Configuring Jabber for Android vs. iPhone in UCM v8.6

[matthew.marsh]

We are running CUCM v8.6 and we use Jabber for Windows extensively (with WebEx Connect versus on-premise CUPS behind the scenes).  Our UCM engineers have successfully set-up Jabber for iPhones and iPads for both IM and softphone functionality.  I recently asked them to set up a CSF profile for me so I could try using Jabber for Android (on my Motorola Razr Maxx HD running ICS v4.0.4).  They created one, gave me the ID and TFTP address to use.

But when I go through the Jabber for Android set-up process and try to "Verify" it will not work.  It returns a message saying "Connection failed. Please check your Internet Calling settings and try again..." (though I cannot get to the Internet Calling settings without getting past the initial set-up, so I am really stuck).  The Jabber for Android logs show it is connecting to our UCM TFTP server with two messages saying "TFTP Download = Started" then "TFTP Download = Complete."  So it appears the Jabber for Android is connecting to the UCM but still fails.

When I spoke to our UCM engineer who set up my Jabber for Android CSF profile I asked if he used the set-up settings / process specific for Android devices, not the process for setting up Jabber for iPhone / iPad.  He told me the process and set-up / configuration should be the same for setting up Jabber for Android profiles as it is for iPhone or iPad.

So my question is...  Is it fully the same process and settings within UCM / CUPS / WebEx Connect to get Jabber for Android as it is setting up Jabber for iPhone / iPad?  If it is different, could you point me towards what those differences are? 

Thanks,

Matt

[Dennis Mink]

They are very similar. You will find a lot of problems getting jabber to work on the non Samsung android devices. Cisco's support and commitment to development, seems very poor at least. Which is both surprising and disappointing if you consider the fact that there are substantially more android devices than iOS devices.

[matthew.marsh]

Thanks for the reply.  I have to agree about the Android development being disappointing.  I understand the argument that the Android OS is very fragmented from one device brand to another.  And maybe Google should not allow different hardware brands to tweak the OS so it is more consistent (say like MS Windows running mostly the same regardless of computer manufacturer).  But at the same time, there are plenty of Android apps out there that I know work consistently well from one device to another.  Between the various Android phones I, my kids, and my family have all had there are apps that developers are able to get to work well across all of them.  I know you cannot make every Android OS work with every device with Jabber all of the time.  But I feel like given that 75% (or so) of smartphones out there are Android OS, it is worth having a big team of Android OS / Jabber developers trying to get as many to work as possible. 

I cannot keep telling every one of my Cisco UCM customers that if they want Jabber for a mobile device they have to buy an overpriced Apple product or only Samsung Android phones.  Customers are going to get tired of being stuck with only those choices and as other PBX brands can support Android more over time, it could hurt Cisco's UC positioning for customers that continue to get more and more serious about mobile connectivity to the office from any device.  Cisco has had a big "BYOD" (Bring Your Own Device) movement lately.  But if Jabber only works on Apple or Samsung products it feels more like "BYODALAIIAOS" - Bring Your Own Device As Long As It Is Apple or Samsung.

[Ashish Patel]

Can you confirm its CSF vs BOT?

Must start BOT as per

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/sw/voicesw/ps556/products_configuration_example09186a0080bb5104.shtml

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/voice_ip_comm/jabber/Android/8_6/JABA_BK_A940B90D_00_jabber-for-android-admin-guide_chapter_010.html#JABA_TK_A29595FC_00

Although not officially supported, Cisco Jabber for Android runs on many Android Version 2.2 and 2.3 devices with various limitations depending on the device. For information about running Cisco Jabber on unsupported devices, see the Cisco Support Forums at https://supportforums.cisco.com/docs/DOC-26610

Rgs

ashish

[matthew.marsh]

Ashish,

Yes, they have my Android configured as BOT.  Or, I should say, my user ID begins with BOT (i.e. BOTMMARSH).  And when I go into my UCM User Options page that BOT profile has a "Model" description of "Cisco Dual Mode for Android".

Is there anywhere I can go within my Android phone, or the Jabber for Android app, to look for more information about why this attempt to connect to UCM is failing?  When I get the error and it says "Connection failed. Please check your Internet Calling settings and try again..." I do not know of anyway to get to those "internet calling" settings.  Since Jabber for Android will not even get past this "Verify" step, there is no other settings I can get to in Jabber.

Is there anywhere our UCM administrator should be looking in logs to see why it says my Jabber for Android attempts to connect are failing or being rejected?

Matt

[Ashish Patel]

You can try collecting logs from your device as highlighted here (which I think you have done)

http://www.cisco.com/en/US/docs/voice_ip_comm/jabber/Android/8_6/JABA_BK_A940B90D_00_jabber-for-android-admin-guide_chapter_0100.html#JABA_TK_OCDFA606_00

And seeing what error you are getting from the client side.  You say TFTP seems to be working, but registration is not to CUCM, the CUCM SDI/SDL trace logs may help to find out whether you are even seeing it try to register.  If you can also get a wireless sniffer onto an open SSID network and sniff traffic at the switch port connected to the Access Point you might be able to tell what else is going on. Good luck.

ashish

[b_ferguson]

Were you able to get this going?  I have the same exact problem with an andriod phone with one of my customers, trying to get this one working before rolling it out to others.

[Osvaldo Verduzco]

We recently noticed that Jabber for Android was not working. We reinstall the app and experienced exactly the same as you. I noticed that our iphones had no problem with Jabber registering. Thus, I configured the Jabber devices in Call Manager as Jabber for Android devices, which start with TCT instead of BOT. To my surprise, this worked. But only temporarily. After about half an hour, it lost the connection. I removed the TCT Jabber device and added the BOT Jabber device in call manager and re-configure Jabber on the phone and it again works temporarily.