Troubleshoot Zimbra Mobile Connector for BlackBerry Enterprise Activation issues

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Please see Troubleshoot_Zimbra_Mobile_Connector_for_BlackBerry_Enterprise_Activation_issues

Introduction


This article contains information about troubleshooting BlackBerry Enterprise Activation issues. These issues are divided into the following sections:

  • Activation
  • Verifying Encryption
  • Receiving Services
  • Slow Synchronization

Each of these sections contains descriptions, causes, and possible resolutions of common issues.

Shorter Summary Of Issues To Check For Device Will Not Activate



If a user is provisioned through the BES Manager but Enterprise Activation fails on the device, the following troubleshooting steps may resolve the issue.

• Check that all BlackBerry services are running. For BES to function properly, all BlackBerry services should be running. There is a known timing issue with BES where if the database service has not started in a timely fashion, other BES services will not start. If the timing issue preventing other BES services from starting consistently occurs, please contact Research in Motion technical support for information about starting the BES services through a start-up script.

• Check to make sure that the wireless carrier has enabled BES service for the device. There is a difference between the available BIS and BES services that are offered by most carriers. A user may need to indicate that they wish to connect their device to the BlackBerry Enterprise Server located in their corporate network.

• Check email routing settings and email filters for that user’s account. The initial stages of Enterprise Activation are performed through email sent from the device to BES and vice versa. If these activation emails are not properly routed to/from that user’s account or if mail filters exist, it may interfere with this process causing activation to fail.

• Verify that the Enterprise Activation password for the user was set and that it has not expired. Sometimes Enterprise Activation credentials are not current or are not set, which causes activation to fail. Also verify that the user is using the correct email address, by comparing their login email with the email listed for the user in the BlackBerry Manager.

• Verify that the user is properly initialized in the BlackBerry Agent. To verify this, open the BlackBerry Agent Logs, which can be found in the daily logs folder for BES. The Agent Logs file contains_MAGT_ in its filename. Search for the user’s email address. If there are errors in the logs regarding initializing the user or opening their message store, then they may not have properly initialized. To resolve this issue, restart the BlackBerry Agent using the following steps.

  1. Shut down the Black Berry Controller Windows service.
  2. In the Windows Task Manager, wait for BlackBerryAgent.exe and Outlook.exe to shut down.
    • If this process takes more than a minute, you may need to manually shut down these tasks.
  3. Restart the BlackBerry Controller Windows service. Your BlackBerry Agent is now restarted.

• Delete and add the user in the BlackBerry Manager. If the Enterprise Activation problems persist, you may want to delete the user from the BlackBerry Manager and add them again. When adding new users, assign an Enterprise Activation password before notifying the user to activate their device.

Stage 1 – Activation


1. "Server is not responding" error

The “Activating...” status stops responding for 10 minutes, retrying every 10 minutes with a “Retrying...” status. After 30-40 minutes, the process times out with one of the following messages:

The server is not responding. Please contact your System Administrator. 
OR An error has occurred. Please contact your System Administrator.

Causes for this behavior include the following:

  • An incorrect activation password was entered on the BlackBerry device multiple times.
  • The BlackBerry device user‘s account mailbox is full (if mailbox quota limitation is in place)
  • The messaging server is unable to send or receive messages.
Resolution: To verify that the BlackBerry device user is able to send and receive messages, have the BlackBerry device user send and receive a standard message using the ZWC or ZCO.
  • The wrong email address was entered for activation.
Resolution: Validate the email address entered on the BlackBerry device during the activation process. If necessary, correct the address and retry the activation process.
  • The BlackBerry device user’s message filters are configured to redirect messages from the root Inbox folder to other sub-folders, or the ETP message was moved to an Inbox sub-folder by email filters. As a result, the BlackBerry Enterprise Server (aka ZCB) is unable to access the activation message.
Resolution: Remove any filters that move these messages from the Inbox, verify that the filters in BlackBerry Redirector Settings are set to redirect messages from the Inbox, and retry the activation process.
  • The ETP message was deleted or modified by an anti-virus or message blocking software.
Resolution:
a) Check the messaging server to verify that it is not set to modify or block DAT files. Also, make sure that the blackberry.net domain is not blacklisted.
b) Send the BlackBerry device user a blank DAT file and have it forwarded back to you to check for changes, as a test for modifications.
c) To determine if messages from blackberry.net are blacklisted, have the BlackBerry device user enterprise activate to bbtest@rim.com, then forward the message (after correcting the subject line) back to the BlackBerry device user.
  • The BlackBerry device user account has not been added to the BlackBerry Enterprise Server, or the BlackBerry Enterprise Server administrator account (BESAdmin) does not have permissions to the BlackBerry device user’s mailbox. As a result, ETP messages accumulate in the Inbox.
Resolution: Check that the BESAdmin has been provisioned as a “Global Administrator” and has been assigned “Allow sending email from any address” right correctly on the ZCS Server.
  • The BlackBerry device failed to generate an ETP message.
Resolution: Perform a hard reset of the BlackBerry device or install the latest BlackBerry Device Software version on the BlackBerry device using BlackBerry Application Loader. Then, retry the activation process.
  • The password set by the administrator in BlackBerry Manager or the BlackBerry Enterprise Server Management console was not applied correctly.
Resolution: To verify that the password was applied correctly, close BlackBerry Manager or BlackBerry Enterprise Server Management console and re-open it. Verify the password is still listed under the BlackBerry device user's properties. If the password is not present, verify that the Microsoft SQL permissions are correct, make sure that there are no network connectivity issues to the SQL Server.
  • If a BlackBerry device user forwards messages to another BlackBerry device user, the ETP.dat message is sent to both accounts. When the BlackBerry Enterprise Server scans all BlackBerry mailboxes, it cannot determine which BlackBerry device user is using the BlackBerry device because the ETP.dat message has been sent to two accounts.
Resolution: Remove one BlackBerry device user from the BlackBerry Enterprise Server and add the BlackBerry device user again after the original BlackBerry device user completes enterprise activation. Or, turn off mail forwarding until the original BlackBerry device user has completed enterprise activation.
2. Enterprise activation is stuck on "Activating..."

The BlackBerry device shows that enterprise activation is stuck on Activating...

Causes for this behavior include the following:

  • ETP.dat messages sent from the BlackBerry device to the BlackBerry device user's email address are not making it to the Inbox of their mail client.
Resolution:
a) Check for user-defined filters, spam control, or junk email rules blocking the message from arriving in the Inbox.
b) Confirm that the BlackBerry device has the correct signal type and signal strength to send data traffic. Test Personal Identification Number (PIN) messaging to confirm this.
c) Send a test Enterprise Activation request to an account such as Hotmail or other to verify the ETP.dat is being sent.
  • The BESAdmin account doesn't have the correct permissions to access the BlackBerry device user's mailbox and retrieve the ETP.dat message (the ETP.dat message has to arrive to the Inbox first before the BESAdmin will be notified of its existence)
Resolution: Check that the BESAdmin has been provisioned as a “Global Administrator” and has been assigned the “Allow sending email from any address” right correctly on the ZCS Server.
  • The user agent is not started for the BlackBerry device user attempting enterprise activation. This means there is no agent scanning for messages in the BlackBerry device user's Inbox.
Resolution:The following may restart the agent for the BlackBerry device user:
a) Remove and re-add the BlackBerry device user to the BlackBerry Enterprise Server.
b) Restart the BlackBerry Dispatcher and BlackBerry Controller services.
c) Reboot the BlackBerry Enterprise Server.

Note: Restarting the BlackBerry Enterprise Server will delay message delivery to BlackBerry wireless devices.

  • The enterprise activation was not completed.
Resolution:
a) Check to see that the BlackBerry Policy Service and the BlackBerry Synchronization Service are started.
b) If they have not been started, start them. Restarting these services will allow the activation of the BlackBerry device to be complete.
3. The BlackBerry Enterprise Server has network issues; messaging application programming interface (MAPI) issues or connectivity errors.

Check the Zimbra Mailbox Log (/opt/zimbra/log/mailbox.log), BlackBerry Agent Logs (***- BlackBerryAgent.exe***.log) & BlackBerry Manager Logs (***-SMBbbmgrw32.exe-***.log) for related errors. Fetch these logs and send them to the Engineering Team. Ensure that SOAP logging has been enabled on the ZCS Server and ZCO Logging with “verbose” and “http” options has been enabled on the BES Server.

4. The BlackBerry device is not in an area with sufficient wireless coverage and is in the Activating... or Retrying... state.

Test network connectivity by sending a PIN message.

5. The device is not properly provisioned for enterprise activation on the Wireless Network.

a) Perform a Hard Reset by removing and inserting the battery, and then perform the following to register the BlackBerry device.

  • From the BlackBerry device Home screen, click Options > Host Routing Table. Click the track wheel and select Register Now.
  • Alternately, from the BlackBerry device Home screen click Options > Advanced Options > Host Routing Table. Click the track wheel and select RegisterNow.
  • Check the BlackBerry device for a registration email message confirmation to arrive. Once it does the BlackBerry device should be assigned to the wireless network and may now allow an enterprise activation to occur.

b) A PIN message test can verify if the BlackBerry device is activated for standard wireless data; however, the BlackBerry device might not have been activated for enterprise traffic. c) Contact the wireless (service) provider to verify that the device has been activated for enterprise traffic.

6. ServerConfigHistory table has unfinished tasks

The ServerConfigHistory table might have unfinished tasks for the BlackBerry device user, preventing activation from continuing. This occurs only if the BlackBerry device user was previously added to the BlackBerry Enterprise Server.

Manually run the BlackBerry Configuration Database cleanup agents on the SQL Server to clear these tasks, then activate again.

7. The installation of the BlackBerry Enterprise Server was not performed by BlackBerry service account

The installation of the BlackBerry Enterprise Server was not performed by BlackBerry service account, as specified in the RIM’s BlackBerry Enterprise Server Installation Guide. Therefore, the BlackBerry Enterprise Server may not have the proper permissions to correctly log in to the BlackBerry device user's account. As a result, the enterprise activation will not start.

8. Application Log warning: User <user name> not started.

If the ETP.dat message is not getting picked up by the BlackBerry Enterprise Server and you have already confirmed the permissions are correct, the following warning might appear in the Application Log: User <user name> not started.

Stop and start the Router, Dispatcher, and Controller services in that order. This will force the Controller to assign the BlackBerry device user to an agent and the ETP activation message should be processed several minutes later.


Stage 2 - Verifying Encryption


1.“Activation error: Contact Service Administrator”

On a BlackBerry device using BlackBerry Device Software 4.0 or later, the error message – “Activation error: Contact Service Administrator” appears.

This happens if the BlackBerry Enterprise Server is set to accept only Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) encryption. BlackBerry Device Software 4.0 & later supports only Triple Data Encryption Standard (DES) encryption.

2. "An Error occurred. Please contact your System Administrator"

During activation, it says: "An Error occurred. Please contact your System Administrator"

Check the log for the following log message:

Failed to get password for the ACTIVATION request

If this log message is in the log, the activation password was never set. Set the Activation password and retry activation.

Stage 3 - Receiving Services


Issues that occur when the BlackBerry device displays the Services Received status include the following:

1. Message: "Waiting for Services"

The BlackBerry device stops responding with the message Waiting for Services.

This may occur because the BlackBerry Policy Service is not running, or it cannot send the IT policy or service books to the BlackBerry device. Check if the BlackBerry Policy Service is running, or restart the BlackBerry Policy Service.

2. Activation process terminated due to security restrictions

The BlackBerry device rejects the IT policy pushed from the BlackBerry Policy Service. The activation process is terminated due to security restrictions. Generally, this means that the BlackBerry device has a current IT policy from another BlackBerry Enterprise Server.

If this occurs, have the BlackBerry device user perform a Wipe Handheld (Options > Security Options > General Settings) of the BlackBerry device in order to remove the policy key so the BlackBerry device will not reject a policy from a different BlackBerry Enterprise Server. Then, remove the BlackBerry device user account from the BlackBerry Enterprise Server and add it again.

3. Activation process stops responding due to network connectivity issues or SQL Server errors

The activation process stops responding because the BlackBerry Enterprise Server has network connectivity issues or SQL Server errors. Check the application logs for errors of this nature.

4. Error: “An error has occurred, please contact your system administrator.”

At this stage if the following error message is displayed: “An error has occurred, please contact your system administrator.”

This happens because the Enterprise Service Policy is enabled on the BlackBerry Enterprise Server, and the PIN for this BlackBerry device is not listed in the Enterprise Service Policy list of allowed PINs. Have your PIN added to the list of allowed PINs.


Stage 4 - Slow Synchronization


Issues that occur during the slow synchronization process include the following:

1. Slow sync, with fail on Initializing

Slow synchronization occurs if the BlackBerry Synchronization Service is not running. It will fail on an Initializing status after the wireless calendar synchronization process completes.

Verify the BlackBerry Synchronization Service is running, or try restarting the BlackBerry Synchronization Service.

2. Slow sync, with network connectivity issues or SQL Server errors

The slow synchronization process stops responding because the BlackBerry Enterprise Server has network connectivity issues or SQL Server errors. Check the application logs for errors of this nature.

3. The BlackBerry Synchronization Service does not function because the Microsoft XML Parser (MSXML) is the incorrect version or is not installed.

The BlackBerry Synchronization Service does not function because the Microsoft XML Parser (MSXML) is the incorrect version or is not installed.

Install or update Microsoft XML Parser (MSXML).

4. Slow sync, with content protection enabled

If content protection is enabled on the BlackBerry device, the BlackBerry device might suspend the slow synchronization session.

Disable content protection during the initial activation, or install the latest version of the BlackBerry Enterprise Server (including service pack and hotfixes).

5. Slow sync, with "Disable Wireless Bulk Loads" policy enabled or "Wireless Synchronization" disabled=

The BlackBerry device has the Disable Wireless Bulk Loads policy enabled or Wireless Synchronization is disabled.

Check the BlackBerry device user's current IT policy to see if the BlackBerry device is activated and make sure that Wireless Bulk Loads policy and Wireless Synchronization are not disabled.

6. Slow sync, with lots of simultaneous user activations

If many BlackBerry device users attempt activations simultaneously then a slow synchronization process can take a long time to run or possibly time out, depending on BlackBerry Enterprise Server load and messaging server performance.


Verified Against: n/a Date Created: 3/10/2010
Article ID: https://wiki.zimbra.com/index.php?title=Troubleshoot_Zimbra_Mobile_Connector_for_BlackBerry_Enterprise_Activation_issues Date Modified: 2022-02-04



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