Windows Mobile 6.5 + Exchange 2010 + Outlook 2010 = Desktop SMS Messaging

This is awesome! My Exchange account over at www.myhostedsolution.com has been migrated to their new Exchange 2010 hosting servers. This means that I can finally do SMS synchronisation between my mobile, running Windows Mobile 6.5, and my Inbox. Better still, with Outlook 2010 I can both view and reply to SMS messages from within Outlook. All of this without having to configure any additional settings or services.

Here are the few steps you have to do.

  1. Upgrade your Exchange account to Exchange 2010. If you set up hosting with www.myhostedsolution.com you get this included in you subscription for free by default. Did I mention they have unlimited storage so is awesome value.
  2. Go into ActiveSync on your Windows Mobile 6.5 device and enable synchronization of Text Messages. This should enable synchronization of your text messages with your Exchange 2010 server. When I first upgraded to Exchange 2010 the option to synchronize text messages didn’t appear in ActiveSync on my device so I ended up wiping the device and setting up the account again.
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  3. The next piece is to install or upgrade to Outlook 2010. This sports a much newer interface, including the ability to send SMS messages. After installing and configuring your account (or if you’re upgrading, after your data file has been upgraded) you should see an email from Outlook 2010 entitled “Send and receive text messages on your computer!” which indicates that your mobile device is synchronizing text messages and Outlook is ready to send messages.

Sending Text Messages from Outlook 2010

From the New Items drop down select Text Message (SMS)
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This will open the Text Message window where you can enter your message. Note the list of emoticons in the ribbon.

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Once you’ve written your message, hit Send. When your device next synchronizes you should see a notification that your SMS message has been sent. That’s right, Outlook 2010 synchronizes the message to be sent to Exchange 2010, which then synchronizes it to your mobile device, which then sends it using your mobile phone account. No additional services necessary!

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If you get an SMS Message it will be synchronized to Exchange 2010, then on to Outlook 2010, appearing in your Inbox along with your email. Careful if you’re working for an organisation that monitors email as your text messages will now be accessible to your Exchange administrators.

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You can of course reply to an SMS and it will be sent out again via Exchange, Outlook…. your device. You do need to make sure your device is synchronizing, otherwise your SMS messages won’t be sent.

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