The Home button on the iPhone 7/8 broke and nothing helps? - Perhaps there is a solution

Hi GeekTimes! Recently, the Home button on my iPhone 7 broke down and I rummaged through the entire Internet in search of solutions, but I didn’t find anything. In the end, I fixed everything, and I would be very happy to stumble upon this article before. I think she will help someone.

Prehistory

Let's start with the fact that from the 7th iPhone the home button is no longer mechanical, as well as the IP67 moisture protection is stated. These factors led to the problem. After watching a huge amount of videos with the names of the iPhone water resistance test, where they were bathed without any particular consequences at a depth of more than 11 meters, I decided that simple washing with soap would not damage my seven.

I washed it no more than once every two days. It brought me great aesthetic pleasure. I really love the work of Johnny Quince and watched with great joy how glass and aluminum lost fingerprints that I hated, and droplets of water gathered into one large one.


After a couple of months, I realized how badly I was wrong. At first, Touch ID stopped working, then the button itself stopped recognizing pressing and water stains appeared under the glass. Apparently, the fake speaker to the left of the charging port could not withstand the pressure of tap water. In the service, the phone was dried and everything worked except for the button. An assistive touch appeared on the screen, replacing the functionality of the disabled buttons. By that time, the first beta of iOS 11 was released, and I could not help but roll it. After reinstalling iOS, Touch ID started working again! Why? I did not understand then, and lived with such bewilderment half a year, until the damn button again stopped working.
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In this case, you can replace the button, which costs a couple of bucks on Ali. This is not the best option, since the Touch ID is tied to the motherboard. The button itself will work, but the fingerprint scanner will not. You can buy a motherboard, which is usually sold with a button, but it is very expensive and there is a high risk to buy a used motherboard with a locked iCloud or just killed.

Decision

Then it became really interesting to me and I ordered a set of screwdrivers (it is important to understand that not all fit, for example, in the 7th a rare screwdriver with 3 blades is used). With their help, as well as with such improvised means as a hair dryer, a sucker, a homemade wooden shovel and an iFixit guide, I disassembled it. There was no visible damage, except for slightly oxidized connector pins. After cleaning both parts of it, I put it all together. The sensor is working. The finger feels, but does not scan the fingerprint. In the Touch ID settings, when trying to create a new fingerprint, it was said that a failure had occurred:


Already the result, but this is not enough. Why for the first time the scanner earned when reinstalling the operating system? Maybe it will happen now? Yes! I bought a special adhesive layer on Ali to restore moisture-resistance and an iPhone like a new one!

For some reason, iOS does not activate a broken sensor. It was important to understand. In addition, the part of the connector, which is connected to the loop of the button - with gold-plated contacts, in contrast to the accompanying part on the display module. There was oxide.

On one website of the secondary market, I found a huge number of such iPhones, with a low price and an assistive touch button. Therefore, I thought that this article would be useful to someone.