How to Deal with a Broken iPhone Home Button
People hardly consider the importance of home button of the iPhone until it stops working or gets broken. It is also very annoying to use a smartphone with malfunctioning buttons. Broken home button is one such thing which affects the user experience of iPhone users.
It is a relief for the people to know that they can use their iPhone by fixing the home button efficiently without going for repair. In this article, you will get a clear idea about the issue of the broken home button and the way to use AssistiveTouch to fix it. AssistiveTouch is a permanent solution to work with the iPhone but it is very helpful to avoid the issue. Read the article thoroughly to learn about different ways to fix the problem of a broken home button.
The broken home button of the iPhone is a general problem faced by many iPhone users. The issue of the damaged home button has been reported several times by the users of the iPhone 4. Because of this reason, the user becomes incapable of using the home button and faces issues while operating the iPhone. It is quite hard to respond to the iPhone with a broken home button. For the people who are facing the same situation, they must know you can fix this issue both using hardware and software workaround.
If the home button of your iPhone is permanently broken and you are out of your warranty period, then you can go for the software workaround. It will give a simple solution using which you can operate your device without a home button.
Not only repair, but this issue can also be resolved using the software workaround. However, the software can only be an alternative to the home button and will help you to work with your iPhone without the home button. You can go for it only if you don’t wang to spare money on the repair and can work with the iPhone without it. A software workaround is the best way to fix the issue of the broken home button after the device goes out of warranty.
In this article, you will read about the methods which you can imply to fix the common issue of the broken home button. You will get to know both the hardware and software solution to this problem. You must check out conditions and then look for the ways in which you can implement and resolve the issue.
The home button of the iPhone can break owing to many reasons. So, if your button stops working because of an accident, then you must know that you can’t replace it even under the warranty period. The terms and conditions of warranty do not take up the repair after any physical break, or if the device falls into the water or any such state. It can only be repaired for free by Apple if the home button stops working because of any manufacturing issue under the warranty period. But, it is tough to cope up with the situation when the home button stops responsible when the device is out of warranty.
There is no question about the fact that the repair of any part of the iPhone is costly and sensible. People often start thinking about whether they should spend that lot of money on repairing or buying a new iPhone. It will not be a wise decision to buy a new iPhone after your home button stops responsible. So, you must go for hardware repair if you are under warranty or can go for software workaround which will give you an easy way to use your iPhone with an alternative to the home button. The software workaround mentioned here is not known to the majority of the iPhone users, and hence they end up spending money for the expensive repair of the home button. Let us discuss both ways of fixing the issue of the broken home button one by one.
Hardware Repair
It is quite evident that no one will like his/ her iPhone with a malfunctioning or broken home button. So, the hardware repair of the home button should be the first option to fix the issue.
For this, you must search for your iPhone warranty guide and check whether your device is under warranty period or not. Your warranty on the iPhone is invalid if you dropped your iPhone from a high altitude or any such condition. But, in a case, it has stopped responding suddenly then you need not worry as many users have reported this unresponsive behavior of iPhone after one or two years of buying it. iPhone 4 users have been found very unlucky and prone to this issue.
Before going for any alternative to fix the issue of the broken home button, you must consult with the Apple customer services as Apple has given free repair services to legitimate and joint problems. So, you must make an appointment with Apple and then make them know about your problem. You will be directed to the ways and the cost of repair. As mentioned earlier, Apple has already given free repair services for the unresponsive power button of the iPhone 5; even the device is out of warranty. So, admitting the issue to Apple can be helpful to resolve this issue under the commands of the experts.
You can connect with Apple with your iPhone warrant guide for your issue. But, it is worth mentioning that though the issue of the home button is widespread, Apple has not started free repair services for its prone customers till yet. As the recent models of Apple are very advanced and come without any physical home button, so it is very difficult to say that they are going to consider this issue seriously anymore. Another reason after this is that the older versions are rarely found in use. The majority of people are using the latest model of the iPhone, which is powered with Touch ID and reliable home buttons. This has eliminated the issue of the broken home button from the complaint directory of Apple.
If you are having the issue of the home button with your Touch ID home button, then you must contact Apple first. However, it can be a rare case as the new models of Apple is designed by fixing the previous issues. So, you must go for the Apple customer service and get an idea about the cost of repair. If it suits you, then you can go for the formal process to repair the home button and then enjoy using your device as before. However, the expensive repair of the old model of the iPhone is not suggested here.
If you think that your iPhone is old and you can take a risk on it then, you can try fixing the home button on your own. If you are under warranty, then you must not go for it as your warranty will become invalid after this. In a case, you have no technical and hardware knowledge; then you will make the situation worst in place of fixing it.
Software Workaround
It is interesting to know that Apple has put a feature in iOS devices which you can use to operate your iPhone without a home button. If hardware repair has not worked for you, then you must go for this. It will not require a single penny and will save you from expensive replacement of the iPhone home button.
With the advancement in technology, there comes a software solution to almost all the hardware problems. You may wonder how a software workaround can help in the case of a hardware button stops working. To learn about it in detail, follow these simple steps. Open your iPhone and then launch the Settings app. Then, select General> Accessibility and then toggle up the AssistiveTouch under the Interaction section. Once you activate AssistiveTouch on your iPhone, you can use your iPhone without any home button.
If you are using an older version of iOS, then you need to follow different steps to activate AssistiveTouch. For such a device, go to the Settings> General> Accessibility. You will see many sections under the Accessibility tab. Locate the Physical & Motor section and then turn on the AssistiveTouch.
Once you turn on the AssistiveTouch for your iPhone, you will find a square with six icons on your home screen. Under this square, there will be a small circle with the name “Home” below it. You can use this circle in place of your broken physical home button. You can adjust it anywhere on the screen and site as per your convenience. The icon becomes opaque when it gets pressed and then turns back transparent after leaving. You will get used to it after some time.
Activating the Assistive Touch will render you six options, i.e., Home, Siri, Custom, Notification Centre, Control Centre, and Device. So, you can use these options as an alternative to the hardware buttons easily.
Options like Home, Siri, Notification Centre, and Control Centre is well known to all the iPhone users. You can use the Custom option to customize the gestures and actions like double-tap and 3D touch. Under Device option, you can explore various possibilities taking the settings of the device, which include volume controls, mute, rotate the screen, lock screen, and many others.
Overall, Assistive Touch will open a bundle of options that you can operate efficiently without any use of the physical buttons. It is a wonderful software solution to a broken home button.
In order versions of the iPhone, you will find only four options, i.e., Voice control, Favourites, Device, and Home under this square. Ultimately, you will get a solution for your broken home button. It may look irritating, but you will find it useful instead of sparing money on its repair.
iPhone 7 or 8 not working
You have read about the device having a home button earlier. Let us now discuss iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 plus which do not have any physical home button. You may find it is home button disruptive or malfunctioning after a few years of buying. In such a case, you need not worry as Apple has already included an integrated option for this issue. Once it stops working, you will find a notification directing you to use the “onscreen home button” until you take your device to the the Apple service center. If your device is under warranty period, you can easily get the issue resolved using the free repair validation. Else, you can either spend money on repairing or continue using the onscreen home button. The malfunctioning of iPhone 7 and iPhone 8 home button is not common, but you must know the way to remove it as it can happen.
So, you have read about both hardware repair and software workaround to fix the issue of the broken home button of an iPhone. The AssistiveTouch feature of iPhone is not known to all of its users. Owing to this, they end up purchasing a new iPhone or spending a lot of money on an expensive repair. It can be a wonderful alternative which you can be in use to continue using your iPhone as before without spending any money. In a case, you are facing any such issue with any model of your iPhone, then let us know through the comments section.
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