Why an iPhone Might Give 'Accessory Not Designed for iPhone' Messages when Nothing is Attached

The iPhone's a great device, and many iPhone owners never leave the house without their phones.

However, this means that the iPhone's at a relatively high risk for technical issues. Any device that's kept in your pocket 24 hours a day is going to take a number of bumps, and while the iPhone's built to withstand a great deal of use and abuse, parts of the device can gradually break down.

The dock connector of the iPhone is at especially high risk, as most iPhone owners have at least one accessory that uses the dock connector to play music from the iPhone or to charge the device.

Recently, my iPhone presented an error message which read, "This accessory was not designed for use with the iPhone." I've seen the error message before--it's pretty common, and tends to pop up if you're using any accessory that wasn't designed by Apple. However, it was unusual in this case because the iPhone wasn't plugged into anything.

There are two problems that can lead an iPhone to assume that an accessory is plugged in when there's nothing there. One's a software issue, and one's a hardware issue.

The Software Fix

If your iPhone had been acting slow before giving an "accessory not designed for iPhone" message, there's a decent chance that it's suffering from mild file corruption issues.

File corruption happens on any device over time, and basically means that the computer can't correctly read the data that it needs to operate normally. It can cause dozens of issues, including issues with user input devices--and on the iPhone, file corruption can make the phone's computer think that something's plugged in when nothing's there. This often occurs right after something actually was plugged in to the phone.

There's no way to check whether file corruption is causing your iPhone issue, but the fix is fairly simple. Restart the iPhone by holding the top button down for a few seconds, then swiping across the screen. If the issue reoccurs, plug the iPhone into a computer and update or reinstall its firmware. This should clear up most corruption issues. If the problem keeps happening, it's likely that there's something physically wrong with the phone.

The Physical Issue

Physical issues are more difficult to fix, and unfortunately, if your iPhone's displaying an "accessory not designed for iPhone" message, it probably means that part of the dock connector is bent or warped.

The good news is that software issues are far more likely, because in order for the dock connector to malfunction, there needs to be a faulty electrical signal. Try the software fix listed above. If your phone still doesn't work, it's time to visit your cell phone provider for an upgrade or a replacement. Dock connector issues are generally covered by your warranty.

Have any questions about iPhone dock connector issues? Post below.