Configuring a Windows Mobile 5 or 6 device for over-the-air sync with the emailanywhere server

Follow these steps on the device. For the examples, we will configure ActiveSync for a user This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to connect to a emailanywhere server known on the internet as example.emailanywhere.com.au.

1. Select Start.
2. Select ActiveSync.
3. Choose to configure a new account:
4. A. If no account is configured for ActiveSync, select the option to "Set up your device to sync with it" [the server].
   B. If you are replacing a pre-existing account, select Menu and then select "Configure Server".
5. In the box for "Server address:", enter the publicly accessible hostname of the server (example.emailanywhere.com.au).
6. Check the box for "This server requires an encrypted (SSL) connection".
7. Select Next.
8. In the "User name:" box, enter the username part of the email address ("bob" of " This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ").
9. In the "Password:" box, enter the password of the user ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it 's password).
10. In the "Domain:" box, enter the domain part of the email address ("example.com" of " This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ").
11. Check the "Save password" box
12. Select Next.
13. Check the boxes for any combination of Contacts, Calendar, and E-mail. Tasks do not sync; selecting Tasks will cause the device to not sync properly with the server.
14. Select Finish.

The device has been configured. Select Sync to synchronize the selected items with the server.

Resetting your device

Why is a full resync necessary

emailanywhere server upgrade sometimes includes data structure changes to the sync state metadata. For example, the upgrade from 4.0.5 to 4.5 happens to include such a change. In such cases after the upgrade the devices that were in sync with server may experience errors on the next sync transaction. This is because when the server detects that a client's state is no longer compatible with server metadata, a special reset code is sent back to the client. However the special reset code is handled in different ways on different devices.

Performing a full resync

Windows Mobile

On a Windows Mobile device, such as Treo 700w and MOTO Q, the phone display the following error message: "A critical error has occurred. ActiveSync can recover from this error, but the next time you synchronize, you may lose changes made since your last successful synchronization". The user can click OK and proceed to sync again. This "critical error" message may appear a couple of times depending on what's being sync'ed. Simply click "OK" and click "Sync" button again on error prompt. After a couple of trials the client will reset its state and automatically start a full resync, which will bring the client to be in sync with server.

In the rare cases when automatic reset and full resync on WM device does not happen, the user can manually force a client state reset. In the ActiveSync program, choose Menu->Options... and uncheck all the checkboxes on sync categories such as Contacts, Calendar and E-mail. The device will ask the user to confirm that all client sync data will be removed. Click "OK" to proceed. Once the data are removed, re-enabled the desired sync categories and click "Sync" button. That will kick off a full resync.

Palm devices (Versamail)

The VersaMail 3.5 client on Palm devices, such as Treo 650 (with upgrade) or Treo 700p, has somewhat similar behavior. Upon receiving the reset code from the server, VersaMail displays an error message saying "There was a problem syncing messages". If you dismiss that error message and click "Sync" again, you will see an alert message like this: "There was a problem syncing with the Exchange ActiveSync server. Your next sync will take a little longer than usual. Do you want to sync now?" If you click Yes then the full resync will start. The alert message may appear more than once depending on what's being sync'ed.

Note that VersaMail clients older than the latest 3.5 do not support the reset code. In that case the user only sees the error message but is not given the choice of a resync. To force a manual reset and resync, the user needs to update the sync profile as a workaround. To update the sync profile, launch VersaMail and click on the pull down menu of "Account Setup". Select the Exchange sync account and click "Edit...". Change the username to anything and save. When you click "Done", the client will ask "Are you sure you want to overwrite the existing settings for the XXX account?" Click "Yes". You will see an alert message. Click "No" to dismiss the alert. Now edit the sync profile again to revert the username change you did earlier in order to force a reset. When you are done, this time click "Yes" on the alert message to start a full resync. Depending on your version of VersaMail, the error messages and alert messages you see may vary, but the general process is the same.

Nokia symbian devices

On Nokia E61, the Mail for Exchange client does not handle the reset code at all. Upon receiving the reset code, the client just displays this error message: "Unable to synchronize with server. Please try again later". However the client does make it very easy to do a manual full resync. Simply choose Options->Full resync, and it will resync everything from scratch.