I am not very familiar with activating devices and have a device that we just switched form being TCP-IP and now want it to be on the BES. I have made sure that the proper plan is implemented from AT&T to allow BES hosting, but am not sure how to get it running. If what I have read is correct, one of the first things that happens in BES Activation is the device receives an email message from the server. When I try to activate the device it fails very quickly just saying that therewas an error. When I try and compose a message, I am told that no message service is configured. Can I activate the device if there is not a message service configured? If not how can I get the message service configured without being on the BES yet. I tried deleting the entries in the service book and waiting for the system to re-send them, but that didn't change anything.

Anyway, this is probably a dumb problem, but I am just not sure how to get it going. If anyone could give me some help it would be greatly appreciated!!! Thanks!

P.S. If it matters the device is a BB8800

Did the BES admin create you an account and send you the password?

Yes. I have the username and password, but after a second or two of trying to activate I get a message that an error has occured, no other details.

Your BES Admin must set up a specific password for the activation. It's different than your email password.

The other way to start Activation (if they've set up an account for you on the BES) is to plug it into Desktop Manager. Setup Desktop Manager for BES (and Exchange or whatever email system is used.) Then connect to the email server as you would if you were to retrieve your email (vpn, lan, etc.) Once that's connected then connect the BB and open Destkop manager. It should ask for your email profile. It should connect to your email server and then activation should start on it's own. If it doesn't you may have to go to Email Settings in Desktop Manager and regenerate an encryption key.

However, the easiest way is to get a password from the Admin. The password is a one time use password and usually expires in 24-48 hours.

Thanks for your comments, but I have a BES activation password from the Administrator. Also, the BES server is located in Europe and I am in the U.S. without any previous email setup, so it mus be done over-the-air. The administrator set the password not to expire for 720 hours so that also should not be a problem. My main concern is that on other troubleshooting pages, it seems to imply that you will not be able to activate without a message service configured. Is that true? How can I configure a message service when I am not on a BES?

If its not working then I would go back to your carrier and double/triple/quadruple check that your on the Enterprise plan, not the prosumer plan - it's not something they're that good at getting right 1st time.