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Surface RT Sync With Exchange Account "Unavailable"

OP
1

182RG

New Member
Found the solution. It required a packet sniffer and several settings changes to the RT to resolve. Not an access point issue. Not an Exchange policy issue.

First, I disagree with the assertion that the RT is unsuitable as a companion device in the Enterprise, when a full PC is also available. I'll continue to evaluate it as such. Pro isn't required as a second device.

Second, Office licensing is a non-issue as a companion device in our environment. The users already have a full license under our Select agreement that allows for a second device.

Third, part of the evaluation process is to perform unbiased testing. Not unlike movie reviews, where bias comes into play. It's unfortunate that some of you fall back on "Microsoft never intended for the RT to do X....". Pure, uneducated speculation. I read, researched, and then purchased one to form my own impressions. You don't need to defend MS...hold them accountable for support, advertising, and keep tension on them to perform.

Attitude goes both ways.
 

Mr.NK

Super Moderator
Found the solution. It required a packet sniffer and several settings changes to the RT to resolve. Not an access point issue. Not an Exchange policy issue.
Glad to hear you've solved your problem. It would be a nice moce, if you could share some more details about your solution :)
 

J515OP

Super Moderator
As a companion device for enterprise yes but not as an enterprise device that is a desktop/laptop replacement. Everybody agrees it is a great companion in that case. You perhaps still misunderstand Office. It doesn't matter how many Office licenses you have, the only Office that you can put on RT is Home and Student which is not licensed for enterprise use. You will have to rely on remote or internet solutions in that case (for example no way to get Outlook on the RT).

Heck it can even be a primary device as long as you understand what it cannot do and was never intended to do. Yes, there are some things there are no work arounds or alternatives for.
 

jnjroach

Administrator
Staff member
Actually if your Company or Organization has Software Assurance with their EA or an Applicable Office365 Subscription you are able to use the RT Version of Office in through that licensing benefit.
 
OP
1

182RG

New Member
You perhaps still misunderstand Office. It doesn't matter how many Office licenses you have, the only Office that you can put on RT is Home and Student which is not licensed for enterprise use.
.

J515OP,

As a Moderator, I would expect more due diligence when your replies imply you have knowledge of a specific area. You have been consistently wrong on licensing. I suggest you do a search on 'Surface RT Companion VDA' and Software Assurance'. Microsoft has several documents from Sept 2012 that address the RT. Then you'll have an opportunity to correct your replies.

Jnjroach gets it...
 

J515OP

Super Moderator
No, I do get it. Regarding Office specifically Surface RT comes with Home and Student which is not licensed for commercial use. You can't install Office on the Surface RT no matter how many copies or licenses you have. Your only options are remote access via the web (e.g. OWA), RDP into another machine with Office or any other desktop apps you need or Office 365. Those are the only options and consistently what I have posted.

Basic research gives you the answers and is also what I and others have said. There isn't a lot of mystery about what the Surface can and can't do with a little reading. For the things that are a grey area or have work around, well that is where resources like this form come into play.

JP

Edit: to be clear I am including the Software Assurance licensing and 365 licensing under the "365" moniker. What you can't do is install a separate corporate version of Office onto the RT which is what your previous posts seemed to imply.
 
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OP
1

182RG

New Member
No, you still don't get it. You can...and read carefully...use Office RT on the Surface RT for commercial purposes if you have an SA license for Office 2013 for the user. This is spelled out very clearly by Microsoft. I said nothing about installing Office or Outlook.

READ the link. Understand what I'm saying. It is very clear.
 

J515OP

Super Moderator
That may be for the better since it sounds like you didn't need any help after all and also decided not to share what you discovered about the Exchange settings. Critical reading is ok on my end and couldn't be any more clear, thanks.

You may also be in violation of the Home & Student Office license agreement if you use it in an enterprise situation. You need to look into Office 365 in that case...

Microsoft didn't over promise anything if you had read even the most basic info... There is no reason you should be in the dark about the limitations of Windows RT, the licensing terms for the included Office or the limitations of available apps that will take some time to come...

Once you have done the proper research, you may know if the Surface works for your needs or not just on the documentation. If it doesn't move on. If it might, then you can see how it works out with your evaluation unit. If you have specific questions instead of general gripes and can detail specific issues (so far you have listed one) then chances are the kind people here will do their best to help you out but the attitude you have going in about it will probably dictate the quality of response you get.

JP

Notice the language here? I have highlighted some parts you may have missed. It was a helpful tip that HS Office isn't blanket covered for enterprise use. May is a key word to let you know you should look into this aspect more.

Why look into Office 365 for RT? Because if you do you quickly find out by doing a search "Surface RT Office 365" that you can have commercial use of Home & Student under 365/SA licensing.

As a companion device for enterprise yes but not as an enterprise device that is a desktop/laptop replacement. Everybody agrees it is a great companion in that case. You perhaps still misunderstand Office. It doesn't matter how many Office licenses you have, the only Office that you can put on RT is Home and Student which is not licensed for enterprise use. You will have to rely on remote or internet solutions in that case (for example no way to get Outlook on the RT).

Heck it can even be a primary device as long as you understand what it cannot do and was never intended to do. Yes, there are some things there are no work arounds or alternatives for.

This was further clarification that you can't install other versions of Office on the RT. If you were just speaking about licensing then you should know it may (there's that word again) not be an issue but what you have on RT is it. You can't add an enterprise version of Office that would allow you to run macros or Outlook, which seemed to be what you were saying initially in bashing RT as a crippled enterprise device. It has been covered plainly that MS did not primarily intend the Surface RT to be an enterprise device. It can be used that way but may have some well publicized short comings.

No, I do get it. Regarding Office specifically Surface RT comes with Home and Student which is not licensed for commercial use. You can't install Office on the Surface RT no matter how many copies or licenses you have. Your only options are remote access via the web (e.g. OWA), RDP into another machine with Office or any other desktop apps you need or Office 365. Those are the only options and consistently what I have posted.

Basic research gives you the answers and is also what I and others have said. There isn't a lot of mystery about what the Surface can and can't do with a little reading. For the things that are a grey area or have work around, well that is where resources like this form come into play.

JP

Edit: to be clear I am including the Software Assurance licensing and 365 licensing under the "365" moniker. What you can't do is install a separate corporate version of Office onto the RT which is what your previous posts seemed to imply.

Finally the above points were recapped for you one more time. Here it is clearly spelled out for you that if you intended to install an enterprise version of Office on the RT it can't be done. There are other ways to get the missing features though.

Furthermore, it is acknowledge that I am aware of the licensing use for Office under RT. If that is your only concern then fine, you also became educated about it. It doesn't change what is installed on Surface RT though and you may still have enterprise use issues (like macros) which I had already given helpful hints about (RDP to a full Windows box).

You can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink...
 
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