Address Book Ridiculousness

[bhults]

Hi Everyone -

I've been a long time lurker, but haven't posted much. I always seem to find my answer here, but I'm kinda stuck now. I'm the admin of our Department's BB's. We are behind a BES, but I am not the administrator of that machine. It's a shared resource that a few agencies use. Anyhow, here's the meat and potatoes of what's going on:

I have a user who was just issued a BB Curve (8310). He has a personal BB of his own - also a Curve. He simply asked if I could move the contacts from the address book in his personal Blackberry to the address book in the business Blackberry.

Before I went trying anything with his devices, I used Desktop Manager to experiment with my own device and a test device (both curves). I created a backup of Curve #1, and then connected Curve #2, and tried to restore just the address book to the 'new' device. However, ADDRESS BOOK was dimmed out, and DM told me I couldn't restore that database because it was configured for wireless sync. I had already shut off wireless sync on both devices (in the address book), and still nothing. Is there an easier way to do this? IE - is there a way to import the address book into Outlook and let the BES handle the rest? Kinda at a loss here....

Thanks in advance for any help!!!

[fwcmcse]

First thought: if your BlackBerry is configured for Wireless Sync in BES, you'll get this behavior due to security restrictions in Global policy. I've been able to successfully transfer that same sort of information using Desktop Manager between two BlackBerry units that were not managed by a BES.

Did you happen to try the Device Switch Wizard in DM? I didn't see that listed in your post.

Not sure if it is possible, but it may be worth looking at making sure both devices are off BES before attempting the migration. Once complete, then add the new device to BES.

Just my .02.

[bhults]

Originally Posted by fwcmcse

First thought: if your BlackBerry is configured for Wireless Sync in BES, you'll get this behavior due to security restrictions in Global policy. I've been able to successfully transfer that same sort of information using Desktop Manager between two BlackBerry units that were not managed by a BES.

Did you happen to try the Device Switch Wizard in DM? I didn't see that listed in your post.

Not sure if it is possible, but it may be worth looking at making sure both devices are off BES before attempting the migration. Once complete, then add the new device to BES.

Just my .02.

Thanks for the reply, fwcmcse.

The behavior I'm experiencing is certainly a little strange... Even after manually switching off wireless sync in BOTH devices (it seems to require that it be off in both units, not just the one your transferring data to), DM seems not to care - Address Book, and other databases can't be transferred, it says, because of wireless syncing restrictions. I'm wondering if DM is looking back at the BES, and disallowing it as per the global security restrictions you mentioned... Frustrating to say the least, especially after attempting this about a dozen times yesterday.

I did, actually, try the Device Switch Wizard, and was able to transfer the address book...although it did transfer everything else from the other Blackberry as well. Good news is, it didn't wipe out anything on the 'new' device. Simply added everything. This may be an option I'll just have to try. I'm just testing with my own devices before I attempt anything on his... I want to know what I'm dealing with first.

[fwcmcse]

Your thinking is sound. Users with these devices are VERY touchy about how they operate, which tells me they become very emotionally involved with their BlackBerry device (and frankly, who doesn't once they buy one?).

If I'd hazard one guess on the wireless sync issue, the fact that DM still doesn't like it if you shut it off locally may be a setting in the security software on the BB unit itself. Turning off sync may stop the service, but there may be a setting that prevents any kind of desktop sync to prevent data loss/theft (this device can also be looked at as an attack surface if you think about it). Therefore, it would make sense to prevent your contact information from being removed by simply syncing to any desktop - if a Bad Guy were to obtain the device and try to do so.

I hope that I helped!

[bhults]

Believe it or not, this particular user just contacted me to let me know that he forgot his password. He subsequently attempted to enter the wrong password 5 times, which by default in our environment, wipes the device.

So, now, he is no longer behind the BES. I'm going to try and see if I can migrate his contacts; If I can, I'll then have him reset on the BES and perform Enterprise Act. This should keep any existing info on the 'Berry in tact, right? It's not going to blow out anything that's added prior to activation, will it?

[fwcmcse]

It "should". But back up your stuff first (you already know this).

The reason I put it in quotes is, I don't know if your BES has some sort of policy that it restricts data or wipes specific items/apps. Since the device has been wiped, couldn't hurt to try. If all else fails, wipe it again, and now you know.

Or, you can ask your BES tech support. They may know if there's any kind of restriction on device software and data prior to joining it to the BES.

Good luck!