Apple has officially filed intent to fix a new bug introduced with the iOS 6.1 update released two weeks ago, this one affecting the Calendar view in iOS when connected to Microsoft Exchange to view recurring appointments, meetings and other scheduled events stored on the server.
The bug involves constant pinging of the Exchange server for the data already retrieved and causes a feedback loop that floods the server with requests, with the temporary fixes involving blocking iOS devices or avoiding accessing recurring events in the Calendar app until the bug can be patched as well as the alternative temporary fixes listed below.
“Apple has identified a fix and will make it available in an upcoming software update,” was the response that Apple delivered on the support page for the issue in its knowledge base, which details the issue.
When you respond to an exception to a recurring calendar event with a Microsoft Exchange account on a device running iOS 6.1, the device may begin to generate excessive communication with Microsoft Exchange Server. You may notice increased network activity or reduced battery life on the iOS device. This extra network activity will be shown in the logs on Exchange Server and it may lead to the server blocking the iOS device. This can occur with iOS 6.1 and Microsoft Exchange 2010 SP1 or later, or Microsoft Exchange Online (Office365)
There are several workarounds to the bug detailed on Apple’s support pages, but the most extreme comes from Microsoft itself as it detailed on its own TechNote knowledge base:
- Remove the Exchange account from the device
- Create a custom throttling policy for iOS 6.1 users
- Block iOS 6.1 users
Apple has since then offered the following workaround until it can release the update. The workaround is to disable, then re-enable the Exchange calendar:
- Go to Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars
- Select the Exchange account from your Accounts list.
- Turn the switch for Calendars to OFF.
- Wait ten seconds.
- Turn the switch for Calendars back to ON.
While the 6.1 update is 2 weeks old as of today the Exchange bug only made itself publicly apparent over the last week and a half with official responses coming during this week. The recent iOS 6.1.1 update released this week does nothing to address this particular issue, as it only fixed an issue with the 4S and updated iMovie to fix bugs and improve stability.
