How To Fix Sticky Iphone Home Button

This wikiHow teaches you how to get around a stuck or broken Home button on your iPhone. It will also teach you how to fix some common problems, although your best course of action is to take your iPhone into an Apple store before attempting to fix the Home button yourself.

1

Open Settings. It's a grey app with a gear icon, typically found on the Home Screen.
2

Tap General . This option is near the bottom of the screen.
3

Tap Accessibility . It's near the bottom of the screen.
4

Scroll down and tap AssistiveTouch . It's below the "Interaction" heading.
5
Slide "AssistiveTouch" to the "On" (right) position. This option is at the top of the page. It will turn green, signifying that AssistiveTouch is now active; you should see a small grey square pop up on your screen after a moment.
- You can tap and drag the grey square to relocate it on your screen.
6

Tap the grey square. Doing so will invoke a grey pop-out menu with several options clustered around the middle.
7
Tap Home . It's the circle at the bottom of the pop-out menu. Doing so will mimic the actual Home button.
- Tap it once to minimize any open apps.
- Tap and hold to enable Siri.
- Double-tap to view all currently running apps.

1
Open a default app. Stock apps on the iPhone include Calculator, Calendar, Weather, and Messages. This method will help reset a Home button that is slow to respond, or one that doesn't respond at all and requires multiple presses to register.
- Make sure you don't have any apps other than the stock app open.
2

Hold down the Power button. It's on the top-right side of your iPhone's case. After a few seconds, the "Slide to Power Off" option will appear.
3

Release the Power button. Do so only when you see the "Slide to Power Off" option appear.
4
Press and hold the Home button. After a few seconds, the "Slide to Power Off" option will disappear and the app will be force-closed. This action will calibrate the Home button and potentially restore its responsiveness.^[1]
- If you're using the AssistiveTouch Home button, you'll first tap the grey AssistiveTouch cube on your screen.

1
Take your iPhone into an Apple store. Before trying any of the basic fixes listed here (and potentially voiding your warranty), take the phone into an Apple store to have their trained technicians look into fixing it.
- If there isn't an Apple store near you, try contacting Apple.
- The fix will likely be free if your phone is still under warranty or if you have Apple Care.
2

Use compressed air. Press and hold the Home button. Take a can of compressed air and blast the connection port at the bottom of the phone. Oftentimes this will clear out some of the gunk that may be causing the button to stick down.
3
Use isopropyl alcohol. Drop a small amount of isopropyl alcohol onto the tip of a cotton swab. Press in the Home button as far as it goes and rub the alcohol around the edges. Press the button several times to work the alcohol into the cracks. This can help clean grime out that may be causing the button to stick.^[2]
- This method may void your warranty.
- Using too much alcohol can cause water damage to your phone. Only perform this fix if your phone is no longer under warranty. If it is under warranty, attempt to have it repaired by Apple first.
4
Twist and spin. Place your iPhone on a flat surface. Press and hold the Home button firmly down, and then rotate your phone clockwise while continuing to firmly press the button. This may help reset the button.
- This step won't work for phones that use haptics instead of a hardware button (e.g., the iPhone 7).

Add New Question

Question

What do I do if my home screen goes black and my home button is stuck?

If you're using an iPhone 7, this has probably happened because the iPhone shut down--since the iPhone 7 doesn't use a traditional "button" but rather a piece of material that simulates Home button clicks, the iPhone 7's Home button ceases to allow you to "click" it when it turns off. In any event, try plugging your phone into a charger and wait for it to turn back on, then test the button again.
Question

What do I do if none of these options fixes my stuck iPhone home button?

Take the phone to your nearest Apple retail store or authorized repairer. They will have some other options you can try. However, the suggestions provided in this article will allow you to use it until you can get the phone into repair.
Question

How do I fix unresponsive buttons on my iPhone?

If you enable the AssistiveTouch button, it will place on-screen options for any physical buttons on your iPhone.
Question

What do I do if my iPad home button is stuck?

The processes for enabling the AssistiveTouch Home button and for fixing the Home button are the same for an iPad as they are for an iPhone (or an iPod touch).
Question

How do I fix my iPhone button that is depressed more than normal, but still works?

Use one of the techniques above. Rubbing alcohol or compressed air should work fine.
Question

Does it cost money to have Apple fix my phone?

If your iPhone is still under warranty and the Home button was broken under reasonable circumstances (e.g., you didn't treat the phone poorly), Apple will generally fix your phone for free.
Question

How to I go to Settings if my Home button is broken?

Hold down the button on top to completely shut off the iPod or device, then turn it back on by holding the button down. Once you do this, slide to unlock, and you should be able to navigate to any app you need. After restarting the device, go to Settings, General, Accessibility, and scroll down to select AssistiveTouch.
Question

What do I do if the home button stops working?

Nothing on iOs 10 or newer. On iOS 9.X.X or older go to settings -> general - > accessibility and assistive touch, or one of the options above. This does not apply to iPhone X or newer because the newer devices use gestures.
Question

My iPod's (4 generation) home button is not coming back up, I don't think. Any avice?

Jackson Sivley

Community Answer

If it does not power on, it will need to repaired. Apple no longer offers repairs for iPod Touch 4th gen or older, iPad 3 or older, or iPhone 4 or older as well as iPhone 5. iPhone 4s and iPhone 5c and newer, iPad Mini 2/Air 1/5th gen, and iPod touch 5th gen and newer still get repairs so your device will need to be replaced or repaired instead.

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If your iPhone 7 reacts slowly to double-tapping the Home button, try disabling any Accessibility features that are activated by triple-tapping the Home button. Since these features are contingent on three taps in succession, there will often be a delay in response after two taps as the phone waits for a potential third tap.

About this article

Article SummaryX

1. Open Settings.
2. Tap General.
3. Tap Accessibility.
4. Tap AssistiveTouch.
5. Toggle the switch to On.
6. Tap the gray square.
7. Tap Home on the on-screen panel.