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iPhone 4 home button failing

A

aaronchow

macrumors regular
Original poster
Sep 29, 2007
164
9
My iPhone 4's home button is failing. It probably registers a click after I click it couple of times, so it is very hard to double-click to open up the multi-tasking menu.

My phone is out of warranty. If you were me, will you just simply sell it? Or do you suggest me to take it to Apple to fix it for a fee? Just wondering...
 
aaronchow said:
My iPhone 4's home button is failing. It probably registers a click after I click it couple of times, so it is very hard to double-click to open up the multi-tasking menu.

My phone is out of warranty. If you were me, will you just simply sell it? Or do you suggest me to take it to Apple to fix it for a fee? Just wondering...
Click to expand...

we have been getting many iPhones with this issue at my repair shop. You need to replace the home button flex cable.
 
The button was one of the reasons I upgraded to the 4S. It was out of warranty and Apple kept trying to tell me it was normal even though I brought it to them several times.
 
Mine is absolutely terrible now. I'm out of warranty also. Sometimes it takes 6-7 presses just to get back to the home screen. I've completely given up on the multitasking bar... I can never get it to register two clicks in a row. I also get sent back to the homescreen. I sometimes want to throw my phone against the wall. I've been debating if I should take it to Apple but I heard this is a common problem. I've also never had any issues with my phone (other than the home button) and I'm worried that the phone I get may have worse problems then the stupid home button.
 
having the same problem here, and i dont really want to take it to apple because im fairly sure theyre not going to do anything considering it's out of warranty. i've had 2 ipod touches and an original iphone and neither do this. it really is too bad. for what is basically a $600 piece of tech you'd expect it to last at least through the contract with the carrier.
 
A couple drops of isopropyl alcohol may help. I was having the same problem with my iPhone 4 a few months ago until I discovered this trick. Make sure you use at least a 70% concentrated solution. Anything less would contain too much water. Place a couple drops onto the button and work it into the button. Tap the phone lightly against your hand or something to remove any excess fluid from the button. Mine has been working great since then!
 
I've had the same problem for a long time now, I have an Iphone 4 also, home button only made it about a year before failing. And recently it developed a hairline crack across the home button as well, which is really strange considering I have never dropped it, it's recessed, and I use activator to replace the home button anyways. To top it off, I woke up the other day and my volume up button is broken, it doesn't click anymore, and doesn't work at all. It's time Apple got rid of the problematic home button and went to a capacitive button. The volume button is really weird as I've never heard of that one before..
 
redbeard331 said:
I've had the same problem for a long time now, I have an Iphone 4 also, home button only made it about a year before failing. And recently it developed a hairline crack across the home button as well, which is really strange considering I have never dropped it, it's recessed, and I use activator to replace the home button anyways. To top it off, I woke up the other day and my volume up button is broken, it doesn't click anymore, and doesn't work at all. It's time Apple got rid of the problematic home button and went to a capacitive button. The volume button is really weird as I've never heard of that one before..
Click to expand...

If it does not click anymore, it's usually the little round black plastic piece that's dislodged or missing off of the flex assembly. This picture is for a power button flex, but same idea applies for the volume button, if you open your phone you can usually find that little round plastic piece, it probably did not go too far off, and you can reposition it.
 

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Yeh it's common, I've replaced the 4 home button a couple times, 4S will have the same issue. The previous phones are fine though, my 3GS home button works just like new. Like mentioned you can replace it yourself fairly easily and the parts are cheap just look at ifixit or vids on youtube of how to do it.
 
I agree - Do it yourself!

I agree with some of the folks that said to do it yourself. Getting to the home button on the iPhone 4, does require you take most of the phone apart, and even the screen. BUT - if you can manage that (watch tutorial videos online and be extremely careful) you can purchase a new home button + flex cable from amazon for relatively cheap, I'm sure.
 
RMC Tech said:
I agree with some of the folks that said to do it yourself. Getting to the home button on the iPhone 4, does require you take most of the phone apart, and even the screen. BUT - if you can manage that (watch tutorial videos online and be extremely careful) you can purchase a new home button + flex cable from amazon for relatively cheap, I'm sure.
Click to expand...

Just an update: I tried the USB cable method but it wasn't working for me, so I bought a home key flex cable from eBay, and I successfully fixed my phone now.

If anyone is going to try to fix it themselves, please watch and re-watch those YouTubes videos many times. I personally prefer the videos made by injuredgadgets, and please be sure to leave yourself a lot of time. I thought it would take about 10 minutes, but I ended up spending 2 hours as I messed up couple of steps, and the screws are so tiny that it is easy to take off and tough to put it back...
 
Jailbreak + Zephyr.

You will rarely ever need the home button.

Seriously, check it out on Youtube, I use it, absolutely LOVE it, the best Cydia tweak by far.
 
Second recommendation to at least try the iso alcohol fix. My out of warranty phone was acting up, and I cleaned it with alcohol. It has worked fine since then.

A coworker tried it, and though it improved, it didn't cure his. So he probably has the other cause mentioned.
 
AWSOME! Thank you so much for sharing this vid. Abosolutely amazing! I thought my button was bad and this is the simplest solution! Button is like new now! WOW! Just WOW!

BrandonZ said:
This 100% worked for me just two weeks ago. My button started to fail two weeks ago and someone told me to watch this video. It has worked perfectly since...knock on wood.

Its worth a shot

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXlY-VcxbCU
Click to expand...
 
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