Current issues with Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync and third-party devices

Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync enables devices to synchronize your Inbox, Calendar, and other items with Microsoft Exchange Server mailboxes. This article lists common issues with third-party devices, such as Android and iOS devices, that synchronize with Exchange by using Exchange ActiveSync.

Exchange ActiveSync Licensees provide the Exchange ActiveSync software that is used on the third-party devices. Microsoft does not write the Exchange ActiveSync code for the licensees’ devices or services. Microsoft licenses patents, which are Microsoft Intellectual Property, to Exchange ActiveSync licensees. Also, Microsoft provides public access to the Exchange ActiveSync protocol documentation.

Note A protocol is a standard for communication between computers.

Microsoft can assist in investigations of issues with mobile devices manufactured by third-party vendors. However, the implementation of the EAS protocol on the device cannot be changed or updated by Microsoft. Any updates to the device, confirmation of root cause, and solutions to specific device issues can only occur through the device manufacturer.

Additionally, some devices may not have a unified Update strategy and may depend upon carrier requests to create updates. Carriers then distribute those updates. Thus, updates for specific device issues may not be timely. In such situations, Microsoft may direct customers to contact their mobile carriers for assistance. See the References section for details on third-party support engagement methods.

When you are deciding what devices to use in an Exchange Server organization that uses Exchange ActiveSync, ensure that you understand the features and capabilities of the devices. Not all devices support the same configuration options, and some devices may not support all features or versions of the Exchange ActiveSync protocol.

A community chart for Comparison of Exchange ActiveSync Clients is available on Wikipedia. and Administrators and help desk personnel should use this chart to understand device capabilities. To help address this, the Exchange team announced a new Exchange ActiveSync Logo program for devices that use Exchange ActiveSync.

We will update this document as we identify new issues with Exchange ActiveSync.

The following is a list of current issues that you may have when using Exchange Server 2007 and Exchange Server 2010 with third-party devices. If you are using Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 3 (SP3) or Exchange Server 2010 SP1 and you are experiencing an issue that is not listed here, visit the Microsoft Support website.

We typically recommend that you update third-party devices to the latest version of device software. Be aware that some devices cannot be updated. For example, iOS device users can update their devices with the latest version of the iOS software available. For more information, visit the Apple iOS website.

Note Android device users should update their devices to the latest version.

Note We will not update this article for versions of Microsoft Exchange Server that are released after Exchange Server 2010.


The issues in this article are divided into the following categories:

• Automatic meeting processing
• Connectivity and synchronization failures

1. Automatic meeting processing

Issue 1.1 - A recurring meeting is removed from the calendar when the organizer cancels a single occurrence

Assume that you synchronize your iOS device by using Exchange ActiveSync on an Exchange Server 2007 mailbox. If the organizer cancels a single occurrence of a recurring meeting, the device may unexpectedly delete the entire recurring meeting.

Solution

Follow these steps:

1. Install Update Rollup 4 for Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 3. The problem details and the link to the update are documented in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article:
   2502276

   (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2502276)

   A meeting request series is deleted unexpectedly from the calendar in an Exchange Server 2007 environment
   
   
2. Update the Apple iOS on your device to version 4.3 or a later version. For more information about the latest iOS version, visit the Apple iOS
   (http://www.apple.com/ios)
   website.

For more information about this issue, visit the following website:

Issue 1.2 - An attendee becomes the meeting organizer

When you synchronize your iOS or Android device by using Exchange ActiveSync on an Exchange Server 2007 mailbox, you may unexpectedly become the organizer for a meeting to which you were invited. This does not change the meeting for all attendees.

Solution

This issue can occur if you change the reminder for a single occurrence of a recurring meeting on an iOS or Android device. There may be other changes to meeting items that cause the same problem.

This issue is resolved in Update Rollup 4 for Exchange Server 2007 Service Pack 3. For more information, see the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article:Note Affected meetings must be deleted, and replacement meetings must be created after the update is installed.

UPDATE The Exchange Server 2007 fix that is documented in this Knowledge Base article is a mitigation for a specific issue. Recent issues that have similar symptoms were reported to and investigated by Microsoft. These issues can affect users on all versions of Exchange Server. Currently, Microsoft cannot reduce the effect of these new issues. We encourage users to work with their device vendors to find a solution to the problem.

The current issue that can occur with Apple iOS 6 is documented in the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article:

Issue 1.3 - Your meeting response to the organizer looks like it was sent by someone else

When you respond to an Exchange ActiveSync meeting invitation, the meeting organizer may see someone else's name displayed as having accepted the invitation instead of you.

Solution

Verify that the Apple iOS on your device is version 4.3 or a later version. For more information about the latest iOS version, visit the Apple iOS website. This was fixed by Apple in iOS 3.1. For more information, visit the following website:

Issue 1.4 - An All Day Flag is not set correctly on Mobile devices when a meeting is scheduled across multiple days

Mobile device clients do not treat a meeting request as an all-day event meeting request. Also, the All Day field is marked No.

Solution

This issue is resolved in Update Rollup 2 for Exchange 2007 Service Pack 3. For more information, see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Issue 1.5 - Recurring Exchange calendar events are deleted

In some cases, recurring calendar events can be removed from both the iOS device and Exchange when the organizer cancels an event instance.

Solution

This issue is resolved by Apple iOS 4.3 and affects version 4.2.6 and earlier versions. For more information about this issue, visit the following website:

Issue 1.6 - An appointment is longer than 24 hours is changed to a multi-day All Day Event

Assume that an appointment item's duration is longer than 24 hours and the appointment is not marked as an All Day Event. In this case, Exchange ActiveSync changes the item on the device to a multi-day All Day Event. The next time that the device synchronizes with the mailbox, the change is propagated from the item on the device to the item on the Exchange Server 2010 mailbox.

Solution

To resolve this issue, install Update Rollup 1 for Exchange Server 2010 Service Pack 2 (SP2). For more information, see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Issue 1.7 - Meetings are missing due on some mobile devices, but are present in OWA and Outlook

When you create a recurring Appointment or Meeting, then change a critical property in an occurrence in the series (for example date, time or location), and then change the whole meeting Series again, the item may not be updated on a device.

The change is reflected correctly in Outlook, but meeting organizers or attendees do not see the change reflected on their devices. The result is an apparent "missing appointment" on the device user's Calendar.

Cause
The devices use the Global Object Identifier (GOID) instead of the ServerID to track changes to the Calendar item for synchronization requests.

When the meeting series is changed, the same GOID is retained on the whole series. When the device receives the Delete request, sent when the series is changed, in a separate sync request from the change to the individual occurrence, it considers the series change as a duplicate and does not process the update.

Solution
This issue is resolved in iOS 6.0. For confirmation or further investigation of this issue, contact the device manufacturer.

Issue 1.8 - Rapid growth in transaction logs, CPU use, and memory consumption in Exchange Server 2010 when a user syncs a mailbox by using an iOS 6.1 or 6.1.1-based device

When a user syncs a mailbox by using an iOS 6.1 or 6.1.1-based device, Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 Client Access server (CAS) and Mailbox (MBX) server resources are consumed, log growth becomes excessive, excessive growth in Recoverable Items may occur, and memory and CPU use may increase significantly.  Server performance is affected. 

Additionally, Office 365 Exchange Online users receive an error message that resembles the following on an iOS 6.1 or 6.1.1-based device: 


Cause
An issue with iOS 6.1 and 6.1.1 cause a continuous stream of meeting responses to the Exchange Server.  This issue impacts Exchange Server performance and negatively impacts the device's battery life.

Solution
Obtain iOS 6.1.2.  Apple has documented the issue in the following article from their Knowledge Base:

iOS 6.1: Excess Exchange activity after accepting an exception to recurring calendar event

2. Connectivity and synchronization failures

Issue 2.1 - Failures to provision and synchronize with Android OS

Exchange ActiveSync policies can cause provisioning and synchronization to fail when the devices are customized. Devices are not provisioned if a policy that exceeds these limitations is applied to the users of these devices. This issue is discussed in comment 9 from the following post on the Google Android forum:

Solution

Updates to the Android OS version seem to resolve this problem. We encourage device users to update to the latest version that is available from their provider and to follow vendor forums that discuss synchronization issues. If the decision is made to use older devices in the organization, administrators can canvass device users or use tools such as Log Parser or Export-ActiveSyncLog to make sure that such devices are identified in the organization. Users of older devices can be grouped into a policy that can work for them.

Issue 2.2 - Users cannot connect by using Exchange ActiveSync because of Exchange resource consumption

Solution

Administrators should review the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base to determine whether the users are experiencing the same server symptoms:Exchange 2007 administrators should review the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base to determine whether they are experiencing the same server symptoms:

Issue 2.3 - "This message has not been downloaded from the server" error when you try to open a message

You synchronize your Exchange Server mailbox with your iOS device. When you try to open a message on the iOS device, the following error appears:

Solution

You must configure the Accepted Domain by using Exchange Management Shell. Follow the steps in item 7 in the following post from the Exchange Team Blog:This issue is being reviewed by the Microsoft Exchange product team.

Issue 2.4 - You receive a "synchronization failed" email message when you synchronize your mobile device

When you synchronize your mobile device by using Microsoft ActiveSync on an Exchange Server 2010 mailbox, you receive a synchronization failed email message that resembles the following:

Solution

This issue is described in the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:To resolve this issue, install the following update rollup:

Issue 2.5 - Users cannot synchronize Apple iPhone iOS 4.0 with the Exchange Server mailbox

Immediately after you update to iOS 4.0, you might notice that Exchange ActiveSync Mail, Contacts, or Calendars do not sync, or they sync very slowly. Also, Exchange Server administrators might notice that servers are running slowly. This problem is also discussed in Issue 2.2 in this section.

Solution

Update the device to a later iOS version. For more information about this issue, visit the following website:

Issue 2.6 - ActiveSync does not work for mobile device users who are connecting to Exchange Server 2007 mailboxes after swapping URLs between Exchange Server 2010 and Exchange Server 2007

This problem occurs because the device cannot correctly redirect a user whose mailbox was moved. The "451" redirect response to the device is not interpreted correctly.

Solution

Typically, you can resolve this issue by updating the device to the latest operating system. Verify the following:

• Verify that you configured the LegacyURL for Exchange Server 2007 users. This configuration automatically switches the URL for the user to the appropriate target on the device. For more information about transitioning from an Exchange 2007 environment to Exchange 2010, see the following blog topic:
  http://blogs.technet.com/b/jribeiro/archive/2009/11/26/transitioning-from-an-exchange-2007-environment-to-exchange-2010.aspx

  (http://blogs.technet.com/b/jribeiro/archive/2009/11/26/transitioning-from-an-exchange-2007-environment-to-exchange-2010.aspx)
• This issue was reported for several device types that include iOS and Android operating systems. If this problem occurs when the latest version of the device operating system is used, and the LegacyURL is configured correctly and works for other devices, contact the device vendor’s technical support.
• If you are using an Apple iOS device, update the device to the iOS version 4.3.2.

Note In migrations where the mailbox moves are between different forests, a "451" response is not sent. This occurs because the old server does recognize the new endpoint for connectivity. In these circumstances, the device must be reconfigured manually.

Issue 2.7 - Duplicate contacts are created when you synchronize a mobile device by using Exchange ActiveSync 

Solution

Microsoft believes this issue is resolved in iOS 6. For confirmation or further investigation of this issue, contact the device manufacturer.

Note: Microsoft has documented the problem and temporary Workaround in the following article from the Microsoft Knowledge Base online:

2711181 Duplicate contacts are created when you synchronize a mobile device by using Exchange ActiveSync

Issue 2.8 - High CPU usage when you synchronize a mobile device to an Exchange Server CAS


Solution

Microsoft believes this issue is resolved in iOS 6. For confirmation or further investigation of this issue, contact the device manufacturer.

Note: Microsoft has documented the problem and potential mitigation Workarounds in the following article from the Microsoft Knowledge Base online:

2711053 High CPU usage when you synchronize a mobile device to an Exchange Server CAS

Issue 2.9 - A mobile device intermittently fails to connect to Exchange Online 

When you try to synchronize a mobile device that is using Exchange ActiveSync (EAS) with Microsoft Exchange Online, your device cannot connect. You may receive errors such as:


CAUSE
When a mobile device acts in a manner that can adversely affect Microsoft Exchange Online service performance, such as when a device sends too many identical Sync commands to the service for a particular folder in a very short period, the device is put into an Access Denied state for a short time.

Microsoft Exchange Online has implemented Exchange ActiveSync (EAS) Throttling to manage and maintain the optimal performance of the Office365 Exchange Online environment.

WORKAROUND
See the following article for additional information. Contact the mobile device vendor for assistance with the investigation.

2748176 A mobile device intermittently fails to connect to Exchange Online

Issue 2.10 - iOS device users locked out of Active Directory accounts

When a user changes the Active Directory account password, iOS devices prompt for the new password. The user enters in the new password. However, the account is locked out.

STATUS
Apple is aware of this issue, and customers should open an Enterprise level support case with Apple to pursue a fix in iOS. 

WORKAROUND
The On the device, open the Settings panel and edit the profile to force the new password to be used by the iOS device on the next connection.

Users who have multiple iOS devices should change the password on all the devices at the same time.

References