Recipe8.15.Enabling Support for

Recipe 8.15. Enabling Support for "Unsupported" Outlook Mobile Access Devices

Problem

Some of your users have mobile devices that aren't on the list of officially supported OMA devices, but you want to use them anyway.

Solution

Using a graphical user interface

Open the Exchange System Manager (Exchange System Manager.msc).
Open the Global Settings node, right-click on Mobile Services, and select Properties.
Click the Enable unsupported devices and click OK.

Using VBScript

' ------ SCRIPT CONFIGURATION ------  strOrgName = "cn=<orgName> "        ' e.g., "Robichaux and Associates"  strOrgObj= strOrgName & ", cn=microsoft Exchange,cn=services,cn=configuration," &_     "dc=<domain>, dc=<TLD>"  strOMAObj = "cn=Outlook Mobile Access,cn=global settings," & strOrgObj  strDCName = "<serverName>"    ' e.g., BATMAN ' ------ END CONFIGURATION --------- ' get the global OMA settings object  Set objOrg = GetObject("LDAP://" & strDCName & "/" & strOMAObj) ' reset the flag value to zero, which enables OMA on the server and enables ' the unsupported device flag objOrg.Put "msExchOmaAdminWirelessEnable", "0" objOrg.SetInfo WScript.Echo "Enabled unsupported devices and OMA"

Discussion

OMA supports a fairly broad range of mobile devices, but they can't support every potential device. In general, phones or handhelds that implement the Openwave browser, Microsoft's Pocket Internet Explorer, or the Ericsson, Nokia, or Symbian browsers are supported. The canonical list of supported devices is located at http://www.asp.net/mobile/testeddevices.aspx?tabindex=6. Microsoft periodically releases update packages called device updates (DUs) that add support for additional devices; you can get the latest DU from the supported device page.

If you want to try using a device that you think should be compatible, you can toggle the Enable unsupported devices flag. When the setting is off, OMA will refuse to talk to any device not supported by the DU version on that server. When you turn it on, you can connect to OMA with any device you like, and if it's not supported, OMA will ask you to click OK on a confirmation page that reminds you that your device isn't supported.