iPhone and Exchange Server Active Sync

This is only required if you are using a self signed certificate.

I recently set up an Iphone to work with Microsoft Exchange 2007. It was a bit complicated so I thought I would post the instructions for others.

The Exchange 2007 server was using a self signed SSL certificate and the Iphone was a first generation with the 2.0 firmware.

This article assumes the following:
-You have Active Sync enabled on the user’s mailbox
-You have updated to at least the 2.0 iphone firmware (can be updated via Itunes)
-You will need your SSL .CER file (click here for how to get the .CER file)
-You should have Exchange 2007 SP1
I would recommend backing up the information on your Iphone to Itunes before you start.
The user was getting an authentication failed message when he entered the Exchange info manually. I believe this is because the device was missing the Exchange SSL certificate. So here’s what to do.
Download the iPhone Configuration Web Utility
Follow the instructions in the Enterprise Deployment Guide.
This will allow you to create a configured profile that the user just has to install. You will need to either send it to the user’s personal email that is already configured on the Iphone or make it web accessible to they can download it to their Iphone.
Accessing the iPhone Configuration Web Utility
The iPhone Configuration Web Utility runs as a web server on your local computer on port 3000. To access the utility go to you web browser and type
http://127.0.0.1:3000
Username: admin
Password: admin
1. Fill out all settings on the “General Settings” tab.
2. Upload your .CER file through the Credentials Settings page.
3. Fill out the settings under “Exchange Settings” Note that the “Exchange ActiveSync Host” field should read mail.example.com and not https://mail.example.com. There is a “Use SSL” check box instead of the HTTPS:// prefix. Also “User” should be entered as domain\username.
4. Have the user install the config file. The easiest way to do this would be to email the config file to the user’s personal email account that is already setup and have them click it. Setup a temp Yahoo account and email the file if the user does not already have one.
The user mentioned that he had lost all of his contacts after the config was installed. The contacts came back after the phone successfully synced with the server, others mentioned that they had to power cycle their phones for the contacts to come back.
UPDATE: After a recent setup, a user lost their original contacts, below is a note from the Iphone setup guide.

“Note that after configuring an Exchange ActiveSync account, all existing contact and calendar information on the iPhone or iPod touch is overwritten. Additionally, iTunes no longer syncs contacts and calendars with your desktop computer. You can still sync your iPhone or iPod touch wirelessly with MobileMe services.”

More resources are available here.
The Microsoft Exchange server can be a tricky beast. Exchange server administration should only be performed by qualified professionals. You wouldn’t want to be responsible for crashing your entire company’s email server.