iPhone OS 3.1 trips up logins to Exchange 2007 servers

iPhone and iPhone 3G users faced problems last week when they attempted to login to Exchange 2007 servers after upgrading to the iPhone OS 3.1. Apple, however, said the problem didn't have anything to do with the update.

"iPhone OS 3.1 is working properly with Exchange Server 2007," Apple representative Natalie Harrison told CNET News. "We added device encryption information to the data that can be managed by IT administrators using Exchange Server 2007. The policy of whether to support iPhone 3G, in addition to iPhone 3GS, which always has on-device encryption, on Exchange Server 2007 is set by the administrator and can be changed at any time."

That means the iPhone OS 3.1 now correctly identifies itself to Exchange 2007 as including hardware encryption, which is messing up things for some iPhone users because the previous iPhone OS didn't identify itself correctly. The new iPhone 3GS doesn't present any problems as it is already equipped with hardware encryption.

One way to solve the problem is to ask the IT administrator to turn off the hardware encryption requirement for those affected devices that have upgraded to OS 3.1. Of course, those IT administrators who require hardware encryption have to determine if they want older iPhones to access their servers. If they do, they must configure Exchange not to require encryption from those devices.

For more:
- read this CNET article [1]