Iphone 4 Home button not working after upgrade to OS 4.3.1

I am having the same problem. I've restored, but no fix.

I think I finally fixed my home button. I purchased RadioShack precision electronics cleaner. A 5.5oz can was $11.99

I powered down the iPhone and sprayed the dock out as well as the button. I didn't soak the button or dock, only a quick spray. I then cleaned the power button. I waited 10 minutes and powered it up. At first there was a pattern below the illuminated screen andI thought I may have wrecked the screen by getting cleaning fluid between the as which layers of the screen. Additionaly the volume buttons stopped working for a few minutes

It's been 40 minutes the screen is clear, the button works. I hope this fix lasts. the phone is all back to normal.

Try at your own risk, for $11 it could be the easy way out.

Steve G

NY

I thought this worth mentioning, as I deal with alot of iphones on a daily basis having to manage them for IT. This problem has been affecting my users since around the IOS5 update. At first, like most I thought this was a hardware issue. The phones are just being trashed, they are work phones etc... But after reading these forums, I thought hang on, maybe it's not so black and white.

I had several handsets (iph4) that had faulty home buttons, all running IOS5.0, using an old laptop without an internet connection, I downgraded all of them to the only manual IOS I had on hand, 4.3. The key is stopping apple from stopping you using an old O.S, but this is not difficult.

Guess what? all of the phones Home buttons started working again. I then upgraded them all to IOS 5 and guess what? all the Home buttons were still working. These are phones that had apparently totally lost all home button functionality.

So what appears to be a hardware fault (and did to me for quite some time) for me anyway, it was a software issue. Not sure why the button works now, but I do know all 6 handsets were totally DOA when they got to me, all I could do was turn them on.

I never seen too much dumb people together.

First:

There is both situations where it could be a hardware or software fault.

My cousin has a 3g with hardware issue. Its obvious in his situation.

I have an iPhone 4 with what seems to be software issue. You can try it and verify.

Keep pressing the buttons twice to popup the multitask bar. Sometimes it will not work as you may see. Here is the tricky part: keep pressing twice and sometimes press twice AND HOLD the home button ( you want to do that and have the multitask bar NOT popen out). So now you are holding a button and the phone is "idle" (home screen). WHILE HOLDING the home button, try to open the Voice Command by pressing the button harder and moving your thumb around WITHOUT releasing home button (in other words, if you hear/feel the click you have released it). If doing that doesnt make the voice command open, you might have the software issue.

Second:

Why I call some people here dumb?

A button (push-button) is a device that sends signals when you press it. These signals are "ON" and "OFF", or 1 or 0 in eletronic language. How the **** could be a calibration for it? You guys make me laugh.

There is one word for that: PLACEBO EFFECT.

Facsi, you sound like an arrogant little ****.

The Iphone and Ipad were designed for NON technically minded people. When a non-technically minded person presses a button and it doesn't work, to them, it's because the button isn't working.

The don't care about 1's or 0's.

They care about the button on their phone doing what it was supposed to do.\

Pro-tip: Calling people stupid generally highlights your own lack of intelligence.

Calling people dumb is an engaging trait that will make people want to listen to you.

Also, perhaps you shouldn't lump people together. Everyone is an individual with their own brain, thoughts and education.

Thankfully, there are many smart people here to help others.

@Geoffro_au

@BlueFlowers

People could use their brain a little. It doesnt hurt. The most ridiculous thing is those people copy pasting wrong stuff from internet trying to be a smart ***.

People will listen if they are smart. "Master is the one who learns, not the one who teaches" JGR.

@Facsi., I agree with you on one point: it can be both, a software and a hardware problem.

About your insulting remark: A button is not just 1 or 0. Just because most buttons result in signals being either ON or OFF doesn't mean that there aren't buttons that also transmit pressure data which can be used to calibrate them. If the contact is a bit worn out, a recalibration might help.

That being said, I'm not saying that the iPhone actually has such a calibration feature... I for one haven't found one single source on the internet that seems reliable. I have tested the calibration myself though, and in the few occasions that I did, it seemed to make a difference. I wasn't able to test it more thoroughly so it was probably just a coincidence (which is the reason I haven't reported back on this thread).

Hi enyo.

You are correct. There are buttons that are pressure sensitive, like the classic xbox controller. But carbon contact buttons or gold contact buttons or any type of button that make click noises (like your light switch) has only 2 positions: on and off.

Did you tried my method to find out if its a hardware issue? This "calibration" thing has a placebo effect. My iphone now is working flawless after a reboot.

You haven't got a clue about digital electronics. Have you heard about voltage trigger levels? You propably think that 0V = 0 and +5V = 1. This only half the truth. Input gates of controllers have window comparators circuits, so anything between 0V and 1V = 0 and anything between 4V and 5V = 1. So if your Home Button generates something like 2,5V at the input gate, it does not work (neither 1 nor 0).

I hope you got the point.

So calibrating means telling the controller what to interpret as 1 or 0.

The above mentioned voltage level are only examples.

Merry Christmas from Bavaria, home of the "Christkind" (Santa who?).

No I dont think that by the wrong way you said. Actually you just explained the very basics of digital circuits or in better words, how the chips actually works. We humans determined that range to make digital circuits work because analog inputs are not constant or very precise. It has a small variation.

If we are talking about the same thing, what you said is wrong in one point:

Since these chips determine the signal output (1 or 0) by checking the input range, it has nothing to do with a voltage comparator circuit. So if your home button generates something like 2,5V, your hardware has a problem. None sinal input is made to work outside the range it is supposed to. If it works this way, you can fire the hardware designer.

Home button push-button works as a lamp switch: Can you turn on your lamp only to 50%?

Since this is the way the chips works, no one should calibrate anything.

I hope you got the point.

Merry Christmas for you too.

txturbo's post here resolved this issue for me: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2541121?start=44

RECALIBRATION TIP:

When recalibrating via the three step method, MAKE SURE YOU HOLD THE HOME BUTTON DOWN GENTLY. If you push it hard, it calibrates for high pressure. It took me a loooong time to figure that out.

Good luck!

What dark orifice did someone come up with the lame-brained "recalibration" idea? The button is just a button. It is not a pressure-sensitive button. It is just a button. There is no "callibration".➖

There are TWO differring issues to the unresponsive home button - and while they are unrelated, one can make the other issue more evident.

Problem #1 -Software/OS - For SOME users, apparently there is some kind of bug or other issue that is keeping the processor busy or unresponsive to input from the home button (would be interesting to see if there is a corresponding fater drain of battery).

Problem #2 (And what I believe is the most common issue by far) - a hardware issue related to the motherboard, power button, and the frame. Whether from dirt, excessive pressure, or just use over time, the button itself gets somewhat out of allignment within the frame. Dirt can be somewhat cleaned out by the method posted way back, but may void warranty due to liquids and the phone. The somewhat out of allignment/over-pressed button, then the method previously posted that involves loostening the two tiny phillips-head screws near the cradle plug, using a spudge tool or other piece of plastic to put pressure towards the face of the phone in that slot, while tightening the screws back (this is what cured my problem after trying every other lame idea posted on this thread).

And for some, the button may simply be defective.

But in no case is there some magic key combination, pattern, or "callibration" to fix anything. At best, you might be resetting the phone/rebooting/or otherwise temprarily airbrushing the more rare software problem. But it is not a fix.