Need Exchange email help/advice Android or iPhone?

[UofMJim]

I would really like to move from my BB to an Android - likely the Razr Maxx HD. My wife and daughter have Andoids and love them.

I am a primarily a business user. So getting my email and contacts and calendars properly synched to my phone...meeting notices, etc...is paramount. My IT representative is telling me that Androids do not work well with Exchange email systems. That iPhones work much better? I find that hard to believe that such a popular platform would have such issues with such a popular business email system. Can any of you give me reasons to be confidant that the Razr Maxx HD will be reliable and behave as well as my BB....or, give me enough reason to doubt it, in which case I will probably go iPhone?

Obviously if I read an email on my phone, i want it to show as read on my Outlook on my computer, and vice-versa. If I enter a contact/calendar appointment on my Outlook/computer, I want it to show up on my phone.

My IT rep said that I would probably have to buy an app called "Touchdown" and that costs $20...in order for it to work? Is this true?

I would really appreciate anyone's input/help!

 

[masblueman]

I would really like to move from my BB to an Android - likely the Razr Maxx HD. My wife and daughter have Andoids and love them.

I am a primarily a business user. So getting my email and contacts and calendars properly synched to my phone...meeting notices, etc...is paramount. My IT representative is telling me that Androids do not work well with Exchange email systems. That iPhones work much better? I find that hard to believe that such a popular platform would have such issues with such a popular business email system. Can any of you give me reasons to be confidant that the Razr Maxx HD will be reliable and behave as well as my BB....or, give me enough reason to doubt it, in which case I will probably go iPhone?

Obviously if I read an email on my phone, i want it to show as read on my Outlook on my computer, and vice-versa. If I enter a contact/calendar appointment on my Outlook/computer, I want it to show up on my phone.

My IT rep said that I would probably have to buy an app called "Touchdown" and that costs $20...in order for it to work? Is this true?

I would really appreciate anyone's input/help!

I use my Android to connect to 4 different Exchange servers (2003, 2010) without an issue. You can use Touchdown, the built in app or Enhanced Email (which is what I use). I am an IT guy and gave up my iPhone for an Android 3 devices ago and would never go back.

I do sync my contacts and calendars from 2 of my 4 accounts without any issue.

Sent from my GT-N7100

 

[awilisch]

That's crap. My Android works fine with Exchange.

I will say some work better than others but that's just the software. I don't like how Motorola's addressbook works. But I'm in my 3rd Android phone and have no desire to change. I have an IPhone as well that I use fit troubleshooting and still prefer Android.

Just my thoughts on the matter.

Aric

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Android Central Forums

 

[thunderup]

Your IT rep doesn't know what they are talking about. I also work in IT, have two different exchange accounts set up on my phone, and all my mail, contacts, and calendar sync perfectly with the stock email client.

 

[JJSat10]

I have been using Touchdown for over 4 years now and absolutely love it. When I got my Razr Maxx HD, before I installed Touchdown, I used exchange and it worked fine. I still use Touchdown for only one reason. When I open my phone I don't like to use a password each time. With touchdown I open with a password as required by my company. But if I don't open touchdown, I don't need to open my Maxx HD with a password. With exchange, I need to use a password each time I open up the phone.

 

[UofMJim]

Thank you guys soooo much for your input. I'm not an IT guy, or even very smart in this area...but I will say that my gut tells me it should work fine....and based on your input, seems as though my gut was correct again.

A follow-up question....to get my phone synchd up....do I need to do an actual synch function (either by tapping an icon, or perhaps the phone does it every X minutes or something)...or will it happen continuously such as my BB does. So mail and things flow to my BB continuously...in fact, sometimes the mail hits my BB a few seconds to a minute before it hits my Outlook on my computer. Can anyone describe how this would work with Android?

 

[UofMJim]

I have been using Touchdown for over 4 years now and absolutely love it. When I got my Razr Maxx HD, before I installed Touchdown, I used exchange and it worked fine. I still use Touchdown for only one reason. When I open my phone I don't like to use a password each time. With touchdown I open with a password as required by my company. But if I don't open touchdown, I don't need to open my Maxx HD with a password. With exchange, I need to use a password each time I open up the phone.

Thanks for your reply. Can you further illustrate what the issue is with the password? What forces you to use a password? My wife and daughter each have an Android phone (one is GS3 and the other is HTC One S)...my wife chooses to not have a password on her screen lock, but my daughter chooses to use a password. So it seemed like that was optional. Is it just your company that is forcing you to use a password?

Thanks!

 

[jtg11]

Thank you guys soooo much for your input. I'm not an IT guy, or even very smart in this area...but I will say that my gut tells me it should work fine....and based on your input, seems as though my gut was correct again.

A follow-up question....to get my phone synchd up....do I need to do an actual synch function (either by tapping an icon, or perhaps the phone does it every X minutes or something)...or will it happen continuously such as my BB does. So mail and things flow to my BB continuously...in fact, sometimes the mail hits my BB a few seconds to a minute before it hits my Outlook on my computer. Can anyone describe how this would work with Android?

You can set it up with with push notifications and you will receive email real time with no issue. you can set it up to pull on an interval as well. Basically you can set it up anyway you like.

I have had 4 androids on exchange with no problem. Early on, had some minor issues using stock with calendar invites so purchased Touchdown and it worked perfectly. The last 2 android devices, including Maxx HD, have worked perfectly on stock. My company's IT department, which I own, actually recommends Android over iPhone.

I believe you password issue is a security policy pushed to mobile platforms from you IT department. That is a company IT decision to force the password each time. Early on, there was a bug in Android that did not allow that security policy to be turned off .... that was 3 devices ago.

Bottom line, you will have no issue with Maxx HD or the iPhone with exchange.

Sounds like you IT dept is using 3-4 year old information or experience ....

 

[UofMJim]

You can set it up with with push notifications and you will receive email real time with no issue. you can set it up to pull on an interval as well. Basically you can set it up anyway you like.

I have had 4 androids on exchange with no problem. Early on, had some minor issues using stock with calendar invites so purchased Touchdown and it worked perfectly. The last 2 android devices, including Maxx HD, have worked perfectly on stock. My company's IT department, which I own, actually recommends Android over iPhone.

I believe you password issue is a security policy pushed to mobile platforms from you IT department. That is a company IT decision to force the password each time. Early on, there was a bug in Android that did not allow that security policy to be turned off .... that was 3 devices ago.

Bottom line, you will have no issue with Maxx HD or the iPhone with exchange.

Sounds like you IT dept is using 3-4 year old information or experience ....

Thank you for your help. I am looking forward to getting a MAXX HD! Is there any drawback of doing the push method (so that mail appears instantly)?

 

[jtg11]

Nope, technically a little more battery drain, but not even noticeable with the Maxx HD.

 

[tech_head]

I have been using Touchdown for over 4 years now and absolutely love it. When I got my Razr Maxx HD, before I installed Touchdown, I used exchange and it worked fine. I still use Touchdown for only one reason. When I open my phone I don't like to use a password each time. With touchdown I open with a password as required by my company. But if I don't open touchdown, I don't need to open my Maxx HD with a password. With exchange, I need to use a password each time I open up the phone.

+1 for Touchdown.
It uses a secure "sandbox" so that Exchange plays well.
Been using it with my Androids years; DroidX, Droid Bionic, Droid Razr Razr Maxx, and now a Razr HD.
It just works.

 

[hoeger375]

I use Mobi Mail it cost's 6 dollars and is solid. I have been using it for about a year now. Hope that helps.

 

[JJSat10]

Thanks for your reply. Can you further illustrate what the issue is with the password? What forces you to use a password? My wife and daughter each have an Android phone (one is GS3 and the other is HTC One S)...my wife chooses to not have a password on her screen lock, but my daughter chooses to use a password. So it seemed like that was optional. Is it just your company that is forcing you to use a password?

Thanks!

My company requires the use of a password to gain access to the company email,calendar and contacts. So if I went with exchange, before I can open up the phone I would need to put in my password each time, whether or not I open exchange.. However, with Touchdown, the only time I need to put in a password on my phone is when I open up touchdown. Since I open my phone so frequently throughout the day, I prefer not to use a password each time. So Touchdown works for me.

 

[UofMJim]

I use Mobi Mail it cost's 6 dollars and is solid. I have been using it for about a year now. Hope that helps.

Thanks - what's the advantage of using Mobi Mail...or any other mail app (other than Touchdown) over the stock email app?

 

[hoeger375]

I have never ran the stock app so i couldn't say. All of my contacts are there, meeting reminders, as well as getting email in a timely fashion (sometimes before my computer will get it). I think the big thing is that Mobimail doesnt require you to use Exchange Active Sync, therefore i dont need to use a password to unlock my device. It is also A LOT cheaper than Touchdown.

 

[markymark]

Thanks - what's the advantage of using Mobi Mail...or any other mail app (other than Touchdown) over the stock email app?

My 2 cents....

What will work and not work is mostly dependent on which Exchange server your company uses and how it is set up. If you server allows ActiveSync then either the stock mail app or Touchdown should work. I was using Touchdown for over 2 years with no problem, then the mail admins at my company changed something on the server that blocked it.

Now I use MobiMail. It will work even if ActiveSync is not supported, as long as EWS (Exchange Web Services) is not blocked on the server. I actually like it better than Touchdown in some ways. It handles attachments and calendar invites better than Touchdown, at least in my experience. With Touchdown, when I got a meeting invite, it would add the meeting to my calendar but it wouldn't show me the time and date of the meeting unless I emailed it back to myself. Very strange. Also Touchdown creates a massive database on the phone and stores mail, calendar, contacts etc. right on the phone. The database keeps growing until you start to run low on storage on the phone and then you have to basically reset the app and resync everything. There is a database compression function in the app but it never seemed to work for me. MobiMail is more like Outlook Web Access, it doesn't store anything on the phone. The upside is it has a much smaller footprint than Touchdown, the downside is you can't access your old mail or calendar if you don't have a data connection. Not a problem for me.

 

[rbess1965]

I work for a large tech company and mine works just fine. Set to push and get them on phone before outlook. I know for sure the sender supports active sync.

Sent using the amazing RAZR Maxx HD

 

[UofMJim]

ok - so good news is i just ordered my MAXX HD. Bad news is my IT group still says I need to use Touchdown app for Exchange mail to work properly. They say the reason is we use an "MDM" system for security...and when using an MDM, the MAXX HD will not work with Exchange mail unless you use Touchdown. Can anyone else support/deny this? Are any of you using MAXX HD with Exchange mail and MDM and not having to use Touchdown?

Thank you!

 

[Megaroad]

I saw posts by a number of people after the launch of this phone saying they were having some problems with Exchange email pushing.

 

[markymark]

ok - so good news is i just ordered my MAXX HD. Bad news is my IT group still says I need to use Touchdown app for Exchange mail to work properly. They say the reason is we use an "MDM" system for security...and when using an MDM, the MAXX HD will not work with Exchange mail unless you use Touchdown. Can anyone else support/deny this? Are any of you using MAXX HD with Exchange mail and MDM and not having to use Touchdown?

Thank you!

Ask your IT guys if EWS (Exchange Web Services) is enabled on the Exchange server. It usually is unless they purposely blocked it. If it is then you should be able to use MobiMail. It's only 5 or 6 bucks and better than Touchdown in a lot of ways.