iphone 5 power button NOT Working anymore.

Here is the latest twist, and it is not good news. As of Jan. 20, 2014, Apple will no longer permit "authorized repair centers" to repair any Apple mobile device. That means you can not longer get the switch repaired if the phone is out of warranty. The repair centers have also been prohibited from selling the parts so you can fix it yourself.

Last month, I brought my out of warranty, unlocked AT&T iPhone 5 into the Los Gatos Apple store to see if they could fix the power button. I was told they do not do that repair. If the phone is in warranty, they will simply swap it out for a new one. If it is out of warranty, they will sell you a new phone at full price. I specifically asked the Genius Bar tech if this was a known issue and he said no.

About a week ago, I went into a ClickAway store to see if they could do anything about the power button. I was told it is a common problem (as I since learned here.) The technician said he needed me to leave the phone with him for about an hour so he could do a diagnosis and estimate. I was not able to leave the phone at that time, so the tech said just to come back anytime and he'd take care of it, no big deal.

Well, I went back to the same store and talked to the same tech yesterday. It IS a big deal. The tech said Apple notified them by phone of a change in policy "a couple of days ago." Effective immediately, no Apple mobile devices could be repaired at an "authorized" repair facility, nor could parts be sold. This includes phones, tablets and music players.

The tech said he was as shocked as I was when he heard. He speculated (reasonably) that Apple simply wants people to buy new devices.

I am reporting this here for the first time. As far as I know, word has not gotten out beyond Apple and its repair community.

Hey, please ignore my previous post. (I can't edit or delete it.) It appears the Clickaway tech was feeding me a line of bull. The store has never been an authorized service provider for iPhones. Sorry for the false alarm.

I have exactly the same problem with the power button on my iPhone 5, bought outright at launch, from Apple, now doesn't work. I have an appointment at the Genius Bar in Glasgow, first thing. I'll be going armed with this http://www.apple.com/uk/legal/statutory-warranty/ and the Sale of Goods Act as you would 'reasonable expect' the phone to last longer than this. I would expect them to fix it or give me a new handset.

Wow. You are lucky. Scotland requires a 5 year warranty (adding 4 years to Apple's warranty.)

Count me in as another impacted by this problem. Grrrr. Bought the parts to fix it just haven't carved out the hour to do so.

John, Where did you get the parts? I'm in Santa Cruz.

My power button stopped working half the time, and now it doesn't work at all. I bought the phone in September 2012 the day it was released. It's been over a year now. I went to Apple in September 2013 and they no longer had available appointments for that day and I was told to schedule an appointment. I haven't yet, but now I am wondering if I will have any luck getting this replaced since it is no longer under warranty. Looks like most of you have been told to pay $260+

AssistiveTouch for Powering Down was a great idea. Didn't know this was possible.

Thanks everyone. Common problem, clearly.

I have fed up with this problem so I visited a third party repair service where I got my flex cable replaced in 2 hours for about 45 USD. Now the power button works like as if it was new. Am I still quite mad at Apple? Of course I am, but what else should've I done? Wait for a miracle to happen (recall)? Thankfully we have these great third party repair services who can always help when Apple won't.

@steveyoung74

Please tell us how Apple responded.

OK guys, just back from the Genius Bar at the Apple Store in Glasgow.

Success! Brand new handset no problems at all. The experience went something like this:

I walked in, waited about 10 mins, then explained the situation about my button and they asked if they could take it away and have a look inside. I said no problem.

They came back after 5-10 mins saying "yes, your button is broken and what we'll have to do is to give you a new phone, because this isn't something we can fix. Unfortunately your phone is out of warranty, but because you bought your phone from Apple we can cover it under Consumer Law, so it won't cost you a penny!"

Me "erm..." gobsmacked, expecting a fight.

Them "is that ok?"

Me "Yes! That's great!"

2 minutes later is was strutting out of the store with a brand new phone in my pocket.

Faith restored, take heed!

Very cool! Glad you didn't have to put up a fight! Mine is from Sprint- ughhh.

Hey guys, you know when you press the home button 3 times on the iphone 5, the assistive touch disappears/reappears. This only works if you have enabled it from your settings. I've tried this on the 5c and 5s and this will not disappear. Makes me wonder if Apple added this feature only on iphone 5 with iOS 7 because they know they know the power button is faulty.

I decided to just have this fixed at a local repair centre in the end. A company called Lovefone in London, W1 came and picked it up and delivered it back a couple hours later all fixed for £51. Seems to be working fine now, so should last me another 12.1 months right!

lol the best of the best to do to fix all the problem when u press not work right so if u press to hard it well sleep right ur phone power button is not broken and u dont have to worry this step what u have to do then first try push the power button 5 times then hold it longer it well sleep ur phone after that u need to use itunes use cable all ur data save it then hit restore after that it fix not broken anymore^^ my iphone 5 fix and done...hope i help guys good luck....

Don’t despair, folks! There is an easy workaround to this problem that doesn’t require going back to Apple for anything. This workaround allows you to completely stop using the iPhone 5 power button – as if it is not even there. It costs nothing, and is easy to use.

Here is the workaround, as first posted in part by Roukas and Thycos last year. I’ve combined their info plus more. The idea is to use the “Assistive Touch” feature as a substitute for turning the screen off or turning power off. How to turn either back on is also covered.

The workaround to enable not using the power button at all is as follows…

Go to Settings -> General -> Accessibility -> Assistive Touch -> On

Then activate by pressing the Home button, which puts you back to your main screen of icons.

This will give you a white circular icon (like a snowball) on the upper left screen and thru this circle you will be able to do all the functions of the physical buttons.
You can drag this icon to a more convenient place on your screen, if you wish. Now, here’s how to use the snowball icon in place of the power switch…

1. To turn off the screen, tap the snowball, then on the options shown, select Device then Lock Screen…

Snowball -> Device -> Lock Screen

2. To reactivate the sleeping screen, just press the Home button.

3. To turn power off, do the same as in #1, but hold down on the Lock Screen option until “Slide to power off” appears, then push the slider to the right to power off.

4. To power back on, just plug your iPhone into its wall charger, and it will power on.

Works like a charm, and saves paying for an unnecessary $280 repair!