Exchange 2007 and Activesync mailbox policies

Exchange 2007 Service Pack 1 introduced a new series of Windows Mobile policy settings, allowing for more effective device management throughout an organization. There is some confusion in regards to which mobile operating system supports which policy settings, so administrators can consult the following matrix before deciding their mobile management strategy:

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc540452(EXCHG.80).aspx - Exploring Windows Mobile 6.1 and Exchange ActiveSync Mailbox Policies

After some testing for a customer, I would like to discuss one policy setting, Allow synchronization when Roaming. This setting is present at the following levels:

- Exchange Management console. In the properties of the Exchange Activesync policy, you can check the parameter Allow Synchronization when Roaming (SP1) or Allow Direct Push when roaming (SP2).

- Powershell. The RequireManualSyncWhenRoaming parameter can be changed using the Set-ActiveSyncMailboxPolicy commandled

- Mobile Device. If no setting is specified on the server or if the device is not capable of enforcing the policy, the user can change it himself.

The changes you perform in the Exchange Management console will be reflected on the Powershell RequireManualSyncWhenRoaming parameter, and in turn on the mobile device. However, the correspondence between the GUI and the Powershell attribute is reversed between SP1 and SP2 for Exchange 2007. Here are the results after the tests:

 E2K7 SP1:

When GUI setting Allow synchronization when roaming is not checked, the RequireManualSyncWhenRoaming setting is False

When GUI setting Allow synchronization when roaming is checked, the RequireManualSyncWhenRoaming setting is True

E2K7 SP2:

When GUI setting Allow Direct Push when roaming is not checked, the RequireManualSyncWhenRoaming setting is True

When GUI setting Allow Direct Push when roaming is checked, the RequireManualSyncWhenRoaming setting is False

Then, the mobile device setting reflects the Powershell setting this way:

RequireManualSyncWhenRoaming - True -> Mobile setting is dimmed

RequireManualSyncWhenRoaming - False -> Mobile setting is active