In the last couple of days I have deployed two BlackBerry Enterprise Servers for customers and in one case where I was reinstalling the existing BES I saw what is a very common issue.

On the handheld the error message reads:
transaction error-decryption error, and in the server event logs you may see {user_name} DecryptDecompress() failed, Tag=24207815, Error=609

This message will occur when the user’s encryption key has expired and needs to be regenerated. To regenerate a key from the device do the following:

• Go to Options (Settings then Options on some devices)
• Select Security Options
• Select General Settings
• Scroll down to Services and highlight “Desktop [SXXXXXXXX] (***)”
• Press the trackwheel or Menu Button and select “Regenerate Encryption Key”

Once you have performed these steps it should resolve the “DecryptDecompress() failed” error. Once that issue is resolve ensure that “Connection and Collaboration Services” is enabled for this user.

If your company has provided you with a BlackBerry and they have a BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES) then chances are you need to activate device. In order to do this you first need to phone the helpdesk. We will generate the activation email which is sent to you automatically by the BES and contains a username (your email address) and an automatically generated password. The problem we see most often is this email is kind of vague. So here is a step by step guide on how to activate your BlackBerry.

BlackBerry OS 4.6.x and later (BlackBerry Bold/9000 and on)
At the main screen, select Menu

• Select Setup
• Select Setup Wizard
• Select Email Setup
• Select I want to use a work email account with a BlackBerry Enterprise Server, then click Next
  Under Has your BlackBerry Enterprise Server administrator provided you with an Enterprise Activation password? select Yes, then Next
• Enter your email addressand use the activation code obtained earlier as the password. Activation Server Address should not be necessary.
• Select Menu, then Activate.

BlackBerry OS 4.5.x and earlier (BlackBerry Curve, 8×00 and older)
At the main screen select Settings

• In the Settings screen select Options
• In the Options list select Advanced Options
• In the Advanced Options list select Enterprise Activation
• Enter your email addressand use the activation code obtained earlier as the password. Activation Server Address should not be necessary.
• Select Menu, then Activate.

Enterprise activation should take about 10 minutes. During the process, the user will receive a message in their inbox from network entitled RIM_xxxxxxxxxxxxx. This message is part of the activation process and should be left in the inbox until the process has completed.

Once registered, there will be many lines of information about the status of synchronization. Once the process finishes, you may see the message “Activation Successful”. At this point, you are ready to use your BlackBerry