This method provides a higher level of control over the device, but is more labor-intensive on the administrator as it requires no user interaction.

Connect the device to a computer that can access the BlackBerry Administration Service, and log in to the service using an account that has permissions to assign devices.

Under the Devices section, expand Attached devices. Click on Manage current device and then select Assign current device. This will then prompt you to search for the user's account that we want to assign the device to. Once we have found the user, we can click on User and then select Associate user and finally click on Assign current device.

The wireless enterprise activation method allows a device to be associated with a user and provisioned to access the BES without connecting the device physically to your network. Using this method, the administrator provides the user with an activation password that they enter along with their e-mail address, into the Enterprise Activation program stored on the device, as described in the previous process. The password is created by the administrator and can be communicated to the user via an autogenerated e-mail or over the telephone.

The wireless activation password is created for each individual user account. It is a single use password, meaning that once the password has been used to activate a device, it is no longer valid. The password is only valid for 48 hours by default and is invalidated if the user unsuccessfully attempts to activate a device with the password five times. Let's have a look at some of the options available regarding this password.

In BlackBerry Administration Service, expand Wireless activations, click on Device activation settings, and on the right-hand pane select Edit activation settings.

The e-mail initialization section enables us to customize the automessage that is sent to users if we choose to generate and e-mail an activation password to the user. We can change the sender details to match the organization's administrative account and add a message to inform the users of the steps that need to be taken to activate the device, possibly including the helpdesk number and e-mail address, in case users run into any difficulties. In the Password settings section, we can enter the length of the password that users have to type into the device, which is by default set to six. We can also depict the type of password — SureType passwords help users that have devices, which don't support a full qwerty keyboard, such as the Pearl, making the entering of the password easier. We can also make sure that the autogenerated password is always in lowercase, or we can choose the setting that makes sure that the passwords are all alphanumeric characters. The default lifespan of the activation password is set to 48 hours. Once the 48 hours have passed, the activation password becomes invalid.

In Lab 3, we will look at generating activation password for users within the Sales group, and also setting activation password manually for a user.

Users can activate their device by plugging it into a machine in the corporate LAN and running BlackBerry Desktop Manager. Once the device is connected and BlackBerry Desktop Manager is started, a wizard will pop up asking the user to select the type of account they want the Desktop Manager to function with. The activation process using this method is described further:

The principle is the same as the previous one except this option does not need any software installed on the user's PC, and can be used to activate multiple devices by the Administrator by just logging in as the user. This can be done by browsing to the web desktop manager site that was created during the installation, the login page looks the same as the BlackBerry administration site except the fields are coloured green. You can log in as a user and activate the BlackBerry device, without having to install any additional software. To use this site you must be running Internet Explorer as the site will need to install a RIM Active X component that only functions in Internet Explorer. Once you have logged into the site you can select Activate Device from the menu, and also select the Troubleshooting tab to resend service books which will also force the activation if you are experiencing any issues.

It is vital that when you are carrying out over-the-air (OTA) activations that the ETP.dat file can traverse through your network infrastructure without being dropped or scanned by firewalls, filtering rules, or anti-virus protection. Before starting a corporate-wide wireless activation, it is always good to test by sending a test.dat file to a mail account on the Exchange server to ensure nothing is blocking the delivery of the file. Remember that the ETP.dat file is the main building block in enterprise activation — it's this file that kick starts the activation process.

Another common issue with activating devices is that they are not provisioned correctly by the wireless carrier to join a BlackBerry Enterprise Server. Each carrier has its own tariffs and options regarding provisioning a device to use a BES. Once you receive the device, before commencing activation download the Enterprise Activation Readiness tool, to see if the device is correctly provisioned by the wireless carrier to join a BES network.

There is a difference between the device being registered on the wireless network and the provisioning of the device to use a BES. A device that is registered on the wireless network means it can send and receive data — we can check this by sending a PIN message, as shown in Lab 3. If the device is not registered, we can manually register it from the device by carrying out the following: