Tempermental iPhone 4 home button 4.1

[ryno2292]

Ok, so my iPhone 4 does the same thing a lot of you guys are experiencing. Sometimes a single press brings up the task switcher etc. There's no doubt in my mind that it's a hardware issue, at least in my case. The rest of you guys seem split between it being hardware vs. software.

Anyway my phone is under warranty with Apple but no Apple store within about 50 miles of me. So I was thinking about sending the phone to iresq and have them replace the home button, see what else they come up with. Any thoughts?

Of course I could send it to Apple and have them take care of it under warranty, but I'd really prefer getting my phone back, not a replacement.

 

[ringgit]

Just do it!

 

[thearod]

Ok, so my iPhone 4 does the same thing a lot of you guys are experiencing. Sometimes a single press brings up the task switcher etc. There's no doubt in my mind that it's a hardware issue, at least in my case. The rest of you guys seem split between it being hardware vs. software.

Anyway my phone is under warranty with Apple but no Apple store within about 50 miles of me. So I was thinking about sending the phone to iresq and have them replace the home button, see what else they come up with. Any thoughts?

Of course I could send it to Apple and have them take care of it under warranty, but I'd really prefer getting my phone back, not a replacement.

Just set up an appointment on apples website to have them call you. I just spoke with them last night over this problem and they offered me an advanced overnight replacement for $29. So my new phone will be here tomorrow morning

 

[NWI73]

Wait, you had to pay??

 

[NWI73]

I'm on 4.2.1 and I have issues with my home button. Most of the time, a single click doesn't register.

 

[jthomp]

Wait, you had to pay??

My guess would be for the overnight replacement part... Not sure, but just my guess...

 

[NWI73]

That's crazy...even if it's overnight...

 

[Mobster Sauce]

My replacement phone hasn't screwed up yet!

Don't wait around. Get yours replaced. It's a real issue and it's not software-related.

If it was software related, then a restore would've fixed it.

 

[reaborg]

My replacement phone hasn't screwed up yet!

Don't wait around. Get yours replaced. It's a real issue and it's not software-related.

If it was software related, then a restore would've fixed it.

Things to consider:

If its a software issue, how would a restore fix it? Will definitely reduce the impact of this effect perhaps (as it did for me after my restore), until whatever the problem is (memory management, etc.) builds up again. After my restore (few weeks back), I didn't have this problem for a whole week, and then I get this happening to me maybe once or twice a week now, and only for few particular apps. The fact it is so inconsistent, selective, and reliably unrepeatable seems to suggest to me that its a memory management issue for a certain set or combination of apps, something a restore would not be able to fix.

If its a hardware issue (mechanical), why is it so inconsistent? Once the problem first occurs, I can be pressing that home button for 5 min continuously and not have that issue occur again. Mechanical issues are always repeatable under the same conditions. Especially for something as simple as a single-pole single-throw switch, as the home button seems to be from the various iPhone tear-down pictures. Perhaps their software debouncer gets hung up due to memory issues on the new iPhone 4 and registers double clicks for single instead - its very possible.

How are people with replacement units not experiencing this problem at all any longer? Has Apple redesigned their home button since then? Highly doubtful.

Not advocating not replacing it of course. If that does it for you, go for it. Just saying the issue does not quack like a hardware problem.

 

[ryno2292]

Just set up an appointment on apples website to have them call you. I just spoke with them last night over this problem and they offered me an advanced overnight replacement for $29. So my new phone will be here tomorrow morning

Was that just under the standard one year warranty? No Applecare or anything? Thanks for the advice.

 

[WeegieMac]

Quick question to those with home button issues.

Is your home button "clicky" or does it feel "mushy" ... for lack of better terms.

 

[AuroraProject]

Wirelessly posted (iPhone 4: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)

Quick question to those with home button issues.

Is your home button "clicky" or does it feel "mushy" ... for lack of better terms.

Mine is clicky, feels like it always has, and just like my 3G used to.

 

[Mobster Sauce]

Things to consider:

If its a software issue, how would a restore fix it? Will definitely reduce the impact of this effect perhaps (as it did for me after my restore), until whatever the problem is (memory management, etc.) builds up again. After my restore (few weeks back), I didn't have this problem for a whole week, and then I get this happening to me maybe once or twice a week now, and only for few particular apps. The fact it is so inconsistent, selective, and reliably unrepeatable seems to suggest to me that its a memory management issue for a certain set or combination of apps, something a restore would not be able to fix.

If its a hardware issue (mechanical), why is it so inconsistent? Once the problem first occurs, I can be pressing that home button for 5 min continuously and not have that issue occur again. Mechanical issues are always repeatable under the same conditions. Especially for something as simple as a single-pole single-throw switch, as the home button seems to be from the various iPhone tear-down pictures. Perhaps their software debouncer gets hung up due to memory issues on the new iPhone 4 and registers double clicks for single instead - its very possible.

How are people with replacement units not experiencing this problem at all any longer? Has Apple redesigned their home button since then? Highly doubtful.

Not advocating not replacing it of course. If that does it for you, go for it. Just saying the issue does not quack like a hardware problem.

I understand where you're coming from but it has been a month now and my new iPhone hasn't even acted up once. I'm using the same software, the same apps and I'm also using the phone the same way I would have used my other one.

I can't explain it either. Why was my old one acting up and why is my new one fine under the same conditions?

The only other thing that's different was that I jailbroke my old iPhone, but I seem to remember jailbreaking it just to see if I could remove the double click behavior because I was sick of it bringing up multitasking with one press.

I don't know what else to say. Seems like new hardware fixed the issue.

 

[WeegieMac]

Wirelessly posted (iPhone 4: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8C148 Safari/6533.18.5)



Mine is clicky, feels like it always has, and just like my 3G used to.

Hmmm, ok. Cheers.

Long story cut short, I posted (in this thread I think?) at length about getting my iPhone 4 replaced for the home button issue, only to get an interlaced screen and have it replaced again.

Both times I received an iPhone 4 replacement on 4.1 (original iPhone 4 I replaced was on 4.2.1, and I didn't have the issue until 4.2.1 personally).

After Christmas, after spending far too much money on gifts for others (a mistake I won't make again), I had to sell my iPhone to bridge the gap between Christmas and payday in January, where I bought a brand new iPhone 4 to replace the one I sold. I bought this iPhone 4 on January 20th, and out the box it has a "mushy" home button, however it works perfectly and doesn't display the "click-once-but-end-up-in-multitasking-bar" issue.

However, I was in the Apple Store today buying a Crystal Film screen protector and decided, for the hell of it, to play around with the display iPhone 4's. All of them had nice, solid, "clicky" home buttons.

My home button, don't get me wrong, responds when you press anywhere on it, but to actually hear and feel a click you need to press right in the middle with near the tip of your thumb, and even then it's a very slight click you hear/feel.

The rest of the phone is fine, no complaints. However, as responsive as the button is, the feel of the slightly more "mushy" button reminds me of my old iPhone 3G (ironically, considering you said your 3G was clicky too) which was very soft when pressed and let out a barely noticeable click.

Ah well ... I've got a one year warranty, so if it starts showing up the issue with one/double clicking, it'll go back to the Apple Store. Until then ... MUSH!

 

[gregnauman]

Just set up an appointment on apples website to have them call you. I just spoke with them last night over this problem and they offered me an advanced overnight replacement for $29. So my new phone will be here tomorrow morning

Let us know if its new or a refurb when you get it

 

[imac9556]

Just wanted to update everyone. At 4.1 I had the issue with the home button. My phone was jailbroken.
Last night I restored fresh to 4.2.1 and jailbroke.... So far so good, I do not have that home button issue. Well at least we are still under warranty if the problem does come back....

 

[zenio]

This HOME BUTTON ISSUE is NOT a software problem.

Apple has reduced it's component quality, thus these are not the same long lasting buttons as earlier models had.

The bad news Apple doesn't care that you have an issue, but will fix it temporarily if you complain.

The good news is Apple saves $0.12 per phone using the substandard part. Three cheers for Apple's declining quality.

 

[orpheus1120]

I received one of the iPhones that come with 4.0 and I didn't experience the home button issue until somewhere down the road after I installed 4.1. But if it really is a firmware upgrade issue, wouldn't you say all 4.0ers who upgraded the firmware should experience the same issue too? But that seemingly isn't that case. Then logic points to a possible hardware and software combined issue.

 

[zenio]

If you understand the purpose of a mechanical switch you will know it can't be software.

 

[imac9556]

Well, spoke too soon...while the problem is less frequent for sure, it started to happen again. I am under the standard warranty, 90 days phone support is up. I told them about the problem and the guy knew what was up. He even set me up with an advanced exchange after making sure I won't get charged. Thanks Apple!

 

[bennyhenry]

I've had my iPhone since about 2 weeks after launch, and have been noticing the home button not responding properly more frequently. e.g one click for multi tasking, two clicks not doing anything e.t.c.
I've made an appointment with the Genius Bar for Saturday, but i'm pretty sure that I won't be able to recreate the problem there...
How have the store staff been with replacements here in the UK, are they pretty strict on swapping out the phone?

 

[zenio]

I've adapted to Apples declining quality. As long as mine lasts till iPhone 5, I will live with it. I don't want a used exchange even if they're supposed to be OK. This one was supposed to last a year or more. FAIL!

 

[ryno2292]

Well, spoke too soon...while the problem is less frequent for sure, it started to happen again. I am under the standard warranty, 90 days phone support is up. I told them about the problem and the guy knew what was up. He even set me up with an advanced exchange after making sure I won't get charged. Thanks Apple!

Same here, I finally had enough of the home button issue and called Apple today. Should have a new iPhone tomorrow via advanced exchange. No charge, covered under the standard 1 year warranty.

 

[SomeDudeAsking]

I've adapted to Apples declining quality. As long as mine lasts till iPhone 5, I will live with it. I don't want a used exchange even if they're supposed to be OK. This one was supposed to last a year or more. FAIL!

Apple charges $800 for an iPhone. It only costs them $175 bucks to make one, including the manufacturing. I think I know what is causing your and mine home button issues.

 

[reaborg]

Apple charges $800 for an iPhone. It only costs them $175 bucks to make one, including the manufacturing. I think I know what is causing your and mine home button issues.

Uhh yah, how about the multimillion dollar R&D Apple conducts, as well as paying the salary of many of its employees involved with making the software and hardware designs? That $175 only includes parts cost as well as manufacturing costs (not even software) - a small fraction of the total engineering costs involved. All that cost has to be recouped somehow, plus have high enough rate of returns.

To put in perspective, FY2010, Apple's profit was 22% of their total revenue. Granted that they didn't make all of that through iPhone, if (assuming) their rate-of-return is the same for all their products, you can roughly apply that percentage to the iPhone itself. So of that $800 (I thought it was $700), it would probably be fair to say the actual cost is around $624, where their profit was (coincidentally in this example) only $176/phone.

There definitely is a design flaw in either hardware/software for the home button issue (nobody can say 100% which), but its more of a quality control issue (if its hardware) in a mass manufactured phone.