One of the drawbacks of OWA was the inability to change user password or login using OWA when the password expires. This created a lot of trouble for mobile users who always use OWA. The ability to change the user password using OWA was introduced in Exchange 2007 SP3, but is missing in 2010 RTM. Check my previous article for 2007 SP3 OWA Password Reset feature.
The public beta of 2010 SP1 didn’t have this feature as well. But, guess what? 2010 SP1 RTM provides this feature, once it is turned on. By default, the password reset feature is switched off (don’t know why Exchange Team did that).
In order to enable the feature, follow the steps below (It is same as 2007 SP3).
- Log on to the CAS server with an admin account.
- In registry editor, navigate to HLKM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\MSExchange OWA
- Create the following DWORD value if it does not already exist. DWORD Name – ChangeExpiredPasswordEnabled, type - REG_DWORD and data set to 1.
- If the DWORD already exists, change the value from zero to one.
- Reset IIS from the command prompt.
You need to make the registry edit on all CAS servers, if you have more than one in your environment.
To demonstrate the feature in action, I have created a new mailbox with the option to change password at next logon.
I will use OWA to login for the first time, which notifies me that my password has expired. It gives me the option to put my current password & a new one to make the change.
Once I enter the old & new password and click “Submit”, I get a confirmation that my password has been changed.
This will reduce the number of helpdesk calls from mobile users to some extend. Go for the registry edit guys!
2 comments:
Excellent and helpfull post!
Thanks Walter.
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