When the Button Stops Responding
You press it, and nothing happens. Or you feel the click, but the phone doesn't react. Or the button feels stuck or mushy, without the familiar click sound. This is one of the most common reasons people visit us: the Home button on older models or the side button on iPhone X and newer suddenly stops working properly. Sometimes this happens gradually, sometimes all at once.
Common Causes
Mechanical Wear and Tear
A button is a mechanical component with a limited lifespan. When it wears out, the contact becomes unreliable: you press it, you feel it click, but the phone only responds every other time. We often see this on iPhone 6s and 7 after three to five years of active use — perfectly normal wear and tear.
Dirt and Moisture
This is especially true for the Home button. Over time, dust, grease, and small debris accumulate underneath, reducing the mechanism's mobility. We had a case where an iPhone 8 was brought in with a Home button that barely registered presses. When we took it apart, we found a layer of oxidized residue underneath. The owner later remembered that the phone had once been exposed to water but hadn't thought much of it at the time.
Flex Cable Damage
Inside, a thin flex cable connects the button to the logic board. It can wear out or tear if dropped or if the phone was repeatedly bent in a pocket. On the iPhone 7 and 8, the Home button flex cable is one of the most vulnerable spots during corner impacts.
Touch ID or Firmware Issues
Sometimes the button is mechanically fine, but stops working after an iOS update or after a screen replacement at another repair shop. Apple paired Touch ID to the motherboard, so the system simply rejects third-party hardware.
Side Button on Newer Models
On the iPhone X and newer, the side button also controls Apple Pay, Siri, and power off. If it stops clicking, the issue is likely with the internal mechanism or the flex cable. Less frequently, it's the result of an impact or liquid damage.
What You Can Try Yourself
- Restart your phone. Sometimes a software glitch causes a freeze — restarting solves it in seconds.
- Take off the case. A tight case or one with stiff button covers can physically interfere with pressing it. Test the button without the case.
- Enable AssistiveTouch. This is a software replacement for the physical button via "Settings → Accessibility → Touch → AssistiveTouch". It's a temporary workaround until you can visit a technician.
- Check for iOS updates. If the button stopped working right after an update, a subsequent patch might fix it.
We don't recommend cleaning or disassembling the button yourself. Without proper experience and tools, it's easy to strip mounting points or tear the flex cable, turning a button repair into a screen replacement as well.
When It's Time to See a Professional
If restarting and removing the case didn't help, the issue is mechanical or flex cable-related. This requires special tools and replacement parts.
Home button replacement on iPhone 6s, 7, and 8 usually takes 30–60 minutes at our shop and costs from 1 500 rubles. An important detail: on the iPhone 7 and 8, the original Home button with Touch ID is paired to the board — we repair the original one rather than installing an analogue, otherwise fingerprint recognition won't work. Side button replacement on iPhone 11–15 is slightly more complex: from 2 000 rubles and takes about an hour and a half.
Someone once brought in an iPhone 13 Pro whose side button stopped responding after a fall at the gym. Externally, there wasn't a scratch, but inside, the flex cable was pinched by a shifted frame. We realigned the frame, replaced the flex cable, and everything went back to normal.
If troubleshooting steps didn't help, drop by iClub.pro at Kommunisticheskaya 35. Diagnostics are free: we'll tell you right away what broke and how much the repair will cost.