What is the activesync settings for spark business mail

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nunz

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Topic # 239739 1-Aug-2018 19:17

Spark business mail offers active sync. (https://www.spark.co.nz/business/shop/get-online/businessmail/)

Sparks imap servers are not working well for clients with large number of folders (but under 1.4Gb of mail) We have reworked profiles, reconnected etc but folders are not showing or if they are then mail is not downloading / syncing. clients on latest outlook and spark fibre.

Going to get them on activesync as it works better with folders.

Sparks instructions for connecting are found here: https://www.spark.co.nz/help/mobile/device-help?page=device/samsung/galaxy-s8/topic/email/how-to-setup-your-email

and here: https://www.spark.co.nz/business/help/broadband/use-spark-business-mail/

no mention of active sync.

Four phone calls to Spark business over two days. Plus chat. Plus messages etc.. I have been hung up on, put on hold, not called back etc etc etc. Several frustrating hours later no joy. Called business line (126) and told they are shut but I should call back between 8am and 8pm Mon to Friday. Hmm I thought 6pm on a Wed might have fitted inside that time range but not at spark.

All I want is the server name to connect to activesync.

Spark - you need to:

1 - Train your staff. Activesync is not web mail. It is a mail protocol like imap, pop and smtp. (or a mail app based on an exe but as you use it on phones your advertising must be for the protocol)

2 - Dont tell me what plans offer active sync if I ask for the name of the server

3 - Get your people to call back when they say they will

4 - Tell your badly trained help desk folks how to get your clients connected to the service you are advertising and my clients are paying for.

5 - Fire your help desk staff for buggering off early or get your messages changed. You are not open 8am to 8pm .Same old crappy service as when it was still genii.

Why do business clients paying for mail services get poorer support than free home based mail service?

nunz

hio77

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Reply # 2066577 1-Aug-2018 21:03

Active sync, Valid question that i do not have an answer to.

This particular product is a specially trained skillset, which would explain a little bit of the frustration - far less reps to actually handle this.

Looking from my end, i can appreciate this is a difficult topic to find much out on.

Hearing that there was hung up calls and lack of follow up is disappointing, I do apologies for that experience. it will be caught out very quickly IF this is happening.

I'll speak with the leads that run this and find out exactly what's up. I suspect someones got confused and made a genuine human error in the help content.

Worth noting, GenI is the equivalent to Spark Digital. the product your looking at is simply Spark Business, Very different product, support staff etc - I'd bet none of the people who look after it even touched a genI product.

#include <std_disclaimer>

Any comments made are personal opinion and do not reflect directly on the position my current or past employers may have.

nitrotech

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Reply # 2066592 1-Aug-2018 21:12

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Website says activesync is only for contacts and calendar.

* Currently syncing of a user's calendar events and contacts between devices is only possible between the user's Smartphone/tablet and their Webmail access. Syncing of user contacts and calendars stored in the user's Outlook client is not yet supported.

If you need activesync put their email on office 365 you won’t regret it (very little diffference in cost too)

sbiddle

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Reply # 2066642 2-Aug-2018 08:06

5 people support this post

When so many of your posts on here are complaints about Spark why do you still continue to use them?

nunz

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Reply # 2066703 2-Aug-2018 08:36

sbiddle:

When so many of your posts on here are complaints about Spark why do you still continue to use them?

Actually - my last posts about spark was to praise one of their workers for awesome response after an initially crappy start to their support process.

See here: https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=39&topicid=225987

This post is not to complain - it is to find out the settings having had sparks support completely fail over the last two days.

These suggestions in the first post are not complaints - more critical feed back / criticism to improve services. Each of them contains a doable action point not just a rant about issues:

1 - Train your staff. Activesync is not web mail. It is a mail protocol like imap, pop and smtp. (or a mail app based on an exe but as you use it on phones your advertising must be for the protocol)

2 - Dont tell me what plans offer active sync if I ask for the name of the server

3 - Get your people to call back when they say they will

4 - Tell your badly trained help desk folks how to get your clients connected to the service you are advertising and my clients are paying for.

5 - Fire your help desk staff for buggering off early or get your messages changed. You are not open 8am to 8pm .Same old crappy service as when it was still genii.

As a business owner I would use them as points for continuous improvement.

It often seems that ISPS only respond when you start pinging them in public. After two days, two chat sessions 5 phone calls, no call backs, dropped phone calls, no information on the website and getting bounced from person to person - I chose to find another avenue. It seems someone has picked it up and will run with it.

I didn't choose to use spark in this case (my clients choice and historical connections) and have actually advised my client that the poor response of sparks server is causing the imap issues. I have advised them to alternatives that have been proven to work and where the mail support staff know how to connect them to active sync - as they are properly trained in how to handle all inquiries incoming re services they claim to offer.

That company just resolved a very similar issue with imap for another company - performing a huge migration of under performing servers and got praised by the client yesterday for the wonderful mail experience they are now having. That is the company I will be recommending to my client for mail services as spark / xtra /telecoms history of mail support and performance is abysmal to say the least.

Lastly - every so often it feels like spark has upped its game - chat support seemed to be good - but now it is bogged down like phone support, has people working on multiple issues simultaeneosly and is the under resourced mess phone support is. its a pity as their infrastructure generally seems good for mobile nad internet.

nunz

1101

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Reply # 2066761 2-Aug-2018 10:43

https://www.spark.co.nz/help/mobile-data/device/samsung/galaxy-edge/spark-business-mail-exchange-sync-samsung-galaxy-edge/

That may help. Those settings may not work (easily) with Outlook : autodiscover/outlook anywhere issues???

Spark now offer/resell 365 . It may be would be better to move to that .

hio77

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Reply # 2066809 2-Aug-2018 12:21

1101:

https://www.spark.co.nz/help/mobile-data/device/samsung/galaxy-edge/spark-business-mail-exchange-sync-samsung-galaxy-edge/

That may help. Those settings may not work (easily) with Outlook : autodiscover/outlook anywhere issues???

Spark now offer/resell 365 . It may be would be better to move to that .

TBH was replaced with the SMX based product, this is old content and should be removed.

#include <std_disclaimer>

Any comments made are personal opinion and do not reflect directly on the position my current or past employers may have.

nunz

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Reply # 2066850 2-Aug-2018 14:04

nitrotech: Website says activesync is only for contacts and calendar.

* Currently syncing of a user's calendar events and contacts between devices is only possible between the user's Smartphone/tablet and their Webmail access. Syncing of user contacts and calendars stored in the user's Outlook client is not yet supported.

If you need activesync put their email on office 365 you won’t regret it (very little diffference in cost too)

1 - It doesn't rule out mail. It only rules out laptops for contact and calendars.

nunz

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Reply # 2066853 2-Aug-2018 14:06

1101:

https://www.spark.co.nz/help/mobile-data/device/samsung/galaxy-edge/spark-business-mail-exchange-sync-samsung-galaxy-edge/

That may help. Those settings may not work (easily) with Outlook : autodiscover/outlook anywhere issues???

Spark now offer/resell 365 . It may be would be better to move to that .

https://testconnectivity.microsoft.com/DownloadTestResult/?TestId=45d658a4-c2da-fe87-36bf-342f4563597d&Format=html

It looks like that server has been shutdown. The server :

https://sync.sparkbusinessmail.co.nz/caldav/384 seems to work but it does not download mail, only the folder list.

I'm going to recommend the client changes platform as imap is not suitable and activesync seems to be not supported by Spark (despite their advertising).

Getting them to buy office 365 from spark, when they already have to purchase it direct for word / excel etc will be an interesting conversation. They had expressed their desire to remain through spark business as it is where their domain and other services have been historically. However if spark are pushing it even further off - I can see this being a migration.

Shane

nunz

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Reply # 2066861 2-Aug-2018 14:37

The activesync mail server address is: sync.sparkbusinessmail.co.nz

It passes Ms external tests up to a point.

When connecting to it via outlook it allows you to download a list of all your folders but does not show mail inside those folders. There is no way I can see to get email downloaded into those folders as all settings make no difference.

Thank you to Vineet Pewal ( and suggestions from others here). Vineet actually took the time to get the issue, run with it and follow it up to get this far. Someone who understands help and support and works for the clients benefit.

nunz

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Reply # 2066869 2-Aug-2018 14:47

nunz:

nitrotech: Website says activesync is only for contacts and calendar.

* Currently syncing of a user's calendar events and contacts between devices is only possible between the user's Smartphone/tablet and their Webmail access. Syncing of user contacts and calendars stored in the user's Outlook client is not yet supported.

If you need activesync put their email on office 365 you won’t regret it (very little diffference in cost too)

1 - It doesn't rule out mail. It only rules out laptops for contact and calendars.

Not an office365 fan. It has been used by four clients and the experiences have been:

1 - Security tokens dont flow in a timely fashion. You can change passwords and still log on via outlook with old password but webmail needs the new password. Further more on low bandwidth high latency connections it continually (ie multi times per week) threw people out of mail requring changes of passwords etc to get them back in. Password latency has been seen 24 - 36 hours later.

2- Synchronising of files is problematic. Yesterday a file that was saved and emailed (one drive) last Thurs, lost all updates and changes going back 1.5 weeks. An older version over wrote the newer version a week later. Not an isloated incident. New laptops, fast fibre, romaing clients, time clocks in synch (and defintely not out by 7 - 12 days)

3 - Outages / speed issues. Not as quick as Nz servers.

4 - Extraeneous muck in the system - MS pushing new functionality that doesn't work and not wanted (e.g. focused in box) and other issues requiring work to revert or work around. It has not been a smooth fit.

These experiences are in businesses with between 5 and 100 people.

Also office 365 corporate edition doesn't mesh with Windows 10 - so often ends up with two version of one drive, having to create second log in (one corporate and one normal office 365) for Windows 10 authentications etc.

There is an NZ based Activesync provider, with fast servers, 24 / 7 support (1 -2 hour non SLA support) and prices that match or beat MS 365. 8 - 10 year history of uptimes in excess of 99.99% Gives clients meat and potatoes services with no frills and much to wade through. Will probably head them that way.

nunz

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Reply # 2066889 2-Aug-2018 15:12

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sbiddle:

When so many of your posts on here are complaints about Spark why do you still continue to use them?

If this "no complaints" rule was enforced, Geekzone would be dead within a week.