Android and Office365 and Intune and Activesynch - Android Q&A, Help & Troubleshooting

My employer is about to rollout Office365 and abandon GoodTechnology.
I have registered my Samsung Tab 10s through Intune and am now able to use corporate OneNote and OneDrive. The downside, as I understand it, is that the Samsung Fingerprint Scanner sits on top of the Android O/S and the security requirements invoked by my employer means that the scanner is not recognised/accepted/compatible. As a result I now have to use a 6+ alphanumeric password to use my tablet. I have also had to encrypyt the internal memory. Overall I can live with this for the benefits I get by being able to use my tablet in my role.
My concern is that I am now faced with the dilema of having to do the same with my Samsung S5. Normally to access my Goodtechnology emails I swipe my thumb and then enter a password to the Good app. I'll swipe my thumb 50 times a day but will only access email, say, 10 times per day. The idea of having to enter a 6+ digit password to make a call, sent an SWS, use personal email and look at Facebook/Tapatalk is not at all appealing.
I understand that iOS has an integrated fingerprint scanner and that there is no need to use a password.
Is the issue a Samsung issue or do all android smart phones with fingerprint scanners have this issue?
I wont move to Apple but I may move to Sony or HTC or..... if the scanner works.
Meantime I am now about tell my employer I will be without mobile email for the first time in almost 15 years.......... that will not go down well.

Related

Why does my email crash once per day?

So ive tried a bunch of different email clients and they all experience the same issue when connecting to a corporate exchange server. About once a day, at random times, they will crash and i have to force stop them and reopen the app to get it to receive exchange push email updates.
Clients I have tried are: Improved Email, Enhanced Email, K-9 and the Moxie trial. I cant find any common link as to why they all end up non-responsive. At first i thought it happened when i lose signal (such as when im in the subway) but I havent taken the subway the past few days and it still happens.
Is there something included with the atrix that kills these processes after a certain amount of time?
I manage our corporate exchange servers (2003 and 2010) and have had really good success with the built in Corporate Sync app for the atrix.
Is there something you are syncing that it can't hanfle? The calendar and contacts work great. I haven't tried tasks as I don't use them.
Aside from that, make sure on task manager that the mail clients aren't set to auto kill.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA Premium App
I wish I could get email from our exchange server, but unfortunately my company isn't going to allow that until Android becomes more secure.
beatphreek said:
I manage our corporate exchange servers (2003 and 2010) and have had really good success with the built in Corporate Sync app for the atrix.
Is there something you are syncing that it can't hanfle? The calendar and contacts work great. I haven't tried tasks as I don't use them.
Aside from that, make sure on task manager that the mail clients aren't set to auto kill.
Sent from my MB860 using XDA Premium App
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I didnt think i had corporate sync, but i just took a look now and it seems like I do. I didnt think about trying to set it up as a new "account" in the phone.
On the bright side, enhanced email hasnt crashed in a while. I think one of the other email apps processes was killing it. I have uninstalled them all. If it crashes again, I will try the built in Corporate Sync.
Caelan, what doesnt your company like about android? All the exchange clients ive tried allow remote management which i know was a sticking point for a lot of companies when android was newer. Though I'll admit im not really up on the security issues of android... Im kind of lucky because my company lets us bring any device onto the network, and we get to admin our own computers. The benefits of working at a tech company staffed completely with geeks
albinojoe said:
Caelan, what doesnt your company like about android? All the exchange clients ive tried allow remote management which i know was a sticking point for a lot of companies when android was newer. Though I'll admit im not really up on the security issues of android... Im kind of lucky because my company lets us bring any device onto the network, and we get to admin our own computers. The benefits of working at a tech company staffed completely with geeks
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am not sure exactly what it is that is a security problem, but I work for a big R&D company. All our laptops, thumb drives, etc. are encrypted, and we use RSA secure tokens to connect to our network externally when OOO. As an example, if you want email access on your iPhone, the company installs security software requiring a lengthy password to even get past the lock screen, and also remote wipe ability so they can wipe your iPhone if you lose it. We have a lot of proprietary R&D documentation which they do not want to lose.
Apparently there are some security holes which should be fixed with 2.3.4, and they may already be testing this at corporate IT.
We also have full admin rights to our laptops, but they are also very secure with full HDD encryption.
Android does meet all the security requirements that Microsoft has in place for Activesync licensing, it forces a passcode to unlock, it encrypts the exchange data, and it does remote wipe.
The only thing I can think would be that due to the ability to easily root the device there are programs that get around the lock screen requirements. They may have other reasons though.

Inconsistent Email (Exchange Server)

I have searched endlessly for an answer to my question and maybe I am missing something, but my exchange email service is very flaky. I carry two phones (iPhone 4s - work ATT and the Note - personal ATT) and the Note will just stop getting my exchange emails throughout the day. I have tried everything. Currently I am Dag Overclocked Kernel and Saurom RC4a but I went back to stock rom, I exchanged for a new note, and every thing I do the system still fails to deliver mail consistently.
I dont have Juice Defender running, I have no peak scheduling set up, and all power savings are turned off. Does anybody have any ideas? Can it be an exchange server configuration? My iPhone always works, and this is driving me nuts.
Jason
I was going to post this exact same thing. I have my email on my iPhone and my Note, both from the same exchange server. My iPhone consistently gets email long before my Note does.
Are you using office 365/exchange online by any chance?
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Note
We are using Exchange 2007, and we are in the process of migrating to the latest version. In the meantime, I installed Touchdown for Activesync on my Note, and it seems to be very consistent, in so much that it gets all my emails before any of my other devices, including my desktop at work!
I guess i will license a copy if it makes it through the week with no hiccups. Stupid that it cost 20 bucks to get my mail working correctly. I cant believe the default app on the Note cannot handle my work email needs.
Sounds like you are running an in-house mail server. I didn't ask which version of Exchange you were connecting to but specifically if you were using Microsoft-hosted Exchange as part of the Office 365 or Exchange Online program. They have a server redirection setup that some versions of the Android mail client do not understand, so when they change servers on you on the back end (which happens with alarming frequency) the Samsung mail client is unable to connect to the mail server. iOS devices know how to handle the internal redirection as do some versions of Android mail. But not the version on the AT&T Galaxy Note. ICS is rumored to fix this. Anyway, that's probably not your issue, but it is mine and my symptoms are identical.
I have Touchdown as well; it has a lot of features but I don't love the interface, and there's a lot to be said for having a single email client for multiple accounts. Default Android mail is woeful and has always been so IMHO. Have you looked at Enhanced Email? I would use that except it is very hard to deal with if you have many folders and you try to move messages from your inbox to your nested folders (I've submitted a feature request for them to handle that the way Touchdown does, but I don't think it's a high priority item for them because it's been missing for a long time).
Maybe you can troubleshoot with your Exchange admin when you fail to receive messages and they can look into debug logs.

[Q] Stock Email passwords still stored in clear text.

I realize that this has been an 'issue' for a while now, but I would like to know if there are any new ways secure and use stock email client with Exchange ActiveSync and not have credentials stored in clear text on the device. The same goes for IMAP and POP accounts using the app.
Yes, this is really only an issue on rooted devices, Google's official answer is to enable Device Encryption and that there are other email clients out there that handle credentials better. I personally switched to Touchdown, but would rather use the stock client.
I am trying to come up with a MDM solution for my company and really don't want to have to block devices if I don't have to. But as it stands my only options are have the user buy a 3rd party email client, force encryption and/or block rooted / jailbroken devices or use Citrix and OWA. I've spent a couple days researching this and haven't come up with anything promising that puts a smile on my face.
Any other Exchange Admins out there? How have you dealt with this?
For those who were not aware of your network username, password and domain being stored in clear text. Using Sql Lite open the Email app, Open EmailProvider.db and select HostAuth. Within you will find your connection info staring back at you, clear as day.
Android Issue Log:
https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=10809
Google's Response:
https://code.google.com/p/android/issues/detail?id=10809#c128

[Q] Gear S Backup and Restore

I see that my Gear S is set to automatically backup periodically. When this happens, it significantly drains my battery. is there a way to either disable this backup process or have the Gear S only backup when plugged in?
more questions on back-up & restore
on a semi-related issue - if i buy a new Samsung phone and paired that to my Gear S, (or vice versa), where are all my contacts, diary entries, apps and other stuff?
yeah I understand they get wiped - but is there anyway to save then somewhere - using Kies?? - the sim card ??, a memory card??
After a few trials & errors i decided to save everything to the Samsung account, but for better or worse that doesn't seem to work like say ahem iCloud - should i "backup" to the sim & turn off if possible Gear S backup facility as the OP seems to be asking ---- but there seems to be no facility to bulk change prior entries to "save to sim" or "memory card"
Pairing the watch and the phone over BT or when further away via my samsung account via 3G does seem to be now working very well - thanks to what I've learned here - but what exactly is my samsung account - when I registered initially I was able to add the S4 as a device but not the Gear S - now I'm directed to hot deals on microwaves etc when i log in
I haven't noticed such a battery drain backing up (by BT presumably) but my use case aspirations for the Gear S does involve the hope that the liberation of one device on my wrist (+/- the host phone somewhere else) might significantly reduce my very expensive data usage - disciplining me to restrict checking emails or browsing to wifi at home or at work - so far so good ... but will the downside be having to type in my contacts diary events and re-download the apps every time I change one of the devices or I have to perform a hard reset on the watch-phone to try to overcome some glitch?
thanks
There is no way to enter new contacts on Gear S. It gets whatever your phone get. So, the question is how do you transfer your contacts between your phones. It seems to me you are still living in stone ages. If you use any of the services like GMail or Outlook.com (from MS), you should already save your contacts in one of those cloud services. So no matter what phone you are on, they are always there. I won't trust saving to Samsung account. What happens when you move to a non-Samsung phone? You can't retrieve them anymore. Samsung account only works on Samsung phones.
Seems like my backups are happening around 12 pm. I'd like to schedule them to occur at night when I have the Gear S plugged in.
Is the backup setting for the Gear S linked to another backup setting on my Galaxy Note 4?
Thanks
....I understand I can't enter contacts on the phone
....I still don't understand what my Samsung account is, whether it does save my contacts/calendars somewhere however unreliably - I don't like being "locked in" to anyone but will continue to be locked into Samsung while the Gear S continues to fulfil its promise and exceed expectations (despite the difficult learning curve, deficiencies in the implementation and support and being somewhat underwhelmed by the Galaxy user interface)
....I do still use iCloud for better or worse for personal stuff, (not sure thats relevant here) but would rather avoid Gmail (i did reactivate an old gmail account to play around with some of the services / apps on the Galaxy)
.... ditto - outlook.com - I'd rather not go back there either but would do if it is then relatively easy to sync my outlook contacts and calendar(s) (when in wifi) with the samsung Galaxy apps that sync with the Gear S via Gear Manager
I can use iCloud or my work outlook whenever I'm at my desk or on wifi (or dollar gobbling phone tethering or mobile broadband dongle)
- yes in outback Australia I am kind of living in the stone age - often away from wifi or even a phone signal, having to wait weeks/months whenever i move house / location to transfer over my broadband account, figure out what to do when i travel abroad etc
so yes i have heard of and can use these cloud based services but often not 24/7 365 days a year so I'm still having to consider the best way to get the contacts onto the "master" phone with some degree of preseverence / transferability so that they are physically there on the gear S
sorry if i've missed an obvious point / solution or overcomplicated that -- i just tried creating a new contact and the choices are save to Samsung Account Device SIM or my recently reluctantly reactivated google account
thanks
If privacy is not a big concern for you, I don't see what you don't embrace those cloud services. It is very convenient to sync multiple devices at the same time. You don't need them to be perfectly on 24/7. It only needs to be on when you first sync to your phone. The contacts will remain on your phone even if the service is down afterwards. You can sync them to your phone, tablets and PCs.
The could services allow you to store multiple phone numbers per contact as well as photo, mailing address and email address etc.
Here are pros and cons of what you have listed:
1. SIM cards: only one phone number per entry. Multiple phone numbers for the same contact requires multiple entries. Can store phone numbers only. If SIM card dies, so are all your contacts.
2. iCould: works best with Apple devices. Not so much with others (although you can find work arounds).
3. Google: works best with Android devices. But also works on other platforms like Windows and iOS. If you use Android device, you will have to sign in with a Google account anyway. So you will be synced with Google contacts regardless you use it or not.
4. Outlook: works best with Windows Phone and Windows PC. But also works on other platforms like Android and iOS. If you use Windows devices, you will have to sign in with a Microsoft account anyway and synced with the contacts.
5. Samsung: as far as I know, it only works with Samsung Android phone and Android tablets.
I often use my desktop PC to edit and input contact information and it then syncs to cloud and to the devices. Very convenient.

Possible Concern for Exchange ActiveSync users

Hey everyone, this thread is both to let everyone know of a possible issue in Android M and to poll the community to see if this issue is isolated or if we will all be seeing it. First a bit of background on how the security policies work in Exchange ActiveSync as I understand it:
- When you assign an Exchange policy for ActiveSync devices you can basically tell it to require a password or not, encryption, etc. From there the OS of the device determines what that means. For example in Android if you are set to require a password it disables Pattern, Swipe and Face Unlock as choices for securing your phone. It assigns each a security level something like: Swipe = Not secure, Pattern = Weak security, Face Unlock = Medium Security (those are just examples.... I'm not saying thats what they are actually are) and the OS decides what level of security is acceptable when the password requirement is set. It also disables features like Smart Lock for trusted locations/bluetooth devices
As one of the admins of my own network I long ago set my policy to NOT require a password but I still do configure and use a PIN to secure my phone. The reason I set my device to not require a password was solely for the Smart Lock feature.
So the other day I flashed a 6.0 ROM on my Nexus 4 (no factory images available obviously). So I joined my phone to my Exchange server before I had setup any security and shockingly it said that it required I have a PIN. I double-checked my policy on the server and I am most definitely set to not require a password still. So now even with that policy set I am not able to use my phone without a PIN and am not able to use the Smart Lock feature and my fear is that this will also include not being able to unlock my phone with the fingerprint sensor (ouch!)
I'm sure many of you are thinking exactly what I did and that it was an issue with the ROM since it was a port. So with that in mind I setup my Exchange account on my freshly factory imaged Nexus 9 tablet and the exact same issue happens with it.
So either Google jacked up the security settings when connecting an Exchange account or there is a bug that causes the requirement of a PIN even if your policy is set not to.
Anyone else running Android 6.0 connected to an Exchange server that previously did not require a password and now does? One of the things I was most looking forward to was being able to secure my phone using my fingerprint instead of a PIN so this is a big bummer for me
If I am not mistaken, requiring a PIN is the policy of android pay, which comes default with Marshmallow, and is also a device manager. This makes sense, because Google wouldn't want someone draining your bank account in addition to stealing your phone.
rajendra82 said:
If I am not mistaken, requiring a PIN is the policy of android pay, which comes default with Marshmallow. This makes sense, because you wouldn't want someone draining your bank account in addition to stealing your phone.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
If I dont join my Exchange server I can set any type of security I want so its not related to that
Wow, that's pretty upsetting. I too run my own Exchange Server. I always use PIN but I like the Smart Lock feature. And of course I had expected to use the fingerprint sensor. I wonder if rooting and using a combination of Tasker and the Secure Settings plug-in would allow you to get around it.
I currently have an HTC M8 and 6.0 is supposed to be out for it before the end of the month. I guess I'll load that and see how it works.
My Nexus 6 had been on M since the previews. I have a pin and I use smartlock with my moto 360. It's mostly unlocked and exchange works fine. My servers are set to require passwords and everyone at work has iphones with finger print and they work with that also.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using XDA Free mobile app
SymbioticGenius said:
My Nexus 6 had been on M since the previews. I have a pin and I use smartlock with my moto 360. It's mostly unlocked and exchange works fine. My servers are set to require passwords and everyone at work has iphones with finger print and they work with that also.
Sent from my Nexus 6 using XDA Free mobile app
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What version of Exchange? We are running the latest 2013. My Smart Lock menu is completely greyed out and says "Disabled by administrator"
I am using Exchange 2013 and have no issues with my Nexus 5x. I am using smartlock with my Huawei Watch, location, and facelock. Maybe I'm confused about the issue here.
hollowlog said:
I am using Exchange 2013 and have no issues with my Nexus 5x. I am using smartlock with my Huawei Watch, location, and facelock. Maybe I'm confused about the issue here.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Nope you are understanding. I flashed 6.0 then activated my phone on my Exchange server and now it says my Smart Lock is disabled by administrator despite my policy not even requiring a password.... very odd
I use mobimail through the OWA instead of going through the Exchange Server Active Sync
I am using Nine as my exchange email client, that allows me to set a Pin on the email itself instead of needing it on the phone. Our company requires a PIN or a Password for mobile usage.
I'm using touchdown and a hosted exchange, no phone pin, nexus 5, Android 6.0 and no issues
I have used Nine before. It's not bad. Touchdown (the last time I used it) was complete garbage.
Anyone using the Gmail app that can still use smart lock in M?
I use touchdown so it's independent of my OS therefore i can set it only on the app.
WoodroweBones said:
I have used Nine before. It's not bad. Touchdown (the last time I used it) was complete garbage.
Anyone using the Gmail app that can still use smart lock in M?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I must admit it's got worse since symantec bought it..... but i paid for it when it was cheap and it still works so may as well make use of it.
can you post the exchange server-side security settings here? i wouldn't be surprised if google did something to "up" the security of their exchange apk. also - testing with a third party app would be a valid test as well. remove all exchange accounts from your device, confirm your basic security is re-enabled and then try an app (like nine). if the app requires security configuration, it's server-based.
640k said:
can you post the exchange server-side security settings here? i wouldn't be surprised if google did something to "up" the security of their exchange apk. also - testing with a third party app would be a valid test as well. remove all exchange accounts from your device, confirm your basic security is re-enabled and then try an app (like nine). if the app requires security configuration, it's server-based.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Attached
Just an update to this....
I went ahead and removed my Exchange account and immediately was able to access those other features that were previously greyed out. I then installed Nine and setup my account there and it allows me to use it without any security at all. Very odd
EDIT: Wow... Nine has improved! I might go this route anyway. I also like having my work account in a separate app as there has been a few times when I've sent a work email from my gmail account
Ok and not only does Nine have a Dark theme but it has a "True Black" option which I'm guessing was made specifically for AMOLED.... too good not to use!
kumarshah said:
I am using Nine as my exchange email client, that allows me to set a Pin on the email itself instead of needing it on the phone. Our company requires a PIN or a Password for mobile usage.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I use Nine as well, love it.
My company requires a pin or password, but I'm also able to use a pattern, which is much better than a pin or password for ease of use. Your fingerprint scanner on the new Nexus will be an option in addition to pin or password. No worries, it will all work.
WoodroweBones said:
Ok and not only does Nine have a Dark theme but it has a "True Black" option which I'm guessing was made specifically for AMOLED.... too good not to use!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
also - you can change the notification icon from their little circle thingy to something that actually looks like a mail icon.
640k said:
also - you can change the notification icon from their little circle thingy to something that actually looks like a mail icon.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Very nice! It also does per folder notification which is just about the only reason I rooted my phone previously....

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