iPhone 8/ 8 plus home button cracked

Guys!!! I have some really good news. So I’ve been following this thread since it happened to me April 20. Since then, I’ve gone to Apple twice, been turned away blaming me for physical damage, shed a few years and contemplated throwing this phone at a brick wall a few times lmao. But yesterday, I gave it one last shot before I attempted to have to pay a bulls**t amount of $250 to replace the screen on my 8 plus (3 months old at that). I decided to chat with an Apple advisor. I explained the whole situation, sent this thread, sent her pics of the home button and everything. Now her exact words after chatting and asking me questions like “was the phone warm when you found it in that condition” ect, she said after doing some digging apparently this issue is “apparent and recognized”. So yes this issue is recognized by Apple so guys do not give up. Be persistent. Chat with an advisor and explain the situation, she set me up with a repair, I now have a case created with all of her evidence toward my case. I’m going into Apple tomorrow to get this fixed, for FREE, once and for all! She said if they give me trouble to refer to my case number and ask for a manager. I will let you guys know what happens tomorrow!!! Keep being persistent and do not pay these people to fix this phone when it’s their fault. Good luck guys

I also had this same issue and they fixed it!

Recently my iPhone 8 home button shattered after I lightly pressed it (I'd had the phone for a month), as soon as it shattered the phone shut down and rebooted with assistive touch. I booked an appointment with apple for a few days later. The next day I was using the phone and the home button was extremely hot, unbearable to touch and the heat could be felt through my pocket even when the phone wasn't in use the battery was also depleting a lot faster than before the home button cracked. That night the phone rebooted randomly and then became stuck in a reboot loop. I booked a closer appointment and went in. When I first told my story I wasn't believed they told me it had an impact point meaning it had been dropped and I was lying which ticked me off. I told them to repair it but if any of the previous issues persist they would be covering those. The repair was quoted at $230 AUD. When I left the store while it was being repaired I thought I'd have a look to see if anyone had an issue like this before. Fortunately I found this thread and went back into the store to show them that people had had this issue when they didn't even touch the home button. We spoke to a different guy and he took another look and commented on the immaculateness of the phone (its been in a case and glass screen protecter since I bought it) he agreed that the home button was faulty and they covered the cost of the repair. Apparently the home button is made of glass which is a lot stronger than the display, so even if it was dropped the home button would be the hardest thing to break, indicating that it was faulty if it broke so easy. Apple need to be made aware of this issue so that it can be resolved easier. Keep persistent guys.

I am happy to report that Apple did fix the problem but had to replace my phone. However, it was a huge headache. At first, I was quoted unreasoneable amounts of money to repair it. I spoke to many reps who found this unusual. The problem with the 7 and 8 plus is that they have a sensor under the home button so the home button can’t simply be resurfaced. I agreed to send in my phone (as I do not live by an apple store.) It was a headache at the ups office which even required Apple to contact them. However, once it was sent back it was determined that they would replace it vs repair it. I was sent a new phone in 2 business days.

An update - I took my phone to Apple today and spent 2 hours with the Genius Bar technician while he ran diagnostics and tried to get my phone out of constant boot loop (unsuccessfully) and the technician advised that the logic board is toast. Since the phone is a brick, they were unable to retrieve my data subsequent to the last backup (which was on Jan 13) so I lost a number of pictures taken while I was in Florida, which is just an added annoyance. They did replace the phone, however they would not give me a brand new “retail” unit. After 2 hours, I just wanted to leave the store with a phone that works and I didn’t have the mental bandwidth to argue. I showed the technician this thread and made sure that he logged my boot loop issue complete with cracked home button to make sure they log it as related issues. Even he conceded the home button is remarkably difficult to damage and damage to it in the absence of other damage to the phone was highly unusual.

Good luck to everyone else dealing with this most unpleasant situation!

I've had my iPhone 8 Plus for 1 week and the same thing happened to me! My phone shut down and I thought it was just going to restart, but it was stuck on the Apple logo. Then I noticed it had a crack on the home button. I've never dropped the phone or anything, so there's no way I cracked it. I went to the Apple Store and they thought it was my fault, they said "no way the iPhone would just crack." They told me I would have to pay $169 for a repair, I kept insisting that this could possibly be a manufacturer defect. I told them about the Apple Discussion boards where there are a lot of people experiencing this exact same issue. They had me talk to a higher Apple department who could authorize a repair covered by Apple. At first, she said that they have to charge me for the hardware fix. I kept telling her that other people have this problem also and search it herself. Eventually, she said she would authorize a one-time fix since I've had it less than a month. I told her that I was afraid this would happen again, and she told me that they wouldn't do a second fix and suggested to get AppleCare. I really believe Apple is wrong in this situation, this is more than a coincidence. It's sad that they're making people pay and I truly believe it's not the customer's fault. I was very careful with my iPhone and I'm sure everyone else here too. Apple needs to realize that there is a problem, so I hope whoever experience this they would write in the discussion so that Apple realize this issue.

I have gone to the Product Feedback. Sorry that you had to pay for the repair. It's an insult to think that somehow ONLY that home button is cracked and no other physical damage to the rest of the phone. I kept telling them to please search this issue on the internet as a lot of people are having the same issues. Their first reaction was, "well, people can write anything on the internet". So I told them, "I'm not arguing what people can/can't write on the internet. I'm asking you to look this issue where there are no signs of damage anywhere on the phone and is it possible that this could be a defect?" That's when they gave the authorization to get it fixed at no charge.

Robert, I had this same issue and politely explained the situation and the evidence at hand and was told the same thing three times. I asked to speak to a manager who also refused at first. It was only after politely explaining why I wouldn’t pay for the repair that they finally went to speak with another manager and ended up replacing the screen free of charge. Just keep trying, but remain empathetic to their position as it really does sound very suspect. Good luck

My quest is over 😃 Took the phone into Apple today and they replaced it with a brand new phone. They did say they hadn't heard of it before and I did point out the number of posts in their support pages and other threads on the net for the same issue. They first offered a repair or a replacement refurbished phone which we was not pleased with considering our phone is only 2 weeks old. Anyway, they eventually said they would replace it with a brand new one which we happily accepted. Good result I reckon, but quite honestly wouldn't have been happy with anything less. Just hope it doesn't happen again………

Hi There!

The same thing happened to my five month old iPhone 7 (which has the same ‘home button’ as the iPhone 7+, 8 and 8+) while charging for less than half an hour, unattended and untouched for that time. After removing it from the charger, a crack was there, and home button itself and Touch ID to not work.

This issue was resolved by taking the phone to the nearest Apple repairs, and them replacing the button for $169, as I did not have Apple Care, and it was classified as ‘accidental damage’.

The new button works the exact same as the original one, along with the Touch ID feature (contray to what many third party websites say).

I hope this helps!

Don’t make the same mistake I did. The apple genius tried to update my phone prior to replacing the glass bezel and I lost all my data.

This is repairable at apple. For $169 they will replace the glass bezel. The original home button remains the same under the glass.

Update: I took my phone to the apple store and unsurprisingly they told me initially that I would have to pay for the repair. "We've never seen this issue before and it's not documented within our company blah blah blah". I insisted that I did nothing to cause the issue and that seeing as I had actually had my screen replaced through apple only a few weeks beforehand, that it was likely their screen replacement that caused the issue. They again said that unfortunately I would have to pay for the repair as it was out of warranty. I probably went back and forth three times, speaking with the manager eventually who initially also insisted that I would have to pay. I politely told the manager that there was no way I would be paying for it as 1. I know for a fact I did nothing to cause the issue 2. The screen replacement I had already paid for was the likely cause and 3. There were clearly hundreds of other people experiencing this issue online. He ended up going to speak with another manager and thankfully came to the conclusion that they would pay for the repair in this instance because the other screen replacement had been so recent and that there was no obvious explanation. I felt lucky. I encourage anyone with this issue to try and be understanding of their position, it is quite odd afterall!

Feedback reported...

https://www.apple.com/feedback/

Suspected Design or Mfg Defect on iphone 8 Plus

I recommend an investigation for the iphone 8 Plus home button cracking issue. As of today, it may still be early in it's life, but many consumers like me are having their home buttons mysteriously cracking and malfunctioning without abuse, dropping, or other unusual activities.

Apple Stores have not acknowledged this as a defect for warranty claims yet, but I recommend a prudent investigation.

My 3 month device was just repaired for $169+tax, for what I consider should have been a warranty, defective item.

What makes this area too weak to last a few months of vibration and interaction?

Thank you for getting this to the right people to read forums, read repair logs, investigate and correct the issue, and refund consumers who had to pay.

I want to update what is happening so far with my Iphone 8 Plus... I have been dealing with this since Feb 26th. Anyway, after many discussions and frustrations and a well written letter put in the package with my phone. They have repaired it free of charge and sending it back next day air. So a 2 day turn around is good for me since I have talked for 2 months to get any kind of resolution and I still was not sure if they were going to try to charge me for repair. In the letter I wrote, I stated that there were over 500 accounts of people with cracked home buttons on relatively new Iphone 8 Plus phones and that I had never dropped or treated my phone in any manner that could have caused this problem. I just stated all of the facts and said that I hoped that they would do the right thing to keep a happy customer. That is what they did, so besides all the arguing on the phone and some nice people and some not so nice people that I had to deal with , I am happy just to be getting my phone back and I hope its repaired correctly and everything is fine. I will let you know . I just hope that you all are able to get your phones fixed. I think it is important to bring up the fact that all of our conversations on here exist and that this is not just a random problem. I suppose we could all try to figure out when our phones were manufactured or where and see if that information matches with each other. Once again, GOOD LUCK and I hope they fix or replace your phones.

My iPhone 8 Plus has the same issue and I have this phone for less than 3 months.

1 the phone has been well covered by the case;

2 the screen also has the tempered glass;

3 It was in my pocket without anything else in the same pocket;

When I took it out, I found the "white apple" on the screen. Then I connected it via my Mac and started to have a close look, then, I found the there were the cracks on the touchID area.

I cannot even think how it could happen until I see this thread. This is a definite quality issue, not the misusage of hardware at all.

I will head to Apple Genius Bar later

Yes you are right, I have been persistent and polite. Yesterday I was told my phone is unrepairable and the authorised Apple provider said that Apple has agreed to pay for a full replacement. I am very pleased with this, as I dont need to go through my insurance which comes with having to pay excess and will affect my non-claims bonus. This is satisfactory for me but I hope others in the same boat go the extra mile and try to explain their case as I did with facts and some evidence.

The way that I was advised they would offer me a new device seems a bit suspect and I tend to wonder whether they know about this and are not advertising this fault as it is possibly isolated to a few hundred/thousand and are using a case by case basis to put it right however if someone doesn't do their research then I think they would most probably just get a new device via insurance which is quite sad really - anyway that's my speculation for the day.

Once I actually get the new phone I will post here as I have been "told" I will get a replacement but you never know what may happen.....watch this space.