iPhone 4 Home button issue...

Alcohol's the thing! 🙂

Never had an issue since.

Alcohol is the the thing. Worked well. Just dip your finger in the alcohol so it's wet and not dripping and rub it in a circular motion over the button for a minute or two and it's like new. Great Post!!!

what alcohol did you use?

Isopropyl Rubbing Alcohol Worked Perfect. Idk How Long It Will Last But Im F*ckn Amazed & Relieved Right Now.

Just to confirm for everyone after a bit of research. Ive repaired about 12 button issues on out of warranty ip4's.

It is a mechanical issue.

The iso trick is smack bang on and is used on all buttons that use a metal dome contact

As the ip4's do.

Im an electronics engineer so can vouch for that.

U need to be sure the isopropyl alcohol ur using is 100% pure

As it is so close to non condictive (compared to anything else u could use)

that its almost guaranteed safe.

Step one...

Drain ur battery flat ... Completely.

Ensure the device is off and place exactly two whole drops of

Alcohol on the home button...

Depress the button 2 or 3 times to work the alcohol in.

Step two....

Wipe off the excess and "tap" the button firmly and rapidly about 10 times...

Not too hard or u could dent the metal dome contact and ruin the button.

Turn the device upside down and using a rag on ur finger continue to tap the button untill

There is no more evidence of alcohol seeping out around the button.

Step 3...

Let the ip4 sit in a warmish place for 15 mins... Recharge and...

VOALA!

No more sticky button!

Best repeated as soon as symptoms occur , before the dirt builds up too much.

The idea is.. There is an air gap arround the metal dome contact that allows the grease and

dirt from ur finger too work its way in.... Flushing it out with iso is guaranteed to remove most , if not all of

the contaminants.

if the button was'nt designed as a semisealed unit u could stick a piece of adhesive tape

over the contact to seal it. As some manufacturers do, unfortunately that is not the case with the ip4.

CAUTION!!!!

performing this fix on ur ip4 could void ur warranty.

Out of warranty, its guaranteed.

It will last untill more dirt and grease gets in, at which point repeat the fix.

If done correctly and swiftly, no damage will result.

:-)

Enjoy!

For anyone who posted alcohol, thanks so much! It worked great with my year old iPhone 4. My problem wasn't as bad but was failing ocassionally. Now it works as good as ever! Thanks!

Here here for everyone who posted using alcohol, had some 99% isopropyl alcohol, some on one finger, circled around the edge of the home button a few times and the button works like new - Fantastic info - Thanks!!!

This problem was beginning to drive me insane - glad it works!! Also thanks to Hulign also for his explanation of how the button is structured and why the problem occurs.

Woohah!!!

Alcohol trick worked for me too. Put a couple drops on with a cotton swab. My phone had gotten to a point where the home button wasn't working at all. Thanks.

thanx it was realy reasonable solution..but in my case ..i had my ip4 only for 24 hours..is this possible to be because dirt??!!

if u hav any info please reply ...

I have already had one iPhone 4 swapped out under warranty for the hardware failing. It started failing intermittantly - and then more often. I love the simplicity of one button, but it makes things pretty painful when that one button fails. I keep my OS up to-date and am careful with my phone, hopefully the iPhone 5 doesn't have the same problem.

I'm now inching up on my 1 year warranty and the home button on my newer phone is not working. Is this a common problem? The Apple Store confirmed it is a hardware failure, not software glitch.

From reading all these posts, I'm quite convinced we are dealing with more than one problem that all have the same symptom - a bad home button. There is no way the same problem could be resolved both by "calibrating the home button", "tapping the phone on a hard surface" and "using alcohol on the home button".

My iPhone 4 is still under AppleCare so I should take it into Apple. But, I've already had to get my iPhone 4 replaced twice in the last year. I really don't want to have to reload everything and tweak everything to just the way I like it. 😉

I used the screen cleaning liquid I got from the apple store. It´s called Tech Link Keep It Clean. That worked great for me. I skipped all the run the battery down, turn it off etc steps as mine is still in warranty....

And it worked great! No ill effects at all and now 100% like new. None of the other tricks worked well for me

It is a software issue, in my opinion and that's why. The home button doesn't work in some applications as expected. But if you lock your phone, then press the home button, then press the power button, then again the home button - it works EVERY time and ALL the time! So there is something in operating system, I guess.

Hi Jonathan...How are ya?

Evn i have the home button problem...i need to press it harder to make it work...Can u please guide me with the process of replacing it!

I had got my iphone 4 from Hongkong in Oct10...its still under warranty!

I live in India...thing is thy dont have replacement service in India...So was wondering to send my iphone 4 with my brother to HKG...so can u please tell wether they need the invoice, old iphone box n stuff???

As i dont have box with me any more and invoice bill as well!

Would they accept the phone for replacement without the invoice and the box and if they do how much time it takes to get it replaced!

Please let me know!

Thanks

I have read through the solutions, none of them work to address the root cause.

The clue to the problem is the "smacking of the phone" or pushing very hard on the home button.

The problem seems to be the electrical connection between the button and the logic board. I suspect that after thousands of presses the connector flexes slightly causing it to become disengaged from the socket on the board. This is why pressing very hard on the button allows it to work intermittently. It also explains why using a toothpick, placing the usb cable in the jack or software updates makes it work temporarily. Flexing the connector moves the circuit board and allows the temporary connection of the connector because it's in direct proximity. But it never allows enough pressure to reseat the connection.

To fix it:

Remove the back of the phone by taking out the two small screws and sliding the back up gently. You can see details of how to remove the back here. Do not remove anything else from the Iphone.

Using gentle pressure push down in the area behind and in proximity to the button. If you have a phone that's definitely not working you can see the immediate before and after effects.

Put the back on and enjoy.

I don't yet know how long the fix will last as the connector may become weak. It may also be a poor solder connection between the actual button and the flex cable.