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iPad2 Home Button unresponsive

I recently started experiencing an issue with the Home button on my iPad 2. Occasionally, pressing it will do nothing. So I press it again -- sometimes upwards of 4 or 5 presses before it finally responds. I'm not mashing the button and am certain that each press is an appropriate amount of force (I proudly own an iPhone 3, 3GS, 4, iPad 1 and now iPad 2, so I'm confident about how much force to press these Home buttons).
I tried power cycling the iPad 2, but that didn't help. I closed all running applications. At first, that seemed to work. For several hours, the Home button was perfectly responsive.
But alas, here I am this evening, again frustrated with the non-responsive Home button. At times, I can't even turn on my iPad since the button won't respond for several seconds.

I backed it up in iTunes and restored the factory settings. I notice it's still being unresponsive. It's so odd that the problem is intermittent. Much of the time it works fine. Then all of a sudden, when I press the Home button.... nada. It's like there is some kind of lag from when I press it and when (if) it responds. There are times when after a few presses, a brief moment later, the iPad 2 will open up the task switcher (indicating that I pushed it twice). Other times, it'll go to the search screen.

Again, this is occurring whether I'm using my configuration (latest IOS version) or even with the factory default setting.

Could really use some help or advice. Is anyone else experiencing this? I did a google search, and it seems very few are experiencing it. But it does seem to be more than just myself (if only a very small handful of people).

Thanks in advance!

iPad 2, iOS 4, Home button unresponsive

Posted on Mar 30, 2011 1:09 AM

Reply
98 replies

Apr 6, 2011 3:32 PM in response to Renesis

Renesis wrote:
Renesis wrote:
Having exactly the same problem. Thank God I am not alone. Hopefully this is a software issue that affects enough people to make apple look into it.

Update: Took it back to apple store yesterday and it worked perfectly 😟 (as I would have expected). Lucky that I recorded a short video with the iPhone, showing the guy how "dead" the button was. It is with the service center now, hopefully will be fixed.

Message was edited by: Renesis

Update #2:
First the repair centre claims it is a software issue but I finally managed to take show them how the button isn't working even the iPad is in factory setting. Got offered a replacement straight away, case closed. Happy camper 🙂

Apr 6, 2011 3:50 PM in response to Renesis

Unfortunately, I opted for the free engraving. I love the engraving, but Apple said they can't exchange or take back the iPad2 because of it. So they had me ship it back to them to try and fix it.

One other thing I noticed was that unlike all my other Apple devices, the home button on this one is sunk lower than the others. The edge of the Home button is nice and flush, smooth with the glass on my other devices (like my iPhone and old iPad). On this particular iPad2, the home button is noticeably lower, so you feel the edge of the glass, even when the button hasn't been pressed.

Seems like a physical flaw on the button on this unit. I never pressed the home button hard or dropped anything on it. Just hoping Apple will take care of it. Does anyone else have any experience with Apple fixing or exchanging a device that's been engraved?

Apr 8, 2011 7:56 PM in response to Nakaima

I received an email back from Apple stating that they cannot reproduce the problem and are shipping the device back. I even left videos of the problem happening on the device for them. They are returning it the same day they received it.
I'm quite disappointed as this looks like it'll be an ongoing issue for me. I suppose when it happens again, I'll end up sending it again.

Apr 9, 2011 4:14 AM in response to Nakaima

I'm sorry to hear that, man. So the videos didn't help to convince them about the problem?

My device was picked up by UPS on Thursday and it was delivered to Apple on Friday. I guess they checked it immediately since the repair status went to "issue identified"/"pending product replacement" during Friday afternoon. Let's see when they will ship the replacement back.

Apr 11, 2011 4:24 PM in response to BrokenMo

BrokenMo wrote:
I'm sorry to hear that, man. So the videos didn't help to convince them about the problem?


Yeah I guess the videos didn't help. I even wrote a letter detailing the problem and told them the videos were included on the ipad for them to review in case they couldn't reproduce the problem. I told them the home button also felt sunk-in like it physically wasn't set flush with the glass surface of the device itself. When you run your finger across the glass and the home button, you can feel the button is set lower (about 1/2 mm) causing you to feel the edge of the glass.
But, according to the email I received from Apple, " we can confirm that your product meets Apple specifications for performance, usability, and functionality".

I was pretty disappointed and saddened when I read that.

I suppose the best I can do is use it (when it arrives) until it fails on me again and then report it to Apple again.

Apr 13, 2011 3:55 PM in response to Nakaima

I guess this may explain it: 🙂

Apple to remove Home button on iPad 2, iPhone 5? - iPod/iPhone ... - 03:04
13 Jan 2011 ... According to a report the iPad 2 and the iPhone 5, both expected to launch at some stage this year, won't have a Home button.
www.macworld.co.uk › iPod/iPhone › News - Cached

Seriously, you should have more conviction in your knowledge that the unit is faulty and request that Apple do something about it within your consumer's rights. They know there's a problem here and they need to show some understanding that they may not be able to reproduce it within the timeframe they spend on it. Why on earth would you send back your presumably precious iPad 2 otherwise?

I received my iPad 2 today and straight out of the box the home button was faulty (what happened about Quality Control?) so am having it replaced. The support I had was very good, but so it should be with faults in a brand new unit.

Apr 16, 2011 6:36 PM in response to Nakaima

My Home button was unresponsive/erratic when I charged the ipad from my Mac's usb port. I then charged the ipad from the power unit that came with it and the problem appears to have disappeared. So try the supplied power charger and a wall outlet. My ipad has now worked for two days without a glitch. I would be interested in hearing how others make out.

iPad2 Home Button unresponsive

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