No matter what new technology comes out, most people still rely on email. Whether it’s an important client or friends and family, people want reliability when it comes to email service. This is especially true when they are being charged for it.
iPhone users may find MobileMe or other IMAP services to be lacking, but may be unaware of their options. For these people, a hosted Exchange account might be the right solution.
Many companies have an Exchange server, and people can use that to set up service for their iPhones; but if a person does not have access to a company account, they can set up their own. There are many hosted Exchange providers to choose from.
Services such as Sherweb offer administrative support, month-to-month contracts, and free setup all for a monthly service fee that is on par with MobileMe. So changing from MobileMe to a hosted Exchange account will result in more reliable service at a comparable price.
One benefit of switching to Exchange is the ability to sync data with a Windows Mobile device and an iPhone. Another benefit is increased reliability. MobileMe does not always push all of a user’s email causing users to miss messages. A hosted Exchange service can resolve that problem.
Again, there are multiple hosted Exchange service providers available. When selecting a provider, a person should be sure the service will meet their particular needs.
Setting up an Exchange account on the iPhone is fairly pain-free. Each service provider has their own process, but all will require a person to add the Exchange account. This can be done by going to Settings then selecting Mail, Contacts, Calendar. From here, the user will select Add Account then choose Microsoft Exchange.
It is important to note that before setting up an Exchange account, the user should transfer their contacts and calendar. Failure to do so ahead of time will result in a loss of this information on the iPhone.
After selecting Microsoft Exchange, the user will then add their email address information, password, and possibly the domain name for the Exchange server. For this to work properly, it is important to follow the specific Exchange provider’s instructions.
Users may receive an “Unable to Verify Certificate” message. In this case, they should accept the message, then enter the server information of their provider in the Server box.
Once the user’s account has been verified, they will be able to sync their iPhone with their email, calendar, and other features. These features are user driven so a person can synch only what they want.
By default, only the previous three days of mail, calendar, etc. will sync. If the user wants to go back further than that, they will have to do so manually by going back onto their Exchange account and selecting the number of days to sync.
And that’s it. Once the above steps have been completed, the user is all set to start experiencing reliable email service on their iPhone.
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