Find out what to do if your iPhone says “this accessory may not be supported” when charging or using other accessories.
If you’re an iPhone, iPad, or iPod user, chances are you have encountered an alert saying “this accessory may not be supported” a few times. The notification usually appears after you plug your iPhone in to charge. But it might also show up when you try to use headphones or other accessories.
I’ll explain the situation in this blog post, along with what you can do to resolve it if you’re wondering why this message appears on your iPhone.
What Does “This Accessory May Not Be Supported” Mean?
There are a few reasons you might see a message saying “accessory may not be supported,” “this accessory is not supported by this device,” or something similar. Here are some of the potential causes:
- Your accessory is broken, defective, or not MFi-approved.
- Your device’s operating system is broken or out-of-date.
- Your device and the accessory are incompatible.
- Your iOS device has a dirty or damaged Lightning port.
- Your jewelry is out of date. If Apple has stopped making an accessory, they might no longer work with the products that are still available.
The steps below will help you diagnose and fix the real reason why your iPhone says “The support for this add-on might not exist.”
Further Reading:
Try Connecting the Device Again
The first thing to do when your iPhone says “This accessory may not be supported” is to try connecting it again. Tap the Dismiss button and pull your accessory out of your iPhone To see if the same pop-up appears, plug the Lightning port back in.
Make Sure Your Charging Cable is MFi-Certified
The kind of charging cable you’re using is another thing to consider if you’re still getting pop-ups after reconnecting. Most of the time, when your iPhone keeps saying, “accessory not supported,” the charging cable that you’re using for your iPhone isn’t MFi-certified.
MFi originally stood for “Made for iPod” but it now applies to all Apple compliance tests that look for things like safety and durability that must be run on manufacturers’ products before they can receive MFi-certification.
Restart Your iPhone
Minor software glitches could also trigger the “accessory not supported” alert. Restarting your iPhone could fix these software issues.
To restart an iPhone 8 or earlier, press and hold the Sleep/Wake button, then swipe the power icon across the screen from left to right. It’s pretty much the same process to restart the iPhone X and later models, except you press and hold the Side button and a Volume button until Slide to power off appears.
Turn your iPhone back on after a brief delay of about 30 seconds, then try connecting your accessory once more.
Enable USB Accessories from iPhone Settings
In the last few years, I have seen the “Accessory may not be supported” alert multiple times when my iPhone is locked and I connect it in an attempt to charge it. Never have I used a fake cable. One of my Lightning cables is from Belkin, which is MFi-certified, and the others are all Apple cables that came with my iPhones.
Clean Your Charging Port
If the warning keeps coming up, look for any dirt or debris in the port on your device and the connector on your accessory. You need to clean your lightning port. Frequently, a buildup of dirt in the Lightning port prevents accessories from connecting, which results in the error alert you’re seeing.
Take a close look inside the Lightning port on your iPhone using a flashlight. If you see any particles or debris inside the Lightning port, try cleaning it out. Use an anti-static brush, a Q-tip, or a new toothbrush to clean out particles clogging up your iPhone’s Lightning port. Try plugging in your accessory once more after cleaning it out. Here are guides to get rice and water out of your charging port.
Examine Your iPhone Charger
If your iPhone says “This accessory may not be supported” when you try to charge it, there could also be an issue with your iPhone’s charger, not the Look carefully inside the USB port on your iPhone’s charger for the Lightning cable. Use an anti-static brush or a fresh toothbrush to remove any gunk, lint, or other debris, similar to how you did in step one.
Make sure you also try charging your iPhone with multiple different chargers. If your iPhone only experiences charging issues with one charger, your charger is probably to blame.
Try a Different Charging Cable
Try using any other charging cable you might have around the house as another simple fix. The cable needs to be replaced if the device charges properly using a different cable but still displays the error.
Apple charging cables are something we can categorize as something to be handled carefully, but chances are 3 to 6 months from now you will run into the iPhone cable not working issue, so be ready and bring a convenient second-hand wire that will do the same thing.
Update Software on Your iPhone
If the problem still persists, there is a small chance that it might be due to a software bug. And in this scenario, a software update is required. In order to enhance the overall iPhone experience, Apple releases a number of bug fixes and performance improvements with each new update. Therefore, head over to the Settings app -> General -> Software Update. Install the newest version of iOS on your device if an update is available.
Fix Minor Software Glitches
Another reason you might get a pop-up saying, “This accessory is not supported by iPhone,” is a minor software glitch. Your iPhone’s software determines whether to connect the iPhone to the accessory when you connect an accessory to the Lightning port.
Restarting your iPhone will solve this issue. Press and hold the power button if you have an iPhone 8 or an earlier model. For iPhone X or newer, press and hold the side button and volume button until Slide to power off appears.
Take Your iPhone to a Repair Shop
If you followed all the steps above, and your iPhone is still saying that the accessory is not supported, there’s a chance that your iPhone’s Lightning port needs to be repaired. You can make an appointment at your neighborhood Apple Store or at a repair facility that has received certification from Apple.
Conclusion: Fix “This Accessory May Not Be Supported”
So, our guide on sorting out the “accessory not supported on iPhone” error ends here. Hopefully, you will get this issue under control now and your iPhone will start to charge as usual.
If your iPhone still says “this accessory may not be supported” after you’ve tried all the steps above, it’s possible that your iPhone Repairs are required for the damaged lightning port.
