Apple pinpoints source of iOS 6.1 Exchange bug, says fix coming

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) has identified the source of a bug preventing some iPhone and iPad users from syncing their mobile mailbox with Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) Exchange Server 2010, vowing a fix is in the works.

According to the Apple Support site, responding to an exception [a change to a single instance of a repeating calendar event] with a Microsoft Exchange account on a device running iOS 6.1 may prompt the device to generate excessive communication with Microsoft Exchange Server. "You may notice increased network activity or reduced battery life on the iOS device," Apple states. "This extra network activity will be shown in the logs on Exchange Server and it may lead to the server blocking the iOS device. This can occur with iOS 6.1 and Microsoft Exchange 2010 SP1 or later, or Microsoft Exchange Online (Office365)."

Apple will make the Exchange fix available in an upcoming iOS 6.1 update. "In the meantime, you can avoid this bug by not responding to an exception to a recurring event on your iOS device," Apple adds. "If you do experience the symptoms described above, disable then re-enable the Exchange calendar on your iOS device using [these steps]."

Microsoft has urged IT administrators to consider several temporary workarounds while Apple works to patch the Exchange bug, instructing customers to "not process Calendar items such as meeting requests on iOS 6.1 devices. Also, immediately restart the iOS 6.1 device." If Exchange Server problems persist, Microsoft suggests removing and recreating the device partnership, creating a custom throttling policy for iOS 6.1 users or blocking iOS 6.1 devices entirely.

Apple issued iOS 6.1 to iPhone, iPad and iPod touch devices two weeks ago. Some iPhone 4S owners soon began complaining the update accelerated battery drain and prompted some overheating concerns, and over the weekend, British operator Vodafone even warned subscribers not to upgrade iPhone 4S models after determining the software triggered 3G connectivity problems. On Monday, Apple began rolling out iOS 6.1.1, a software update promising to fix iPhone 4S connectivity and improve overall performance and reliability.

For more:
- read this ZDNet article
- read this Verge article

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