How to set-up Zimbra Mobile on iOS Devices (iPhone, iPad)

This tutorial shows you how to set up Apple’s iPhone or iPad to sync email, calendar and contacts with Zimbra Collaboration Server using the Active Sync protocol.

Before getting started

• Check that your email administrator has enabled this feature otherwise you won’t be able to complete the set-up.
• Make a note of your username (your email address), password and Server name as you will need them when following this guide. These details were provided to you when you signed up for the service – please contact your administrator if you do not have them.

Set-up your Apple iPhone or iPad to work with Zimbra:

• From the home screen, tap ‘Settings‘ and then ‘Accounts & Passwords‘
• Tap ‘Add Account‘
• Tap ‘Exchange‘
• Enter your email address and a description of your choice e.g. Work Email
• Tap ‘Next‘
• Select ‘Configure manually‘ from the popup option
• Enter your password
• Tap ‘Next‘
• What you see next depends on whether your email administrator has setup autodiscovery. If it is not enabled you will have to enter your Server name and Username which is your full email address. If it is enabled, then you should be able to skip that step. If autodiscovery fails saying cannot verify server identity, tap ‘Details‘ and then ‘Cancel‘ and proceed to fill out the Server and Username fields. When you have finished, you may need to tap ‘Next‘ to arrive at the final screen.
• Decide what you would like to sync. Make your selections and tap the ‘Save‘ button. Your device will relocate you back to ‘Accounts & Passwords’.

Important Notes

iTunes Sync: To avoid sync conflicts, you should disable synchronisation of Calendar, Contacts and Mail when you connect your device to iTunes on your PC or Mac. 

Calendar and Contact Sync: Your iPhone or iPad will wipe its Contacts and Calendar database and then copy the contents from the server to the device. If you have contacts and calendar items stored on your phone which are not also in your Zimbra mailbox, we recommend performing a backup prior to enabling Calendar and Contacts sync with Zimbra. You should then import the backed up items into your Zimbra mailbox. To perform a backup and import, configure iTunes to sync with Outlook (windows) or AddressBook.app and iCal.app (Mac), perform an iTunes sync with your device connected to your computer, export the contacts and calendar items and then import into Zimbra. Confirm that all items are in your Zimbra mailbox and if so, enable Contacts and Calendar sync in the Mail, Contacts, Calendars screen on your device.