THE OFFICIAL BLOG OF THE SBS DIVA

Sometimes it's the stupid little things that trip you up and then get you frustrated so you don't check the things that are trying to tell you the problem.

Here it was...in my event logs for the last day trying to tell me ...Girl... hello.... the user login name isn't what you put in... it's supposed to be something else...and I wasn't looking for the clues.

So let's start over and showcase all the places I screwed up.

1.  The basics of the phone.  First off get that phone so it can surf the web.  Problem number one that I had was that I didn't realize that the phone was slightly screwed up and I wasn't getting Internet access.  No access, no Sync.  So step number one in that Mobility document beside setting up the server side [to get OMA to work] is to ensure your phone can even GET to the web.  If not... get that fixed first with the Cingular folks. [for the record turning the phone off and then back on did the trick ...duh]

While there is a guide here:  Accessing browser settings on the Audiovox SMT5600 (KB34899) and the best way to find that document is to put 34899 in this search box.  Better yet call Cingular's Data Technical Support team at 866-490-2666.  Get the phone correct, get the OMA working and test it [go to https://server/OMA put in the username and password and ensure it works.  Now step two...the Certs..

2.  The basics of the certificate in place. Now in a perfect world the SBSmobility config thingy would work and if you already have SBS 2003 sp1 in place you have Active Sync 3.8 ..but ...we don't live in a perfect world...so of course I had to manually install the certs on my phone.  There are two ways to get them off a system and get them on a phone.  In IE, Tools, Content, Certificates, see the two certs that ...one is for your domain name...the other is publishing.domainame?  Export them to a local place on the computer's C drive and the using the ActiveSync Explore ability to open up that smart phone, stick them in My documents.  Now go to the phone, in the file manager, to the my documents and click on them to install.  You can also export out certs using the MMC [start, run, MMC, Add a snap in for Certificates and export them out that way].  In fact even if the SBS mobility configuration does automagically work, it wouldn't hurt to browse and confirm that those certificates are installed....start..settings...more... certificates..root...more... scroll down and your two certs from your server should be there.

Okay got all those parts in place?  Cool.  Now comes the important step:

3.  The basics of the credentials for access.  ENSURE THAT THE USERNAME YOU PUT IN TO THE ACTIVESYNC SET UP IS THE RIGHT NAME AND IT'S CAPITALIZED PROPERLY.  For some insanely stupid reason I thought the login name for the user I was setting this up for was one thing..and instead.. it was another.  So here I am trying like crazy last night and it would not work.  Meanwhile back in my Security event logs... my system was patiently telling me that I was close...but had screwed up the username/password.  Yup I had even been getting Event 529's in the security log file.  I mean how much more blonde could I have been?  Hello?  There it was in my face telling me that I had messed up the most basic of the settings.  So while the phone was now off the cable, all I had to do was to enter the RIGHT user name [making sure I hit T9 for caps] and .....there we go.... technology working....

So voila we sync and at the end it asks me for the SMS phone number and just remember it's the phone number of the device@mobile.mycingular.net.

Now.. knowing that the password for the domain is on this device...NO WONDER in Exchange 2003 sp2 they will add the feature that you can remotely 'kill' the device to ensure that someone can't get unauthorized access.

The moral of this exercise?

Make sure you check the BASICS.  I did some very dumb things along the way because I assumed I had them in place.  I didn't.

But now we have a little more WOW in place at the office.

[and pssst... we just added the category of “Mobility” to the blog]

P.S.  You 'can' obviously do this with merely an IP address access to the server...just leave the domain name blank.  You can do this with a tzo.com account...and with a real account... you can even do all of this WITHOUT using SMTP email [yes even if you are a Pop connector person and have no MX records or open port 25...this all works automagically...well... if you are a bit more brunette anyway....]