This accessory may not be supported

I have the same issue regarding the error message " This accessory may not be supported".

The issue has been started when I've updated my iOs software update to 10.3.2. I haven't experienced the same issue before until I've updated it. I hope there is a useful help here aside from basic cleaning of ports and questioning the reliability of my cable. Thanks in advance.

If your cable is from Apple and it is not working then make a Genius Bar appointment at your nearest Apple Store and have it replaced.

If it is from another vendor and is certified as Made for iPhone then contact the vendor that made it.

If it is not from Apple, and is not certified as Made for iPhone, then it probably no longer work.

I have been through this on my iPhone6 and tried all the options, and I think I found the one that works plus some other temp fixes. And it's clearly my phone, not chargers, because the same chargers work just great on my iPad.

Fail-safe option:

-- plug in charger, "accessory not supported" will pop up, turn off phone. Wait a normal charging time. Turn on phone. Phone will be charged. It sounds like from others, this option will work every time, and for 4+ months it has for me! The downside: no phone backups. But hey, it's better than forking over $ for a new phone when you're still paying off your current one. Also, don't turn off phone and then plug in, because it will just turn on and not recognize the charger.

Other options that may work, temporarily, and will allow you to back up your phone when it is working:

-- early on in the problem, turning my phone off and on worked. But that stopped.

-- "resting" my phone worked for a while, but that also stopped. Meaning if I tried to charge it when I went to bed it would give the "not supported" message, but if I plugged it in first thing in the morning before I used it at all, it would charge. Sometimes I'd have to rest it for an overnight, sometimes just an hour or even half an hour.

-- I got a non-Apple approved charger (gasp!), but hear me out. It's one of those magnetic chargers. So you keep a piece in the charging port in the iPhone at all times, rather than repeatedly adding and removing the charger. In theory it will result in less damage to the port. And I didn't get this charger until after my phone stopped charging while on all the time. But here's the odd thing: after switching chargers, sometimes my phone charges while on now! Not all the time, it goes in and out, weeks where it will charge when on and then weeks when I can only charge it by turning it off while plugged in. But when it's working correctly with the mag charger, every time I've tried switching to the Apple-approved charger, it stops working. So now I exclusively use the mag charger.

Most importantly, if your phone is less than a year old, take it in to get it fixed/replaced for free! Mine started doing this after 9 months, but it eventually charged when still on, so I didn't bother taking it in. It took until 16 months to stop charging when on reliably, and by that point Apple laughed at me when I said it was an issue before the one year was up and it's my fault for not taking it in (I mean, it is, but they were still pretty condescending about an issue with their product)

Hello there!

I'm using original cable from Apple, as I've mentioned that the issue has been started when I've updated my iOS software to 10.3.2, I've read some articles that this is a known issue regarding the said iOS software update. Any help on how to fix the firmware of iOS?

Thanks in advance for the person who can help me.

not necessarily. I've cleaned my phone port but it still doesn't always charge. Yet same cable works perfectly fine in iPad. In some cases it may be a cable problem, but for me, and it sounds like for most people, it's the phone not the cable.

exactly, as many of us have pointed out already. But for those of use who don't want to pay a service fee and be told we need to buy a new phone, I suggest trying some of the other fixes plenty of people (including myself) have listed in comments above.

Turning airport on and back off will only work for checking if the cable is mfi certified or an Apple cable. If the message is being displayed for one that is then it will be a connector problem or a defective cable. Turning airport on or off should not affect charging and either way it is a kludge not a solution.

Not helpful buddy. I have worked in computer industry in technical services since 1987 and based on all tests I have done, it is very unlikely to be a hardware issue. Of course, there is always that 1% chance. The only step the genius bar technician gave me was to pay $550 to replace the phone as he did not have a clue why the phone was doing that. Therefore, following company guidelines, he automatically classified it a "hardware failure".

If a game crashes on your phone, while everything else works fine, it must be a hardware failure too when you follow this kind of policy. His cables did not work. My cable (original Apple) works fine when it is not rejected as an "Unsupported Accessory". When I turn off the phone, it charges well overnight without any issue. If the port was dirty (it was confirmed as clean at the Apple store) or defective, it would not work when the phone is powered off or when Airport mode is activated and then de-activated after reboot.

Bottom line, no point to hold our breath on this as Apple will only fix this issue when there will be enough casualties to finally become public news in the media. By then, they will fix the issue in the O/S to avoid Public Relations backlash.

When thousands of users are having a problem, it points to the manufacturer. An error received that says “may not” is a very bad message. These are technical products. We should receive an actual error code that points to an actual problem instead of “may be“. If it is a problem with the port, an error code pointing to that problem should be received. If it is a problem with a plug, another distinct error code should be received. If it is a software, hardware, or firmware problem, the code should identify the problem. Users should be notifield that the problem is being worked and users will be notified. It would help to know that Apple has figured out the problem and it is going to be fixed. Is it fixed on iPhone 8? The steps currently written to fix the problem are not helpful and the questions and steps are not technical. Yes, I have the latest update. Yes I am using an apple charger. Clean the port...give me the actual steps because I have a feeling the next technician will say “you didn’t poke anything into the port, did you?” My charger will work and then it will not work. Is it that the port is not seated correctly in the various devices? I guess it would be expensive to fix all our ports.

When you work with electronic equipment, the vendors suppy user manuals with the error codes. I guess they are more noble (or more honorable) then a large corporation that supplies a message “may be a ...”

"don't you understand" a phone is a piece of hardware. Electronic equipment have been equipped with error codes as long as I worked in the field. I bet you have noticed that when there is a problem with an electric/gas washer it will provide error codes, stoves/ovens will provide you with an error code, your car will supply you with an error code, the Electric Company works with error codes and so it goes. If you have the proper equipment, you can hook in to electronics and read any error codes. Would you say a car would not give you an error code because it is a car? By the way, this message is coming up on iPads, iPhones, iTouch, etc. All are equipped with software and firmware.

Error codes save very specific things based on how they are coded. But I'm glad we all know a little more about error codes and electronics. I think we are further along than your original comment:

"What part of "All the phone knows is that something is wrong, it doesn't have enough information to identify the problem." don't you understand?"

Adios and good luck.

that is the problem started. After about 20 seconds plugged and lightening, the message shows... sigh... I think Apple try to sell their accessory with fault message. This is pure OS issue.

It's extremely frustrating. I've bought new iPhone chargers and am still getting this error message. 😡

What????