Chosen Solution
Hi Ifixit community, I braved a replacement of my Iphone 7 lightning connector, it seems to have gone okay in that everything is working apart from the home button. Speaker is okay, it’s charging okay, the touch on the display seems fine, but when I turn it on it says “Touch ID cannot be activated”. It’s not just touch ID though, the home button doesn’t seem to work at all. I’ve tried multiple force restarts but no success, and checked the display cables which seem to be fine. Could someone advise if this is likely to be a hardware issue due to my repair or an apple-being-annoying issue, and if they have any suggestions for how to fix it? I’ve gone through all the answers on here without any success. Thanks in advance, Donald
It will definitely be the home button flex on the screen. You might not be able to see it as sometimes the tears are very tiny and need some kind of magnification to see. It usually occurs at the 90 degree bend. A new screen will bring back the home button as the flexes are not repairable.
I’d remove the screen and all the connectors carefully of course, battery first. Check around the home button connection on the board (Small one nearest to the frame) for any components that might have been knocked off. You will probably have to remove the foam covering them. If all ok then reseat the connections making sure they are flat. I’ve seen a connector sitting less than a mm too high stopping the button from working. Whilst your at it check the home button connector and ribbon on the screen for damage as mentioned earlier.
