iPhone 5s 'This cable or accessory is not certified and may not work reliably...' help?

This is not a software problem, and updating won't fix it. The most likely cause is dirt in the Lightning port on the bottom of the phone. Inspect it with a bright light, and clean it carefully with a non-metallic probe such as a toothpick.

Not the cord. This is an issue that happens when nothing is plugged into the phone.

I didn't mention a cord. I said clean the connector on the phone. Dirt or moisture in the port can make the phone "think" there is something plugged into the phone.

Yeah,
5S Phone not even 1 month old,
Using Apple certified charger..
"Unreliable" message comes up....

Mmmm... Pity that apple are becoming pathetic these days. Mmmm

The REAL pity is that you jumped into a 3 year old thread without actually reading it to find the solution.

Hi,

I have a situation that I'm hoping someone can shed some light on. I have read through a lot of this thread but still don't quite understand what my particular problem might be because I think my situation is unique.

I have an iPhone 5S and have been using an MFI certified cable I got from Amazon (here) and have had no issues with it for about 7 months until just this past day. I now receive a message about the accessory not being certified and how it may not charge the iPhone reliably.

Now to try and rule some things out I performed the following:

1) Trying to charge the phone using a Rocketfish charger (that I have had for well over a couple of years) and the MFI certified 3rd party Kinps cable...RESULT: message pops up and iPhone will not charge and in fact drains when trying to use this cable.

2) Trying to charge the phone using the Rocketfish charger and my certified Apple cable...RESULT: phone charges

3) Trying to charge the phone using an Apple charger and the MFI certified Kinps cable...RESULT: phone charges

So from these experiments I'm more confused than ever because I don't see a clear conclusion here. If it was the cable that failed I would assume the cable would not charge my phone regardless of the charger being used. If it was the charger that has failed I would assume that my phone would not charge regardless of which cable is being used. Neither of these things are true.

Does anyone have any thoughts as to what the issue might be? I looked at my charging port using a flashlight and it doesn't appear to be dirty to me but I suppose I can bring it to a Genius bar and have them check (although I am no longer under warranty and am unsure if this kind of thing is done free of charge or not...does anyone know?).

I'm not sure what might've changed for this setup to stop working. Really the only thing I've done differently lately is that I had my phone plugged into my car using a cigarette port USB charger and an Apple cable just for about an hour and a half. Could that have somehow damaged my phone? But again, if it had, then I would expect that my phone would just not charge at all regardless of any type of configuration between cable and charger. Is that a correct assumption to make? Or is it possible for the phone and/or port to be damaged in a way that it works with certain cables/charger configurations but not others?

Thank you in advance to anyone who is willing to look over my issue and offer any suggestions or insights. I am completely stumped.

EDIT to above statement:

The phone actually does not charge with the 3rd party MFI certified cable and the Apple charger. I thought it was because the message did not pop up and the lightning bolt actually showed up next to the battery but the battery still drains, so it's not actually charging.

Hopefully that clears some things up for anyone who reads my post.

I know this is 2 years late, but just wanted to say, hear hear! AppleCare Support definitely has a repertoire of things they can do to help customers find an amenable resolution. And it is far more likely that AppleCare will go that extra mile for you if you approach the situation calmly, rationally, and respectfully. Rather than coming into it all crazed, wild-eyed and verbal guns blazing spouting rhetoric about Apple conspiracies.

Regardless, when it comes to working with AppleCare Support, they understand that these issues are a big deal but no need to shoot the messenger by being a jerk when working with AppleCare Support. And as "Jcs2305" pointed out in his/her first post, there is an escalation path (the speaking with a Senior Advisor) with AppleCare Support that will often yield results in situations where making exceptions to accommodate the customer are warranted.

I have a somewhat relatable question. Since my original iPod charger has died (it's a 5th gen iPod btw) , I found myself to be buying a new $18 dollar charger at meijers tonight. It's a Case Logic apple charger. I researched about it to see if its a certified charger, you know, so it wouldn't f*** up my device with a knock-off, because apple is like that now. I found a site that said its "MFi certified" but it seems despite that, people on this thread said that they've used seemingly certified chargers and they still wont charge their device or they still get weird pop ups/errors.

I just simply want to know if the brand I got is genuine and if anyone has used this brand as well and had no issues with it. This was not a cheap charger, but then again I'm not going to use it until I know its safe to use. Is Case Logic certified?

If it indicates that it is MFi certified, then it is certified by Apple to be used with your device.

Cheers,

GB