How do I push email to an iPhone?

[There is no push support for iOS devices available within Mac OS X Server (HT3947)|http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3947]; whether iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad.

What you see listed as push notifications is one of the other protocols used for push notifications, and not the particular flavor of push notifications required by iOS devices.

For details, see the [messageID=12052196|http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=12052196 ] thread, as well as some of the other threads around the forums.

One of the available options for Mac OS X server that does offer push notifications that do work with iOS devices is the Microsoft ActiveSync support available within the (commercial) Kerio mail product.

From the the cited article:

*Additional Information*
Currently, iOS Mail and Calendar apps do not support Push Notifications from Mac OS X Server v10.6.

The necessary push notifications are not presently supported by the Snow Leopard Server Mac OS X Server 10.6 product.

In particular, Snow Leopard Server does not support the Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync push notifications expected by the iOS clients.

This means you can use an alternative path via the Kerio product, via Microsoft Exchange Server, via rolling your own out-of-band notifications for arriving mail, or analogous solutions. Or you use polling, and chew through some battery.

Are there any plans to fix this soon? Is it on the development roadmap? It is unbelievable that with everything being Apple (server and devices), I cannot do simple thing as push notifications.

{quote:title=mvandekorput wrote:}
Are there any plans to fix this soon? Is it on the development roadmap? It is unbelievable that with everything being Apple (server and devices), I cannot do simple thing as push notifications.

{quote}

I find Apple's marketing on OS X Server's push capabilities deceptive.

Right under a picture of an iPhone:

{quote:title=Push email:}
"With Mac OS X Server, you can keep users up to date wherever they go with push email. Users can receive immediate notification of and access to new email messages when they arrive. It’s no longer necessary to constantly check for new mail messages."{quote}

That sounds an awful like mobile messaging for the iPhone/iPad.

I see why it isn't after reading the other articles, but I really, really find it deceptive. And why is it so easy for them to integrate Push technology for iPhone/iPad in Exchange and Google but not their own server.

Bizarre, and sad.

Personally I find myself cheated since this is basically why I bought a mac mini and snow leopard server:
host my own web and mail server.
I am forced to continue use a exchange mail server for my mobile devices...
I understand Snow Leopard Server (SLS) is cheap and therefore I should not expect much but still I had the understanding it would be able to push mail and notification since I also read the text above.
It has become painfully clear that there are probably Microsoft fees involved to be able to give exchange functionality and Steve probably file this under "a bag of hurt"...??
I will not even bring up the SLS Webmail!

The Kerio mail product can generate Exchange ActiveSync push notifications.

yes for another 450$ and that is kind of steep for a nerd and his girlfriend...

yes for another 450$ and that is kind of steep for a nerd and his girlfriend...

So's a dedicated Mac box, when you get right down to it. A slice or a vhost or gmail is cheaper, and you don't have to deal with local connectivity and networking issues and UPS and related baggage, and you can do a push off of these or a gmail or such.

There are also ways to generate an SMS, for instance, for incoming mail messages, if you want to integrate your own notification code.

I've not understood the fascination with push notifications. (But then I date back to the era when gateways were gateways and mail could get delayed, and you needed to know bang-paths to decvax was in order to route your mail. Uphill. Both ways. In a bit-storm. Yeah, yeah, yeah, blasted kids, get off my hyper-lawn. 🙂 )

But seriously, mail isn't a reliable transport, and it's certainly subject to delays. Use the right tool for the job...

I wrote an article about this 😉.

http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2009/12/iphone-and-snow-leopard-servers-failur e-to-communicate.ars

Bluntly, even in Lion, it's not going to happen. Look into Google Apps or Kerio.