[alexsch8]

I have been having issues with a temporary outaes of the BES service.

How we are set up:
Hosted Exchange with BES. Exchange is version 2003 with SP2, BES is 4.1.25.

No problems whatsoever with Outlook/Exchange functionality and DirectPush to Windows Mobile devices always works.

Blackberry devices used are Cingular's 8700's, a 7250 with Sprint and a 8100 unlocked used on the Cingular network.

The 7250 never has a problem. Most 8700s don't have issues. I have two that are giving problems from time to time.

The 8100 is having the most issues.

The issue:
BB all of a sudden stops receiving emails. It's on the EDGE network, can receive phone calls and send PINs and BIS messages.

At first I thought it was Cingular's network since I never saw these type ofproblems with other carriers. But then I used the @mycingular.blackberry.net email address and emails do arrive and can be answered. Meanwhile nothing on the BES side of things.

Now emails can also no longer be sent through the BES. They just don't go out - for that particular user. Everyone else is doing just fine.

The solution I keep being given is to wipe the handheld and re-activate. But this is ridiculous. You can't expect to keep wiping handhelds and then have everything sync over and over again.

Recently I have just waited and after 3-4 hours (sometimes overnight) the problem would resolve automagically and emails would be coming in again. So it's sporadic.

I figured it was a problem with the 8100 but it was already happening prior to switching to the new phone when we used the 8700.

Here are my questions:

1) Having BIS and BES co-exist, does that cause problems?

2) Since a message sent through BIS arrives but BES does not, does that rule out the carrier?

3) Is the T-Mo 8100 un-reliable because it is being used on the Cingular network though it is properly registered in the Cingular database - verified with the Cingular provisioning tool (yes I spent 5 hours on the phone with Cingular).

4) What else could be the problem here?

I am still a little uncertain on how the emails/messages get from the BES to the phone via the carrier. Does the BES hand the messages off to a server belonging to RIM which then forwards the emails to a distribution system at the wirelss provider? Or does the BES directly communicate to the phone via TCP/IP? Could it be that the BES is handing the messages off to RIM and then they never get forwarded from there?

I'm just trying to understand this so I can understand what the problem is/could be.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Alex