Broken iPhone 4 Power Button

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Broken iPhone 4 Power Button

It would appear that the power button on my iPhone 4 has suddenly developed a fault. Essentially, it no longer 'clicks' when pressed and pressure must be applied in order to turn the phone on or off, or to make it sleep or vice versa. It just about works at the moment, but I'm worried that it will deteriorate to the point where it becomes unusable. I'm going on holiday next week for two weeks and really need it to listen to my music and to check my business email while I'm away.

Reading around it seems like a fairly common hardware fault but that isn't something that can be easily fixed yourself. As luck would have it, I'm literally a week out of warranty so presumably I won't have much joy taking it into an Apple store (I'm in the UK).

So, what's my best option? I really need a quick fix but I'm not sure there is one given that I'm outside my warranty. Any ideas?

Thanks!

iPhone 4

Posted on Aug 15, 2011 1:20 PM

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Answer 1

brad805

Level 5

7,397 points

Aug 15, 2011 2:26 PM in response to ninjastory

Out of Warranty problems are never fun. If convenient to get to Apple Store, see if Genius can help. Maybe they will allow this one repair.

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Answer 2

ninjastory Author

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Aug 15, 2011 2:34 PM in response to brad805

Thanks for the reply.

Assuming I could convince Apple to repair the phone (though I expect that would be a tall order as in my experience warranties are pretty black and white), how long does the process take?

The only other option I can think of is taking it to a shopping centre repair shop, but I'm wary of doing this as I don't want to end up with bigger problems than a 'sticky' power button.

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Answer 3

brad805

Level 5

7,397 points

Aug 15, 2011 2:42 PM in response to ninjastory

Make appointment with Apple Genius. Appear at Apple Store, should not take more than 2 minutes to show them the problems you are having. Tell them the truth, let them see that there is no physical damage to the iPhone, that the Power Button is bad and you need help. It should take them less than 2 minutes to think it through. Within 5 minutes you will be either very happy or disappointed.

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Answer 4

ninjastory Author

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Aug 15, 2011 2:45 PM in response to ninjastory

Thanks again. I supposed what I meant is if they agree to do 'something' how long will it take them to fix it. Does the phone have to go back to Apple, thus taking days, or is it simpler than that?

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Answer 5

brad805

Level 5

7,397 points

Aug 15, 2011 3:02 PM in response to ninjastory

Most Apple Stores will replace it on the spot, right there. Here is a comment from another thread today:

Re: iPhone 4 stuck sleep/wake button

Aug 15, 2011 3:54 PM (in response to Ull)

Had the same problem. Took it to the Apple Store and had it replaced today. Luckily, it was replaced for no charge because the warranty had just expired three days ago. I was told when the warranty is expired, one has to ususally pay a (unknown$$) fee, but because it was so close, I got a break.

Good luck.

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Answer 6

ninjastory Author

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Aug 15, 2011 3:08 PM in response to brad805

Okay, I've booked an appointment for Saturday. Really appreciate the advice, thank you sir!

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