As we suspected when Apple added a warning to a pre-release version of iOS 7 that non-certified cables may not work reliably with iPhones, the launch version is actually blocking some of them from charging the phone. Certified cables contain a chip that allows them to authenticate.
We first spotted this in a Reddit post, and have since confirmed. The warning message itself is unchanged, but it’s no longer an empty threat – though as seen in comments, some non-certified cables are still working. Possibly ones that use cracked chips. The good news is that there is a workaround for others, but it’s not pretty …
- Turn on USB power
- Plug in lightning cable to iPhone
- Dismiss any warnings
- Unlock your iPhone.
- Dismiss any remaining warnings.
- Now with the screen turned on.
- Unplug the knock off lightning cable.
- Plug it back in.
- Dismiss warning again
- It should now charge.
We suspect people are going to simply buy a certified cable rather than go through that palaver every time they connect. Certified cables have to be built to Apple’s spec, and manufacturers pay a licensing fee for the privilege. The best deals on certified cables at present can be found over on 9to5Toys.
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I hope this will not be an issue for all the Mophie Juicepack owners out there (myself included). That’s an easy way to scew over a lot of people.
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Good afternoon Jason,
I am an employee at mophie, and I can assure you that mophie uses authentic cables sourced directly from Apple; however, there are also a number of counterfeit mophies (which use counterfeit cables) available on the internet. If someone purchased a counterfeit mophie, that person may run into these issues. As usual, if it seems too good to be true, it usually is.
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Matt,
I have a mophie and it’s not a counterfeit, bought from Radio Shack. It no longer works with IOS 7. Work arounds from Mophie appreciated. Those things aren’t cheap.
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Yes, it’s effecting my juice pack. This sucks!
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Can anyone confirm if the Amazon lightening cables are working properly? http://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Lightning-Compatible-Cable-Meter/dp/B009SYZ8OC/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1371242912&sr=8-4&keywords=iphone+5+usb+cable
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Nope
At least not the early ones.
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My Amazon Lightning cable is working fine after upgrading to iOS7.
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I got that warning yesterday, but it still charged my iphone 5 without having to do that work around.
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Interesting that some third-party ones are still getting around it
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Apple in nickle and diming their way to the bottom. One of the worst shameless money-grabs ever.
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the worst is even that their new lightning cables suck in quality, as they are thinner than the 30 pin ones, they faster break.
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Of course! Disgusting company. They just want to get as many heaps of money as they can. They should be shot.
DOJ should be investigating this.
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The amazon cable carries the Made for iPhone, iPod, iPad so it is certified and should work. If not then Apple can sue Amazon again for illegally using the “Made for” graphic.
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I’m not having any problems with my third party charger. It’s an Auvio 9 foot cord.
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Thanks for the comments letting us know that some non-certified cables still work – article now updated
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Check out the Practical Meter. It can help you tell which cables are better than others.
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Belkin seems to be working Fine
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Official cables are certified by Apple.
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Official Belkin Cables **
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I love my iDevices, but the choice of lightning over micro-USB really feels like a crippling knife, stabbing wildly at my wallet and limiting my ability to connect with the existing cables and peripherals that most other manufacturers are using and you find lying around in every household. A true crying shame..
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This has been happening with both of my lightning cables, although these two are the ones that came in the box when I bought my iPod nano last year and my iPhone 5 earlier this year. When I plug my iPhone in the message appears and I have to move the cable a bit. Has anyone had this problem too?
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Similar problem overhere. After updating to iOS 7, our iPad 3 (2012) refused charging using the original Apple included cable. Because I didn’t link the cable problem to the iOS update, and I suspected physical connector damage, I bought a new 10 euro non-Apple cable (Jibi Shanghai JIBI0048). Turns out that new cable doesn’t work either. Meanwhile we get around using another cable, that still works: an iPhone 4 (2013) original cable… (to be continued)
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The work around is not working for me…and the cables I bought, go figure are no longer listed on Amazon…GRRR, waste of $20
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I’ve been using an iSimple audio cable in my car for the last several years with no issues. When I upgraded to the iPhone 5, I bought one of the lightening cable adapters so that I could continue routing my iPhone through my stereo to listen to music. Still had no problems until the iOS7 upgrade. The phone worked fine on my way to work this morning, but when I plugged it in this afternoon, the audio would only play through the phone’s speakers and not over the car radio, and I got the dreaded “not supported” message. How the heck is it unsupported when it’s Apple’s official adapter?
I’m thoroughly annoyed and trying to find a work-around- the one listed above hasn’t worked for me, but maybe I’m doing something wrong.
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i have the same proble with the isimple and my ipod 5gen. i have a cheap adapter though. do i have to buy an original adapter? Do you already fixed the problem?
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My phone was charging perfectly fine until today. I am using the cable that came with the phone. I downloaded the new software yesterday, but now my phone won’t charge at all. No warning, no nothing.
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me too! have you found a solution?
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im having problems plugging my phone to my car head unit with the usb cable after updating to is7. It doesnt detect my device now. before i updated to ios 7, I used to be able to listen to my music simply by plugging my phone to the head unit with a usb cable. It would also charge my phone at the same time. any idea how to work around this?
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I try it with a non-Apple lightning cable ($2 EBay 8pin cable from China), same warning message come out from my ipad mini and iPhone5, after you dismiss the massage, it will sync both mini and 5, but for charge you don’t need to dismiss the warning massage, it will still charge in the background. I also noticed that the warning message only come out 70% of the time by using the same aftermarket cable, 20% of the time it will sync and charge like the Apple cable. I hope this will help.
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it’s not working for me, i use Iphone 5 btw
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I USE MOPHIE, I CAN CHARGE MY PHONE, BUT WITH I NEED TO RECHARGE WITH MOPHIE DOESN’T WORK, WHAT SHOLD I DO????
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I have the new 64GB 5S – no combination of unplugging and plugging-in the device works… my $12 investment of $2 lightening cables from Dollarama is wasted😦
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Argh!!!! Super frustrating as the cable I purchased was actually bought from an Apple store!!!!!! Not happy😦
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it wonk work😦 someone please help me, i have an iphone 5,
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Lia,
You may get more help reading discussions on Apple’s support forums on this subject.
https://discussions.apple.com/search.jspa?resultTypes=&dateRange=all&q=ios7+third-party+lightning+cables
Some third-party cables work, others don’t. Often the cheaper ones are cheaper because they don’t pay the licensing fee and they may be cheaply made, too. I have had no problems with the AmazonBasics cables. It seems like they are authorized cables.
http://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics-Lightning-Compatible-Cable-Meter/dp/B009SYZ8OC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1380335681&sr=8-1&keywords=lightning+cable
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This is very disappointing… So Apple wants you to pay them $19 for the power adapter PLUS $19-$29 for the cable!?!? So a charger costs you $40-$50 nowdays. That’s the biggest load of BS I’ve ever seen. I have the 5S, and can’t get any aftermarket cables to charge it. Apple is going to start pushing away loyal customers with these money-hungry plots.
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Followed the instruction but still not charging…. any other way to make it work? (apart from buying a certified cable…)
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Absolutely disgusting, not a grain of respect I have for Apple any more, this is no longer about the customer, this is about the business, I can’t imagine any good reason to block third party cables like this
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Apple returned to me the —$ amount after my i5 had some serious damn OS issues.. That was quite fair. But apple never responds to its customers for the troubled cables and headsets provided. Most liked feature of ios7 is the Collections section of the photos.. Thats a great treat to the Iphone users.
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don’t get this issue with a 3rd party 30-pin cable on an iphone 4
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My cheapie iPhone 5 cable came in the mail just now and showed the message when I plugged it in. I dismissed it (already on home screen) and plugged it back in and it charged despite the message reappearing. It’s plugged into my USB port though, maybe it won’t work through a wall plug.
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I am high pissed and will never recommend any product of apple to anyone i know. This action taken was very selfish and of the many users out there (i am so sorry), sorry i ever bought this shit maybe yall should at least warn us before we accept the upgrade to ios7
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This issue will be resolve soon as Apple did before.
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I know it’s only on charger cables but I must object… this is an anti-competitive practice. All we want to do is charge our phones and not pay $25 for a piece of cable! Apple, I swallowed the kool-ade, I love your products, you look after your customers … but for the first time you have really really annoyed me.
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@ Diplogeek: Have you found a solution for the isimple / IOS7 issue with your iphone 5? I’m having the same problem. When my iphone 5 is connected with the lightning adapter on the original isimple 30 pin cable, I don’t have audio through the stereo. The Bluetooth connection still works though. I’m very frustrated.
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have you find the solution for the isimple problem?
have the same problem here
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2 spare cable bought after the iPhone 5 charger cable that came with the phone broke worked for 2-3weeks with the std ” not supported message” popping up once or twice in the day- now neither work and chafe fir a few seconds then stop with the message popping up constantly…the work around given doesn’t work for me- and if apple have done this how dare they monopolise the buyers a choice as to which accessories they chose to use with their phone especially when the change the charger every single time a new model ones out!!
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I recently purchased an Amazon Basics APPLE CERTIFIED cable. Works about 10% of the time. Pain in the A**. NOt an apple fangirl.
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If I had some sort of warning, I would have never bought an unauthorized cable. I bought them, they worked fine, but NOW I can’t use them?
Apple just lost a customer.
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Have a Belkin car charger that is supposed to be certified but won’t work = $100 down the drain. This is anti-competitive behaviour once again from Apple. They should be hauled in front of the ACCC (Australia) for this and other attempts to restrict consumers’ choices. This is completely unacceptable and should not be tolerated. When will governments stop turning a blind eye to this companies trickery that simply dupes people out of their hard-earned cash?
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I have a Belkin cable for iphone 5c and it charged for a few days and then the warning for incompatibility appeared. I don’t remember what I selected when the warning appeared and now the cable won’t charge the phone and the warning won’t appear again. Does anyone know if there’s a way to access warnings in settings or some other way to attempt the work around mentioned above?
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