Sep 04 2010

Hotmail ActiveSync Quirk with Android – Leave the Backslash Alone!

As you may know, I have started to use a Samsung Galaxy S instead of an iPhone and have been going through the process of settings things up and moving across my content. When I got around to setting up my Hotmail accounts I wanted to use the newly available Exchange ActiveSync interface.

What I found was that despite putting in the settings I believed to be correct it just didn’t seem to work properly. I was fairly sure I put in my e-mail address and password correctly for my Hotmail account as well as the server address of “m.hotmail.com”.  I even deleted and recreated the Hotmail account to no avail.

Then I realised something.

When setting up an Exchange account in Android, it precedes the provided username with a backslash (i.e. “\” for those who get confused). Previously, I had deleted this as I thought this was a mistake but on my final attempt I left the backslash and put in my e-mail address after it and tried again.

Eureka – it worked!

So if you are facing a problem similar to the issue I faced then make sure you leave the backslash – it will make all the difference!

Boydo

My name is Boyd and I’m a Service Management Specialist with a knack for operational data gathering, transformation, analysis and reporting.

In 2012, I obtained my Masters of Science in Information Technology through the University of New South Wales @ The Australia Defence Force Academy (UNSW@ADFA).

I was also part of an online community known as the Panasonic Insider Crew in the capacity of “Insider Guru” for Panasonic Australia where I interacted with other tech enthusiasts and find out more about Panasonic's latest gadgets.

I love technology, gadgets, and the Internet and maintain a keen interest in these areas locally, nationally, and globally. I hope by sharing my views on these topics that people will receive an honest point of view from someone with a genuine interest in these topics.

I have also written and edited articles for Neowin - you can check out my articles over @ https://www.neowin.net/news/poster/boyd_chan

I hope you enjoy reading my blog!

4 comments

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    • John Dawson on March 10, 2011 at 04:22
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    I have the same problem still. It loads the folders and old mail OK and will pick up new mail if I put things in my folders, but will not pick up new mail in the inbox. Tesco say I have to use pop3, which does work in it’s boring old fashion.
    The set up or modify account process in the email app won’t let me access domain name to remove backslash.
    Please help!

  2. Hi John. You actually need to leave the backslash there so as to signify a null domain as removing the backslash will cause problems.

    What device are you using?

    • John Dawson on March 12, 2011 at 12:02
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    • Reply

    I’m using the Galaxy S 91000. With the backslash it syncs contacts OK, but will sync only added email folders, not the inbox.

    1. Apologies in the delay in getting back to you. My wife and I were returning from Japan to Australia after the earthquakes.

      Do you know what ROM you are using? It might be possible that you are using an older ROM with an older client that is displaying this problem?

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