What To Do If Your iPhone’s Home Button Breaks
On my last birthday, I was … overserved and woke up the next morning to find my iPhone all smashed up. The home button, in particular, was in bad shape. So much so that all I could do to navigate my phone was push it as hard as I could until Siri asked if she could help me. I’d then dictate which app I’d like opened.
I wish I’d known about this handy trick back then. Here’s how you can navigate your iPhone without the home button:
1. Go to Settings > General > Accessibility.
2. Scroll down to the Physical & Motor section and tap AssistiveTouch.
3. Turn on AssistiveTouch. A white circle will appear at the bottom of your screen.
4. Tap the circle, and four options will pop up on your screen: Siri, Device, Home and Favorites. Device allows you to make basic changes to the settings of your phone, like turning the volume up, locking the screen, taking a screenshot and going into multitastking mode. Home brings you to the home screen, and Favorites is a section that saves specific gestures (which is mostly meant for those who have trouble touching an iPhone’s screen).
As long as you leave AssistiveTouch on, it will follow you on your screen wherever you swipe. You know, just in case you have any birthday parties coming up.
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