iphone stupid phone button

Gangster
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10 Mar 2009
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i've had every iphone since the iphone 3g (3G 3GS 4 4S) and every time after just over one year the home button becomes unresponsive.

this time with my 4s i took it to the apple store expecting to get mines replaced free of charge with this consumer law: http://www.apple.com/uk/legal/statutory-warranty/ but they said i need to prove the problem existed on the first day i received the phone... what's the point in that statutory warranty then?

also they won't repair the button and say i need to pay for a refurbished handset... i'll probably live with this problem for now and get the iphone 5 but i wish they replace the home button with something capacitive
 
Soldato
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My 2G iPhone was fine the whole of its life, but the home button on my iPhone 4 is ridiculously temperamental. Somebody suggested recalibrating the button but I've since read that it's a tech myth so I don't know, I've always assumed it a hardware issue.
 

RJC

RJC

Don
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If the home is unresponsive I thought they would replace it anyway as the phone is still under warranty or Am I am I on the wrong end of the stick! :eek:
 
Soldato
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I'd be flinging the "not fit for purpose" law at them along with statutory electrical warranty EU (2 years) or UK 3 years. Someone can probably correct me on that but I think its something like that.
 
Soldato
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To be fair, I've heard stories of them being replaced even out of warranty for this issue. I'm personally not that bothered now because I'm upgrading to a Windows 8 phone when they arrive so I've only got a few more months to put up with it.
 
Soldato
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Oh ffs, just man up and buy a replacement button from iFixit and do it yourself!! It's not really that difficult tbh, I've done a couple now and they're remarkably easy to strip down once you know how.
 
Associate
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1 Sep 2008
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i liked my 3gs for a long time, then ios4 came out and it slowed down the device hugely.

It's so annoying, they force users to install uodated firmware which the older hardware can't cope with.
 
Associate
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If the phone is under a year, or just over a year old, they should repair it (they just replace them). It's due to some consumer law tat the device must last a reasonable amount of time.

I got my 4 replaced even though it was around 18 days out of warranty. It's quite a common issue with the buttons, four people I know have suffered from it, as well as me.

Don't do it yourself if it still works, you run the risk of breaking the screen getting at the button, ad it's a 40 minute job of fiddling around with small screws,
 
Soldato
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Why should he? If the product is in warranty, and the fault is supposed to be covered by said warranty, why should he invest his own time and money in fixing it himself?

It was a tongue in cheek comment, but it would appear that he's already tried getting it repaired without success, so maybe not the worst idea to DIY ;)


For what its worth my button went on my iPhone4 2 months outside the warranty period and they point blank refused to replace it free. I ended up getting the part and doing it myself. Yes its a little fiddly, but not that difficult in all honesty, and you're very unlikely to break the screen so long as you have the correct tools and a little patience.
 
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Soldato
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The Home button is the worst thing on an iPhone right now in my opinion :p

The last two iPhones have had the problem where it becomes difficult to hit the button, and sometimes requires more than one hit :(
 
Soldato
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If the phone is under a year, or just over a year old, they should repair it (they just replace them). It's due to some consumer law tat the device must last a reasonable amount of time.

I got my 4 replaced even though it was around 18 days out of warranty. It's quite a common issue with the buttons, four people I know have suffered from it, as well as me.

Don't do it yourself if it still works, you run the risk of breaking the screen getting at the button, ad it's a 40 minute job of fiddling around with small screws,

Sales of Goods Act.

The product should last a reasonable amount of time, taking into account what it is, and how much it cost.

In the case of a £500 phone, you would expect it to last at least two years if looked after properly, considering that they sell the phone with two year contracts. Even taking that away, you should still expect it to last more than two years.

However, as the OP's phone is in warranty, don't even touch it - just take it back and get it sorted there.

Don't bother with the EU statutory warranty, SOGA is stronger for the consumer.
 
Commissario
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In the radio shack
I took my daughters iPhone 4 which is just over two years old to the Lakeside Thurrock store for exactly this problem. They took it away, cleaned it and returned it within ten minutes or so and the fault hasn't happened again since. It was very non-responsive before.
 
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