Android Phone Buttons Don’t Work? 5 Fixes and Workarounds
Android phones are just like any other electronic device which may develop faults sooner or later. One of the most frustrating faults is when the buttons on your Android phone don’t work effectively or at all. This can be a huge problem if you cannot unlock your phone, or if you cannot access important apps, make calls or use some important features of your phone.
However, before you consider replacing your phone, here are five fixes and workarounds you can try first:
- Restart your phone –
Restarting your phone may seem basic, but it’s one of the best fixes for phone-related issues. What seems like a minor software glitch can easily be fixed by rebooting your phone. Press and hold the power button for a few seconds, and your device should restart.
- Check the buttons and the screen –
If you’re having trouble with buttons, it may not be a phone issue, but a button issue. Sometimes, debris or dirt can build up around the buttons and affect how efficiently the buttons work. Clean the buttons gently with a cloth and see if they respond better. On touch-screen devices, check to see if the screen is cracked, damaged or dirty.
- Try Safe Mode –
If your phone’s buttons still aren’t working properly, try starting your phone in safe mode. This will disable third-party apps which may be causing the problem. To activate safe mode, press and hold the Power button until the Power off option appears. Press and hold the Power off option until you see ‘Reboot to safe mode’. Press OK.
- Download Button Mapper App –
If you’re still struggling to use the buttons on your Android phone, consider downloading a button mapper app. This app allows you to assign different actions to different buttons or gestures, instead of relying solely on the traditional buttons.
- Factory Reset Your Device –
If none of the above fixes work, your last option would be to factory reset your device. Although this isn’t an ideal solution, it can fix any corrupted software that could be the source of the problem. Before you proceed, back up all your important data because you will lose all data on your device.
