Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference to kick off June 10 at 10 a.m. PDT with Keynote address

The Keynote will be available to stream on apple.com, the Apple Developer app, the Apple TV app, and the Apple YouTube channel. On-demand playback will be available after the conclusion of the stream.

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

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

Jun 7, 2011 7:04 AM in response to Nakaima

I must respond to this thread to update everyone about my situation.


While waiting to have a chance to drive 1.5 hours to the Apple Store to get this replaced, since Applecare mailed the same iPad back to me "within spec", it has gradually began working normally. Just as johnfrombancroft, I cannot explain it. Perhaps something has "worn in" or a burr has worn off, or something. I shouldn't guess because I have no idea, but the fact of the matter is that my wife's home button on her previously nearly unusable iPad is working totally fine now.


Maybe this will spread some hope. Maybe some won't fix themselves. I don't know, but ours did and it's flawless now, so I felt it was my duty to update the thread with my experience.


Good luck to all!

Jun 8, 2011 2:16 PM in response to Nakaima

I was having exactly the same problem. I didn't know what to do because I live in Puerto Rico and there are no Apple Stores here and I didn't want to send the iPad to the US and then wait for a response. Even though some people said that restoring it to the factory settings didn't help, I decided to give it a try and it worked for me! I started adding apps a few at a time later and it's been working perfectly since that day! I don't know how to explain it; I just know that my iPad 2 is like new again.

Jun 16, 2011 7:26 AM in response to Nakaima

hi,

having the same problem here, but gave it a try to change the orientation on landscape mode n hey!, it did works.the home button functioning quite well.


Since iam using multigestures, i try to minimise the usage of home button.

use the smart cover for wake/sleep function or lock button too can...others...multi gestures..

Jun 18, 2011 1:47 AM in response to johnfrombancroft

My ipad is still at my authorized reseller..i sent it last week for them to find out what was causing th home button issue..got the call from them that it was done..when i came to fecth it with high hope that the issue was resolved, to my disappointment i found that it was still the same..the embarassed face of the employee clearly showed that they obviously didn't do anything much..like i mentioned the home button issue was intermitent but lucky for me when i tried the supposedly okay ipad, it wasn't functioning..now for me apple or thier reseller for this case is not doing the so called best apple support service any justice..i am very very disappointed and ******..since the unit was brand new and that i sent it back within 2 weeks apple should be giving me a replacemnt unit rather than trying to fix it..i bought a new unit not a repaired unit..really not fair for me..btw i'm living in malaysia

Jun 30, 2011 4:36 AM in response to Nakaima

This morning my ipad's home button became unresponsive again. I have read that the glass on the right side of the home button may be raised above the bezel.I then looked at it and noticed it was. I then pressed on the glass on the righthand side of the home button, tried the home button again and its working perfectly again.

So, I believe it is a hardware issue. This must be due to improper glueing of the glass. I am a bit uncertain of whether to take it back and risk getting a refurb ipad or to stick through it and wait for ios5 multitasking gestures.

Jul 15, 2011 1:26 PM in response to Nakaima

Hi everyone,


I also had the same problem like less than a month after I purchased my iPad 2. I used to think that it was due to the iOS update to 4.3.x, as I got mine out of the box with the version prior to that, and didn't have problems before I updated.


However, it could also be that the home button pad had accummulated oil/dirt from our thumbs, which get in the way of it working properly.


Here's what I did:


1. Turned off my iPad2.

2. Wet my thumb with alcohol (not too wet, say a drop or two), and pressed down on the home button and rubbed the alcohol in in a circular motion. The idea is to let the alcohol break down the oil and dirt.

3. Wiped the home button thoroughly with a clean cloth (i dont recommend tissue or cotton as it might leave residue that could again 'clog' the inside perimeter of the home button.


Before I did that, my home button was responding in around 1 click out of 20-30 tries. After cleaning, the home button now responds in 9 out of 10 presses. 🙂


Let us know if you try and find that this works for you as well.

iPad2 Home Button unresponsive

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple ID.