iPhone 4 sleep/wake button broken?

Question

Level 1

41 points

iPhone 4 sleep/wake button broken?

I have treat my iPhone 4 like a baby since purchase and out of the blue the sleep/wake button has stopped working and will not work at all. I have tried pressing fairly hard and I dare not press any harder for fear of doing further damage to the phone. The familiar click that you normally get has gone. I don't know whether if my iPhone is in warranty or not (the Apple website says it has not been acitvated for some reason) but I believe that should should not make a difference as to whether if I should have to pay or not; I have looked the problem up on the internet through google and it seems to be a manufacturing defect judging by the amount of people who seem to be suffering from the problem. I won't be happy if Apple expect me to pay for something, a problem that was clearly not instigated by me. Why should I be expected to pay to have it fixed when one moment the sleep button works and the next I press the sleep button and it completely fails on me?

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7)

Posted on Feb 4, 2012 1:31 PM

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Answer 1

baccalad Author

Level 1

41 points

Feb 4, 2012 1:52 PM in response to baccalad

Sorry if I seem to come across as angry but I don't mean to

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Answer 2

Feb 4, 2012 2:14 PM in response to baccalad

I had the same problem a few weeks ago. If you're under warranty, you should be covered. If you're like me and the warranty has expired, you can replace the Power & Sensor Cable. There are instructions on the internet that are pretty good. My button is now fixed and working properly; however I now have a problem with the microphone next to the headphone jack (which is also on this same cable). A professional replacement of this part may be a better solution. Good luck.

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Answer 3

gdgmacguy

Level 7

21,885 points

Feb 4, 2012 3:07 PM in response to baccalad

Apple has a standard warranty against hardware failure for one year; 2 years if you purchased Apple Care. If you experience a hardware failure outside the warranty period, OF COURSE you will have to pay, just as you would have to pay for any other product that goes bad after the warranty period. Nothing lasts forever, and if you didn't like the standard 1 year warranty, you certainly could have extended it with Apple Care.

An out of warranty exchange for an iPhone 4 is $149. If you don't want to pay this, then you can always find an iPhone repair shop in your area and see what they charge. Just keep in mind that Apple will NOT touch your phone once opened by you or a 3rd party.

Your choice.

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Answer 4

baccalad Author

Level 1

41 points

Feb 4, 2012 3:32 PM in response to gdgmacguy

Depends if it is considered a manufacturing defect or not, as I have stated in my post that is how it seems to be. You don't expect these type of things to just be wear and tear. On a side note, does that $149 become £149? Pfft.. knowing Apple I wouldn't be surprised.

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Answer 5

Feb 4, 2012 9:23 PM in response to baccalad

Here's a follow up to my previous post...Come to find out the new cable I received was defective. I installed a new cable and everything is working now. The part cost less than $10 and takes about 40 minutes to intall. If you're tech savvy enough, this is a great alternative to purchasing a new iphone 4 for $149. Good luck!

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Answer 6

Sep 12, 2016 9:22 PM in response to baccalad

There are some easy ways to fix this. Go to Setting > General > Accesibility > Assistive Touch and turn Assistive Touch on. A black box will appear on your screen. It's like a mini control center!

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