Mail with NHS.net

Dear all

Am in the UK. Work for National Health Service (along with another 1.4 million so not a small entity!)

In its wisdom the mail system that many of us use is changing to MS web Outlook.

Under the old system I could get messages via POP3 or IMAP onto both my MacBook Pro and iPhone. Worked great.

Post migration there's been a major step back. Things will work if logged in via the secure separate NHS N3 network but not via the internet unless using windows and internet explorer. Only possible Apple option is a cut down web version.

I have found that I can however access it using iPhone (with appropriate security) using MS Exchange server. Works fine.

Can't do the same even with same settings using MBP.

Why would one work and not the other?

Any suggestions?

Many thanks

Dermot

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.5.6)

Posted on Jan 26, 2009 11:51 AM

Top-ranking reply

mjtlee

Level 1

39 points

Posted on Mar 1, 2009 7:28 AM

I hope this might help some people. I have an NHSmail account and have just been migrated. I am an Apple user at home, and a Nokia E71 user. This is how I sorted my life out after the migration. It took a long time for me to figure it all out.

Using a full Office for Mac 2008 (not the student teacher edition because this does not support Exchange 2007, but the full one available through the NHS discount) you must update to v 12.1.5.

After you have registered at www.connect.microsoft.com apply for the Entourage Beta here http://www.microsoft.com/mac/itpros/entourage-ews.mspx It takes around 48 hours for them to approve you. I have the dmg file. I am sure you can find it on the internet.

Make sure you check that you are using Entourage with Exchange server SP1 or later on the application form (which you are with NHSmail), and the full version of Office for Mac. I said 'don't know' the first time and had to reregister with a different address to get approved.

48 hours later you will be okayed for the trial and download the new Entourage. It will autodetect all your NHSmail settings with just your email address and password. Now you have a Mac that runs a full mail programme with your NHSmail. You can add as many IMAP mail accoounts as you like. You DO NOT have to synchronise your address book and calendars. I hear that Mail may support Exchange 2007 in its next incarnation and many of our problems will have improved solutions.

For a Nokia S60 phone e.g. E71, you can use RoadSync (DataViz software, a respectable company) which is an Symbian Exchange client. You DO NOT have to synchronise your calendar, tasks and contacts so you can keep your NHS calendar, tasks and addresses separate and have both private and NHS worlds on the same device.

Of course you can just use Exchange for your calendar, contacts and tasks if you want to. Many people who like Apple Macs will not want to do that! We prefer a world with iCal, Addressbook and Mail

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46 replies

eHealth

Level 1

0 points

Mar 17, 2009 1:42 AM in response to Dermot O'Riordan

Having just been migrated across to the new exchange platform, my thanks to previous posters for advice on the Beta program. However, for those that follow, a few words of caution and advice, based on reconfiguring Entourage on my two home machines.

1. Although the Beta program indicates they will reply within 48 hours, mine took a week. I suggest patience since the mac ** team is likely being deluged by NHS mac users who have found this thread.
2. It can take several minutes (I'd guess about 5) for Entourage to detect the correct settings after entering you email address, give it time before thinking it hasn't worked.
3. Read the installation pdf that comes with the Beta BEFORE installing it. I had a scary moment when after launching Entourage it had lost all my other accounts and saved emails. The installer does create a new main identity folder so you can import all your old emails. It would be prudent though to back up your main identity folder.
4. Even after importing your old identity, Entourage didn't seem to have imported my Junk mail training since it decided several hundred of my NHS mails were junk. I do have my protection level set to High so this may not apply if you are not using this degree of filtering. This moves any 'suspect' messages in your NHS mailbox into the Junk folder. If your email is organised into folders, this isn't very helpful since it's time consuming to put them back into the right folders. I suggest making @nhs.net an always accepted domain to minimise the erroneous junking of mail. In retrospect and in future, I could have done this before enabling the exchange account.
5. If you are using POP for any other accounts, after importing my old identities, Entourage re-downloaded all the messages that had been left on the server resulting in several days of duplicate unread messages to filter and remove. This will only apply if you are using POP mail with the 'leave message on the server' option.

It took about 2 hours to install the Beta then sort out all the junk mail and duplicate mail problems. It has been worth it though to have my NHS mail back at home. Interestingly compare that to the 2 minutes to add the new account to my iphone!

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Mail with NHS.net