers. My brother has the G1 and was about to buy Touchdown and I should have a Magic by the end of the week, so we were hoping that if the has native exchange support, there was hope that the G1 would soon have it. We will look at the Magic exchange offering before buying Touchdown's solution.
Does the native exchange client software sync with Inbox sub folders?
Is there a review of Touchdown anywhere?
(I dont have an Android phone to hand quite yet)
Thanks

touchdown review
I pretty much swear by touchdown. It's got a lot of good features, exchange 2003 and 2007 support activesync/push support, sig support, calander view and creation support, and lots of other stuff. go to the market and try the trial version and see if you like the look and feel, but overall, it's pretty awesome.

rkimbal45 said:
I pretty much swear by touchdown. It's got a lot of good features, exchange 2003 and 2007 support activesync/push support, sig support, calander view and creation support, and lots of other stuff. go to the market and try the trial version and see if you like the look and feel, but overall, it's pretty awesome.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
its good in every respect but one. it doesnt push its internal calendar to the phones calendar

pnayak77 said:
Thanks for the answers. My brother has the G1 and was about to buy Touchdown and I should have a Magic by the end of the week, so we were hoping that if the has native exchange support, there was hope that the G1 would soon have it. We will look at the Magic exchange offering before buying Touchdown's solution.
Does the native exchange client software sync with Inbox sub folders?
Is there a review of Touchdown anywhere?
(I dont have an Android phone to hand quite yet)
Thanks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just said it doesn't. Touchdown is able to though.

[Question] Using Android for Company Use?

Hi,
I am a system administrator for my company and i am considering switching from windows mobile devices to android devices in our company.
What i am looking for is people who use or have used there android with exchange.
This is mandatory in our company.
The phone needs to be able to sync Email, Contacts and Calendar with MS Exchange.
Are there people who can confirm that
- this works.
- what is your experience.
- Does is work like on a windows mobile device?
- Does it run smooth
- are there any complications.
- Is there anything that needs to be done server side (i assume not)
Any information would help.
Also i would like to know,
From the 3 android phones that are now available (g1, magic & hero)
Seeing that they are all HTC made, do they all have the htc exchange support implemented?
And if not, which ones don't support it, and is there an alternative solution for it?
Thank you in advanced.
Alex

A little info...
anheuer said:
Hi,
Are there people who can confirm that
- this works.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, this works. The HTC Exchange app "Work Mail" (mail.apk) allows for syncing of mail only. Complete Exchange sync support is available at this time via thrid party apps only. The best I've seen so far is Touchdown. A 5 day demo is available for testing. This solution is frowned upon by all my sysadmin pals because of two reasons... 1) added cost per end user and 2) its not native therefore you're relying on a third party for support. If they go under, your elegant solution is toast.
- what is your experience.
--> See above. Touchdown works well. Mail.apk gets the mail down but sync can be an issue and calendar, contacts and tasks is a NOGO.
- Does is work like on a windows mobile device?
--> Don't think I know what you're asking but... if you mean does it work like windows mobile's implementation of Outlook/Activesync then... not really. Sync is just like Activesync in that it polls your Exchange server periodically and checks for new items. See above for differences.
- Does it run smooth
--> Sure, though some have reported intermittent sync issues, I have not had that problem. Bear in mind pretty much everyone using Mail.apk is running some flavor of an experimental ROM.
- are there any complications.
-->typically, yes. See above
- Is there anything that needs to be done server side (i assume not)
-->no, no config changes are required to run either mail.apk or Touchdown
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Also i would like to know,
From the 3 android phones that are now available (g1, magic & hero)
Seeing that they are all HTC made, do they all have the htc exchange support implemented?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Mail.apk or Work Mail is a part of the ROMS for newer HTC devices, it is not intended to be used on the HTC Dream/G1 but has been ported over by kickass people to be used on the G1 and is included in newer modded roms like Cyanogens. I believe it first popped up in the Sapphire ROM, search here for in And.dev for the thread that clued me in to its existence.
So bear in mind, any solution you employ will either be entirely 3rd party or incomplete at this time. Also, the Dream/G1 is the only phone with a keyboard, I don't know about you but I wouldn't be composing emails with an onscreen keyboard.
Hope that helps and that I didn't misrepresent anything. If I got any of this wrong get in here and spank me good guys.

innerspace said:
Yes, this works. The HTC Exchange app "Work Mail" (mail.apk) allows for syncing of mail.....................
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for your reply.
I assume that when i use the application Touchdown on the G1, that this will also work right?
On our mail server we enforce 2 things when connected to the exchange mail.
1. force password protection on the device
2. force encryption for files on device and SD card.
Do you have experience with this in combination with Touchdown?
Does it ignore it?
Will it enforce it?
Because i think we at least want password protection
(and then i mean that the entire phone cannot be used until the password has been typed. to protect all date on the phone.)

Just one additional point - the "work email" app DOES provide for full Exchange support (ie. contacts, calendar, email) on SOME ROMs. Any ROM that uses an HTC branded Magic ROM as its basis will have this, whereas Google branded ROMs do not (although they can run the application if one acquires it, in such case you'll get email only - most ROMs over on the development board bundle at least the email only version).
A good ROM to use for this is the Smartphone France ROM, which has full support, and is a moderately fast ROM.
I'm not sure about encryption and/or password protection for Exchange but certainly you can add passwords or even gesture based locking onto Android phones.
I personally found Touchdown to be complete and total gash, just couldn't get it to work at all well. Either it wouldn't sync at all, or it'd take ages for mails to appear, or you'd get a random subset of an inbox rather than a complete listing. However, most people who have used Touchdown seem to think my experience is in a minority.

Loccy said:
Just one additional point - the "work email" app DOES provide for full Exchange support (ie. contacts, calendar, email) on SOME ROMs. Any ROM that uses an HTC branded Magic ROM as its basis will have this, whereas Google branded ROMs do not (although they can run the application if one acquires it, in such case you'll get email only - most ROMs over on the development board bundle at least the email only version).
A good ROM to use for this is the Smartphone France ROM, which has full support, and is a moderately fast ROM.
I'm not sure about encryption and/or password protection for Exchange but certainly you can add passwords or even gesture based locking onto Android phones.
I personally found Touchdown to be complete and total gash, just couldn't get it to work at all well. Either it wouldn't sync at all, or it'd take ages for mails to appear, or you'd get a random subset of an inbox rather than a complete listing. However, most people who have used Touchdown seem to think my experience is in a minority.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could you suggest one or more of those locking apps?
So if i understand correct.
The only way to not have to worry about which android phone people would like to use, and still have full exchange functionality is by using touchdown.
If i dont want to use that, then i need to get an android phone that is htc branded, or change the rom to a custom rom.

All Rogers and Hero ROM's have full exchange support NATIVE to the ROM.. do not go the Touchdown route.
As Android is increasingly supporting exchange, Touchdown will be less and less supported.
I am currently running Soulife's Rogers ROM and it handles exchange (email/contacts/calendar) totally native and works really well.
As for your company, it really depends on how many handsets you are supporting, and also depends on whether you really want to root and run different roms on all these devices as well.
I'd probably wait until an Android phone is released in your area that fully supports exchange natively.

There is no remote wipe for Android ... so if you are concerned about security or have to enforce password or locking policies then you should consider blackberry server ... I'm in the same boat as you, would like to use Android but the management tools are not there yet.

I have a magic flashed to jacHero, all aspects of exchange work fine, except one thing. When I try to change the date on a meeting invitation, I get a force close. I guess this is a problem with the ROM, as the stock Rogers ROM did not have this issue.
I have also tried touchdown, which works fine, and has tasks (which is a plus), but I prefer the native app.

Loccy said:
Just one additional point - the "work email" app DOES provide for full Exchange support (ie. contacts, calendar, email) on SOME ROMs. Any ROM that uses an HTC branded Magic ROM as its basis will have this, whereas Google branded ROMs do not (although they can run the application if one acquires it, in such case you'll get email only - most ROMs over on the development board bundle at least the email only version).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
i'm using an HTC ROM on my vodafone/Google branded magic (which does not sync with exchange by default) and the exchange sync works quite well. i get email, calendar and contacts.
one thing though, with regards to exchange contacts, there doesn't seem to be a way to browse the GAL.
in my case i have to click menu, then company directory. then i can type an entry into the search box.
it does feel a bit cumbersome, but i guess it's better than your phone trying to download several thousand GAL entries to your phone.

Do you need wi-fi?
If you need to use wi-fi in your company, and if you are using WPA-Enterprise (AD auth), keep in mind that android doesn't support it yet (at least out of the box).

List of ROM's with version of Exchange support

Can everyone post which of the ROMs they have used have which version of Exchange.
Example - Haykuro 5.0.2Hr5 includes FULL Exchange with Email, Contacts and Calendar, whereas Cyanogen 3.6.8.1 is just Email (i.e. MyTouch - Work Email).
It would be nice for those who have the desire to have all 3 features to have a list so to pick the ROM appropriate for them.
Thanks.
Full Exchange - Email, Contacts, Calendar
Haykuro 5.0.2Hr5
Haykuro 6.0r1
JACxHEROv1.2
Soulife's Roger Remix V2.9.2
Limited Exchange - Just Email, i.e. MyTouch Work Mail
Cyanogen 3.6.8.1
Cyanogen v3.9.7 - experimental version
JACxROM-v1.3r3
JACMyTouchSkiv2.5.2

Limited Exchange - Just Email, i.e. MyTouch Work Email
Cyanogen 3.6.8.1
JACxROM-v1.3r3
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Anyone interested in deleting this crap (since it is nothing but a total waste of space), delete the file /system/app/Mail.apk -- frees up 1.3 MB that could be put to better use.

I agree, but do you have any ROM's you want to add to the list?

I assume that most everyone is using GMail as their primary email so nobody pays attention to the Exchange feature?

I use Gmail almost exclusively, even for business. Since I can just have it forward there when I am off work, I can simply ignore it if its not important, or reply to it from there and have it sent under my business email address too so it doesn't even matter.

Windows Hotmail and Exchange Calendar

I've been using various Android builds, and I like most of them. My one problem is my Exchange calendar doesn't seem to be synching with Android. Also I can't find an app that does Hotmail -- at all. One like the HTC email app in WinMo that uses Push.
Can anyone recommend some fixes for these issues?

I'm using an Energy ROM 6.5.5 + 2.12 radio + MattcLeo 1.5 and my exchange calendar syncs fine. I know there are some companies who don't allow Android devices to sync with their servers fully. Could this be your problem? You may try deleting you account and resyncing it.
As far as hotmail goes I believe you have to set it up manually. I don't believe there is anything on the market for it. Someone correct me if I'm wrong...
Sent from my HTC Desire using XDA App

I am mattc leo v1.5 my hotmail and exchange is working fine.
mattc leo v1.5
radio 2.10.50.26
miri hd rom v.17

i also don't have any solution but can report, that for my sync works well with any build using mail2web.com. so it should be related to hotmail...

Thanks everyone. I was DarkStone when I had the problems. I tried FroyoStone this morning and the calendar that came in it worked with Exchange, so it is possible. Problem is FroyoStone still have some HTC Sense stuff in it (even if it's a clean build), and I'd rather have a complete Sense free device (like DarkStone). So I'll probably have to research this more.
FroyoStone had nothing for setting up a Hotmail account though.
If anyone has any further suggestions, I'd be very happy to hear them.

To let those know:
The newer builds of Android are working okay with the Calendar and Exchange. Tested with Darkstone HD2Froyo v2.0 and 2.1. mattc's Nexus builds also work.
I couldn't find any useful Hotmail apps, but I did find how to add Hotmail as an account on the phone using POP (you need a really old Hotmail account or a paid one for it to work). Also Microsoft is in the process of moving Hotmail to using Exchange compatible interface, so we'll be able to add Hotmail as an actual Exchange service.

[DISCUSSION] Exchange 2010 Sync issues

It appears the Desire Z is suffering from the same issue that the DHD had here - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=797733 .
It has since been fixed on the HD.... c'mon HTC, release an OTA update already!
Anyone else experiencing this?
Otherwise, fab phone...

I'm suddenly glad my work uses Exchange 2007

blk_jack said:
I'm suddenly glad my work uses Exchange 2007
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
exchange 2003 for me.... no issues.

fatality88 said:
It appears the Desire Z is suffering from the same issue that the DHD had here - http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=797733 .
It has since been fixed on the HD.... c'mon HTC, release an OTA update already!
Anyone else experiencing this?
Otherwise, fab phone...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What client are you using? the touchdown client works very well...... the Z is the 2nd android device I am using touchdown on.

CarlGalgano said:
What client are you using? the touchdown client works very well...... the Z is the 2nd android device I am using touchdown on.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yeah, Touchdown works fine but HTC mail (built in ActiveSync) blends the calendar and contacts into Sense so well... just have to wait I suppose...

I'm using HTC Sense's mail client with Exchange 2010 and all is fine?!

fatality88 said:
Yeah, Touchdown works fine but HTC mail (built in ActiveSync) blends the calendar and contacts into Sense so well... just have to wait I suppose...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
htc's sense client does look pretty nice, but i use touchdown's alert rules quite a bit (ie if a server goes down play a sound until i pick up the device and do something).

zappoo said:
I'm using HTC Sense's mail client with Exchange 2010 and all is fine?!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Have you tried to send an email? (It look like it sends but doesn't actually go anywhere)
Have you tried to open any attachments?

Damn. You are right. Can't send mail. So still no fix?!

So i have a work-around after reading the above and other forums.
i turned off "Exchange" sync in my phone for email – left it on for calendar as i like the HTC calendar widget.
Then installed this stock email APK
http://denness.net/Email.apk
Then set it up to sync JUST email..
Then changed the "Mail" (HTC) icon on my home sceren to the "Email" (Stock android) icon.
Now all works well.
The HTC mail app is a BIT nicer – but not by much. The stock app is pretty good too.
So until HTC release an OTA update for this problem (like they have for HTC Desire HD), the above is a reasonably good work-around.
Wonder if we should contact HTC to tell them? Or will they issue an update soon enough?
When using the HTC app, the EAS version reported by webmail is 14.
When using the stock android app, the EAS version is 12.

zappoo said:
So i have a work-around after reading the above and other forums.
i turned off "Exchange" sync in my phone for email – left it on for calendar as i like the HTC calendar widget.
Then installed this stock email APK
http://denness.net/Email.apk
Then set it up to sync JUST email..
Then changed the "Mail" (HTC) icon on my home sceren to the "Email" (Stock android) icon.
Now all works well.
The HTC mail app is a BIT nicer – but not by much. The stock app is pretty good too.
So until HTC release an OTA update for this problem (like they have for HTC Desire HD), the above is a reasonably good work-around.
Wonder if we should contact HTC to tell them? Or will they issue an update soon enough?
When using the HTC app, the EAS version reported by webmail is 14.
When using the stock android app, the EAS version is 12.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've just set up an IMAP account for the time being...
might drop HTC an email today if I get bored @ work - can't hurt.

Can you set up an Exchange account as IMAP? What do you "lose" this way?
I guess it won't fix the issue of not browsing the corporate address book right?

zappoo said:
Can you set up an Exchange account as IMAP? What do you "lose" this way?
I guess it won't fix the issue of not browsing the corporate address book right?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
You just need IMAP enabled on the server.
Of course this only does mail, but you can still sync your contacts/calendar with activesync(just not the mail).
You can't seem to update contacts on the phone either (but I can live with that until they fix it).
Calendar syncs both ways ok (from what I can see).
and unfortunately no, you can't browse the corporate address book...

Questions about Sense Exchange client features
I can not find them anywhere!!
HTML emails? (I'm on exchange 2007)
Contact and Calendar categories
Contact and Calendar category color (label)
Email Move to folder?
Server search
Many thanks.

vittogn said:
I can not find them anywhere!!
HTML emails? (I'm on exchange 2007)
Contact and Calendar categories
Contact and Calendar category color (label)
Email Move to folder?
Server search
Many thanks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I see you are coming from Windows Mobile (looking at your previous phones).
Not all ActiveSync options are available in Android...

Did anyone contact HTC re the HTC mail app not working with Exchange 2010?
Seems strange that HTC issued an update to the HTC Desire HD OTA to fix this (they changed the version of ActiveSync (AES) from 14 back to 12).. but not yet for the Desire Z??

zappoo said:
Did anyone contact HTC re the HTC mail app not working with Exchange 2010?
Seems strange that HTC issued an update to the HTC Desire HD OTA to fix this (they changed the version of ActiveSync (AES) from 14 back to 12).. but not yet for the Desire Z??
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I dropped HTC a support request through their web page yesterday, referring to the Desire HD fix etc. Haven't heard anything back yet (not holding my breath).
Suggest you do the same - the more people complaining, the more likely they are to fix it...

I've also done the same.. let's see what happens!

Desire Z in combination with Exchange 2010 OWA EAS Policy
We have the same issue here at my work.
We ordered 45 HTC Desire Z phones, and me and my colleagues are one of the lucky ones to get a new business phone
We have a Microsoft Exchange 2010 Mailserver with ActiveSync OWA email services enabled. We make use of the Activesync EAS Policy (EAS14?) that enables Remote Wipe, requires user to set a system pin (simple pin) and uses phone encryption.
Now on all other HTC phones (HD2, Desire standard, Touch Pro 2) we have no problems using this phone and exchange 2010 with policy combination.
The HTC Desire Z has some other Email client that cannot handle this Policy..
Tuesday i contacted HTC Benelux (NL) but the problem was not yet known there.. i believe the combination of the Desire Z with Exchange 2010 and a EAS policy is quite unique, so worldwide there are not a lot of users that have problems i think..
HTC is still investigating on my Incident, and they are now using a test account on my Exchange OWA. I really hope they bring out a fix soon.. i'm not about to change my Policy settings, and licensing 45 phones with Nitrodesk Touchdown is not really part of the plan..

Good that HTC are investigating. You should mention to them that the HTC Desire HD had identical problems and HTC issued an over-the-air (OTA) update that fixed it - by changing the EAS policy back to version 12..
PLease keep us informed!!