If a device (a mobile or a desktop client – like Outlook) is connected to Kolab Now via ActiveSync, and is stuck in a bad state, the user will experience that it is not synchronizing with the server anymore. It can seem impossible to get the device out of this state, and it’s very hard to diagnose what is not working (you may end up with partial functionality).
The following listed issues can be causing the bad state of the device; including, but not limited to:
- Certain folders are not included in the Ping and/or Sync requests sent to the device, which means these folders no longer update in the client.
- FolderSync keeps failing and therefore new folders never make it to the client.
- One or more synchronizations are caught in a loop, which is preventing any sort of useful synchronization activity.
Especially Outlook is known to run into one of these issues. In such a situation there is one reliable reset strategy – for Outlook specifically:
- Stop Outlook
- Rename the .ost file for the account in C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook\<filename>.ost
- Delete the device in the the webclient: ‘Settings -> Activesync -> <device name>’
- Start Outlook again.
This will restart a fresh synchronization of all data on the server to the client (Outlook). Users will see that all data (emails, calendar events, etc..) is removed from Outlook, and returning, as the new – now working, synchronization starts.
Do not just remove the server-side state via Roundcube. While this may sometimes work, it’s unreliable and can also leave you with random folders not working, leaving you in a hard to diagnose situation.