Palm Pre and Microsoft Exchange not playing nicely together
Talking to a few friends based in the US it seems many people are having issues trying to get their new Palm Pre to talk to Microsoft Exchange.
It seems that despite marketing the Pre as having Exchange support it doesn’t support the Security Policies. Specifically it doesn’t support 2 of the most basic – Device PIN and Device Wipe.
If a user tries to setup their device to access Exchange they will most likely get this error:
“The mail server requires security policies that are not supported”
This means that if an organisation has an Exchange policy with the Device PIN policy set (the most basic) then it will not be allowed access to Exchange at all.
This is similar to the early implementations on the Treo (Palm OS based) and Centro devices. These were resolved with ROM upgrades released after the initial device release.
Palm/Sprint are taking a lot of heat online about this right now….
http://forums.palm.com/palm/board/message?board.id=wireless_email&message.id=8204
http://discussion.treocentral.com/palm-pre/182624-pre-exchange-active-sync-4.html
Another issue with the Pre and activesync revolves around ssl certs generated by SBS Server 2003 (don’t know about 2007). It seems the Pre tries to connect to the CN for the internal AD host and domain name in the root cert instead of the public domain name.
It has effected at least two different companies I know of. One solved it by adding a DNS record for the host in the “internal” domain’s records that they also had registered but didn’t use. If the customer doesn’t own their internal domain name they probably have to setup a new self signed cert with only the public domain name (and get that distributed to all clients like winmo, outlook over http, etc) or buy a cert from a trusted root.
This issue has seriously affected a lot of users. I really hope Palm addresses it asap. 28 days left before I can’t return my Pre… The clock is ticking for Palm.
My fault was thinking that since Palm mentioned they sync with Exchange meant just that. Unfortunately, there should be an asterisk at the end of that statement but there wasn’t. Instead, Palm and Sprint issued an INTERNAL memo to Sprint employees (come to think of it, was the same sent to RadioShack and BestBuy employees?) stating that the Pre won’t sync with Exchange IF there are certain security settings applied and it’s the employees job to ask the customer. The problem there is two fold – one, the in-store rep rarely qualifies folks (not their fault, it just happens) and two, even if they were properly qualified, how many folks really know if their IT shops has implemented centralized security for mobile devices? All they know is if Exchange is used or not – that’s it.
Palm really needs to step back and look at this in a serious way. Either they admit it was a mistake to not implement EAS security and fix it (or give us an ETA) or dig in their heels and say it’s not going to be implemented anytime soon and face the bad press and device returns. Either way, looks like Sprint is an innocent bystander in all this.
Just another victim of this and hoping Palm takes note of this. To Tyler’s point 28 days left – this is a P1.
I have a new Pre and no special Exchange security policies beyond having a cert for OWA. I still cannot connect my Pre with Exchange. I have entered my credentials and that works OK but it will not d/l mail, contacts or calendars. Nothing. Can’t send from Exchange, either. Very frustrating.
Another problem exists the Pre with Exchange that is probably greater than the Device Wipe and Device PIN problem – it will not sync with non-SSL servers. Given that the phone was marketed for small business (internal Sprint docs revealed under 100), and that every other phone in existence (and all prior Palm phones) can disable ssl, it is causing many people to be unable to connect to their exchange servers.
Seriously? Y’all understand that a device needs to go to Microsoft for MSFP certification, right? Do you really think Palm was going to ship this device to Microsoft before launch? I can guarantee that this was well thought through as a limitation and would be shocked if there isn’t already a device at msft for certification.
If there’s any blame to point here, it’s just a lack of clarity on the current status.
@Kidbrother
I respectfully disagree with that. How’s Apple handling this then? The iPhone works just fine with MSFP. Did Apple get a certification from Microsoft?
The problem here is with timing, too. When the iPhone came out, it didn’t do any kind of Exchange sync. Then EAS was added and even more folks bought the iPhone. If Palm is thinking they’ll go the exact same route they’re smoking something. They’re in direct competition with the iPhone and WM6 and Blackberry for that matter – ALL of which can provide the consumer with Exchange sync (ok, the BB does it differently, but you get the idea).
If Palm marketed this strictly as a consumer device, they should never have mentioned EAS… heck, they should never have mentioned Exchange at all!
To me this is the EXACT reason why yes EAS is “free” and part of Exchange it’s just flat out a nightmare compared to Blackberry and BES. Going through our Ex2003 ->2007 upgrade and we will enforce encryption due to state regulations. Well guess what out of 547 WM devices only 76 that have WM 6.1 support the policy so the rest are screwed. We’re just converting everyone to Blackberry – BES is easier to manage and less of a headache. You buy a Blackberry the BES supports it.
I don’t have time to validate each and every EAS capable device and find out some work and some don’t – just a support nightmare that Microsoft needs to really address.
Original post by Dmitri Gromov
I already returned my Palm Pre. It wouldn’t sync with Microsoft Exchange. Went back to Treo 755…until the iPhone 3GS comes out! Having been a Palm user since 1996, I tried to support Palm, but WHAT A MESS. How can Palm release this half-baked phone!!
If you are looking for a good Palm Pre Activesync Exchange 2003 – 2007 setup guide read:
http://activesync.us/palm-pre-exchange-activesync-guide/
After the latest update, I got mine to sync with non SSL exchange server and everything was synched in less than a minute. Problem solved.
@Tyler!
20 days left, exchange is self certified ssl,
Palm help told me the “work around” was to buy a cert from their list of compatable…some workaround! Everyone else on the exchange is iphone , and it works for them.
I am configuring the Palm Pre for Exchange 2003. After a few hiccups, I was able to sync the device. However, if you have multiple mail accounts, I was not sure how to make the Exchange the default email account.
The Palm Web OS needed to be updated after I synced the device however to v1.0.4. The download was 12 mb but was fairly quick. The keyboard is a slide keyboard though I was able to type on the keyboard fairly easily.
I have been using Active Sync flawlessly for some time with WinMob Palms and the iPhone. I purchased two Pre’s and both exhibit the same issue. They do an initial sync, download several messages and then stop syncing for the rest of the day. Next day, the Pre will download a few more.
Just the fact that the initial sync occurs and then there are subsequent transactions, albeit not reliable ones, then the problem appears to be with the device. I think the issue was better (not great) with OS 1.0.3 than it is now with 1.0.4, but I can’t substantiate that.
I can’t approve this device for my enterprise until it builds a track record of flawless sync. How can Apple do this better than Palm?
Does any one know if Palm is going to support the Blackberry Enterprise Server (BES). Or that Microsoft will add an device profile for Outlook Web Access (OWA)for the Pre, that’s at least a fallback that I had on my Treo, if not I may just have to return the Pre, too bad, nice piece of hardware.