Help Broken Power Button - Phone Turned Off

chilenofutbol · Jun 1, 2013

My power button stopped working around a week ago, and so I installed the Auto Screen On app and it was working well enough, but today i go to use it after charging it all night, and it appears to be turned off. I tried calling it and it went directly to voicemail, which is how I know it isnt simply the screen thats off. The green charging light is on, so I know it's fully charged. I've tried pressing the volume down and power button at the same time, holding the power button without the cover, plugging it into the wall, plugging it into the usb...

Any advice?

razvan06 · Jun 2, 2013

S&R store !

mikesusangray · Jun 18, 2013

Hi guys!

I'll jump in on this thread since I have the same problem: The I/O button on my One S is not functioning properly. Sometimes it does work, but most of the time, nothing happens.

The problem is NOT related to the case: removing the cover and pressing the little button directly gives the same behavior.

Since I got my phone secondhand AND refurbished, my only choice is to look for a fix.

If possible, I'd like to do the work myself, then give the phone to one of my teenage kids. I've worked on HTC phones in the past - replaced a couple cracked digitizers - so I don't mind taking stuff apart. But I don't know what I'd have to replace here ...

So could someone help me figure out whether this is a DIY-able project?

Mike

senselocke · Jun 19, 2013

This happened to my wife's One S last fall.

I eventually had them send out a replacement while I still had the old one, as I was trying to get her data off (she's forgotten her gmail password). While fiddling with that, I took off the back "cover" and was trying to get the power button on... somehow.

I took a plastic toothpick and pushed the power button thing side to side and back and forth and every which way--and lo and behold the power came on! I'm thinking there might be a contact that gets dust on it or something. I swapped phones anyway--free, right?--but I was able to get her data off.

I suggest getting a toothpick and playing with the tiny plastic power nub/button, twist and push on it gently--maybe it'll come back as my wife's phone did. Sorry I don't have something more helpful, but I figured I'd let you know anyway. Good luck!

mikesusangray · Jun 19, 2013

Heya!

Thanks for the tip. After you got the machine going again, were you able to use the button consistently? I HAVE been able to use the "tiny button thing" to start or turn off my phone, only sometimes it does work, sometimes it doesn't ...

I'll definitely try a little more fiddling, though.

auburn2eugene · Jun 22, 2013

the same thing happened to my wifes phone. we tried everything with no luck. we had to get a new one sent. we lost ALL of her data off of there. even pictures of christmas (the day her mother died)

sorry i couldnt help

samuelito13 · Dec 2, 2013

I found a quick fix. My wifes HTC One S has a broken power button. I was determined to get the phone turned back on!!!! I tried everything. I used a pin to move the power button from side to side. Eventually the power button came out of the slot, no longer attached to the phone. At this point, I thought the phone was finished.

I finally tried something I did not think would work. I wrapped the power button with foil, about two times around. I inserted the power button back into the slot. At this point, I was able to turn on the phone again.

Note: If the power button is still attached to the phone, you may want to try to remove it. If your phone is still under warranty, please try this at your own risk.

Hopefully this works, it worked for me and continues to work.

mms1946 · Jul 8, 2014

Thanks for the great tip. Wrapping the power button of my HTC evo 4g lte worked!

samuelito13 · Jul 8, 2014

I am glad this worked for you. If you ever lose the entire power button, you can use just foil.

reamere · Nov 8, 2014

Before you fiddle too much with the power button or remove it, try compressed air and/or isopropyl alcohol. I do a 50/50 mix of alcohol and water.
These problems are usually due to dirty contacts. Compressed air can blow out some of the bigger looser pieces, and then isopropyl alcohol cleans it up. Clean the whole back cover. If necessary, pull the actual button, and clean inside there with the smallest thing you can find - a pin might be enough. (But use alcohol sparingly)
After 1 year of use, my HTC One S was pretty dirty inside the cover (even with a phone case), and the power button stopped working. I actually cheated and just cupped the area over the power button with my hand and blew into it real hard. It fixed the problem, but not smart long term because of the acidity in saliva. So use compressed air and clean with an alcohol/water mix is the proper fix.

Hope that helps!

fatz · Oct 21, 2015

the tin foil was a great fix for anyphone that has lost its lock button thankyou 10/10

Help Broken Power Button - Phone Turned Off

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