If you're experiencing the busted-up Exchange problem that many are facing after webOS 1.2 and aren't willing or able to downgrade to webOS 1.1 (and given the security hole, we don't blame you), we have a set of instructions posted up by Palm tech support member HardBeatZ in their forums.
Unfortunately, the solution has to happen on the server - so you'll be buying your IT staff donuts tomorrow. Actually, a lot of people are having the problem with hosted-Exchange companies and we're guessing getting them to apply the fix is going to be nigh-impossible.
The 'fix' involves un-checking a bunch of sub-policies under the Required Password settings (whether or not Required Password is checked):
- Number of failed attempts allowed
- Min. Password length
- Time without user input before password must be re-entered
There you go - if you have the ability to get the settings on your Exchange server adjusted, those are the adjustments you need to make -- assuming you can swallow the reduced security un-checking those boxes implies.
The real fix needs to come on-device, Palm. After making some noise about how webOS is Enterprise-ready and therefore they don't need Windows Mobile anymore, this whole Exchange problem needs to get addressed and right quick.
Thanks to rlopin for the tip!
Update: Insp_Gadget points out that Palm has a client-side fix (read: an update for the Pre itself) in mind and that they're working to get it pushed out as soon as possible. They're also going to make webOS 1.1 more easily available for those who want to downgrade in the meantime.
[...] we know what's causing this and are working as quickly as possible to get a update that addresses this issue done and available. [...] we are planning on providing a link to download the WebOS Doctor which will restore your phone to update 1.1 for those that can't implement the security policy changes or wait until the patch which addresses this is available.
Update 2: As promised, Palm has updated their knowledgebase. Thanks to HardBeatZ for the heads-up!
- Unable to access Exchange account after 1.2 (for End Users and IT Administrators)
- How to revert your Palm Pre to webOS 1.1 for Exchange compatibility.
Comments
MY EAS Setup actually STARTED WORKING with the 1.2 update. I don't know why it did the opposite for everyone else. I'm happy tho =D
You may just be lucky. It depends on what the administrator has checked under the policy settings. Further, it seems to only be Exchange 2007 that the Pre has problems with. Those on Exchange 2003 don't seem to be affected.
Those paying for hosted Exchange services (1and1.com, 4smartphone.com, etc.) or that are on corporate Exchange run by their company's IT department are screwed right now because those companies (and many IT departments) refuse to make any changes on their servers.
They say that Palm's client software is at fault. I can't say I blame the companies that refuse to make changes. After all, they didn't cause the situation. Palm did.
No problems for me. I've been using Exchange (work email) on my Pre since launch, and 1.2 didn't do anything to my phone. Happy customer here!
Mine started working with 1.2 also it didn't work before....I think people just need to redo their certificate and it will work
It was a whack-a-mole style fix. A curious thing to know would be: did it break more folks than it fixed?
Too bad this isn't one of the options in the poll.
For anyone looking to switch hosting companies.... I use Sherweb (www.sherweb.com) and it works flawlessly with my Pre! Their hosted Exchange 2007 is around $9/mo.
Well actually @ Insp_Gadget I AM the IT department here at my company and have been having a mission trying to get the pre to work. With the 1.2 update, it just worked without me doing anything. All I did was just install the cert, which I had done before and never worked.
OK, I've got 3 key questions for you and I am hoping you can share answers (no need to divulge the name of the company you work for):
Sounds like your issue prior to 1.2 is completely different. Many of us were working fine UNTIL 1.2.
Let's narrow this down:
Are you running Exchange 2007 or better?
Do you have the three sub-settings under "Required Password" all cleared in the ActiveSync settings?
This has to be a quick work a round fix till the client side update can be released. If you hate this requirement then this should help mellow the requirement's sting:
1. Number of failed attempts allowed = Set it to some ridiculous high # so it really doesnt matter.
2. Min. Password length = correlate it with your desired pin/password.
3. Time without user input before password must be re-entered = set it to some ridiculously high # so it really doesnt matter.
Well Ok,
1. We have approximately 200 employees.
2. I would estimate around 20-30 Pre users.
3. There is a receptionist position open if you'd like.
Yes I am running Exchange 2007 and no I have not changed any of those settings. I will note that I am using a self-signed certificate.
You haven't "changed" them, but what are they currently set to? Are they all cleared or all checked? It's important to know because Palm is claiming that those settings are a key factor in whether or not a Pre will work with the server.
OMG -- LMAO at #3. You are too funny!
My company has 3000+ employees. Unfortunetly, I don't have any stats from IT on the number of PREs, but we are definitly outnumbered in my particular office by the iPhone at a ratio of approx 30:1
To paraphrase an email response I received from my IT department: "We don't support any particular phone. Exchange is set to work with industry standard configurations. We do not make phone specific changes as that would be a nightmare to support"
We are running Exchange 2007 as well.
Here at my company, almost everyone has a Blackberry. I decided to go against the grain and get the Pre. My EAS was working flawlessly with 1.1. Literally, the second that my phone finished the install and restarted the other day, I had to enter a password to move forward having no idea what it was for until a few minutes later after my screen shut off and I went to do something on my phone again...
I think it is absolutely BS that everyone else using their Blackberrys here DOES NOT have to do this annoying password/PIN at all, ever, and I do, every single time I pick up my phone just to turn the screen back on. I can't even look at the time without entering a password. Obviously we are all on the same server falling under the same server settings/policies. If a Blackberry doesn't need to follow these settings/policies, then why does a Palm? They (at Palm) obviously over did it with this update following policies for EAS.
And some people out there are saying that hacking past this or finding a work around, tweak, or patch could find someone losing their job for breaking security rules. What is the security difference if no one else in my company has this issue other than the few of us Pre owners??? What's the point anyhow??? Just so if someone else gets their hands on my phone, they can't access my emails/appointments??? Well if someone loses their Blackberry, it's all accessible.
What happens if you turn off the PIN?
My Exchange server worked under 1.1, and still does under 1.2.
I turned on the PIN back under 1.1 to secure the phone, but turned it off yesterday when it became too annoying. It can still work with my companies Exchange server fine (mail and calendar). It might be worth trying to just go into Screen&Lock and turn off the secure unlock to see if it was really necessary.
I have no option to take off the PIN. Actually in my case, it is an alpha numeric password, not a PIN. When I go to the Screen & Lock menu, the dropdown for those options has been removed. Normally you should get 3 options; PIN, password, or off. The dropdown only worked again once I removed the EAS account from my phone.It's part of the policies enforcement of the 1.2 update. Ugh!!!
DUDE, this was MY workaround post on Precentral...Dieter re-read the thread, credit should have gone to me
The credit at the bottom right of the article is for tipping off precentral on the news that Palm officially published a workaround on their tech support site. It has nothing to do with who came up with the workaround itself. I had nothing to do with that and assumed it came from Palm developers.
So Palm's published workaround was originally provided by you? Hats off for figuring it out then -- you deserve muchos kudos for that.
We have Hosted Exchange at Final ASP ( www.finalasp.com ). Been working fine from Day 1, and continuing to work just fine.
@rlopin re-read, it says "workaround post" (keyword POST, not idea). My post was not aimed at you anyway, it was to Dieter.
Well I just took a look at our settings. We have it setup to not even require a password with ActiveSync. We do have other security measures tho, so we arent too worried about that part. =D
So the "Require Password" box is unchecked, which grays out the sub-options. But...and this is key...are the sub-options checked or cleared? (They may be grayed out, but they still have a setting that the Pre is looking at.)
Even if the policy is turned off, the Pre apparently demands that those options be checked (or cleared...not sure which) under the Require Password setting.
So I'm asking you what is the check-box setting of each of the sub-settings under there? Are they checked or cleared?
Palm has acknowledged that a true fix is in the works:
http://forums.precentral.net/showthread.php?p=1938923&posted=1#post1938923
And they're going to re-post WebOS Doctor 1.1 for those that can't wait for the real fix.
The Palm moderator edited out the paragraph about providing a link to WebOS 1.1. I posted a question asking why the paragraph was removed.
Haha! Figures!
It gets even better, they deleted my post asking why they had edited their own post! I didn't even notice until another poster called them out on it. It's all good -- they apologized and I totally understand. They are under some serious pressure.
Now let's hope my Exchange admin is willing to make the changes...
My EAS actually works. After i had to wipe and reload my phone because my webOS quick install didn't work:) But, EAS works the way its supposed to work. We have internal exchange though, not hosted like i have heard other people complaining about. If you are annoyed by having to use a password to get into your phone, then ask your exchange admin to remove you from the policy that requires you to have a password in the first place. Second thing is, if you are not using a PIN to get into your phone in the first place, you shouldn't be having corporate mail on your phone at all. SECURITY PEOPLE!!! Consequently, im my own exchange admin, so sorry if im rambling about SECURITY!! Its 4 digits, come on!
That isn't the real problem. The real problem is that due to the changes that Palm made to the way WebOS 1.2 interacts with the security policies--and depending on what settings have been applied in the server's ActiveSync--we can't even get the Pre to connect to the server, much less accept a policy from it.
If my provider is pushing a PIN policy, I'd gladly accept it, but I can't even get my Pre to talk to their servers because of Palm's coding/interpretation of the security settings.
That's the real issue. All the other talk/complaints about being forced to put a PIN on the phone and lock screen settings has nothing to do with the matter at hand.
It's nice that Palm is actively responding to the issue, providing options, and reporting on the issue from their side.
Jamiehs,
Read the long threads...Palm has done nothing. 100% of the things you're seeing from Palm has been as a result of users testing and verifying different settings. Palm has done nothing on this issue. You should read the post on Palm's forum, it's the Palm user community who really discovered the fixes...not palm. They have taken a back seat on this issue and reported what the users reported...A real "active response" would be to provide a client side fix and not rely on servers who are currently providing great service to 100% of iPhone and WinMo users.
Anyone having a problem with accessing your yahoo mail, gmail, hotmail etc. Since 1.2. I have had issues sending email through the onboard email app that suppose to be linked to my yahoo email account. Says error sending mail, yahoo mail. I went ahead and deleted the email accounts and, and rebooted my Pre, now trying to reenter them starting with yahoo mail. I now get a message saying "unable to connect to server, try again later." Is it a synergy thing? I am getting the same message now with gmail, and hotmail. I can go directly to yahoo or gmail on my Pre to get in but I'm use to all 3 syncing to my Pre. Any thoughts or suggestions.
I simply cannot believe this. I am so disappointed with this phone. It is a beautiful phone, but as far as using it for business...it's just not ready for prime time.
Here we are, 4 months after it's release and we STILL don't have Flash for the web browser. How does anyone even make an excuse for this? The web browser is incomplete (at best)!
When the phone is set to silent (is set to vibrate) and sitting on the touchstone, you get no notification (besides visually - you would expect it to vibrate, since that's what it's set to do) of phone calls, e-mails, or events! How is that even CLOSE to being acceptable? I can't tell you how many calls and time sensitive e-mails I've missed.
I'm so sorry I chose this phone over the HTC Touch Pro2. I've used the WinMobile operating systems before, and I'm aware it has quirks, but I have NEVER lost the connectivity to my corporate e-mail account (or any e-mail account for that matter). It seems the only real advantage the webOS has is you can see more than one calendar and e-mail account on the screen at the same time. I guess that's important for people that are using this mostly for social reasons, but as far as business, these things aren't necessary and certainly don't make up for the multitude of things this phone doesn't do that the WinMobile operating system does.
I'm going to my local Sprint store at lunch today and telling them to either make my e-mail work again, or I want a different, non-pre phone.
I really had high hopes for this phone, but the updates aren't not coming fast enough, they don't seem to be coming at all.
"Here we are, 4 months after it's release and we STILL don't have Flash for the web browser. How does anyone even make an excuse for this? The web browser is incomplete (at best)!"
@ AmHack, I've never seen or met anyone as ignorant and clueless as you. Thank you.
Hmm...interesting. Name calling, but no logic, facts, or discussion.
I don't even know how to respond to that.
Don't really need to discuss. I think everyone got the point.
I used to use that and was too much trouble. Installed Chapura's Pocket Mirror and have NO problems before or after the OS upgrade. Chapura specializes in Outlook synchronization software for Palm OS and Windows Mobile / Pocket PC handhelds & smartphones: http://www.chapura.com/pm_standard_pre.php Don't know if that'll help, but figured I'd throw it out just in case. I used it with my Palm Zire many moons ago but was thrilled to see it's still alive and well. Oh yeah, it's not free but worth every penny of the $29.95.
AmHack, so you're complaining that the phone stays silent when YOU set it to be silent? Yeah, that is some serious engineering flaw there.
brentb,
No, I'm complaining that it doesn't vibrate as it is set to when it's on the touchstone.
Okay this is weird but my EAS randomly started working again this morning (10/2/09) after breaking with the update. Not that I'm complaining one bit.
Who's your e-mail provider (work, a 3rd-party hosting company like 4smartphone or 1and1, or do you manage your own server)?
Maybe they made adjustments to the settings on the server without telling you.
Hmmm, could this server-side workaround be causing problems for iPhone users? Wouldn't THAT be ironic?
http://forums.precentral.net/showthread.php?p=1941469&posted=1#post1941469
For those of you that have it working more than likely do not have SSL in use for your exchange. The SSL for exchange is what is broken.
as I posted over at the Palm forums: "Not sure what either Palm or my provider (4Smartphone) did, but my synch finally took place around 8:15PM CST. !! Let's hope that wasn't a fluke and the problem was fixed. I have to think it was my provider, since there wasn't an update on my device. In any event, I am happy."
Why won't they step up and start supporting Windows Exchange Server 2010??? Are we the only small company out there piloting this software wishing that the Pre would sync?!?!
1.2.1 update is out, addresses this
Got the update....still doesn't work.
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