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ShaunAFC3

macrumors regular
Original poster
Feb 28, 2016
171
49
Hey everyone i have an iPad Air 2 and have had it for nearly 2 years this September and it is my 1st ever iPad soo far that i have had and it is awesome and i really enjoy using my iPad Air 2. :D

But regarding the home button, I am wondering since i use the home button a lot to get out of apps/games, closing apps/games and taking lots of screenshots.

As i have heard some iPad users having the home button stop working or breaks on them after a couple of years of using the iPad. :oops:

I am really worried that the home button on my iPad Air 2 will stop working or break on me in the future which i don't want to happen because how will i get out of my apps/games and closing them and taking screenshots??!! :(

So i would like to know what are the chances of the home button stop working or breaking on me in the future?? High/good chance?? Should i be worried about this or not?? And have you had the home button stop working or break on you on your iPad?? And if yes then how did you get the home button working again??

Keep in mind i am looking to use my Awesome iPad Air 2 for a least a year or 2 before upgrading to a way more newer and better iPad. :)
 
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In my opinion, the physical home button is still the weakest point of the ipads. My ipad mini's home button broke out of warranty and isnt covered by apple anymore, so i set up a virtual home button. It works, but its a pain sometimes. I was really suprised that apple didnt put the same home button from the iphone 7 on the new ipad pros. The ipad pros still use the same old physical home button. Just be careful about pressing it too hard, and you should be good.
 
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I have had my phone and iPad for several years and have not had any indication of anything wrong. My kids have used it a lot. My dad has the original iPad and it still works fine. Of course we do use it a lot so it could happen. I have not experienced an issue with it thus far, I guess time will tell.
 
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\But regarding the home button, I am wondering since i use the home button a lot to get out of apps/games, closing apps/games and taking lots of screenshots.
I manage close to 6000 iPads. We have had 3 home buttons replaced in the last 6 years, due to failure. So, the odds are good that your home button will last, but it could fail.

As an aside, the most common thing we see in iPads over 3 years old is loosening/oxidation of the lcd cable to the board. This leads to the 'rainbow display'. A slap on the back at the right spot and it is back in working order, for a bit anyway.
 
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If you're that worried then learn more gesture based controls which will reduce the use of home button.
 
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Hey everyone i have an iPad Air 2 and have had it for nearly 2 years this September and it is my 1st ever iPad soo far that i have had and it is awesome and i really enjoy using my iPad Air 2. :D

But regarding the home button, I am wondering since i use the home button a lot to get out of apps/games, closing apps/games and taking lots of screenshots.

As i have heard some iPad users having the home button stop working or breaks on them after a couple of years of using the iPad. :oops:

I am really worried that the home button on my iPad Air 2 will stop working or break on me in the future which i don't want to happen because how will i get out of my apps/games and closing them and taking screenshots??!! :(

So i would like to know what are the chances of the home button stop working or breaking on me in the future?? High/good chance?? Should i be worried about this or not?? And have you had the home button stop working or break on you on your iPad?? And if yes then how did you get the home button working again??

Keep in mind i am looking to use my Awesome iPad Air 2 for a least a year or 2 before upgrading to a way more newer and better iPad. :)

I am not sure how other people's stories will help you with your irrational fear that some button on some devices might break some day. It's pretty well established in 2017 that you can use gestures with your fingers to trigger similar functions. Yes, it will stop working sometime down the road. Why burden yourself with this now?
 
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Had multiple iDevices over the years. iPod Touch 1g, 3g, 4g, 5g, iPad 2 and an Air. I had the iPad Air for almost 4 years never replaced. Never had a problem with the home button on any of them. I wouldn’t worry about it.
 
Use gestures if you're that worried
 

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Well If your rough with it and use greasy fingers then yeah it will break eventually. My mom was using an iPad 2 bought in Jan 2013 and used it up until this summer and it still worked perfectly. She didn't baby it, but she wasn't careless either. Take care of your stuff and use common sense and it will last.
 
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if you replace home button using 3rd party parts that will result lost touch ID
also eBay it's a bad source of quality 3rd party parts

Agreed. Some try to save money by purchasing cheaper, third-party parts. I would never suggest that. I would always spend the extra money and or service, and purchase OEM parts for the iPhone. It's just a safe bet in the long run.
 
I guess my point was - It's repairable... even if you go to apple and pay the big price... it's completely repairable...
 
Hey everyone i have an iPad Air 2 and have had it for nearly 2 years this September and it is my 1st ever iPad soo far that i have had and it is awesome and i really enjoy using my iPad Air 2. :D

But regarding the home button, I am wondering since i use the home button a lot to get out of apps/games, closing apps/games and taking lots of screenshots.

As i have heard some iPad users having the home button stop working or breaks on them after a couple of years of using the iPad. :oops:

I am really worried that the home button on my iPad Air 2 will stop working or break on me in the future which i don't want to happen because how will i get out of my apps/games and closing them and taking screenshots??!! :(

So i would like to know what are the chances of the home button stop working or breaking on me in the future?? High/good chance?? Should i be worried about this or not?? And have you had the home button stop working or break on you on your iPad?? And if yes then how did you get the home button working again??

Keep in mind i am looking to use my Awesome iPad Air 2 for a least a year or 2 before upgrading to a way more newer and better iPad. :)

You might break the screen by using it. Maybe just box it up and leave it under the bed for the next few years? At least you can rest easy knowing it's safe, unless the battery loses the ability to charge of course. But then you might wear the lightning port out by plugging the charging cable in?
 
Any moving parts can wear and tear through usage.
On the other hand, for as long as I have used iDevices with home buttons (longest now is my iPhone 5 and iPad mini 2), I never had any iDevices with a broken home button.
On iPad, you can reduce your reliance on home button by enabling the multi-touch gestures, like swiping with four fingers to go home or go to task switcher. For Siri, you can enable Hey Siri so you don't have to use the home button (or simply disable Siri as I never use it on my iPad).
 
its an expensive device. Be gentle when pressing the button and it will last.
On the flip side: it's a robust, useful, relatively cheap device, use it.

Gentle, my butt. I've been hoping mine would quit or break for years so I could justify replacing it. You will probably replace it before you break it.
 
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