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Home button problems.

B

Bez59

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 18, 2012
103
1
Derbyshire, England
Hi,

I have an iPhone 4 that is out of warranty and the home button doesn't really work anymore.

Sometimes it works but you have to press it really hard but most of the time it doesn't do anything and sometimes if i press it it thinks it has been pressed 2 or 3 times and opens multitasking.

I have tried cleaning it with a vacuum cleaner witch didn't do anything.

I have tried using surgical spirit (Rubbing alcohol) which makes it better and usable which makes me think it is just dirt/dust but it only lasts for a day or 2.

Could it just be dirt or does it need replacing and if so how much is that going to cost?

Any help would be great thanks.
 
I have the EXACT same problem. I'm going to see if mine is a software problem. I'm going through the process of resetting it.
 
SnackyD said:
I have the EXACT same problem. I'm going to see if mine is a software problem. I'm going through the process of resetting it.
Click to expand...

I was thinking of doing that but last time i had to it took over 24 hours to sync all my music and apps because i have the worst PC in the world.:(

Can't wait to get the new macbook :)

Please let me know how you get on.
 
Have the same problem on my 3GS. First I jailbroke it so I could use activator to get custom gestures. Then I found out that if you go into Settings->General->Accesability->Assistive Touch you can get a button on you're screen that gives you access to the home button and zoom and any other gesture you might want. I was quoted $50 to fix the home button so I'll live with this till the next phone.
 
Experienced this (intermittent) issue recently and turned out to be software related. Deleting and setting up my phone "as new" did the trick. (Make sure to play it safe by backing up your info to the cloud or system first.)


Bez59 said:
I was thinking of doing that but last time i had to it took over 24 hours to sync all my music and apps because i have the worst PC in the world.:(

Can't wait to get the new macbook :)

Please let me know how you get on.
Click to expand...
 
There is an easy way to recalibrate the button without doing a full restore.

1. Open up an app. Any app works, but I recommend something simple. Let's say the clock app.

2. Hold down the power button until "slide to power off shows up

3. Hold down the home button until the app crashes (5-ish seconds)

4. Profit
 
Try calibrating it, I had problems with my old 2nd gen nano, after calibration it worked perfectly.

- Go into any apple stock app (calculator, notes, etc)
- Press and hold down the sleep/wake button until the power slider comes up
- Let go of sleep/wake, then hold in the home button until you're brought back to the home screen.

Might work, might not. Worth a shot.
 
My iPad 2 used to have a really flaky home button that acted a lot like yours and then after a software update it fixed itself. You might have a hardware issue, but I just wanted you to know that software was the reason mine was messed up.
 
SnackyD here!


I JUST resetted my iPhone because of a home button problem.

IT NOW WORKS FLAWLESSLY! I DIDN'T THINK IT'D DO THE TRICK, BUT IT DID!

@OP, try resetting your phone and start from scratch!!!
 
webslinger85 said:
Try calibrating it, I had problems with my old 2nd gen nano, after calibration it worked perfectly.

- Go into any apple stock app (calculator, notes, etc)
- Press and hold down the sleep/wake button until the power slider comes up
- Let go of sleep/wake, then hold in the home button until you're brought back to the home screen.

Might work, might not. Worth a shot.
Click to expand...

Mine works when I do that, but it works for about 15 minutes and then goes back to it's normal problems. It's frustrating to keep doing it every 10 minutes, so I just leave it. It's really annoying the **** out of me.

I really want to try a restore but I have so much saved data and it would take forever to resync it.. And I'm worried that may not even fix the problem.
 
SnackyD said:
SnackyD here!


I JUST resetted my iPhone because of a home button problem.

IT NOW WORKS FLAWLESSLY! I DIDN'T THINK IT'D DO THE TRICK, BUT IT DID!

@OP, try resetting your phone and start from scratch!!!
Click to expand...

Never really thought it could be a software problem but now I think it could be thanks.

I will try resetting it as soon as I get my new MacBook as it takes too long on my pc.
 
Home button not working is basically a hardwere problem. Usually there is some dirt between the button and the contact. You may try pressing the home button firmly and try to turn it clockwise and anticlockwise with your fingertip. Do this several times and probably your problem is solved.

If your device is still under warranty (AppleCare), go to get a replacement unit.

Reference:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1379873/
 
lordofthereef said:
There is an easy way to recalibrate the button without doing a full restore.

1. Open up an app. Any app works, but I recommend something simple. Let's say the clock app.

2. Hold down the power button until "slide to power off shows up

3. Hold down the home button until the app crashes (5-ish seconds)

4. Profit
Click to expand...

Thanks for that seems to be working a lot better now.

Hope it lasts.
 
Bez59 said:
If I set it up as a new device will I lose all my game saves and stuff or will they be saved to game center?
Click to expand...

You can try to setup your iPhone as new one and test if the home button is working and then you can restore files from backup via iTunes and iCloud. This is what I did and I haven't lost any data but I am not sure about game saves but at least my apps are back.
 
ledlauzis said:
You can try to setup your iPhone as new one and test if the home button is working and then you can restore files from backup via iTunes and iCloud. This is what I did and I haven't lost any data but I am not sure about game saves but at least my apps are back.
Click to expand...

Ok thanks i will try it when i get a new macbook.
 
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