iPhone 8/ 8 plus home button cracked

I followed their process ie rang and logged it with Apple NZ which is Apple Australia and was advised to go to authorised Apple provider (Im in NZ we dont have genius bars). Even the worker thought it wasn't a fault and didnt even want to look at the mountains of evidence probably thinking I was trying to scam them. In the meantime I had received an email from Apple and they said if I needed anything else to reply to the email which I did, with many links after doing some google research and realisng it wasn't me it was the device. Some persistent phone calls and emails and I have a new device within 5 days. The key is to be polite, professional but firm - that's my opinion/experience anyway.

Go back to them, gather evidence from the likes of this forum and others (there's plenty out there just google it).

Dont put up with it, ask to speak to someone higher up, threaten them with going to your commerece commission or TV shows that help those that are getting ripped off (ie YOU!).

It's unacceptable that their phones are breaking and you have to pay for it due to their weak and breakable components.

A person commented earlier that Apple recognise this but obviously aren't advertising it so you need to speak to the right person to get it sorted. Mine was the same, it was unrepairable and only thing I could do was get a new phone - I persisted and Apple gave me one - they know it's an issue otherwise why would I get a brand new phone. Keep pushing bud, eventually you'll get the right person.

Guys! We just did it, and in record time!

So this saturday June 16th the same thing happened to my girlfriend's iPhone 8 Plus, phone was charging, nobody touched it, there was no physical contact, just like magic: broken button and apple logo boot loop. The only way to get out of the boot loop is restoring the phone but that will only get you to the Welcome screen to find out your home button no longer works, and if you turn the phone off you are back to the boot loop.

I was going crazy until I found this thread, which is the key to my success, cause how else would anyone ever believe this story? So, first tip, keep this thread handy. Now my path to success:

CHAT SUPPORT - Saturday 16th

I went in a long conversation with chat support explaining what happened and showing him this thread and sending him a photo, he said he understands but there's nothing he can do about it without someone taking a look at an official Apple Store. Ok, understandable but I told him that the people there will look at me like I'm crazy or a liar so that I really need some backup, some acknowledgement from Cupertino, a special note that says "please listen to this guy".. something. So he agrees to schedule a call for me the next day, first thing in the morning, with an "Asesor Principal" (I'm from Mexico but this is pretty much a "superior", an expert customer service or something, let's call it Main Support).

MAIN SUPPORT CALL FROM BED - Sunday 17th

Here everything is pretty much the same as the chat but with voice, he agrees that this is weird but insists that I should go and have it looked by an actual person and that if I don't like the outcome of my Apple Store visit I should call back so they can see what they can do now that my case has official notes from someone who looked at the phone. Again, understandable.

APPLE STORE VISIT - Sunday 17th

I tell the whole story again, tell him about the thread. My Genius checks the phone, gets some magnifying thing and explores the fracture on the home button and decides it is physical damage so it isn't under warranty. I tell him if he even looked and the thread, he saids he didn't so he takes a look and asks me to wait a little while he goes to the back and talk to some people. He comes back and tells me that he can't authorize something like this because it still is physical damage but recommends me to talk to Apple Support so they can give me a CS code. Apparently its a "Customer Satisfaction code" that means you have talked to Apple Support and for whatever reason Apple is giving you a free pass and they have to fix it for free. Sounds just like what I needed, but the drama just began.

NORMAL SUPPORT CALL - Sunday 17th

Here we go again, I explain the whole thing and this guy tells me "Well, I believe you because who would make up such a fascinating story, but since it has physical damage you still have to pay, don't take this personal".. oh man that really changed my mood but you really have to keep it cool, we need to understand this story does sound crazy. So I tell him I do take it personal cause the money would be coming from my personal bank account to pay for something I didn't personally break. I tell him I was told I should ask for a CS code because this case was special. And with that magic words he said he would transfer me with "Main support".

MAIN SUPPORT CALL FROM APPLE STORE - Sunday 17th

Apparently I shouldn't have said the CS code thing, or my genius shouldn't have told that to me, I'm not really sure what happened but at first my main support agent was very interested in talking to my genius who had already left the store so he couldn't but he asked for his name, what exactly did he tell me and put me on hold several times to talk to the store looking for him. Since he didn't find him I just told him "dude, look at the thread please, this guy was going to charge me and he didn't mention the CS code until he saw the thread, it's important". So he did and the mood changed, he understood there was something weird and started listening carefully. He said he would send a report to the engineers and they would be the ones taking the decision, this would take between 2 to 7 days but he would keep me updated. He said he was going to do anything in his power to reach an outcome that has me satisfied, he said that I couldn't talk to the engineers but he would be like me lawyer, he would take my case.

From this moment I had direct support to him, through phone and mail, no phone maze, no automatic replies. This is pretty much as high up as you can go, from here he really acts as your lawyer and told me if the engineers didn't agree he would just keep going higher up. We agreed to talk on Wednesday 19th or before if he had any news.

MAIN SUPPORT UPDATE - Monday 18th

This was jut a quick follow up, the engineers apparently aren't very busy so they answered quickly. They said the phone has physical impact and I have to pay. My agent said he told them to really look into it cause this case is weird and he believes they should make an exception. I thanked him and waited.

MAIN SUPPOR UPDATE - Tuesday 19th

The engineers again said they can't approve it because of physical damage but since the story is so peculiar they would let my agent make the final decision, and he gave me a CS code. This was a bittersweet success because I feel like nobody believed me but him, I don't feel like I set a precedent, I just feel like my history of 10+ years with Apple, my calm voice, my technical knowledge and my luck getting a great agent got me an exception.

Any company can makes mistakes, but is the way they handle those mistakes what makes them great, Apple has outstanding customer support and that's why I love them. But still, I feel like they should have been more interested in getting my phone to analyze it or something, but they just went "ok, have a new phone". I want to believe they know this problem is true, they were just testing me to see if I was really affected or I was just trying to use this thread for my advantage, and also that they've decided to help anyone affected by it but not to acknowledge it publicly.

So back to the story, my fabulous agent schedules a Genius Bar appointment for the next day.

APPLE STORE FINAL VISIT - Wednesday 20th

This was fast, I tell the genius the whole story even though she has everything she needs to know on her iPad, she checks the phone, checks the CS code, has me sign some stuff and hands me a phone replacement. That's it, case ***** closed.

So to sum it up: be patient, be polite and be persistent. Have this thread handy, Apple has excellent customer support but we have to understand this case is crazy and difficult to believe. We went from boot loop to new phone in 4 days, but that's probably too much to ask for. I really believe Apple stands by it's customers so just be patient and explain the problem.

P.S. Sorry if I sound like a fanboy but I just got my horrendous problem fixed with a new phone.

[Personal Information Edited by Host]

I had the same exact issue! However, after speaking to an apple representative on chat they were able to grant me a free repair/replacement from the Apple store closest to me, it seems as if this issue is recognized by Apple so I suggest to all of you not to give up and keep following up for a free repair.

I am the next one in line with a cracked home button on my iPhone 8 Plus, 3 1/2 month old. I have never dropped the phone and for no reason the button just cracked. When starting up the phone it reports: "TOUCH ID: Cannot activate settings of TOUCH ID on this iPhone" (not exact phrased as I translated it from Danish).

I decided to contact Apple Support first. I told them that this in NOT an accidential damage, but an issue they have with iPhone 8/8 Plus. I told him about this thread and that we are thousand of users with the same problem. I got an case from them and the kind supported I talked to that I should send the phone to the authorized dealer and refer to both this thread and the case I have open with Apple. I am not going to accept that they don't replace the phone.

I will post the progress of the case here.

I just had mine repaired. It requires a screen repair because the home button is part of the screen. Was $149 plus tax since it was outside the one year warranty. Good luck!

Hello Emcampb2! As it turns out, the Home button crack itself would be requiring a display replacement since it is part of the display fixture, since it is made of sapphire and is on a separate level than the display, it would require some sort of impact in order to crack or have any fractures. I would recommend stopping by a Genius Bar and a technician can get you a good $169 for a display replacement (as long as theres no extra damage, of course)

Yes, same here. No impact. Phone was on charge on its own when it happened.

Also not true that the home button can’t be replaced. Apple Genius Bars across the US (maybe also elsewhere) have a recalibration device that allows them to recalibrate the home button to the logic board.

I’d think this isn’t necessarily common, but I don’t believe impossible from normal use. You need to apply some force, and if there’s a defect in the crystal it could break under normal use. The same thing could happen with screen glass, but of course the default is to assume that it was dropped.

The haptics could possibly be involved since it’s shaking the home button in place of a physical button with a bit of travel. I knew a professor who was a materials fatigue specialist. He was often consulted in court cases as an expert witness. He would look at broken materials (like a broken axle) to determine if they were damaged from fatigue or from a single impact.

I’d see if this can be escalated, since the blanket denials of warranty service isn’t acceptable.

The Apple Store in South Coast Plaza, Santa Ana, CA did not acknowledge this yet as a known issue. They charged $169 + tax without Apple Care to replace the screen with an integrated home button. Clearly, this is a warranty level design defect based on this forum. However, the store employees seem to not be allowed to take care of it on the Apple warranty without an official "campaign" from Apple. I advised of this growing concern on this new iphone 8 Plus (maybe it's not just the plus?), and they agreed that once the problem reaches enough mass, to the high enough levels, with an official campaign, my money would be refunded. I suppose if it happens again, and again, I'll eventually get $600 refunded.😕

So, I have the exact same issue. It happened today and im pi$$ed. I was on the phone looking at emails and facebook, went to the bathroom it was in my pocket, went to the kitchen came back to my desk, took the phone out and it looks exactly like the picture posted below. No lies...exactly the same. Now I didnt drop it, didnt bump my leg/pocket/phone, didnt have keys in my pocket - just the phone. Rang Apple and got put through to a senior advisor??? and after explaining and being put on hold she decided to repair the screen at their cost which is nice but begs the question...do they know about this? She said as I am a loyal customer they are repairing it but I think it's as they know about an issue so repairing it. I could be wrong....oh did I mention I have an expensive otterbox case and screen protector, now they'll need a home button protector.

Ring Apple and explain to them all of this and ask to speak to a manager or senior. Discuss the Apple forums and that it is not a one-off it is common. I sent a long email to vent my frustrations and copied about 9 Apple forum links to show that it is a common occurence and not isolated. The lady I dealt with was nice but did not see this as a fault. Until we start making this more widespread they will do nothing or not much. Im happy for me but unhappy for the wider community that may become affected.

Same thing happened to me. Just left the Apple store & they say there is a point of impact & it is my fault. They won’t repair it for free but say I have to pay $169. So upset. My phone isn’t even 3 months old.

Call AppleCare, refuse the tier 1 support and ask to be transferred to Customer Support.

Same thing happened to me, only had it for 31 days, went to apple store with it and had to replacethe whole screen for $150, my last iPhone!