Wednesday, February 08, 2006

Sync Errors from Mobile Devices in your Server Status Report


Ok, new tip for you. When you're the person that gets the Server Status Reports from the Small Business Server, and you notice a critical error that your boss (or person who pays your salary/bills) can't sync his mobile phone to the server, you may want to jump on it a little faster than I did.

Sure, I didn't get in trouble because I was actually doing the rest of my job, but it would have made his life easier.

What am I talking about? Daily I have seen the following exerpt from the Server Status Report on our Catfood server here at the office:

Now finally getting the chance to take a peak, I looked at the IIS logs located in %windir%\logfiles\w3svc I was able to determine that the phone was indeed logging into the server, but failing to synch. So the password wasn't an issue.

The goal was to get it fixed as quickly as possible. So we took the approach to remove the inbox from the server sync schedule, sync the phone, and then add the inbox back in, essentially resetting the inbox sync with the server. Problem solved, the phone now sync's perfectly, and there aren't any ugly red X's on my server status report.

... Now if I can just get people on the team to stop typing their password incorrectly, I might get a clean server status report!

Whoops, I just realized that the error above is a picture, so MSN and Google won't be able to find this post if you search for it. The error is "Unexpected Exchange mailbox Server error: Server: [] User: [] HTTP status code: [409]. Verify that the Exchange mailbox Server is working correctly."

17 comments:

Simon Guest said...

I was seeing this problem, along with error code 0x8501004 on the Mobile 5 device. The only resolution I found though was:

1. Start Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.

2. Locate the Exchange virtual directory. The default location is the following: Web Sites\Default Web Site\Exchange

3. Right-click the Exchange virtual directory, click All Tasks, and then click Save Configuration to a File.

4. In the File name box, type a name. For example, type ExchangeVDir. Click OK.

5. Right-click the root of this Web site. Typically, this is Default Web Site.

6. Click New, and then click Virtual Directory (from file).

7. In the Import Configuration dialog box, click Browse, locate the file that you

8. Created in step 4, click Open, and then click Read File.

9. Under Select a configuration to import , click Exchange, and then click OK.

10. A dialog box will appear that states that the "virtual directory already exists."

11. In the Alias box, type a name for the new virtual directory that you want Exchange ActiveSync and Outlook Mobile Access to use. For example, type ExchDAV.
[N.B. In my case I already had an ExchDAV, so I created it as ExchDAV2]

12. Click OK.

13. Right-click the new virtual directory. In this example, click ExchDAV. Click Properties. Click the Directory Security tab. Under Authentication and access control, click Edit. Make sure that only the following authentication methods are enabled, and then click OK:

a. Integrated Windows authentication

b. Basic authentication

14. Under IP address and domain name restrictions, click Edit. Click Denied access, click Add, click Single computer, type the IP address of the server that you are configuring, and then click OK.

15. Under Secure communications, click Edit. Make sure that Require secure channel (SSL) is not enabled, and then click OK.

16. Click OK, and then close the IIS Manager.

17. Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.

18. Locate the following registry subkey: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\MasSync\Parameters

19. Right-click Parameters, click to New, and then click String Value.

20. Type ExchangeVDir, and then press ENTER. Right-click ExchangeVDir, and then click Modify.

NoteExchangeVDir is case-sensitive. If you do not type ExchangeVDir exactly as it appears in this article, ActiveSync does not find the key when it locates the ExchDAV folder.

21. In the Value data box, type the name of the new virtual directory that you created preceded by a forward slash (/). For example, type /ExchDAV.
[OR in may case, it was already set to /ExchDAV so mine needed to be renamed to /ExchDAV2]

22. Click OK.

23. Quit Registry Editor.

24. Restart the IIS Admin service. To do this, follow these steps:

a. Click Start, click Run, type services.msc, and then click OK.

b. In the list of services, right-click IIS Admin service, and then click Restart

Sean Daniel said...

No, you can just delete the partnership with the server and re-create it. The errors on the server have nothing to do with the errors on the client.

Anonymous said...

I am having this same issue. Not sure I am clear on delete the partnership. Do you mean teh Active Directory Sync in IIS delete adn Re Create or are you simply saying to un mark the inbox on the PDA sync and then remark the inbox?

Thanks, John

Sean Daniel said...

In ActiveSync, go to File/Mobile Device, and make sure the device is selected you want to delete the partnership off. Then go to File/Delete Partnership and you're all finished. The next time you connect your device, you'll setup a new partnership.

To change the partnership with the server, on the device (this time) go into ActiveSync and change the server name to something else, it will delete the existing partnership, then change it back and it will re-create the partnership.

Anonymous said...

Thank U very much :)
This was just sweet

I had problems with several devices that just denied to sync.
Follow your arcticle - was a bit clumsy because I didnt get the part where I was supposed to delete the ActiveSync acount. (Either its just me) or you could descirbe it better.

Been looking for this arcticle for over a month....

iiiiiiiiiha Thanks :)

Anonymous said...

Simon,

You are a genius, sir. I've being having nightmares about this sync issue and your 24 steps worked like a charm.

Why is all that requiered? (Just for my self-education)

Anonymous said...

This has been driving me and my dopod users NUTS!!! The 24 steps worked a treat. THANKS!

Anonymous said...

Simon,

I must echo what Pedro says: You, sir, are a genius. Thank you very much.

This problem where some mobile devices synch and some don't, even though the permissions are the same on all the user accounts, has been making me pull my hair out.

The only clue to where the problem may begin is that the mobile devices that were working are the ones associated with user accounts which existed on my SBS 2000 server before I upgraded it to SBS 2003. The devices associated with user accounts created after the upgrade to SBS 2003 wouldn't sync until I performed your '24-step program.' ;-)

I knew the problem was in OMA because the same device that wouldn't sync would sync if I used a 'legacy' user account, I just couldn't figure it out.

Thanks!

Tom

Unknown said...

OMG I can't believe that worked! I did a dynamic upgrade from SBS to SBS R2 and it caused the same issue. I tried everything under the sun when all seemed bleak finally tried ur simple steps and now it works! U R GOD!!

Anonymous said...

You are a GOD!!!! Let me know where to send the beer!

Anonymous said...

I did the 24 step program and i did not work. So I went to AD Users and Computers, my account - properties, click on exchange setting and disabled remote mobile device sync and all other mobile device settings. Reset the ExchDAV dir in the registry back to the original, ran iisreset, the reenabled the mobile settings in AD users and Computers. And it worked... but I don't know why :)

Anonymous said...

Nice one!!!! 24 step process worked. I was having problem with a Nokia phone using the client "Mail for Exchange" when it said "Server requires a secure connection".

Anonymous said...

you are god like sir! Thanks for your article. WOW! love to know why it did it this way!

Anonymous said...

Just a note to say that this worked very well for our setup,and resolved our Activesync issue. We were fixing a badly butchered SBS configuration for a new customer, and this was the missing link to getting activesync working. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

I read Sean's solution. But how do you remove the inbox from the server sync schedule?

Sean Daniel said...

I thought you just went into ActiveSync, and mail options, then choose which folders you want to sync. I don't understand the reasoning to remove the inbox though.

Anonymous said...

Hi Sean,
Thanks for responding. I am just following what you wrote which was: "The goal was to get it fixed as quickly as possible. So we took the approach to remove the inbox from the server sync schedule, sync the phone, and then add the inbox back in, essentially resetting the inbox sync with the server."

Thanks.