So let’s say you broke your home button on your device. Now you are wondering whether your iPhone can still be used or if you should bring the smartphone to a service center for somebody to repair it. Fortunately, Apple is aware of such issues with the company’s devices and have prepared a useful function in iOS which you can use to replace the home button of your iPhone.
Warranty
Before you consider using this function, you should check whether you (still) have a warranty on your smartphone. If you do, Apple or the retailer you purchased the device from can replace the home button for free. You can easily check whether you are eligible for the replacement by visiting Apple’s website. Apple will ask you to provide the serial number for your hardware. By this, the company means the IMEI number – every smartphone has a unique one – which you can find in multiple places. If you previously synced your iPhone with iTunes, you can find the IMEI number there. If haven’t synced it or you do not want to use iTunes, you can navigate to Settings/General and Information. However, the easiest way to find your device’s unique code is to check the back of your device. Under the “iPhone” label you will see your IMEI number.
AssistiveTouch
If you can’t (or do not want) to replace the home button of your device physically, you can replace it virtually in iOS. There is a little-known accessibility feature called AssistiveTouch which you can use to create a virtual home button on your screen.
Navigate to Settings and then General. When there, tap Accessibility. Since there are many functions under this menu, you should search for the Interaction category where you will find AssisstiveTouch.
After clicking on the button, tap the toggle switch to turn AssisstiveTouch on.
If you did everything right, you should see a rounded rectangle with a circle in the middle appear on your screen. However, how can you use this function?
To start using AssistiveTouch, you should tap on the rounded rectangle. After clicking on it, your iPhone will show you a menu where you can access various features, such as the home button, Control Center or Siri. After a while, when you get familiar with the options in this menu, you might wonder how you can turn off your device with AssistiveTouch? First, you should tap the AssistiveTouch icon to launch the on-screen controls. When there, tap Device. Tap and hold the lock screen until the slide to power off your iPhone displays. After that, you should slide to power off your device. Have you ever damaged a home button on an iPhone and were stuck? How did you get past it? Let us know in the comments below.
