Button Repair: When It Doesn't Click Anymore
We rarely stop to think about how often we press a button in a day. To turn on the screen, adjust the volume, or take a screenshot. Until that one button suddenly gets stuck, goes limp, or stops responding. A malfunctioning power button can render your entire device unusable, even if the screen and battery are perfect.
Which products does this apply to?
This article is about physical buttons on electronic devices.
Applicable: Smartphones (power, volume, mute switch, Bixby button), Tablets (Home button, volume), Laptops (individual keyboard keys or trackpad buttons), Game controllers (Joy-Cons, Playstation triggers), and Smartwatches.
Not applicable: Virtual buttons on a touchscreen (software), touch-bars without physical feedback, or devices operated entirely by gestures.
What is the definition of a button repair?
Consumers often think that only the plastic or metal cap on the outside is replaced. In reality, that is rarely the case.
A button repair usually involves replacing the internal flex cable. The button you see on the outside pushes internally against a "dome switch" (a metal dome) soldered onto a flat cable (flex cable). This cable runs to the motherboard. Therefore, a repair requires opening the device to replace this internal mechanism.
What could be the reasons a button repair is needed?
Wear (Metal Fatigue): After thousands of clicks, the metal dome loses its resilience. The button then feels "mushy" and doesn't click anymore.
Dirt and Liquid: Spilled cola or sand can creep into the crevices. The sugar crystallizes and causes the button to stick.
Drop Damage: If a phone falls on its edge, the metal housing can dent inwards, jamming the button permanently in a pressed position.
Cable Break: The thin cables inside can tear due to a hard impact or unskilled previous repairs.
In which case can a button repair help?
No response: You press, feel a click, but nothing happens.
No "click": The button is stuck or feels spongy without tactile feedback.
Ghost clicks: The volume goes up by itself or Siri/Google Assistant launches continuously without you doing anything.
Boot-loop: The phone keeps restarting (often caused by a stuck power button).
When is a button repair unnecessary (or complex)?
Software Freeze: Sometimes a button doesn't respond because the operating system has frozen. Trying a "hard reset" (button combination) is step one.
Touch ID (Fingerprint): Very important for Apple! The Home button of iPhones (like iPhone 7, 8, SE) is paired to the motherboard. If you replace it, you permanently lose the fingerprint scanner (Touch ID), unless you go to the official manufacturer. An independent repairer can restore the "click", but often not the fingerprint function.
Do you need a button repair yourself?
Do you have to press extremely hard to turn on your screen, or has your volume button taken on a life of its own? That is not only annoying, but can eventually disrupt your entire system.
Check and compare our independent repairers in our marketplace. They have the tools and the steady hand to make even the smallest parts click perfectly again.