A number of users of the Mophie Juice Pack Air have reported problems with the battery case not being recognized or properly charging iPhone 5 devices following iOS updates. While the specific reasons are unclear, there have been reports since iOS 7.0 and iOS 7.1 of iPhones suddenly showing a message that the accessory may not be supported, usually following an iOS update; similar issues have been reported following the recent release of iOS 8.1. Some users have reported temporary success with workarounds such as using an iPad 10W power adapter or charging the iPhone and battery case separately a few times.
Notably, Mophie has recommended the latter procedure when users have reported compatibility errors, although not all users have had success with that particular method, even when using Mophie-supplied cables and recommended power adapters. Mophie’s cases are notably carried in Apple Stores, and were amongst the very first to receive Apple’s Made For iPhone Lightning certification after the iPhone 5 was released.
The Mophie Juice Pack Air charges the iPhone and the battery case in sequence, and accessory-related error messages occasionally appear when the accessory transitions between charging the iPhone and charging its own battery, suggesting that there may be a handshaking issue with Apple’s authentication chips.
However, it appears that authentication chip-related components in the case may be failing entirely over a longer time period, ultimately resulting in the case not being recognized by iOS, and the connected iPhone refusing to accept a charge. Reports have varied regarding problems with pass-through charging and charging directly from the case’s battery, but there appears to be a correlation between new iOS version updates and problems with the Mophie cases. It’s possible that changes to Lightning authentication in later iOS versions may be affecting compatibility with previously certified “Made For iPhone” accessories, an issue that would be Apple’s responsibility to resolve.
