Question : Problem: iPhone to IMAP will not connect unless username == exchange alias

We have two new iPhones (Version 2.0 / 3G) which cannot connect to the exchange server via IMAP unless the username is exactly the same as the alias name for the exchange mailbox.  

Points of interest regarding this situation:
-Windows 2003 SBS SP2
-Exchange 2003 SP2
-Self-signed certificate
-Username = myusername
-Mailbox Alias = myuser.name
-domain = mydomain.local
-OWA function properly
-We use a POP3 connector for external email
-Previously this same account (with old iphone non-3G non-version2.0) connected via IMAP without problem using the following username:  [email protected]
-New iPhone can connect via IMAP for different account where username == exchange alias

With exchange SP2 I attempted to configure the iPhone using the create account of Microsoft Exchange type on the iPhone, but the account is not able to verify.  At this point I am interested in getting the IMAP working.  Later on I will tackle the Exchange ActiveSync issues, if any, as this could be failing due to  self-signed certificate or the difference in alias name too.

If I rename the exchange alias to match the username then it works.  However,  the alias is what is cached on all of my internal user's Outlook clients.  Changing this alias does bring some consequences.

What I would like to do is rename the username to match the alias.  Is this a sound idea?  I am running SBS2003 and when I perform a rename the dialog only lets me enter a First and Last name.  I can change the username directly in the account tab on the user's properties dialog.  Is it safe to do this there?  Will I run into other problems (profile settings for renamed username, etc.)?

Also, I have read that I can create a second alias in the email addresses tab which matches the username...is this true?

For completeness  below are the following username combos I have tried on the iphone:

[email protected]
[email protected]
domain.local\myusername
domain\myusername
domain.local\myusername\myuser.name   <== supposedly works for outlook express
domain\myusername\myuser.name
plus the last four above with the forward slashes instead.
 

Answer : Problem: iPhone to IMAP will not connect unless username == exchange alias

If it's saying that the account cannot be verified you just need to install the certificate on the phone manually.  The easiest way to do that is to email the cert as an attachment to an account that you can access on the phone through Safari.  You would then just open the attachment and it will prompt you to install the certificate.

Jeff

TechSoEasy