Microsoft KB Archive Search

Notice: This website is an unofficial Microsoft Knowledge Base (hereinafter KB) archive and is intended to provide a reliable access to deleted content from Microsoft KB. All KB articles are owned by Microsoft Corporation. Read full disclaimer for more details.

  1. Home
  2. Error message when you try to perform a remote wipe operation for a device in Exchange Server 2010: "The ActiveSyncDevice identity cannot be found"

Error message when you try to perform a remote wipe operation for a device in Exchange Server 2010: "The ActiveSyncDevice identity cannot be found"

View products that this article applies to.

Symptoms

Consider the following scenario:
  • A user connects to a mailbox that is hosted on Microsoft Exchange Server 2010.
  • The user has a Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync partnership that works as expected.
  • You move the user to a new organizational unit (OU) or rename a user account in Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS).
  • You try to perform a remote wipe operation for the device in the Exchange Management Console (EMC).
In this scenario, you receive an error message that resembles the following when you try to perform a remote wipe operation for the device:
The ActiveSyncDevice identity cannot be found
Note In this error message, identity is the identity that is returned when you run the Get-ActiveSyncDeviceStatistics cmdlet together with the mailbox parameter.

↑ Back to the top

Cause

This issue occurs because the EMC does not use an up-to-date identity.

Notes
  • The EMC uses the identity that is returned when you run the Get-ActiveSyncDeviceStatistics cmdlet. This identity is not updated when a user is moved to a different OU or when the user account is renamed in AD DS.
  • To obtain the correct identity to use in a cmdlet, run the Get-ActiveSyncDevice cmdlet.

↑ Back to the top

Workaround

To work around this issue, use one of the following methods, as appropriate for your situation.

Method 1: Move the user to the OU where the device was first synchronized

To work around this issue, follow these steps:
  1. Temporarily move the user back to the OU where the device was first synchronized.
  2. Wipe the device.
  3. Move the user to the OU that you want.


Method 2: Rename the user account in AD DS

To work around this issue, follow these steps:
  1. Temporarily rename the account to the original name.
  2. Wipe the device.
  3. Rename the account again.


Method 3: Use the Clear-ActiveSyncDevice cmdlet

To work around this issue, run the Clear-ActiveSyncDevice cmdlet, and use the device distinguished name.

↑ Back to the top

More information

To re-provision the device, run the Remove-ActiveSyncDevice cmdlet, and use the device distinguished name. After you run the Remove-ActiveSyncDevice cmdlet, the correct identity is returned when you run the Get-ActiveSyncDeviceStatistics cmdlet. Additionally, the correct UserDisplayName value is returned when you run the Get-ActiveSyncDevice cmdlet.

Notes
  • The user mailbox is re-synchronized when you run the Remove-ActiveSyncDevice cmdlet.
  • After you run the Remove-ActiveSyncDevice cmdlet, you can correctly manage the device by using the EMC.

↑ Back to the top

References

For more information about the Get-ActiveSyncDeviceStatistics cmdlet, visit the following TechNet website:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa996908.aspx
For more information about the Clear-ActiveSyncDevice cmdlet, visit the following TechNet website:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa995904.aspx

↑ Back to the top

Keywords: KB2721428, kbtshoot, kbprb, kbsurveynew

↑ Back to the top

Article Info
Article ID : 2721428
Revision : 4
Created on : 9/21/2012
Published on : 9/21/2012
Exists online : False
Views : 291