As I hoped they would (but couldn’t mention in my previous post), Microsoft has weighed in with a KB article on the iOS 6 “hijacked meeting” bug. The article ID is 2768774, and it makes a couple of cogent points: first, that Microsoft is aware of, and is actively investigating, the bug. Second, that “Microsoft cannot mitigate this issue”; they recommend contacting Apple. The interesting part to me was the section on workarounds. Microsoft’s suggestions include:
- telling users not to make calendar changes using the iOS app
- recommending that users not update to iOS6 (as if! iOS device users are legendarily quick to update to new versions)
- blocking iOS 6 devices using Exchange ActiveSync allow/block/quarantine
- blocking users who have delegates, or who are granted delegate access, from using EAS
- using POP/IMAP instead of EAS (this made me laugh out loud– really!)
I have been testing Savvy Software’s Agenda app recently and like it quite a bit. However, it, like almost all the other calendar apps of which I’m aware, it uses the underlying iOS calendar data store and sync mechanism, so I’d expect it to fall victim to the same bug. NitroDesk has ported its Touchdown app to iOS (though its App Store reviews are pretty poor), and Emtrace has the MoxierMail EAS client (which I still need to review.) So pick your poison: none of Microsoft’s suggested workarounds are great, but their hands are tied. It’s pretty clear this is an Apple problem and it will be incumbent on Apple to fix it… which I am sure they will, eventually.
Paul's Down-Home Page 
So over time as a non-iOS user, I’ve formed a perception that major iOS upgrades are more prone to introduce major EAS bugs than equivalent upgrades on other platforms. Is this a valid perception, or are the bugs centered around imperfect implementation of new features? From the sidelines, it just seems like Apple has a hard time with keeping EAS from being broken.
Nope, your perception is right on. I haven’t seen any real Windows Phone EAS bugs. The ones I’ve seen on Android mostly revolve around sync problems (e.g. items appear on the device after deletion from the mailbox, or vice versa). Apple’s bugs tend to result in damage or loss of items on the server. Keep up the good work, guys.