Tempermental iPhone 4 home button 4.1

h00ligan said:
It's not a placebo in my case. It never misses now. It's not possible that something which had been so noticeable never happens now. It may be hit and miss, might return.
Click to expand...

Oh yes it is. Mine would have bouts of working perfectly fine (in fact it had one when I turned it in to be replaced. You'd never know it had an issue). Mine would have long bouts of it at first. I can also tell you about my BMW that had an electronic problem. It would randomly stall on me. It would do this every few months. We'd come up with a fix for it that would explain the problem, seemed to be fixed, and then a few months later it would do it again! We finally found the problem. A contact on a sensor needed to be cleaned. The only way I know that was the fix was cause after we did that it never happened again (and I had that car for about 5 years after that).

Electronic problems are annoying that way. They can suddenly act fine for a while only to start doing it again (my BMW is very much proof, that was only one of its electronic related problems. The dashboard eventually went wonky too. The speedometer would randomly stop working for a while, and then work again, then stop. It, like the button on my iphone, did start eventually having more and more bouts of not working though).

Not saying what you did didn't fix your phone. It may have (it may not have, only time will tell). But what I'm saying is it is quite possible for it to be acting fine now and still be having those issues (and it to be hardware related).
 
I'm having the same problem with intermittent home button. I believe it started with 4.3.3.

I also have a problem that may or may not be related, but if I look at my Usage, under Call Time it shows me having 4,294,963,558 days in the current period and 4,294,963,579 days lifetime!! I better not be getting a bill for those days!

Anyone else seeing this?

Z
 
My iPhone 4's home button stopped working last night. I could click it like 60 times before it finally registered then stopped again. It was working OK but it was not nearly as good as day one. It was not registering, then it was and so on until finally it quit working. I turned on my Dyson and put that puppy directly over the home button and let it suck as much as it could several times. The home button worked fine afterwards and for a few hours the next morning. Then, it just died again. Would not register. Sometimes it would register if you click it top top left or you pressed super hard or pressed and ran your finger in a circle. Anyways - that's not how it should be.

So, I made an appointment at the Apple store to have it replaced. I was dreading it because my phone had a nice, crisp white screen. My replacement is fine. Not as crisp and a little washed out but what can I do? iPhone 5 is coming so I will just deal. Blah. I hope the new phones have capacitive buttons instead of mechanical ones.
 
My phone is pretty beat up.
The sleep button is pushed in (i'm guessing from a drop, but don't remember it happening).
And as you guys were chatting about, my home button sometimes doesn't seem to register or have it's usually "click" feeling.
Might be just from so much use that it is worn down a little.

I don't have a warranty, but was wondering if there is anything I can do to solve these problems.
I'd take it in if I knew they'd replace it, but I feel that is doubtful. Am I wrong?
 
I took my iPhone 4 to the Genius Bar today. The problem has been going on for a while now, but today it actually was doing better than usual and the clicks were registering. The appointment was already made however, and I'm leaving for a trip soon, so I decided to go and attempt a replacement.

I explained that the issue is rather sporadic; sometimes the button functions normally, and other times it takes 7 clicks before getting me back to the home screen. Sometimes one click brings up the multitasking menu, and other times two clicks inverts my screen color or takes me back home. Though I couldn't demonstrate the problem at that moment, the kind fellow decided to replace my phone and quickly brought me a new one.

It's perfect. The screen is great, the volume rocker and hold button are all tight, and it seems to be functioning as it should. Best of all, the home button is flawless, and responds with every click.

MY ADVICE - TAKE IT IN.

Even if you don't get a replacement the first time around, you will with a follow-up. This problem is incredibly frustrating, and it's worlds better on the replacement.
 
It's very annoying to say the least. I've flip flopped my opinion and I now think it's a hardware issue. What seems to work the best for me is to squeeze the casing around the home button. Almost always gets the home button to respond after doing that. So it's likely a badly seated connector.
 
I got my iPhone 4 swapped out for this very reason on Friday byt showing them this thread as well. A good thing to do since everyone's warranty is almost up from launch day......
 
Mine was intermittent for the past few months now, mostly a minor inconvenience (thought it was related to a jailbreak problem).

Then a few days ago I literally could not exit an app, so I made an appt.

Great customer service, they swapped it out in a matter of minutes.

I was already a loyal fan, but this deepened the relationship. Thanks Apple.

PS. The new phone is a bit more amber tinted than my previous phone, but well worth it to have a working phone again. It makes everything look a bit softer, not sure if I care or not yet
 
Mine seems to be tempermental again. I'm done guessing with a few days of warranty. Heading for a replacement now.
 
joonyaboy said:
Mine was intermittent for the past few months now, mostly a minor inconvenience (thought it was related to a jailbreak problem).

Then a few days ago I literally could not exit an app, so I made an appt.

Great customer service, they swapped it out in a matter of minutes.

I was already a loyal fan, but this deepened the relationship. Thanks Apple.

PS. The new phone is a bit more amber tinted than my previous phone, but well worth it to have a working phone again. It makes everything look a bit softer, not sure if I care or not yet
Click to expand...

Did you restore you restore your phone to 4.3.3 minus the jailbreak prior to going in? Was there any mention of your phone being j/b?
 
h00ligan said:
Mine seems to be tempermental again. I'm done guessing with a few days of warranty. Heading for a replacement now.
Click to expand...

Mine recently started having the problem kind of bad. Right around the time my warranty expired. I'm tempted to see if they will still replace it. Or I might just use it as an excuse to get a battery replacement/ refurbished phone one day.
 
NikFinn said:
My warranty did expire, I wonder if they'd do anything about it as it seems a common issue.
Click to expand...
I got replacement for a failed hard drive on an iMac a week out of warranty. They will often cut you a break if you go into the store as soon as possible.
 
I've had my iPhone4 since day one, and noticed for the past few months I intermittently get a double-press when doing a single-press, or it's unresponsive when I do a single-press.

Today I did a test and was getting a double-press every 10-20 single-presses, which shouldn't happen, but is it worth it to trade it in. It seems to be getting worse lately and I assumed it was a firmware issue until I found this thread.

Did the 3GS/3G/2G have this problem crop up?
 
Yes, for this 3GS owner

I have an appointment at the genius bar tomorrow for the sticky home button problem. I never have to push on it more than 3 times, but I shouldn't have to do so more than once. I also have a problem with needing to do a brute force reboot every 2 days or so to get the GPS to work and mail to send. Otherwise, things disappear into a electronic netherworld somewhere. I had some of the problems with my original 3GS that they swapped out for this one on June 8th so I'm covered under that 90 day warranty. It's working, just not very well, and i need it to work better for the two or three or however many months it is before the next iPhone is announced and released. I actually read through this thread hoping some other 3GS owners had posted, but I guess the "iPhone 4" home button title of the thread discouraged any from posting.
 
Has anyone with an expired warranty had any luck getting their phone replaced/repaired because of the button issue?
 
for those of you that successfully got a replacement at the genius bar, was it for a new or refurb iphone?

also, did they check/require your iphone to be updated to the latest version of iOS before deciding if they should give you a replacement?
 
iBaloney said:
for those of you that successfully got a replacement at the genius bar, was it for a new or refurb iphone?

also, did they check/require your iphone to be updated to the latest version of iOS before deciding if they should give you a replacement?
Click to expand...

They will replace it with a refurb phone - not a new one. And yes, they will also want you to update to the latest firmware. Can't say if they will force you to do this in-store while troubleshooting (I had updated mine prior to bringing it in - see below).

Brought mine in this morning as my warranty expires in one week. The Genius who helped me was nice, however I was a bit put off when he told me that my home button problem was being caused by dirt/dust getting inside the bottom of the phone where the dock connector is. He said that "normally he would have to charge me $200 for a replacement due to physical damage", but he would replace it for free. :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

Seriously, if dirt/dust is getting inside from the bottom and causing these issues within 6-12 months of normal use that is a design flaw and not user mishandling. :mad: Glad I got a replacement, but I could've done without the condescending explanation.
 
I'm on my third iPhone 4 because of the button issue. And I keep my phone clean, well protected , and inside a leather case that covers it completely. However it should also be noted that I use mine a tremendous amount for about 15 hours each day. So heavy usage is most probably also a contributor.

The genius at my local Apple store that has provided me with replacements was very candid and said it's not uncommon at all.

Other than that, the phone's been great, I have no complaints :)
 
I stopped by the Genius bar but couldn't reproduce the issue when I was in the store (sometimes the issue happens more often than not). The girl said she would put a note on file in case I have the problem in the future.

I'll probably just live with the issue until the iPhone 5 is released.
 
T-Will said:
I stopped by the Genius bar but couldn't reproduce the issue when I was in the store (sometimes the issue happens more often than not). The girl said she would put a note on file in case I have the problem in the future.

I'll probably just live with the issue until the iPhone 5 is released.
Click to expand...
Just be aware that at some point it may stop working entirely.

That's what mine did, so the phone was rather useless till I could get to the Apple Store.
 
I've been watching the discussions on this issue on MR and finally decided to take my iphone 4 in today. It started having non-responsive home button presses a couple of months ago but at first it was only missing one or two clicks a week. By this morning, it had been missing several clicks an hour and I figured it was dust in the contact or something. I have a month left on the warranty and brought it into the store. They just checked for water damage and gave me a new phone on the spot. Walked out with a brand new iPhone 4 and 90 days extended warranty on the new unit.
 
I'm very glad that it's so easy to get a replacement since they're clearly defective. With Apple pushing hard to achieve full convergence of OS X into iOS, then using that single OS across all devices via the upcoming A6 chip, the product cycle for iPhone 5 is likely to be short. Therefore I plan to pass on it. If the iPhone 4 home button pattern continues, I'll likely require two or three more replacements till iPhone 6 is ready. Based on all the buzz, I believe iP6 is the one to have.
 
I've alleviated the problem somewhat (i.e. the button is not as "temperamental" as it used to be) by using the "home button protector" that came with my Pinlo case (which is crap otherwise). You can see the little rubber "protectors" displayed here:

Pinlo%20United%20Aluminum%20Hybrid%20Bumper%20Case%20for%20iPhone%204%20Unboxing.jpg
 
Interesting how warranty works in different ways depending on which country you're in. In Sweden we have to send the units to a workshop where they decide whether its a warranty matter or not and then swap it for a refurb unit.

Would be awesome to get a new phone on the spot as you people seems to get.

I got the home button problem as well, but my warranty is gone since 1 month ago, so Im not sure they'll let me exchange it. If not, Ill have to pay ~55$ for the work the workshop does to get my units back :(
 
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