Stuck Power Button on IPhone 12 Pro

I had same issue for last 3-4days. Read this post, ran some water for literally 2-3sec , wiped with alcohol and button started clicking! Thanks.

hartnski wrote:

Probably stuck because of dust, just run some water to the stuck button and it will back to normal, IPhone 12 series has IP68 rating so it’ll be fine.

Noooooooo.......Do NOT run water on any part of an iPhone. iPhone is NOT waterproof. It is water resistant. And if water gets inside the phone it can and often destroys it, which will NOT be covered under warranty and could be a HUGELY EXPENSIVE mistake.

If anyone's power button seems off, the phone is under a 1 year new phone warranty. Take it to your Apple Store Genus Bar for evaluation and if Apple determines their phone is defective, it will be replaced.

I just got Iphone 12, I have the same issue. Side bottom doesn’t work properly. It gets stuck. Sometimes it doesn’t work at all... I always used iphone and never had this kind of issue. Did you return the phone?

Obviously you are not familiar with Apples lineup. Even iPhone SE 2020 version was IP67 and actually has been since iPhone 7 and up which means it is entirely dust proof and able to withstand one meter of water (3.3 feet) for up to 30 minutes. The iPhone 12 mini is no exception coming with a rating of IP68 under IEC standard 60529. This means the mini is splash, water, and dust resistant at a maximum depth of 6 meters up to 30 minutes.

Source: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207043

Obviously resistance will be damaged if your phone is repaired by unknown techs. Recommendation not to go to swim with is just good practice because chlorine or salt water will do magic called chemistry and that might also loosen your water tight seals.

Have a potato :)

The problem with the stuck power button on brand new iPhone 12 Pro's (and Max's) is common for Apple customers and even Apple employees - with 500 people reporting this persistent quality control problem of brand new iPhone 12s from Nov 2020 to June 2021 in this forum alone.

Spoiler Alert: Don't hesitate, immediately return your iPhone for a new iPhone. Do this before Apple wants to replace your brand new iPhone with a used refurbished phone. My previous experience with Apple's Genius replacing my iPhone with a refurbished iPhone is that the battery didn't work for as long as expected, and the transfer of data was not done completely.

I called Apple support, since I paid $299 for AppleCare+, and I was told that the earliest appointment to try to exchange my broken brand new iPhone 12 Pro for a working brand new iPhone 12 Pro is 2 days out. Worse, the Apple representative said that he had the same problem. Still worse, I was told that they couldn't guarantee that the replacement would be a new iPhone 12 Pro.

I found the article "Cleaning your iPhone" at https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT207123 generally useful but not helpful for this problem. It says: "Use a soft, slightly damp, lint-free cloth—for example, a lens cloth."

I read all of this thread, which includes suggestions on how the power button can sometimes be unstuck, but I didn't want to do any of the questionable solutions for cleaning by splashing with water or brushing with a q-tip damp with alcohol.

Following the instruction on the Apple support page, I tried to "exercise" the stuck power button on my brand new iPhone 12 Pro by sliding my thumb back and forth across the power button with a slightly damp cloth .. it didn't work .. and worse .. my phone called for emergency help before I realized what was happening. I stopped the outgoing call but it was too late and the helpful 911 service called me back to make sure everything was ok, which I assured the operator that everything was fine. I asked the operator how often emergency services got false alarms from iPhones .. and the operator said: "it happens every day". I asked how many times a day this happens, and the emergency services operator said: "I don't know, I'm only one operator and we have many operators."

Summary: The problem gets worse; un-sticking takes customer cleaning methods that aren't recommended; and if you notice that the power button doesn't click (like mine didn't on my brand new phone) that isn't a haptic feature, it's a broken phone.

I too have that same problem. Haven’t even had the phone for a week and it’s getting jammed. Called apple, took about 10 minutes for the representative on the phone to understand what a lock button is.... they want me to ship my phone to them. I want them to ship me a brand new one. I’m not having a non water proof phone when I paid for this. Very poor apple very poor

I am having this issue too with my new 12 pro! I have only had it for 3 weeks and all evening today it has been stuck. At first I thought it was the phone case I have it in, but when I take the phone out the button is completely suck and non responsive.

Sooooo disappointing.

In had the same exact issue today. Day 3 of ownership. I was able to fix it by trying a razor blade and running it in the space between the buttons and the body. I expect this to be a major problem for iPhone 12 users

Yeah that is weird. In my situation, I was taking my phone in and out of the case to use my wireless charger - for some reason it won’t work with the case on. maybe yours was truly defective. good luck with the next one ☝️

I am having this issue too. Except the side button has not been completely stuck. However, I feel that its only a matter of time since the button is needing a little bit more effort to respond. I chatted with Apple support and was offered a mail in replacement or a carry in. However when I opted to visit an apple store- I was advised that the phone needs to be shipped out to their repair center and a swap is not doable. I am going to swap my sim card, activate my back up phone and send my new 12 for repair. I have a feeling that the issue we are all having is a start of a possible recall and they are not wanting for a swap to take place so they can manage inventory and continue sales. Great business practice to earn money for stock holders, however it is tarnishing my perception of the company’s integrity.

Update: I have AppleCare+ so I just ended up using the express replacement option. The biggest issue is that this is not easily accessible for all as Apple places a hold on your credit card or debit card for the amount of money your phone is worth. This means you have to have $800-$1200 in your bank account or a credit line that large. If you do though, this is a perfect option. I was able to get the replacement phone, and ship my old one back in less than a week and it ended up costing nothing. If you do not have AppleCare+ there is a $29 fee for this service I’m pretty sure.

I got the iPhone 12 pro max yesterday and I had the same issue it takes forever to turn on the only way is to plug the charger in 🤔 I contacted o2 and they are sending me a replacement not a great way to start

I was an earlier poster in this thread, encountering this issue within about 2 weeks of purchase. For a few weeks I tried unsuccessfully to get a time at an Apple store to take it in, and at some point it automagically started working again. It's been working fine for at least 3 weeks with zero sticking issues while it was a persistent issue 2 weeks after purchase.

The only thing I can think of is I grabbed it once with a lot of hand sanitizer on my hands...and I feel like that's around the time it stopped sticking. I'm thinking these posts about using alcohol to clean it out may be on to something... Obviously not what we expect from Apple, but if you're living with it and can't take it in to a store, may be worth a try.

Just thought I’d chime in. I also have had my iPhone 12 Pro for about two weeks and now the power button is stuck and refuses to work. This is, I believe, a similar issue to the one Apple had on their 2016 MacBook Pros where small pieces of dust could get stuck under the keys and make them unresponsive (because, ya know, there’s dust on earth). I’m sort of stunned that Apple quality has fallen so far in so short a period of time and yet their prices continue to rise.