BlackBerry TroubleShooting - Message Delivery Confirmation

Rob KnightConsultant
CERTIFIED EXPERT
Published:
Have you ever wondered if there is a way to get a message delivery receipt without interrogating the BlackBerry log files or using the Resource Kit tools? It is possible using this tip:

When troubleshooting whether a BlackBerry is receiving emails, one of the easiest ways to test this without speaking to the user is to send a message and force the device to send a delivery confirmation. You can request a delivery receipt from a Blackberry device by sending an email to the BlackBerry enabled mail account with the following in the Subject field:

<confirm>

Taking this further, you could look at service availability measurement by running a simulator connected to your BES Router or BlackBerry router, where it's in a DMZ (you'll need to allow 4101 through for this to work in the DMZ scenario) and automate the sending of an email with the <confirm> text in the subject - if not message delivery is returned from the Simulator this indicates a problem - the BES still needs a connection to the BlackBerry Infrastructure for this to work, even on a Simulator.

Simulators can be downloaded from RIMs website:

http://us.blackberry.com/developers/resources/simulators.jsp

They can be installed and commissioned on a desktop PC and using the BlackBerry Web Desktop (BES 5) or Blackberry Desktop Manager (BlackBerry 4 or 5) can be activated against the BES via a tethered connection. Simply enable USB connectivity from Simulate, USB Cable connected, enter the credentials of a user already added to the BES into Web Desktop and off you go.

If you have any issues activating, you may need to enable a manual configuration for the BlackBerry Router in BlackBerry Device Manager.

BlackBerry device simulators are also an excellent way to test new devices and functionality prior to enabling it on your 'real' devices - a range of simulators are available including the latest BlackBerry OS 7 devices such as the Bold 9900.

Hope this is useful!
1
5,669 Views
Rob KnightConsultant
CERTIFIED EXPERT

Comments (0)

Have a question about something in this article? You can receive help directly from the article author. Sign up for a free trial to get started.