Push email on Exchange with ICS?

Fox Mulder · August 25th, 2012, 08:37 AM

Setting up a new phone (LG Motion 4G) with ICS 4.0.4, when I configure my work Exchange account in the native email app it does not give the usual options for retrieve interval. It's locked on "Manual" and the selection is grayed out so it's not possible to select anything else.
With the same account, exact same settings, on my previous phone running 2.3.6, I had all the options including Push.
Anyone have insight into this? The account uses Outlook 365 and a podxxxxx.outlook server address, if that makes any difference.

Crashdamage · August 25th, 2012, 08:59 AM

Check out Enhanced Email. Excellent mail client for Exchange accounts.

Fox Mulder · August 25th, 2012, 11:09 AM

Thanks, looks like a good app but I'd rather not have to spend $5 to fix a problem with the native email if I can help it. I'd really like to know why this is happening on this phone with ICS and not on my old phone with GB.

Gekko · August 25th, 2012, 12:38 PM

maybe try K-9 Mail?

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fsck.k9&hl=en

Fox Mulder · August 26th, 2012, 08:29 AM

Thanks for the suggestion, I did try K9 since it's free but it wouldn't even set up the account. Couldn't communicate with the server.
But I've since solved the problem anyway. It turns out that the main sync selection has to be turned on for push mail to be available. This is different in ICS than it was in GB and earlier, I had it turned off and push still worked. So I have what I needed, and hopefully this may help anyone else having the same issue setting up an account in ICS.

Gekko · August 26th, 2012, 04:42 PM

>the main sync selection has to be turned on

WTF?

Fox Mulder · August 26th, 2012, 09:52 PM

Under Accounts and sync, the switch on top has to be turned on to allow email to sync and give the options for push or automatic interval retrieval. I have all the individual sync options under my accounts turned off because I don't need them, but that master selection has to be on.
I looked back at my GB phone and the options look a little different, there is a selection for "background data" which I had turned on, and one for "auto-sync" which I had turned off. With that combination of settings push was working.