MS Exchange apps

[MrGibbage]

I saw the ExchangeIT app in the market yesterday and gave it a try. For some reason it's not working on my company's exchange server. In the comments there was another company mentioned that has an Exchange app, Moonrug.
http://moonrug.com/android.html
I also installed their program and again, could not get it to work. Although I haven't been able to get it to work on my system, it is promising to see that there are developers working on Exchange connectivity.

[thelazzyone]

It does look promising.. I am going to try this one.

[birdtales]

I tried both and got neither to work. :(

[MrGibbage]

What's more, they both suffer from some serious usability flaws in that if you do make a mistake entering in any of the account details, they throw errors that are difficult to wrok around. I had to uninstall ExchangeIT because I made a typo in the account details and every time it started up it would just crash rather than tell me what an idiot I am. Same for moonrug. I have double, triple, and quadruple checked my settings, but instead of giving me a detailed message about what is wrong, all I get is an java error that says there's an error in the server path. I don't know how to fix it.

[Ignatz Mouse]

For some reason, I cannot download Moonrug. When I try, it tells me I am out of space (even though I am not even close).

[MrGibbage]

That's strange. It doesn't sound like the same error you get, but did you disable the "only download apps from the market" setting? That shouldn't give you an out of space error, but that's the only other thing I know of that can go wrong.

[kgokal]

I get an "Unauthorized" error.
and triple checked user/password.
I get this using "Forms-Based Authentication"


and with out that i get "authorization time-out" error

ANyone have any thoughts?

[MrGibbage]

Which app? Moonrug or ExchangeIT? Not that I could help you anyway, but it sounds like you are getting farther than I am.

[kgokal]

Sorry MoonRug got me the furthest.....

[GasBot]

For some reason, I cannot download Moonrug. When I try, it tells me I am out of space (even though I am not even close).
I've gotten this before. It happened when I switched to my 4GB MicroSD card. I noticed in the Glance file manager that the card was listed as read-only. When I switched back to the 1GB card my downloads from the browser worked just fine.

[MrGibbage]

I sent an email to the moonrug tech support and got a reply right away (gotta love that!) Anyway, they suggested putting http:// in front of the server address (I had not been). Well, when I did that, the application now force closes every time it launches, so that was a baaaad idea, in my case.

[SparkyS]

I typed in all the information. No error codes. No emails either....tried shut of/power back on. Tried refreshing.....Just keeps telling me my inbox is empty....

[tien71700]

I emailed tech support and they emailed back immediately. Unfortunately they weren't able to help me out with my settings. Anybody have any luck?

[btappan]

Regarding moonbug - what are you guys putting for the 'Mailbox' text field (in settings)? Sorry if this is a bonehead type of question.

[MrGibbage]

I've been putting in the same thing that I see when I go through my Desktop outlook client that is connected to the same exchange server. Go to tools->accounts->Exchange (may be slightly different depending on version). There you will see your server address, but don't necessarily use that one. You need to use your OWA address. But you will also see your mailbox address. That's what's I've been using. I haven't had any luck yet, but it's what I've been using.

@tien, which program did you email tech support for? Moonrug or ExchangeIt?

[tien71700]

I emailed moonrug - Moonrug Support [support@moonrug.com]. I was able to setup exchangeIT correctly and it displayed my messages, but unable to open any email.

For moonrug, even with the settings they told me to use, I just get the Exception java errors and or the force close. Then I'll have to uninstall and reinstall to try the settings again.

[MrGibbage]

Yeah, I've exchanged several emails with moonrug today, but unfortunately I have not been able to make it work. Nor have I been able to make exchangeIt work either. Moonrug support thinks it may be a timeout issue due to a lack of connectivity. I don't really think that is it, but I'll try again tonight when I get home so I can connect over wifi. But that still doesn't excuse application crashes where it should instead just put up an error message.

[tien71700]

Yeah I'm getting a "SSL handshake timed out at com.moonrug.exchange.webdav...."

Not sure what this means, but I'll try wifi once I get a hotspot.

[damnitpud]

I installed ExchangeIT and tried to get it to work. At first it wouldn't give me any errors...just said Please Wait and the 3G arrows were not moving so i know it wasn't doing anything. But i changed the settings i had. I removed the http:// in front of the server and changed the OWA to OWA/AUTH, thats what it says when i hit the OWA login screen. Now i am getting a force close as soon as i open it.

Very strange problem.

[damnitpud]

Yeah I'm getting a "SSL handshake timed out at com.moonrug.exchange.webdav...."

Not sure what this means, but I'll try wifi once I get a hotspot.

SSL is for secure transfers of your username/password and emails. Try putting https:// in front of the server address. see if that helps. Your exchange server may be expecting SSL connections only.

[MrGibbage]

It looks like ExchangeIt just uploaded an update. They now put clues as to what goes in each of the settings. Specifically, the mailbox should look like your email address. When you go into your OWA, look at the url. Basically, those settings are building the url.
I just tried the new mailbox setting in ExchangeIt and now I don't get any errors, but I don't see any mail either. Nothing at all. just a black screen. And when I tried the same mailbox setting in Moonrug, I no longer got the same error, but now I get timeout errors. So let's see what happens when I get home. If that's the case that it won't work over edge (until we get 3G Virginia Beach), then that will kinda blow.

[SparkyS]

That is the same error I am getting with exchangeIt

[lstrike21]

I have made some progress after a couple attempts at setting the app up.

I am at a screen that says loading items from inbox. Then it says please wait while loading...

In the background I actually see the first 5 or 6 emails that mirror my desktop. I have over 800 emails though so it is taking forever.

For the OWA I entered my https:// url like this:

https://webmail.xyz.org

Then on the next option I just used what they said most will use and entered exchange.

After that I just entered my mailbox name, username and password. Worked perfect...(although it still hasn't loaded all my email apparently).

@MrGibb: I got the same black screen until I entered exchange for the context path

**EDIT---I pressed the back arrow to lok at my setting and low and behold it stopped downloading and let me check out my email!!!**

[tien71700]

For t hose who are able to set up ExchangeIT, is there any type of notification option/setting for new email? I haven't tried the updated version yet, but will very shortly. Thanks guys!

[Ignatz Mouse]

BTW, I got my download problem solved. I seemed to have a corrupt file on my SD card-- a reformat fixed it.

[cohoman]

So, is Moonrug and/or ExchangeIt working for people?

cohoman

[CoreWolf]

Moonrug works for me, though it takes ages (android prompts me to force close it, but i just press wait and it works after a few secs).

ExchangeIt also kinda works but seems to get stuck updating forever.

Oh, and it seems you have to manually refresh the inbox, so kinda pointless at the moment.. but it's a start.

[MrGibbage]

And neither works for me. Even at home over wifi. Not sure why. My company uses appriver for email hosting if that helps anyone with their troubleshooting. I know there are guys here that have backberrys that work, so I don't know why this wouldn't work.

[MrGibbage]

I sent another email to Moonrug tech supprt and got a reply within the hour (gotta love Nate over there). I thought I would share my email and his reply.

Good Morning, Nate.
Well, I tried using moonrug last night at home to connect to my exchange server over wifi and still got timeout errors. Do you have any other suggestions?

By the way, once I log into OWA when I use a web browser, my URL looks like this:
https://exg3.exghost.com/exchange/first.last@companyname.com

I have filled out the following account information in moonrug:

Username: first.last@companyname.com (this is what I use when I log into OWA)
Domain: companyname.com
Password: mysupersecretpassword that I use when logging into OWA
Server: https://exg3.exghost.com
Mailbox: first.last@companyname.com
Root: /exchange
I was wondering, what is the "Domain" setting used for?

See anything that should be changed?

And his reply:

Skip,
We are pursuing performance options now. I will let you know when we have an update on that front.
Your settings look fine. In this case, domain is likely going to be skipped. There are essentially 3 different authentication mechanisms that are handled "under the hood" - in the case of NTLM authentication, the domain will be used. Your settings may require only username in the form: domain\username, username as your email address (as you have it), or domain and username split for NTLM.

Thanks,
Nate

[MrGibbage]

And here I would like to post the emails beteen the exchangeIt developer and myself from today:

Since seeing ExchangeIt in the Market, I have had high hopes for it, but I have not had much luck with it. I've been trying to get ExchangeIt working on my phone since yesterday. I have installed the latest version 0.5.3 and have copied the full url from my inbox, which in my case looks like
https://exg3.exghost.com/exchange/first.last@companyname.com/

And I have entered in the username and password that I enter when I first come to the OWA "home page".

However, when I run ExchangeIt, all I get is an empty inbox, even though I have several hundred emails in my inbox right now. I have tried this at home over a wifi connection and over an edge connection (I don't have 3G, but wifi is even faster so that should eliminate a latency/bandith issue).

I don't know if it will help, but my company's email is hosted by appriver. We do have some people using blackberries to retrieve their email, so I know it can be done.

Do you have any suggestions for me to get ExchangeIt up and running?

Best Regards,
Skip
Sent from my Android/G1 Phone.
----------------------
On Thu, Nov 13, 2008 at 11:35 AM, Brian Yarger <byarger@gmail.com> wrote:
Try adding "/Inbox" to that URL.
Brian
----------------------
Thanks for writing back, Brian. Sorry, but that didn't help. It still says I have an empty inbox.

Best regards,
Skip
----------------------
On Thu, Nov 13, 2008 at 11:48 AM, Brian Yarger <byarger@gmail.com> wrote:
When you go to OWA does it popup a login box for you, or do you enter username/password into a web form?
Brian
----------------------
Webform. You can see it here:
https://exg3.exghost.com
----------------------
That's the problem. exchangeIt is using "Basic Auth" for authentication, and you need forms/cookie based auth. I'll add it to the feature list and see if I can get something working. It would be really soon though, sorry. I will keep your email and try to email you if I think something is working.
Brian
----------------------

I think that he meant to say "It *wouldn't* be really soon though" at the end. Hopefully this will help some of you.

[GasBot]

My OWA uses basic auth, but this app still doesn't work with it. Every time I hit Sync I get this error:

Caught unhandled RuntimeException: String index out of range: -1

[MrGibbage]

I would suggest sending an email to the developer. They have been quick to reply for both apps. Who knows...just might get you going.

[btappan]

MrGibbage, thanks for trying so hard to figure this out. At least the android developers are moving in the right direction!

[MrGibbage]

Both devlopers have been sending continuous email suggestions to me, trying to get this to work. Also, Moonrug has put an updated version on their website. Alas, it did not solve my problems, but it may start working for some of you.

[cohoman]

I've installed the latest version of ExchangeIt on the Android Emulator, but I can't get it to download anything. It doesn't crash with my entered settings, just doesn't do anything.

If anyone gets it to work properly, can you please post your settings so we can all see what data you need to enter and the format?

Thanks.

cohoman

[MrGibbage]

Moonrug is working for me now. It's pretty fast, and I can even send an email. I still get frequent crashes, and it's got other issues, but it's a start.

[tien71700]

Yeah I've got both working. I prefer ExchangeIT for now because it does give me the notification icon for new emails. No vibrate/ring though.

[zcar]

FYI, I got ExchangeIT working by logging into our webmail server and right-clicking inside the Inbox frame and selecting properties to get the correct Inbox URL. For me, this did the trick:
https://webmail.[ourcompany].com/exchange/[myUserName]/Inbox/

[N1583]

I have Moonrug working on my phone. I don't know the specifics of my company's exchange server except that it is a 2003 version. I can see and read emails in my inbox and also reply or compose new messages.

I entered https://owa.[company].com for the Inbox URL and had Forms checked.

[lbxx7]

ok guys, hope this helps..
this is for EXCHANGEIT

I kept playing around with it..

Access your OWA and right click on the inbox to open it into a new window to get the exact inbox address.

The address for my inbox is
https://outlook.remingtonhotels.com/exchange/lexybapst/Inbox/?Cmd=contents

but I only put https://outlook.remingtonhotels.com/exchange/lexybapst/Inbox (https://outlook.remingtonhotels.com/exchange/lexybapst/Inbox)

username is: domain\username
then put in your password.

It worked for me!

good luck!!

[lbxx7]

ok guys, hope this helps..
this is for EXCHANGEIT

I kept playing around with it..

Access your OWA and right click on the inbox to open it into a new window to get the exact inbox address.

The address for my inbox is
https://outlook.remingtonhotels.com/.../?Cmd=contents (https://outlook.remingtonhotels.com/exchange/lexybapst/Inbox/?Cmd=contents)

but I only put https://outlook.remingtonhotels.com/exchange/lexybapst/Inbox (https://outlook.remingtonhotels.com/exchange/lexybapst/Inbox)

username is: domain\username
then put in your password.

It worked for me!

good luck!!