How to sync iPhone with Exchange Server email

How to sync iPhone with Exchange Server email

I just bought a new Apple iPhone and am in the process of synchronizing it with my Exchange Server email. However, there are many fields that need to be filled in that I'm unsure of, such as "Incoming mail server Host Name" and "Outgoing mail server Host Name." I've been told that those fields did not apply to our Exchange server. Any suggestions on how to synch an iPhone with Microsoft Exchange Server?

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One would typically put the full DNS (host) name of the Exchange Server into the incoming and outgoing server fields. For example, mail.yourdomain.com. This is most common with POP3 mail servers, so you'll need to make sure to open the Exchange Server to POP3 access.

After performing a quick Internet search, I discovered iPhone screenshots showing that iPhone direct synchronization with Exchange Server is supported.

When setting up a new account, select Other and then specify Exchange Server. Enter the host name as I described previously, and also enter the required credentials.

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The Apple iPhone doesn't use POP, it uses IMAP .

You should verify that IMAP is enabled on the Exchange server, and then verify that the firewall is configured to allow IMAP traffic. Finally, there is a setting on the IMAP server on Exchange to "allow fast IMAP." That should be turned on for the iPhone.

Taking these steps will not provide a good experience, though. I've found that the iPhone is a very troublesome device when connected to Exchange. The two just don't work very well together. Maybe this has changed with the new device, but in my experience as an Exchange admin, the iPhone was a very bad choice for mobile corporate email.

With that said, the best advice would be to return the iPhone and get a Windows Mobile device instead. Verizon offers the Samsung SCH-i760, which is probably the best mobile phone on the best network in America. If the user wants to stay with the AT&T network for some reason, then they should consider the AT&T Tilt or the Samsung Blackjack II.
—Tom D.

Do you have comments on this Ask the Expert Q&A? Let us know.

More resources on how to sync an iPhone and Exchange:

Get answers to your most common questions about how to sync an iPhone without iTunes

Read news about Google Contacts and Calendar Sync for iPhones

Learn how to fix the top five iPhone in the enterprise problems

 

This was first published in June 2008

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