Whats the deal with all these annoying "accessory not optimized for iPhone" errors!

[Bobby Corwen]

So I bought some really cheap $3 in-ear headphones (that secretly had a lot of bass tho) from some random swap market... And every-time I'm listening to music and I move the headphones too much or the plug twists or moves, it cuts out and stops and sometimes gives pop ups? Can't apple fix this annoying behavior? They're just headphones. Is it that hard to have mass compatibility or at least normalize the behavior.

If I use this car charger charge cable sometimes it says that too. I'll plug in to charge. Itll give me the annoying error and interupt me. Then goes to charge. Wth!? This is the typical charger and connector from the Apple retail store btw.

Worst part: sometimes I'll just be unplugged from ANYTHING, and the "this accessory is not optimized for the iPhone" error will pop up?! There IS no accessory connected and you're STILL harassing mee!!??

I understand it's a prompt for letting people who are unsavvy to be sure they are not using a system than fully utilizes all the remote controls. But sometimes that is NOT the case and 99% of people know if they plugging in an iHome that is compatible or a charge plug, or a headphone set with different buttons.

It all is kind of backwards. They should change how that is handled.

 

[Kyotoma]

It's more of a regulatory issue than anything else. If it wasn't build to be compatible with your current generation of iPhone, they it will most likely display that message. All Apple is trying to do when displaying this message is attempting to give you the best user experience possible.

In regard to your randomly receiving these messages when not plugged in to anything, is your Bluetooth on? It may be picking up a signal from a nearby device and attempting to pair with it. Otherwise if that's not the case you could try a factory restore and see if that clears up the messages.

 

[2IS]

I was receiving this random message too (though never while NOTHIGN was plugged into it) so I took some compressed air and cleaned out the headphone jack as well as the dock connector and all was well after that.

 

[jonrando]

So I bought some really cheap $3 in-ear headphones (that secretly had a lot of bass tho) from some random swap market... And every-time I'm listening to music and I move the headphones too much or the plug twists or moves, it cuts out and stops and sometimes gives pop ups? Can't apple fix this annoying behavior? They're just headphones. Is it that hard to have mass compatibility or at least normalize the behavior.

If I use this car charger charge cable sometimes it says that too. I'll plug in to charge. Itll give me the annoying error and interupt me. Then goes to charge. Wth!? This is the typical charger and connector from the Apple retail store btw.

Worst part: sometimes I'll just be unplugged from ANYTHING, and the "this accessory is not optimized for the iPhone" error will pop up?! There IS no accessory connected and you're STILL harassing mee!!??

I understand it's a prompt for letting people who are unsavvy to be sure they are not using a system than fully utilizes all the remote controls. But sometimes that is NOT the case and 99% of people know if they plugging in an iHome that is compatible or a charge plug, or a headphone set with different buttons.

It all is kind of backwards. They should change how that is handled.

There you have it.

 

[Bobby Corwen]

It's more of a regulatory issue than anything else. If it wasn't build to be compatible with your current generation of iPhone, they it will most likely display that message. All Apple is trying to do when displaying this message is attempting to give you the best user experience possible.

In regard to your randomly receiving these messages when not plugged in to anything, is your Bluetooth on? It may be picking up a signal from a nearby device and attempting to pair with it. Otherwise if that's not the case you could try a factory restore and see if that clears up the messages.

I understand why but it can get very sloppy. Thats my criticism. The phone just seems to overreact way too much with 3rd party accessories and there needs to be a way to turn these notifications off in settings or something if you you're the owner of one, every time you plug it in you have to get popped.

Bluetooth was not on.

I was receiving this random message too (though never while NOTHIGN was plugged into it) so I took some compressed air and cleaned out the headphone jack as well as the dock connector and all was well after that.

I don't think its the case, I remember this happening for a long time. I just now got super annoyed by it.

There you have it.

Headphones are headphones are headphones. Thats how it should be. This phenomena would not happen on other phones. It should handle all presumably compatible devices.

Just because its a generic headphone doesn't mean it should prompt me to do voice control (and interrupt my song) just because I looked left and tugged the headphone string just enough for it to glitch.

I guess they want to encourage me to get their made for iPhone products BUT THE CHARGER WAS FROM THE RETAIL STORE!

 

[Kyotoma]

Headphones are headphones are headphones.

That statement couldn't be more false.

 

[accessoriesguy]

yeah sounds like you may be having a hardware or software issue, I have never heard of anyone having a similar problem in such a severe case.

 

[Bobby Corwen]

yeah sounds like you may be having a hardware or software issue, I have never heard of anyone having a similar problem in such a severe case.

Yeah it never happened unplugged until the first time I plugged in those damn headphones. Later in that day after I had unplugged them, it was the first occurrence and it's happened at least 3 times in a couple weeks. I'll just be using it with nothing plugged in and it will say this accessory is not supported and BT is off.

Out of nowhere.

----------

And it's not worth a reset really...

 

[AppleFanatic10]

So I bought some really cheap $3 in-ear headphones (that secretly had a lot of bass tho) from some random swap market... And every-time I'm listening to music and I move the headphones too much or the plug twists or moves, it cuts out and stops and sometimes gives pop ups? Can't apple fix this annoying behavior? They're just headphones. Is it that hard to have mass compatibility or at least normalize the behavior.

If I use this car charger charge cable sometimes it says that too. I'll plug in to charge. Itll give me the annoying error and interupt me. Then goes to charge. Wth!? This is the typical charger and connector from the Apple retail store btw.

Worst part: sometimes I'll just be unplugged from ANYTHING, and the "this accessory is not optimized for the iPhone" error will pop up?! There IS no accessory connected and you're STILL harassing mee!!??

I understand it's a prompt for letting people who are unsavvy to be sure they are not using a system than fully utilizes all the remote controls. But sometimes that is NOT the case and 99% of people know if they plugging in an iHome that is compatible or a charge plug, or a headphone set with different buttons.

It all is kind of backwards. They should change how that is handled.

I know what you mean. Mine does that to my iHome dock. Every time it gets plugged in it says "This accessory is not optimized for the iPhone"; then when I press dismiss it starts charging. Gets kind of annoying.

 

[Gjwilly]

The headphone thing is weird but chargers a different beast.

The iPhone can draw 1/2 an Amp (it does this when hooked to a USB port) or it can draw 1-Amp (when hooked to A/C).
If the phone tried to draw 1A from a device that couldn't provide 1A there could be some damage.
So how does the iPhone know? The charger tells it.
Apple uses a non-standard USB setup and actually looks for power coming into it on the data wires (in addition to the charging wires).
A USB port on a computer or similar won't have any power on the data wires and the phone will draw 500mA.
A charger designed to Apple specs will have just the right amount of power coming in on these wires and the iPhone will know that it's safe to draw 1A.
This power spec is very specific and if the power is off by just a little the iPhone will give you that accessory error. I think I remember it being less than 1/2 a volt.
And even if the charger is putting out the right voltage, using a non-Apple USB cable or a damaged cable could alter that voltage just enough to throw off the phone's settings.
It may drop down to the 500mA charge rate or it might not charge at all. It probably depends on how "off" that voltage is.
That setting is in the iPhone firmware and it can change with every iOS update.
My car stereo used to charge my iPhone just fine.
Then there was an iOS update and the car stereo stopped charging.
On the next iOS update it started charging again.
In my office I use an official Apple charger with a generic USB cable. It works jus fine.
Then after iOS5 beta-1 it stopped charging.
As soon as beta-2 came out it charged just fine again.
Not sure why Apple keeps changing this setting but they do.

 

[Bobby Corwen]

The headphone thing is weird but chargers a different beast.

The iPhone can draw 1/2 an Amp (it does this when hooked to a USB port) or it can draw 1-Amp (when hooked to A/C).
If the phone tried to draw 1A from a device that couldn't provide 1A there could be some damage.
So how does the iPhone know? The charger tells it.
Apple uses a non-standard USB setup and actually looks for power coming into it on the data wires (in addition to the charging wires).
A USB port on a computer or similar won't have any power on the data wires and the phone will draw 500mA.
A charger designed to Apple specs will have just the right amount of power coming in on these wires and the iPhone will know that it's safe to draw 1A.
This power spec is very specific and if the power is off by just a little the iPhone will give you that accessory error. I think I remember it being less than 1/2 a volt.
And even if the charger is putting out the right voltage, using a non-Apple USB cable or a damaged cable could alter that voltage just enough to throw off the phone's settings.
It may drop down to the 500mA charge rate or it might not charge at all. It probably depends on how "off" that voltage is.
That setting is in the iPhone firmware and it can change with every iOS update.
My car stereo used to charge my iPhone just fine.
Then there was an iOS update and the car stereo stopped charging.
On the next iOS update it started charging again.
In my office I use an official Apple charger with a generic USB cable. It works jus fine.
Then after iOS5 beta-1 it stopped charging.
As soon as beta-2 came out it charged just fine again.
Not sure why Apple keeps changing this setting but they do.

And why is it that sometimes my 3rd party headset sets off voice control? It has a button on it (no volume) but even if I just twist the plug?

 

[Gjwilly]

The iPhone looks for different resistance values on the headphone pins.
Different values perform different functions.
If your plug is a sloppy fit and not lining up with the proper pins or if your headphones have sloppy wiring connections where the internal resistance is always changing then anything could happen.

But what shouldn't happen is any accessory messages with no accessories connected.
That is a problem.

 

[yourmother]

I had that message pop up when my 3gs fell into the bath. It was in the water less than a second but for a day or two that message would pop up.

Don't know, but maybe my story can help you out.

 

[Bobby Corwen]

I know what you mean. Mine does that to my iHome dock. Every time it gets plugged in it says "This accessory is not optimized for the iPhone"; then when I press dismiss it starts charging. Gets kind of annoying.

Exactly! See this is the redundancy that will ultimately drive me crazy! Its that it always works one way or another!

Its just a sloppy residue from the iPod era!

Apple, Steve, please. Stop torturing us with these incessant and annoying pop up warnings that are completely completely unnecessary. The pop up should only happen if the device truly does not work at all and would be incapable of charging or emitting sound altogether.

The iPhone looks for different resistance values on the headphone pins.
Different values perform different functions.
If your plug is a sloppy fit and not lining up with the proper pins or if your headphones have sloppy wiring connections where the internal resistance is always changing then anything could happen.

But what shouldn't happen is any accessory messages with no accessories connected.
That is a problem.

Thanks for letting me know that introductory summary to headphone pin technology. I guess thats why the random voice control thing gets set off...

 

[awadeee]

We often see slight water damage create these popups as well.

 

[Kyotoma]

Exactly! See this is the redundancy that will ultimately drive me crazy! Its that it always works one way or another!

Its just a sloppy residue from the iPod era!

Apple, Steve, please. Stop torturing us with these incessant and annoying pop up warnings that are completely completely unnecessary. The pop up should only happen if the device truly does not work at all and would be incapable of charging or emitting sound altogether.

Uhh, No. I honestly doubt that they will remove this feature entirely because your phone, although starts working when you dismiss the message, still detects that there is a variance in the quality of connection of the accessory that you're using.

We often see slight water damage create these popups as well.

This. Has your iPhone ever been splashed or dropped in liquid? Sometimes certain features of the phone may stop working normally or altogether if exposed in a high enough humidity environment.

 

[icewing]

First, spring for a decent set of headphones. It's not Apple's fault that you're trying to use cr*p headphones.

To your other points, I keep getting that dialog when I use an older Athens iVoice boombox. I surmise it's because it was designed for older stardards before the iPhone came out. After I dismiss the dialog, it does charge and work just fine.

Agree with you that it gets annoying...but not sure how difficult it would be to fix it.

Finally, I started getting the dialog when nothing was connected, like you. Followed several recommendations to clean the USB port on the phone, rebooted, restored as new, yadda yadda.

Finally got to where it was happening a lot, took it to an Apple store, they replaced the phone for free. Give it a shot, good luck.

 

[Bobby Corwen]

Uhh, No. I honestly doubt that they will remove this feature entirely because your phone, although starts working when you dismiss the message, still detects that there is a variance in the quality of connection of the accessory that you're using.



This. Has your iPhone ever been splashed or dropped in liquid? Sometimes certain features of the phone may stop working normally or altogether if exposed in a high enough humidity environment.

I don't know. I don't think so. Maybe at the most I put it in my pocket when my shorts were slightly sandy from the beach and there was a a few grains of sand touching my phone, put nothing severe. I doubt I ever even took it in the bathroom when showering. I dunno.

First, spring for a decent set of headphones. It's not Apple's fault that you're trying to use cr*p headphones.

To your other points, I keep getting that dialog when I use an older Athens iVoice boombox. I surmise it's because it was designed for older stardards before the iPhone came out. After I dismiss the dialog, it does charge and work just fine.

Agree with you that it gets annoying...but not sure how difficult it would be to fix it.

Finally, I started getting the dialog when nothing was connected, like you. Followed several recommendations to clean the USB port on the phone, rebooted, restored as new, yadda yadda.

Finally got to where it was happening a lot, took it to an Apple store, they replaced the phone for free. Give it a shot, good luck.

Wow. This DOES happen to be a refurb since I had a legendary glass crack incident (they all are).

I will be hitting up the Apple store this afternoon!

HHHMMMMMMMMMM...

 

[sulpfiction]

Same thing has just started happening to me. I have a 16g iPhone 4 that I got on launch day. It is in mint condition, no scratches, never been wet, etc, etc. Recently (within about the last month) my home button started to become slight unresponsive. It seemed to be getting worse but would always eventually work with 3-4 presses. I tried a few recommended fixes, none of which seemed to work. Just about that same time I started getting the "accessory not optimized for iPhone" error when the phone was just by itself which I found rather strange. I did a few soft resets and it still happens. Not sure if it's some type of interference of something software related. Funny thing is that over the past week or 2, the home button has been totally fine. I am a phanitic with my all my gadgets so at first it was really bothering me, especially the home button. But now that I can just about smell the "iPhone 5", I'm not too worried about it.

 

[Bobby Corwen]

Same thing has just started happening to me. I have a 16g iPhone 4 that I got on launch day. It is in mint condition, no scratches, never been wet, etc, etc. Recently (within about the last month) my home button started to become slight unresponsive. It seemed to be getting worse but would always eventually work with 3-4 presses. I tried a few recommended fixes, none of which seemed to work. Just about that same time I started getting the "accessory not optimized for iPhone" error when the phone was just by itself which I found rather strange. I did a few soft resets and it still happens. Not sure if it's some type of interference of something software related. Funny thing is that over the past week or 2, the home button has been totally fine. I am a phanitic with my all my gadgets so at first it was really bothering me, especially the home button. But now that I can just about smell the "iPhone 5", I'm not too worried about it.

Yeah and a brand new mint refurb will sell quite nicely