How To Fix A Broken Home Button in The Iphone 5s - IMore

How to fix a broken Home button in the iPhone 5s | iMore
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IPHONE DIY REPAIR
How to fix a
broken Home
button in the
iPhone 5s
BY ALLYSON KAZMUCHA
Saturday, Dec 6, 2014 at 3:54 pm EST
6 Comments
The Home button on your

iPhone 5s provides two
main functions; it serves as

a way to authenticate
Touch ID and more
important, as a way for you
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to return to your Home

screen, exit apps, access
multitasking, and more. If
you can no longer click
your Home button, or
pressing it does nothing,
it's possible the cable itself,
or a contact on it, needs to
be replaced. The good
news is that it'll cost you
far less than a new iPhone
if you're out of warranty!
What you
need to know
about Touch
ID and Home
button
replacements
When the iPhone 5s was
released, we quickly
realized that the Touch ID
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sensor cable itself was tied

to the logic board. And
since this cable is one in
the same with the Home
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button ex cable, replacing

the cable will render Touch
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ID unusable. This is
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something you'll denitely

need to keep in mind. If
Home button functionality
is important to you and
you're okay bypassing the
ability to use Touch ID in
order to save some money
on the cost of a new
iPhone, continue on.
That brings us to the parts
you'll need...
What you
need to
perform a DIY
Home button
repair on
iPhone 5s
You'll need some tools and
parts in order to repair your
iPhone 5s, including the
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replacement assembly. If
you're in the United States
or Canada, we highly
recommend checking out
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eTech Parts as we've had

lots of good experiences
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with them and know their
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customer service is out of

this world. All the links
below will route you to the
direct item on eTech's site.
Replacement iPhone
5s Home ex - Buy
black, Buy silver, Buy
gold
Suction cup - Buy
now
5-point security
screwdriver - Buy
now
Standard #000
Phillips screwdriver Buy now
Spudger tool - Buy
now
Razor blade - Buy
Now
iSesamo Opening
tool (not necessary
but awesome for
prying up cables and
getting under
adhesive) - Buy Now
1. Power off
your iPhone 5s
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Before performing any

repair on any device,
always remember to power
it off. Simply hold down on
the Power button until you
see Slide to Power off.
One you're sure your
iPhone 5s is turned off,
proceed to the next
section.
2. Remove the
two security
screws on both
sides of the
dock
connector
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There are two security

screws that secure the
screen to the frame and
they sit on each side of the
dock connector. Use your
5-point security
screwdriver to remove
them. They are both the
same size so it's okay if you
mix them up.
3. Remove the
display display
assembly
1. Place your suction
cup slightly above
the Home button
assembly and secure
it to the screen.
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2. Holding the iPhone in

place with one hand,
gently pull upwards
on the suction cup
until you free the
bottom of the screen
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but do NOT pull up all

the way at this point
as a cable running to
the Touch ID sensor
is still connected. You
only want to
separate the screen
about an inch at this
point.
3. Now that you have a

clear view of the
cables, use the
pointed edge of your
spudger tool in order
to carefully remove
the metal shield
covering the Touch
ID cable.
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4. Make sure you don't

lose the metal guard
that covers the Touch
ID connector.
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5. Again, use the

pointed edge of your
to disconnect Touch
ID.
6. You can now safely

swing the display up
more in order to see
where it is connected
to the board.
7. Remove the four
screws holding down
the shield that covers
the display cables. To
do this, use your
#000 screwdriver.
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8. Once all four screws

are removed,
carefully remove the
shield and set it
aside.
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9. Now use your

to remove the three
cables shown in the
image below. You'll
need to remove the
two off to the far
right in order to
reveal the third and
nal cable, which sits
below them.
10. The display assembly

should now be free
from the body of the
phone. Go ahead and
set everything but
the display
assembly aside now.
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Note: We used the suction

cup method here but if you
are not able to get a rm

grip with a suction cup you
can carefully work your
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way around the bottom of
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the phone between the

frame and display
assembly with a razor
blade until you can gently
pry up using the at end of
your spudger tool instead.
We recommend using
plastic razor blades if you
can nd them since they
won't cause damage to the
nish of the iPhone's frame.
4. Replace the
Home button
flex
1. Remove the top right
screw holding the
Touch ID cable in
place using your
#000 screwdriver.
There is a tiny metal
guard underneath,
make sure you hold it
in place so the cable
doesn't spin or tear
underneath it. Also
make note of the
orientation of this
guard as you'll need
to replace it again
during re-assembly.
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2. Once you've gotten

the top screw out
and set that and the
guard aside, you can
fold back part of the
Touch ID cable in
order to remove the
two screws holding
in the shield that sits
above the Home
button. Again, use
your #000
screwdriver.
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3. You can now remove
the metal shield and
set it aside.

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4. Lastly, very carefully
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use your spudger

tool to start prying
up the Home button
assembly which is
held in with a bit of
adhesive. Be careful
doing this as it's easy
to tear cables that
run to the Touch ID
sensor.
5. Once you've broken

all the adhesive under
the Home button
gasket, the entire
Home button
assembly should lift
out of the screen
assembly, Touch ID
still attached. If
you're having issues
removing the gasket,
try heating up the
button slightly to
break the adhesive.
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6. Now simply swap the

new Home button ex
in the old one's place.
If you ordered the
parts I've
recommended above
from eTech, the home
button is already in
place. If you ordered
from elsewhere and
got only a ex, you'll
have to transfer the
Home button and
gasket over to the
new ex. Just be
careful not to tear
the gasket while
doing this.
5. Replace the
display
assembly
1. Reconnect the three
cables shown in the
image below, starting
with the cable to the
far left, which sits
underneath the other
two.
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2. Replace the display

shield using the four
screws and your
#000 Phillips
screwdriver.
3. Re-connect the
Touch ID cable to
the logic board. The
easiest tool to help
you do this is the
pointed end of the
spudger tool.
4. Replace the Touch ID

shield that sits over
the cable.
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5. Carefully line up the

top of the display
into the top of the
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frame.
6. Snap down the
display until it clicks
into place.
If the display doesn't want
to go back down, do NOT
force it. Instead, be sure
that the top is lined up
correctly and that you
aren't snagging any cables.
There should be no
resistance when snapping
it back into place. If there
is, you aren't lining it up
correctly.
6. Replace the
dock
connector
screws
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Use your 5-point security
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screwdriver to replace the

two dock connector
screws that sit on either
side of the dock.
7. Test your
iPhone 5s
Home button
Once you've got your
iPhone 5s fully assembled,
you can go ahead and
power it back on. After it
boots up, perform the
following steps to test the
new Home button:
Hold down the Home
button and ensure
Siri activates
properly
Double tap and triple
tap to ensure those
actions work
Make sure you can
enter and exit apps
as you should be able
to with a single tap
Hold down the power

and Home to make
sure your iPhone 5s
reboots correctly
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If everything tests out

okay, you're good to go.
Again, remember that your
Touch ID will not work any
longer after replacing the
Home button ex.
Unfortunately there isn't
much you can do about it,
at least not at this point.
All iPhone repair and
DIY guides
Allyson Kazmucha
Senior editor for iMore. I
can take apart an iPhone in
less than 6 minutes. I also
like coffee and Harry
Potter more than anyone
really should.
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READER COMMENTS
How to x a broken Home button in the iPhone
5s
6
COMMENTS
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SORT BY RATING
Carioca32
Great post Ally. I still think

home buttons are one of
the worst designed parts
of the iPhone, almost as if
designed to break after a
while. I've said this here
before, I have older devices
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with buttons that get used

as mush as the home
button of an iPhone, and
none of them has given me

the grief home buttons
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have.
12/10/2015 4:53 PM
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REPLY
1 year ago
MacNoob
Congrats! You've just

turned your iPhone 5S into
5... No touch ID any more.
Not the best solution to
my opinion.
1 year ago
REPLY
Ermal Turkeshi
^ This :)
8 months ago
0
REPLY
GlennRuss
Too bad you can not buy a

home button, and a new
paired chip. Just not
possible. Even if you could
replace the A7 chip, it
would not be worth the
cost involved. Just get a
new phone. I have a slight
faint movement when
touching the home button
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lightly. Nothing happens,

but I am sure it will only
get worse, and the home
button will quit working.
Subscribe
Moving parts are always

the weakest link. Still when
No thanks
you think about it, pretty
12/10/2015 4:53 PM
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cool that each home

button Touch ID is
individually paired with
each chip. No easy x
anymore.
1 year ago
REPLY
Marin Claudia
I want to say a very big

thanks and
appreciation to Dr. iaac
for bringing back my
husband who left me
and the kids for almost
two months. I am very
much grateful to
Dr.isaac who brought
my husband back to me
within 3days. I pray to
God almighty to give
you the strength and
wisdom to help more
people having similar
problem like mine.
Drisaachelpcenter@gm
8 months ago
ail.com
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REPLY
Matt Jones11
I recently popped open my

phone to clean the camera
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lens and the home button
12/10/2015 4:53 PM
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ribbon came unattached. I

did everything in this guide
to reattach it and it works
again, but Touch ID no
longer works. It's still the
same factory home
button. Should Touch ID be
working or does
disconnecting the home
button ribbon somehow
break it?
7 months ago
REPLY
0
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IPHONE DIY REPAIR

Saturday, Dec 6, 2014 at 3:54 pm EST

The Home button on your

main functions; it serves as