[BigDaddyCainer]

Hi All.

I am desperately looking for someone to help me as I have exhausted all of my knowledge and I am at my wits end!!

I have a customer running SBS 2008 and I have successfully installed BES Express (or at least I think).

I have performed all the required BESAdmin user modifications to the users mailbox and all appears to install and work correctly.

I am having trouble (and tearing out my hair) getting the Blackberry's to register/activate either via desktop or over the air.

I can setup users within BES Admin and mailboxes etc are detected correctly. I then create an activation password to type into the Blackberry.

This is where I get confused. On the blackberry, it asks for an email addres, BES Server Address and password. I assume the following:

email address =
Server address = (Static Public IP Address of BES Server)
Password = password assigned in user BES Setup.

I thenk click activate, get a little bit of flashing arrow traffic and then nothing.

Can anyone point me in the right direction? Are there any additional ports that need to be open on the firewall (the 3101 works fine). And moreover, can anyone explain what happens when these things activate?

If you need any more information please post back, but I have been at this for hours and am slowly loosing the will to live.

Cheers,

Cainer.

[knottyrope]

Dont use a server IP.

Look at blue link in my signature for dataplan testing

[carl0s]

Originally Posted by BigDaddyCainer

Hi All.

I am desperately looking for someone to help me as I have exhausted all of my knowledge and I am at my wits end!!

I have a customer running SBS 2008 and I have successfully installed BES Express (or at least I think).

I have performed all the required BESAdmin user modifications to the users mailbox and all appears to install and work correctly.

I am having trouble (and tearing out my hair) getting the Blackberry's to register/activate either via desktop or over the air.

I can setup users within BES Admin and mailboxes etc are detected correctly. I then create an activation password to type into the Blackberry.

This is where I get confused. On the blackberry, it asks for an email addres, BES Server Address and password. I assume the following:

email address = client client.com
Server address = (Static Public IP Address of BES Server)
Password = password assigned in user BES Setup.

I thenk click activate, get a little bit of flashing arrow traffic and then nothing.

Can anyone point me in the right direction? Are there any additional ports that need to be open on the firewall (the 3101 works fine). And moreover, can anyone explain what happens when these things activate?

If you need any more information please post back, but I have been at this for hours and am slowly loosing the will to live.

Cheers,

Cainer.

Unless something has changed, if you're using BES Express 5 with BIS handsets/tariffs (which would be the norm now I should think..), then OTA activation is not possible. Plug the handset into the computer you are accessing the BES Admin console from and assign the handset to the user. It will then do the activation. Make sure the activex controls installed properly (add the site to trusted sites if necessary, use IE, etc.). If instead you get a message that "some information could not be obtained from the hanset" (or words to that effect) check the Application event log and make sure there are no warnings whose details give "MailboxManager::InitializeProfile - OpenMsgStore (0x80040111)", followed by "Blackberry controller agent 1 will not restart, reached maximum number of restart attempts". If this is happening then the MAPI profile is slightly broken and the GC is not being found, fix is as per Blackberry Technical article KB03304. if the "dca.." key is not present under one of the MAPI profiles within the registry then run handheldcleanup -u (under the tools/utilities directory) and set the other profile as default, this should create that dca... key, under which you can then put the GC hostname as per the article.

[BigDaddyCainer]

Originally Posted by carl0s

Unless something has changed, if you're using BES Express 5 with BIS handsets/tariffs (which would be the norm now I should think..), then OTA activation is not possible. Plug the handset into the computer you are accessing the BES Admin console from and assign the handset to the user. It will then do the activation. Make sure the activex controls installed properly (add the site to trusted sites if necessary, use IE, etc.). If instead you get a message that "some information could not be obtained from the hanset" (or words to that effect) check the Application event log and make sure there are no warnings whose details give "MailboxManager::InitializeProfile - OpenMsgStore (0x80040111)", followed by "Blackberry controller agent 1 will not restart, reached maximum number of restart attempts". If this is happening then the MAPI profile is slightly broken and the GC is not being found, fix is as per Blackberry Technical article KB03304. if the "dca.." key is not present under one of the MAPI profiles within the registry then run handheldcleanup -u (under the tools/utilities directory) and set the other profile as default, this should create that dca... key, under which you can then put the GC hostname as per the article.

Hi.

Thanks so much for this - I didn't know that BES Express didn't activate OTA. So, I need to plug the handset into the PC that I am accessing the BES Admin webpage from and then assign that handset to the user, is that correct?

The customer was messing about with it and managed to get some sync going, but the calendars didn't work - I think this was because I didn't setup the BES correctly in the first place. I have re-installed the BES and then tried to hook up using blackberry desktop manager - this didn't work either.

Do I need to wipe the device before attaching? I've done a backup of the data on it - does it work better if it is wiped?

If you run the Web BES Admin on a PC does it then pick up the fact that devices are attached?

Thanks again for your help - if I get this running, I may be able to let some of my hair grow back...

[BigDaddyCainer]

Oh - 1 other thing - can I run the BESAdmin from a seperate PC and attach the handset, or do I need to attach the handset to the actual server which is running SBS 2K8?

Cheers!

[carl0s]

Originally Posted by BigDaddyCainer

Oh - 1 other thing - can I run the BESAdmin from a seperate PC and attach the handset, or do I need to attach the handset to the actual server which is running SBS 2K8?

Cheers!

Well, I did it on the actual server last couple of installs I have done, but it's basically the Blackberry Device Manager that talks to the handset, and I think the ActiveX control installs this, or an ActiveX version of this on the computer from which you are accessing the BES Administration Portal (or the user themselves accessing the Blackberry Web Portal (non-admin portal)).

Alternatively, as I understand, if you have the Blackberry Desktop software on the users computer (with their Outlook open), and add the users onto BES Express, then the Blackberry Desktop software will catch the activation messages that BES Express is injecting into their mailbox, and will activate the handset that's attached to their computer.

I am about to try this very shortly (half an hour), so I will report back.

[BigDaddyCainer]

Great!

Look forward to hearing how it went. I've seen the email which gets sent to the clients mailbox - the Desktop Manager didn't appear to do a lot with it though.

I'm an Exchange / Activesync man so all of this is alien to me...but when you get a customer who visits a local phone shop and the noob behind the counter tells them anything they need to hear just to get the sale it gets a little frustrating trying to figure it all out!

I'll be back there tomorrow (Fri) or next week to try again...

Thanks again
BigDaddyCainer

[knottyrope]

BES Express does support OTA activation if on a BES dataplan.

For wired you can use BAS, WDTM, and DTM when installed for corporate/work email.

[BigDaddyCainer]

Hi All,

Thanks for your help so far.

It would appear that the customer is running BIS so over the air activation is not possible.

So, I have asked the customer to connect the blackberry to the server which is running BES Express, and it picks it up no problem.

I then assign the device to the user - all O.K there.

But that's it. It doesn't say activated on the blackberry, the userlist displays the PIN of the device, but not the model or the last contact time. The device displays no activity about activation or anything - that's it.

Am I just being impatient, or is there anything I can look for to get this flipping thing going?

Am very close to getting them to bin the whole lot and buy Windows Based Smartphones!

Please help!!

Thanks,

[carl0s]

Forget Windows Mobile, it's horrible! I'd recommend the HTC Desire, or maybe an iPhone. HTC Desire is awesome though, and it talks Exchange ActiveSync.

Anyway, I suggest you remove the handset from the BESX server and try again. It should start doing an "Enterprise Activation" when you assign it to the user. If you can't see that happening on the handset then go to "Switch Applications" and see if it's in the background. This usually takes about 10 mins to complete, but as it's happening you'll see things appearing like the users email will show up under "Messages" (it'll be combined with SMS messages)..

[BigDaddyCainer]

Hi.

I'd suggested iPhones, but they went down the Blackberry route. The iPhone syncs no problem - I tested mine and it works no worries.

This Blackberry has been partially activated before - does this matter? Do I need to wipe the phone completely and start again?

The activation isn't instant then - it takes a few minutes?

Cheers,

Adam.

[carl0s]

That often happens ;)

Yes it takes some time to activate, although you can remove the handset from the USB connection once it has started activating. It completes OTA, just can't be started OTA.

I had a similar issue to yours when I had added the user to the BES system before the BES system was working properly (mapi errors), then I added the handset later. I just removed both the user and the handset, and re-added both.

BTW both the Web Desktop Manager and the Web Administration portals install the Blackberry Device Communications software, which will show up in the systray of the computer. So provided you're using Internet Explorer, you can do it all from any computer. You can add the user onto the BES in the Web Administration portal, and then the user can sign into the Web Desktop Manager from their own PC and plug the handset in there.

But for now you might as well carry on doing it from the server itself.

[BigDaddyCainer]

Right.

Have got the user to plug the blackberry into the server.

Erased all the current user data from it and then removed it from the BES and removed the user from the BES.

Created the user, assigned the current Blackberry to the user and it came back saying "The Device that is connected to your computer is activated."

Looking at the users under "Manages Users" in web admin, have display name, and PIN, IT Policy as default but no Model or Contact date.

How does that sound?

Can the device be disconnected or shall I leave it there?

Cheers,

Adam.

[carl0s]

I'd be checking the Windows app log and further to that bes logs, but, I wonder if perhaps the handset has been supplied just as a phone? I.e are you sure there is actually a BIS package on his account? I'd check with the provider. Sometimes here in the UK bb handsets have been provided just like any other phone, and the user gets all flustered when they can't get it to work with their pop3 email - "but it's a blackberry!" Lol ;)

[knottyrope]

Originally Posted by knottyrope

Dont use a server IP.

Look at blue link in my signature for dataplan testing

Funny how I mentioned testing the dataplan.