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Bad home button on the iPhone 5?

T

tigerfan41

macrumors regular
Original poster
Oct 7, 2011
175
5
So I just received my iPhone 5 from Verizon (32 GB White) and I am noticing that the Home button is not as responsive as it was on the 4S. Namely, I have to push it hard just to get it to work, and half the time Siri or double-click won't work. Right now I'm trying to decide if (a) it's a hardware defect or (b) a software defect. And also whether to take it to Verizon or Apple for service.

Anyone else having this problem? Would it be worth an exchange? Otherwise the phone is flawless, it's only the home button that is giving me problems.
 
xAnthony

xAnthony

macrumors 65816
Mar 2, 2010
1,174
143
tigerfan41 said:
So I just received my iPhone 5 from Verizon (32 GB White) and I am noticing that the Home button is not as responsive as it was on the 4S. Namely, I have to push it hard just to get it to work, and half the time Siri or double-click won't work. Right now I'm trying to decide if (a) it's a hardware defect or (b) a software defect. And also whether to take it to Verizon or Apple for service.

Anyone else having this problem? Would it be worth an exchange? Otherwise the phone is flawless, it's only the home button that is giving me problems.
Click to expand...

Oh God... I've been having this problem with my iPhone 4 for over a year now and it's been driving me crazy. If my iPhone 5 has this issue... You'll see a YouTube video of me throwing it against the wall.
 
T

tigerfan41

macrumors regular
Original poster
Oct 7, 2011
175
5
xAnthony said:
Oh God... I've been having this problem with my iPhone 4 for over a year now and it's been driving me crazy. If my iPhone 5 has this issue... You'll see a YouTube video of me throwing it against the wall.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it is really beginning to piss me off. I paid $300 for this phone and use the double-tap feature all the time; also use Siri pretty often. I basically need the home button to be functional.
 
S

smotheredhope

macrumors regular
Jan 31, 2009
186
0
xAnthony said:
Oh God... I've been having this problem with my iPhone 4 for over a year now and it's been driving me crazy. If my iPhone 5 has this issue... You'll see a YouTube video of me throwing it against the wall.
Click to expand...

10-4. If I have the same problem with the 5 as I have with the 4 I'll lose my facking mind
 
T

tigerfan41

macrumors regular
Original poster
Oct 7, 2011
175
5
What makes me mad is before I knew I had the problem, I took the phone to Best Buy and paid $35 to have them put on an Invisible Shield for the front screen. Now if I end up having to exchange this damn phone, I'm going to have to shell that out again.
 
xAnthony

xAnthony

macrumors 65816
Mar 2, 2010
1,174
143
tigerfan41 said:
Yeah, it is really beginning to piss me off. I paid $300 for this phone and use the double-tap feature all the time; also use Siri pretty often. I basically need the home button to be functional.
Click to expand...

Definitely exchange it... I tried to play mine out in hopes it would get better and boy do I ever regret that. I kid you not, there's been times when I've wanted to throw my phone 20 feet in the air. I'd also consider AppleCare+. The second year is where I had most of my issues and they wanted $150 to repair it... AppleCare+ also allows you to get your phone replaced for $50 if you break it, or scratch it up pretty badly. You might want to consider that before dropping another $35 on cheap plastic.

smotheredhope said:
10-4. If I have the same problem with the 5 as I have with the 4 I'll lose my facking mind
Click to expand...

I would honestly consider switching to another company if I had this issue again... And I've never said that before. That's how badly this has been driving me nuts.
 
T

tigerfan41

macrumors regular
Original poster
Oct 7, 2011
175
5
I think I'm going to see how the weekend plays out. If it's still this way Tuesday, I will be going down to the Apple Store and seeing what they can do. At a minimum I want a new phone and replacement screen protectors or some sort of other accessory for my trouble.

I already have really good insurance through Verizon or else I'd get AppleCare+. The invisible shield is just for the screen; I have two cases that I'll be using for my 5. As durable as the phone seems to be, I don't like the idea of going caseless.
 
J

joesploggs

macrumors regular
Jun 18, 2010
110
1
You're not alone. I have booked my Genius Bar appointment already as my home button is very unresponsive :(
 
S

simonpink

macrumors newbie
Apr 15, 2010
2
0
yeah mine's screwed too, 1 in 5 really hard pushes will work.
pretty frustrating since I don't have my jailbreak to use custom gestures as a work around.
I'm hoping I can just get a swap in store and not have to go through my carrier.
 
L

lotorus

macrumors newbie
Jul 16, 2012
22
0
Received my White 32 ATT iphone5 today. Home button does not work 90% of the time right out of the box. No matter how hard i press it. Or if I keep it press. Does not work. I took it to an Apple store and they verified it's bad. But I need to come back for a proper appointment with a genius before they will replace it. :rolleyes: Seriously, QC is in the toilet these days. Here I was all excited that it arrived well before the scheduled October 5th date.
 
Givmeabrek

Givmeabrek

macrumors 68040
Apr 20, 2009
3,464
1,161
NY
tigerfan41 said:
What makes me mad is before I knew I had the problem, I took the phone to Best Buy and paid $35 to have them put on an Invisible Shield for the front screen. Now if I end up having to exchange this damn phone, I'm going to have to shell that out again.
Click to expand...

The invisible shield has a lifetime warranty. You will have to pay a few bucks for shipping and handling.
 
T

tigerfan41

macrumors regular
Original poster
Oct 7, 2011
175
5
I assumed the Invisible Shield warranty only applied to the screen on the original phone, not one on a replacement device? I guess I'll have to contact them and see if they're able to help.

Well, I have an appointment with the Genius Bar at 12:30 today. Never been there before so I'm not sure what to expect, just hope they don't try to say there's no problem (there is) and refuse to replace it.

I did go to Verizon the other night. The Verizon worker I dealt with was surprisingly nice and helpful. Verizon corporate, not so much. First I was informed that Verizon didn't have any units in stock and would have to order me a new one. Delivery date: October 21. I wasn't really bothered by that; however, they then told me that I would need to pay $300 AGAIN for the new phone and then wait for my original $300 to be refunded when I turned in my old phone after getting the new one. I was like, F that. I'm not spending $600 for a phone even if I eventually get $300 of that refunded. The Verizon worker told me I could go to the Apple store and see if they can help; otherwise I could come back and they'll resume the order and I won't lose my spot in line.

If Apple doesn't replace it, I will most likely be returning my iPhone 5 to Verizon, paying the $35 restocking fee and getting a Droid.
 
T

tigerfan41

macrumors regular
Original poster
Oct 7, 2011
175
5
Got a replacement! :D I brought the phone into the Genius bar this afternoon and described the problem. The Genius worker who helped me was able to see the problem as well and thought maybe a cable or something else had gotten unplugged. He took it to the back, took it apart and made sure everything was connected properly. Didn't fix the issue unfortunately so he offered to replace the phone and the screen protector for free--but they were currently out of screen protectors so he couldn't do that. I'm going to try contacting Invisible Shield to see if maybe they'll help me out with getting a replacement.

Regardless, I'm just happy to have a fully working phone. Not sure if he gave me one of the White box ones or a brand new one as he went to the back and came back with the new phone. I am guessing it was one without retail packaging as I did not receive a new cable or any of the accessories. The phone I received is in pristine shape, no scratches or dents or anything and best of all, the Home button works!

Not impressed with Apple's QC at the plants, but their Genius bar is excellent.
 
P

Pureplex

macrumors newbie
Sep 25, 2012
5
0
totally understand what you mean.

Usually this can be fixed by bending the home button contacts inside the phone upward, but this is risky because those contacts are weak and break easily.

Luckily my iphone 5 home button is super clicky and responsive.
 
BrentT

BrentT

macrumors regular
Oct 28, 2007
135
184
Last Friday on the day of the launch I tried some of the iPhone 5s at the store in The Grove in Hollywood. One of the them had the slow the response Home button while the others were fine.

I have had this issue on occasion with my 4. I can improve responsiveness by quitting all apps in the pop up app bar then doing a hard reset. After a few weeks it often returns.
 
Adutrumque

Adutrumque

macrumors 65816
Mar 8, 2012
1,438
2
Sweden
if I get this I will go straight down the reseller. gush, seen this problem before.

Quality products shouldnt have these problems.
 
J

joesploggs

macrumors regular
Jun 18, 2010
110
1
Similar story to you TigerFan41 - Genius Bar this afternoon. Guy saw there was a problem straight away and explained that they didn't have the parts in yet to do the repair.
Instead he brought out a plain white box which contained a new replacement phone (no accessories in box). He let me set it up and I confirmed the home button was working this time!
He explained they had these phones set aside especially for people with problems - so that's good as apparently stock was low for my model - black 32gb.

Also happy to have a fully functioning iPhone 5 :D
 
T

tigerfan41

macrumors regular
Original poster
Oct 7, 2011
175
5
joesploggs said:
Similar story to you TigerFan41 - Genius Bar this afternoon. Guy saw there was a problem straight away and explained that they didn't have the parts in yet to do the repair.
Instead he brought out a plain white box which contained a new replacement phone (no accessories in box). He let me set it up and I confirmed the home button was working this time!
He explained they had these phones set aside especially for people with problems - so that's good as apparently stock was low for my model - black 32gb.

Also happy to have a fully functioning iPhone 5 :D
Click to expand...

Yeah I was so worried they'd make me take a black 32GB instead of the white one. Just glad they also had my particular model in stock. It's not that I hate black, just prefer the white iPhone.

I don't think this problem (with the home button) is quite as common as the scuffing/chipped problem, but it's still something a select number of iPhone 5 buyers are unlucky enough to be dealing with.
 
Sensamic

Sensamic

macrumors 68040
Mar 26, 2010
3,006
642
Apple has made the home button stronger and harder in the new iPhone because on the previous models it would deteriorate after a year or so.

I'd say it's better that the home button is harder. I tried on a store and though it was better built than my iPhone 4.
 
R

Rognlie

macrumors newbie
Dec 19, 2012
1
0
Hi, i don't know if this thread still is active, but i'll give it a try..

My Brand new iPhone 5 has the excact similar problem which mentioned here.
Problem is i live In Norway, i just got the phone shipped from the states.

My question is, any idea how i might proceed with this? it's practiclly impossible to Get the full e experience..
 
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