Boxer for Android Logs

Boxer for Android Architecture

Boxer communicates with a few different systems to provide these services.
The flow of the Android Boxer log file looks like this:

  • Boxer reaches out to the console to get the profile information;
  • Boxer reaches out to the console to get any S/MIME certificates and client authentication certificates available from the console;
  • Boxer reaches out to the Exchange ActiveSync(EAS) email endpoint to make the options, provision, foldersync, and ping request;
  • Boxer reaches out to the Email Notification S ervice (ENS) and provides the Exchange Web Services (EWS) credential information that was used for ActiveSync so it can subscrib e to email notifications.
graph TD CS[Console Server] --> Boxer; Boxer --> CS; Exchange --> Boxer; Boxer --> Exchange; Boxer --> ENS; ENS --> Boxer;
  • Boxer logs are in GMT. That means the entries there are 5 hours ahead of EST time. In addition, the logs are in 24 hour time so you will need to subtract 12 if you want am/pm.
  • The very first line in the Boxer logs has the last date of the logs in the file. For example 2019-01-08T21:28:04.539Z - [-] - ###--HEADER--###
  • Boxer logs can persist in the app for up to 3 days, so they can be pulled for review even if the issue hasnt occurred recently, but at least within the 3 day period. This is useful for intermittent types of issues, or where there is a delay in an affected user reporting the issue to their techsupport.

Boxer Communication Logs

Here is an example of what you might see in the logs followed by notes (in bold) that detail what the log entry tracks:

Boxer log sample...

Common Ways to Search Through the Logs

On the console where you configure your Boxer profile, you will have places where you can enter profile information like Account Name, Domain, User, etc… However, in the Boxer logs, when you are looking for the corresponding data there, the wording might be slightly different. You can use the mapping information below to see what this would say in the Boxer logs. The value on the left is what you will see in the console. The value after “=” is what you will see in the Boxer logs.

Account Name = DESCRIPTION  
Exchange ActiveSync Host = SERVER_ADDRESS  
Domain = USER_DOMAIN  
User = USERNAME  
Email Address = EMAIL  
Email Signature = SIGNATURE  
Authentication Type = ACCOUNT_AUTHENTICATION_TYPE | 0 basic, 1 certificate, 2 both Copy Paste = ALLOW_COPY_PASTE  
Screenshots = ALLOW_SCREEN_CAPTURE  
Allow email widget = ALLOW_EMAIL_WIDGET  
Allow calendar widget = ALLOW_CALENDAR_WIDGET  
Hyperlinks = POLICY_ALLOW_OPEN_IN  
Sharing = DOCUMENT_SHARING_RESTRICTION  
Caller ID = ALLOW_CALLER_ID  
Personal Accounts = ALLOW_OTHER_ACCOUNTS  
Personal Contacts = ALLOW_LOCAL_CONTACTS

Boxer reaches out to the console to get the profile information

2019-02-07T15:21:55.345Z I [18459-BoxerWorker-5] - App initialization step complete: 1

2019-02-07T15:21:55.578Z E [18459-main] - FLF.setSelectedAccount(null) called! Destroying existing loader.

2019-02-07T15:21:55.589Z I [18459-BoxerWorker-3] - Waiting for app restrictions

This entry is the best example we have of when Boxer reaches out to the console. You can use Fiddler to further determine when Boxer is reaching out to the console. In the Boxer logs, you can’t directly see this. The other place you can see this is in the ADB device logs. The line here that says “waiting for app restrictions” just indicates that Boxer is waiting to read from the database. Boxer reaches out to the console to get any S/MIME certificates and client authentication certificates available from the console.

2019-02-07T15:21:56.256Z I [18459-IntentService[AirWatchAccountSetupService]] - Fetching S/MIME signing certificate

2019-02-07T15:21:58.021Z I [18459-AsyncTask #2] - Certificate being fetched for : AccountAuthenticationCertificateId
2019-02-07T15:21:59.013Z I [18459-AsyncTask #2] - Certificate fetch successful 
2019-02-07T15:21:59.755Z I [18459-Thread-7] - TrackingKeyManager: requesting a client cert alias for 66.170.96.7 
2019-02-07T15:22:05.776Z I [18459-Thread-9] - Registering socket factory for certificate alias [AW-be6fad91fe2b4291b1d392c9eabf90be] 
2019-02-07T15:22:05.846Z D [18459-Thread-9] - Found cert chain: [ [0] Version: 3
SerialNumber: 468315651040541492877707779630191635557515624
IssuerDN: DC=local,DC=milkyway,CN=milkyway-SUN-CA Start Date: Thu Feb 07 10:11:47 EST 2019  
Final Date: Sat Mar 09 10:11:47 EST 2019  
SubjectDN: CN=lwilcox
Public Key: RSA Public Key
modulus: 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
public exponent: 10001

Boxer reaches out to the Exchange ActiveSync (EAS) email endpoint to make the options, provision, foldersync, and ping request.

Making the Options Request

Boxer Options Request...

Perform a FolderSync

Boxer FolderSync...

Perform a provision request

Boxer provision request...

Perform another FolderSync, this time it works. Start email sync.

Boxer another FolderSync...

Ping example

2019-02-07T15:40:12.911Z I [18459-PingTask-lwilcox@labmail.airwlab.com] - Ping task starting for 1  
2019-02-07T15:40:12.912Z I [18459-PingTask-lwilcox@labmail.airwlab.com] - Exchange ping starting  
2019-02-07T15:43:00.125Z I [18459-PingTask-lwilcox@labmail.airwlab.com] - Changes found in: 8  
2019-02-07T15:43:00.126Z I [18459-PingTask-lwilcox@labmail.airwlab.com] - Ping found changed folders for account 1  
2019-02-07T15:43:00.137Z I [18459-PingTask-lwilcox@labmail.airwlab.com] - requestSync EasOperation requestSyncForMailboxes Account {name=lwilcox@labmail.airwlab.com, type=com.boxer.exchange}, Bundle[{__mailboxCount__=1, force=true, expedited=true, __mailboxId0__=5, PING_ERROR_COUNT=3}] 2019-02-07T15:43:00.139Z I [18459-PingTask-lwilcox@labmail.airwlab.com] - Exchange ping finished with result 2

2019-02-07T15:43:00.200Z I [18459-SyncAdapterThread-8 ] - Email sync for account lwilcox@labmail.airwlab.com, with extras Bundle[{ignore_settings=true, __mailboxCount__=1, force=true, expedited=true, ignore_backoff=true, __mailboxId0__=5, PING_ERROR_COUNT=3}] 2019-02-07T15:43:00.316Z I [18459-SyncAdapterThread-8 ] - Starting sync command

Boxer reaches out to the Email Notification Service (ENS) and provides the Exchange Web Services (EWS) credential information that was used for ActiveSync so it can subscribe to email notifications.

2019-02-07T15:23:08.315Z I [18459-AsyncTask #4 ] - Ens registration for account (id=1) is successful! 
2019-02-07T15:43:30.041Z I [18459-main ] - Sync triggered from distance

You can use Notepad++ to search the logs using the following search terms.

• “error” - This is a very general way to look for errors. You will have a lot of false/positives when using this search criteria.

• “exception “ - You can use this to search the file for exceptions that are generated when the application runs into an error.

• “Current Network” - This will show you what network connection the mobile device was connected to 4g, wi-fi, etc…

• “distance” - This shows you each time the ENS server has reached out to the mobile device to wake it up, send a notification, and trigger a sync • “transitioning” - Use this search term to tell when the application is transitioning from background to foreground and vice versa.

• “requestPing” - This will show you when the device reaches out to the OS to use the Android SyncAdaptor which it uses to request the ping. The response to this request will be “Email sync for account”.

• “Email sync for account” - This will be a response from the OS for a command “requestPing” or “requestSync “. Take note of how long between the request and the reply from the OS. If it’s a long time, it’s likely being throttled by the OS due to battery optimization or a third party product.

• “Changes found in: “ - is the response to a ping request. This tells us if the ping found any changes in the inbox. If it did, we will now do a “requestSync " to bring those emails or changes into Boxer.

• “requestSync” - This will show you when the device reaches out to the OS to use the Android SyncAdaptor which it uses to request email sync. The response to this request will be “Email sync for account”.

• “Q-AppInitialization “ - This shows you when the application is starting up. You will see this when you force close and reopen the application or when you start the application after a crash.

• “PingTask “ - shows you all activities related to pings

• “SyncAdapterThread “ - shows you all activities related to sync operations.

• “Email sync for account “ - The response from the OS after a “requestSync” or “RequestPing” operation.

• “ens” - Search the log files for ens errors and settings.

Collecting Boxer Logs When You Can’t Get Into Android Boxer

Depending on what model phone you have, you can follow one of the processes below to collect Boxer logs in the event that you can’t get into Boxer due to an error. You may have a different model device than the ones listed, but the process will be very similar.

Samsung S9+

• Go to “Settings” on the phone followed by “Apps” • Select “Boxer”
• Select “Mobile Data”
• Select “View App settings” • Select “Send logs” • Use one of the other mechanisms to send the logs (either by copying the logs out or another email client).

On Motorola X Pure

• Go to “Settings” on the phone followed by “Apps” • Select “Boxer” • Select “Data Usage”
• Select “App settings”
• Select “Send logs” • Use one of the other mechanisms to send the logs (either by copying the logs out or another email client).