"Active-Sync" and Android?

jfmoore · Post by **jfmoore** » Sun Jun 09, 2013 12:26 pm

We currently have a ton of iPhone users using Zimbra and ActiveSync to get their email, calendars and contacts seamlessly synced between our Zimbra servers and their iPhones.
Now we are seeing users wanting to move away from iPhones and onto various Android devices. Mostly the Samsung Galaxy and Nexus and perhaps HTC. Looking on the Zimbra website, it is stated that:
"Zimbra Mobile for Smartphones

Native integration with Mail, Contacts, Calendar apps and over-the-air data sync on Android OS and Windows Mobile OS smartphones such as the Droid."
My question is, do all Android devices support full syncing of email, calendar and contacts back to Zimbra servers? Our users really need all 3 to work just like they would on the iPhones as far as integration goes. On the iPhone we use the Exchange option when setting up the Mail/Cal/Contacts accounts and it all works great. Are Android devices the same?

phoenix · Post by **phoenix** » Sun Jun 09, 2013 1:02 pm

[quote user="jfmoore"]My question is, do all Android devices support full syncing of email, calendar and contacts back to Zimbra servers?[/QUOTE]That would depend on the implementation of Activesync on the Android phone.
[quote user="jfmoore"]Our users really need all 3 to work just like they would on the iPhones as far as integration goes. On the iPhone we use the Exchange option when setting up the Mail/Cal/Contacts accounts and it all works great. Are Android devices the same?[/QUOTE]If you want a good experience against a Zimbra server then I'd suggest using Touchdown from Nitrodesk. I've been using Touchdown for several years without problems.

jfmoore · Post by **jfmoore** » Sun Jun 09, 2013 5:17 pm

[quote user="10330phoenix"]That would depend on the implementation of Activesync on the Android phone.
If you want a good experience against a Zimbra server then I'd suggest using Touchdown from Nitrodesk. I've been using Touchdown for several years without problems.[/QUOTE]
Great info! Thank you very much. Touchdown looks really good and we will test this out as well.

Bernd K · Post by **Bernd K** » Tue Jun 24, 2014 11:32 am

I just had to update (for several reasons) my Samsung Galaxy SII from an older Samsung-Android-Version (4.1.x) to Cyanogenmod 10.2 (which is Android 4.3.1 based). With the old Android version it was no problem to use the native e-mail app to access my business-Zimbra-Server and my private IMAP-Mailbox. However with this new Version this wont work, the app does the IMAP (gmail) Account, but gets into an infinite sync loop with our ZCS 8.0.7. I have even allowed access without provisioning und reduced downloadsize to the minimum of 20 kb, no luck. Just to be sure I tried with Touchdown, and it works properly. So I tend to assume a bug on the Cyanogenmod side. Does anybody by chance have a hint for a workaround? I would not mind spending the money for Touchdown (or another commercial app supporting ActiveSync), it's just that Touchdown can *only* do the ActiveSync, and I am unwilling to start using two e-mail apps simultaneously.

phoenix · Post by **phoenix** » Tue Jun 24, 2014 11:41 am

You can always raise a bug report for ZCS if you think that's the problem area. Have you tried an IMAP client to connect to your ZCS server and does it work? If you want an Android IMAP app then have you tried K-9?

Bernd K · Post by **Bernd K** » Tue Jun 24, 2014 11:52 am

Wow, that was quick!

No, I have not tried IMAP but I am pretty sure that it would work, just as the gmail Account. However I do need ActiveSync and Push (otherwise I would among other need to start installing CardDAV and CalDAV-Clients in order to get calendar and contacts synced--just too much of a hassle. As mentioned in the previous post: I do not expect the issue on the ZCS side, because that other ActiveSync client "Touchdown" works without problems with the ZCS (but unfortunately is unable to access gmail). So I was just curious whether a member of this community might have encountered this as well and might be aware of a possible solution.

phoenix · Post by **phoenix** » Tue Jun 24, 2014 12:05 pm

[quote user="Bernd K"] So I was just curious whether a member of this community might have encountered this as well and might be aware of a possible solution.[/QUOTE]You might get a quicker answer on a CyanogenMode or Samsung forum for your specific phone over at XDA (is that where you got the specific ROM for your phone? Unfortunately I can't help you with this problem, I'm still running my old HTC Desire with Touchdown and that works without problems.

Bernd K · Post by **Bernd K** » Wed Jun 25, 2014 7:03 am

Well, the Cyanogenmod folks probably think "... it works with Exchange, the Zimbra people might know the answer ..." - no reply from that side. However, I could solve the issue by updating to Cyanogenmod 11 = Android 4.4 (https://download.cyanogenmod.org/). Is beta and gives me other hassle, but at least we got this question solved.
cheers, Bernd

phoenix · Post by **phoenix** » Wed Jun 25, 2014 7:34 am

[quote user="Bernd K"]Well, the Cyanogenmod folks probably think "... it works with Exchange, the Zimbra people might know the answer ..."[/quote]That's not beyond the realms of possibility which is why I suggested a bug report.

[quote user="Bernd K"]....but at least we got this question solved.[/QUOTE]I'm glad it's working for you.

11630app · Post by **11630app** » Sun Aug 17, 2014 12:38 am

There are apps on the Play store that can do this as well:

ZCard - Zimbra Contacts Sync

ZCal - Zimbra Calendar Sync