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iPad home button not working

There does seem to be a systemic problem with the iPad home button. There are countless reports on the net of people who are experiencing problems with the button not working, and I'm now onto my second iPad in a row that's experiencing the same issue - when my first one stopped working I brought it to the Apple Store, who instantly replaced it without question, even though it wouldn't behave badly for me in the store. But now that new iPad is doing exactly the same thing. Symptoms are that the button works very erratically, and often not at all. It's hard to figure out if it's a hardware problem or something else. There are countless solutions proposed on the net, most of which amount to shaking a bag of bat's teeth over it. Anyone had any real success with any technique? It really seems like it's an iOS problem rather than a hardware problem, as iPhones and iPad Touches are also reporting it?

Posted on Jun 3, 2012 5:04 PM

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Posted on Aug 31, 2012 3:40 AM

I was having problems with my iPad2 home button not working, or more often, working erratically. I tried Ram4Kid's fix and it worked perfectly, first time! Give it a try. I don't know how, but it solved my problem. Thanks!

78 replies

Aug 20, 2015 4:04 AM in response to Maxplanar

I think many people here will be experiencing a mixture of hardware and software faults. It is therefor not a fix for all.


I have worked with 1000's of iPads as I support numerous schools with their IT. I have seen hardware faults with the buttons that need to go away for repair but today, I have experienced the software fault with the buttons also, and came across this discussion in my search for a quick fix. This happened on a batch of 30 iPads all at the same time and all after updating IOS. The home AND lock buttons would not work. I could use the gesture to close apps but nothing related to either button.


(BEFORE YOU TRY THIS BACK UP YOUR IPAD TO ITUNES!!!)


This was fixed on all of them by going in to Settings > General > Reset and selecting Reset all Settings.


It takes 2 minutes or so to reboot and come back on. None of my settings had actually changed, or data lost but IOS now detected the buttons again, both home and lock buttons!


The only reason I say to back up your settings first in big shouty letters is to make sure you do not lose any of your personal data, regardless of it remembering all of mine. Experiences may vary. If it is still not working, I would suggest the issue is then hardware related and you will need to take it to a genius bar.


I hope this helps someone.

Jun 26, 2016 10:34 AM in response to Maxplanar

I tried all of these fixes with pushing buttons and twisting this-way-and-that. Nothing worked. Then I turned the iPad off and dropped a drop of rubbing alcohol on the home button and pushed it a bunch of times.I held the iPad firmly and shook it to move the alcohol off of the microswitch inside in hopes that it would move any dirt or debris away from the switch. I then let the switch dry for a while. Turned it back on and it works perfectly.

iPad home button not working

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