Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

nle96

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 1, 2013
23
0
After a couple months of using my iPhone, I've noticed that the right side of the lock button does not respond or rarely responds when I press it. The left side and center of the button responds perfectly though. Also, when pressing the whole butting it works perfectly. It can get pretty annoying though. I have not roughed up my iPhone at all. It's just weird... I don't think I can get it replaced because I do not have Apple Care and it has been too long for me to be able to get it replaced at my phone carrier. Is this a common problem? I've googled this and it seems like it is but is it so common that it is bound to happen? I mean it would make sense that you would have to press the center of the button and/or press the whole button to get it to work right? Thanks!!
 
This is a common issue with iPhones in general. Try going to a local Apple store with the problem, or if you don't have one nearby, call them and let them know what happened. They'll more than likely be able to give you a replacement, so it can't hurt to try.
 
Thx!

Ok thx. I also just really don't wanna get a replacement if I can avoid it because I have so much app data stored on this that I won't be able to get back if I get another phone. Plus, I'd have to start over on a lot of things with a new phone (settings, etc. all that stuff). Idk... But thx. I think I'm gonna go to a nearby Apple store to at least check it out.
 
Anyone else?

So anyone else have some problems with this?
 
Ok thx. I also just really don't wanna get a replacement if I can avoid it because I have so much app data stored on this that I won't be able to get back if I get another phone. Plus, I'd have to start over on a lot of things with a new phone (settings, etc. all that stuff). Idk... But thx. I think I'm gonna go to a nearby Apple store to at least check it out.

Backing up your phone in iTunes will avoid all of this. iTunes will back up all settings, apps, app data, messages, etc. Once you get the new phone, use iTunes to restore the backup you made earlier and the phone will go back to the way you left it. It'll be like nothing ever happened.

The power button sticking is a hardware issue and the only way to resolve it is to have the phone replaced.

And yes, this issue has been happening more and more recently, as a search of this forum (and Google) would show. It happened to me on my old 4S and it's happened to my dad on his iPhone 5.
 
Question

Probably gonna head to the Apple Store this weekend (tomorrow) but if I do end up having to get a replacement, is it going to be refurbished? Getting a refurbished replacement might come with the risk of it having the same or differnet problem being that it has been used. In my experience, when I got my refurbished 3GS the home button was a little hard to press and not clicky at all like it should be.

----------

Also, some say it may be a software issue with the latest iOS. Thus, I might wait to see if the next update fixes this problem. I mean, I've dropped the phone but not to such a disatrous extent (it didn't land on the lock button either when it fell)".) Plus, the problem happened about 1 month after i dropped it and a couple weeks after updating.
 
Probably gonna head to the Apple Store this weekend (tomorrow) but if I do end up having to get a replacement, is it going to be refurbished? Getting a refurbished replacement might come with the risk of it having the same or differnet problem being that it has been used. In my experience, when I got my refurbished 3GS the home button was a little hard to press and not clicky at all like it should be.

----------

Also, some say it may be a software issue with the latest iOS. Thus, I might wait to see if the next update fixes this problem. I mean, I've dropped the phone but not to such a disatrous extent (it didn't land on the lock button either when it fell)".) Plus, the problem happened about 1 month after i dropped it and a couple weeks after updating.

It will most likely be refurbished but that's probably a good thing. Refurbished phones are put under much more scrutiny and quality control to make sure they're in perfect working order before being given as a replacement, so I'd be pretty surprised if there was an issue with it.

It's not a software issue, it's a hardware issue. As said, this is a common issue with iPhones, old and new. There have been no cases that I've seen where a software upgrade has fixed a faulty lock button. It's a hardware fault and the ONLY fix is to have the phone replaced.

Besides, if you're a jailbreaker, waiting until 6.1.3 (assuming you're on 6.1.2) will fix the exploits used by the current jailbreak tool and you won't be able to jailbreak the device until that's fixed.

It's your move, OP, but personally I think it's foolish to hold off.
 
Thx! And one last question...

One last question, when I back up my iPhone 5, will all app data be included in the back up (game data, high-scores, things of that nature)?

----------

And thx a lot for your help! You've been really clear and thorough with answers to all of my questions and I really appreciate it. MacRumors sure has a lot of helpful people, like you, unlike the community on Apple's website, which is ironic :D.
 
One last question, when I back up my iPhone 5, will all app data be included in the back up (game data, high-scores, things of that nature)?

----------

And thx a lot for your help! You've been really clear and thorough with answers to all of my questions and I really appreciate it. MacRumors sure has a lot of helpful people, like you, unlike the community on Apple's website, which is ironic :D.

Yes, all app data will be saved in the backup. When you restore to the new phone, it will literally be exactly the way your old phone was. All app data, text/iMessages, voicemails, settings, etc, etc will be transferred over.
 
Now I'm just wondering if anyone has had issues with the lock button with a replacement. Just wondering...
Don't want this to happen to me ---->http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tps2U33i3s

Stop worrying about it. If it happens again, it happens. There's nothing you can do about it. There's always a possibility that something will go wrong but I'd say the chances are pretty low.

Should it happen again, call Apple and let them know. They'll take care of it.
 
Alright

Yeah being a refurbished, like you said, it would probably (and hopefully) have been checked over with much more scrutiny. Good point. If it happens, it happens.
 
So anyone else have some problems with this?

Yes I have actually. I took it to best buy where I had initially purchased it.. They couldn't help, so I took it to one of Apple's technical support centers down here in Berkeley California. They issued me a new iPhone with no pay.. Now with this iPhone I'm having the same problems. I believe it's a manufactured defect in all of the iPhone 5's that were shipped out. Hopefully with the 5s or the 6 it gets fixed. DO NOT GET ANOTHER iPHONE because you will have the same problem and it would be big complete waste of time and possibly money.
 
Fortunately...

Fortunately for me, the replacement is working great. The button still works fine and I've had for about 2 months already. My last phone started failing after the 3rd month so I can't say it ABSOLUTELY won't happen again but as of now, it seems pretty stable. Good point though. Oh, and funny thing is, the phone I have now is the 5th iPhone 5 I have gotten (without cost b/c of the issues with the phone).
1st one- Weak wifi
2nd one- Weak wifi
3rd one- Lock button
4th one- Volume button stuck
5th one- fine so far
Yeah apple is doing pretty bad... There is an iPhone 3GS and an iPhone 4s in the household and they both do not have ANY problems.

----------

Sorry about the late response by the way. I completely forgot about this thread lol.
 
On 4th Iphone same issue

Since October I have replaced my iPhone 3 times. It always works for awhile then slowly the lock/power button stops responding. I have found you can turn on AssistiveTouch in The Accessibility menu and lock the phone that way on screen. Kind of annoying but it seems that might be my only answer not to have another iphone5 fail on me. On my new replacement I'm going to do that and limit my use of the actual power button lock button because obviously they are very frail and fail with extended use. I admit I was using the button alot. Basically after every time I looked at it before I would put it back in my pocket. Come on Apple..My iphone 4S I used the same way and it made it over a year no problem!
 
Well, there was probably nothing wrong with the first two and they were just trying to appease you.
 
So far so good. Sorry for the terribly late update lol...

So far the 5th iPhone 5 (ha ironic) is working fine :)

----------

at what point is 5 malfunctioning units acceptable? don't get me wrong its good they swap it...but QC is terrible

And yes, apple's quality control is horrible nowadays...

----------

Well, there was probably nothing wrong with the first two and they were just trying to appease you.

I don't think so because I've owned multiple iPhones and iPods prior to the iPhone 5 and I definitely noticed that the first two iPhone 5's had very short reception ranges for wifi.

----------

Since October I have replaced my iPhone 3 times. It always works for awhile then slowly the lock/power button stops responding. I have found you can turn on AssistiveTouch in The Accessibility menu and lock the phone that way on screen. Kind of annoying but it seems that might be my only answer not to have another iphone5 fail on me. On my new replacement I'm going to do that and limit my use of the actual power button lock button because obviously they are very frail and fail with extended use. I admit I was using the button alot. Basically after every time I looked at it before I would put it back in my pocket. Come on Apple..My iphone 4S I used the same way and it made it over a year no problem!

Yeah, it's so sad how we have to try to limit use on the lock button! I would think any company designing a smartphone nowadays would focus a lot of their time and energy on making the lock button (a very frequently used button on the phone and sometimes the only depressible button a smartphone) stable and long-lasting.

----------

How is apple doing bad when they have issued five replacements?

They're doing bad because of the fact that they had to give me 5 replacements. They gave me 5 replacements because all of the reasons that I had for bringing back the phones were valid (i.e. many people walked into the store before with similar problems). Bad quality control, plain and simple.
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.