Question about the power key - Captivate General

First off, I'd like to mention I'm new here, so if I'm posting this in the wrong place, please forgive me.
Second, the topic: I've had a problem with my power key for at least half a year now. As far as I can tell, it started after I accidentally dropped it (No harder than I usually would if I ever did drop it which is rare) with my otterbox case on it. I picked it up and tried to turn on my screen and noticed a long lag before the screen came on.
I didn't think anything of it until the next day the key wasn't responsive at all. I looked, and the key is not cracked, and there's no visible damage from the outside. I figured out if I shook the phone, or tapped on the button a certain way, sometimes I could get the button to work, but that was just unacceptable. So i found a fix in the application "Button Savior". Coupled with the volume rocker wake feature of my current ROM (Helly Bean 8/13 nightly)
But after all this time, I'd still really like my power button to work, so here are my questions:
1. Is this a common problem? Have you yourself experienced this, or have you seen others have this problem?
2. Any ideas on what is actually wrong with the button, and how I could fix the button mechanism? I'm not against taking the phone apart to repair it if that's what it takes.
Thanks in advance guys! :laugh:

Oops, sorry all, I've just read about the Q/A page. Please delete this topic.

Related

Hardware Buttons Stuck???

so for the last few days ive been getting this weird problem, that when i press the call button to enter the dialer, instead of going to the dialer, if for example im on the program tab in tf3d, it will go to the settings tab, thus emulating a left click... it would be on or off this prob for a while, but now it seems every time i press the call button, it goes left. this is the same for the home button aswell goin left, also the end button and back button going right... up and down work fine, but im confused why this problem has arisen....
*as i was typing this, i jus tried again, and now i cant even go left or right, so the only buttons that are working are up, down and select...*
Any insight, maybe i need to remap them, maybe the hardware buttons are screwed... imma try a hard reset and let you know the results, any help is appreciated.
forgot to mention, im on NRGs latest phoenix rom....
I know normally that those buttons are pretty ridiculous. I mean trying to press left or right is pretty much like your praying that you get it since its almost 50/50 that youll hit the call or end buttons. I especially hate this when your in a program trying to go right and you end it by accident, but thats now im way off topic . Anyway, maybe it is possible that your buttons have become slightly misaligned, since thats all it would take for them to get screwed up. Although I have also experienced a similar problem to yours a while back, but it eventually ended. It COULD have something to do with the rom, but I find it highly unlikely, since theres tons of people using that rom. Do the buttons not register, or do they actually not click down? I was confused on this in your post.
djcaston said:
I know normally that those buttons are pretty ridiculous. I mean trying to press left or right is pretty much like your praying that you get it since its almost 50/50 that youll hit the call or end buttons. I especially hate this when your in a program trying to go right and you end it by accident, but thats now im way off topic . Anyway, maybe it is possible that your buttons have become slightly misaligned, since thats all it would take for them to get screwed up. Although I have also experienced a similar problem to yours a while back, but it eventually ended. It COULD have something to do with the rom, but I find it highly unlikely, since theres tons of people using that rom. Do the buttons not register, or do they actually not click down? I was confused on this in your post.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
thanks for you reply they click down, but do not register correctly, for exmaple, if i was to press the call button, it will click, but register it as a left click...
after peforming a hard reset, and not installin anything else on the rom, i was glad to find it was all working again, prompting me to believe it was something i installed, but after 10 minutes, the erratic behaviour started again.... strange!!! dishearted, i went to sleep last night and when i awoke this morning, its all good in the hood! the buttons are fine! but for it 2 happen without installing anything, im guessing i might have had a bad flash or something...
manoli20 said:
thanks for you reply they click down, but do not register correctly, for exmaple, if i was to press the call button, it will click, but register it as a left click...
after peforming a hard reset, and not installin anything else on the rom, i was glad to find it was all working again, prompting me to believe it was something i installed, but after 10 minutes, the erratic behaviour started again.... strange!!! dishearted, i went to sleep last night and when i awoke this morning, its all good in the hood! the buttons are fine! but for it 2 happen without installing anything, im guessing i might have had a bad flash or something...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Possibly, but by the way your describing it, it sounds like very erratic behavior and may have something to do with the actual hardware. If it continues I would bring it in to your carrier and see if you can get it replaced or fixed.
I had this same problem. Had to get it replaced and the replacement works pretty much as well as when I first got my original FUZE. First replacement was complete crap (buttons were horrible, center button didn't click) but my second replacement is a bit better. You can see it wasn't put together as well as a new one though, the keyboard is a TINY bit to the left so you can see the backlight coming out from the right and the volume up button kind of sucks. Disappointed in these refurbs.
well its been behaving itself today... so touch wood it continues! i read somewhere that somebody was experiencing something similar and it just went away after a while...
we'll see!
my spacebar button always stuck. very hard to press....any solution?
Damn. My FUZE's DPAD is starting to act up again! My current FUZE is a refurbished replacement for my original which had this same issue. Putting the phone to sleep and turning it back on fixes the issue for a minute or so, and then it starts again. It can go a couple days without doing this and it starts again. I think this is how my first one started, only sometimes acting up but eventually it did it all the time.
Looks like it might be time to call for another replacement! I hope my 3rd replacement FUZE (first replacement's DPAD was DOA) will last until the Touch Pro 2. This capacitive surface was such a huge mistake for HTC. But instead of adding normal buttons or a trackball, they completely remove the DPAD from the Touch Pro 2 . At least there is no cheap capacitive surface that will break.
For me, both FUZEs started acting up after 4 months of having them. I am surprised barely anyone else is having this issue as I have had it twice now.

[BUG] Home and Back button problems (phantom long press)

I've been experiencing an issue with the Home button since the day I got the device.
A few times the Recent Applications screen has popped up seemingly on its own, while I was in the middle of doing something else. At first I thought it was just a software glitch and carried on. The haptic feedback pulses twice quickly. The backlight of the Home button turns off, the backlights for the Back, Menu and Search buttons stay on, the Back, Menu, Search and Home buttons no longer respond to touch or generate haptic feedback, essentially paralyzed. It remains this way for approximately nine seconds before the Home button lights up again and the all of the shortcut buttons become responsive again, otherwise the only way to get out of the Recent Applications screen is to either cycle the power button and unlock the screen, or select one of the recent applications.
I have figured out how to reproduce this problem by pressing around with the very tip of my thumb along the seam where the glass and plastic lip meet with a little more pressure than normally necessary to register a touch. I am careful to avoid touching the normal hot zone for any button. I start from the far left corner under the search button, and make my way towards the home button little by little. Somewhere between the Menu and Search buttons when I release my thumb after pressing firmly, the haptic feedback pulses twice and the issue occurs. I can reproduce this issue anywhere along the edge on the bottom right half of the phone and about 1" up the right side of the phone, far from the Home button.
I suspect there is something wrong with the capacitive layer of my screen.
Please see if you can reproduce this or something similar on your phone, just bear in mind that you will need to press firmly (not too hard but not soft).
The unfortunate thing about this problem is that it can be activated inadvertently while gripping the phone during normal operation, interrupting whatever you are doing for the time it takes to resolve itself.
This is literally the only issue I've had with the phone in the week I've owned it and I am considering whether or not I want to play russian roulette with exchange units (and other issues like bad screens and bad weak back buttons) because everything else seems to be perfect.
Video of the issue in action here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gqqeVbePYA
Same thing happens with me on the swap unit I got today. Bummed like no other.
Tried replicating this with my device with (thankfully) no results.
one and one... I wonder how many other phones are affected then, and how many people have it but haven't noticed yet, e.g.; "you're holding it wrong".
Hm. Just tried to replicate this on my Nexus S, no issues.
Mine did the same thing at least twice a day. However, it has not happened again since the GRH78 update. (Knock on wood).
Have your received the update?
This just happened to me for the first time about an hour ago. I have the new update too, sadly.
Yes I have the update.
I can't replicate this problem, but nonetheless, it still happens.
I have this same problem with my back button. I can't replicate it but it just randomly happens to me. I have the update and I also tried using Paul's Tom and it still happens.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
This happens with my back button.
Sent from my Nexus S using XDA App
happens to mine too, also the home button. doesn't bother me too much, though. and I also have the update.
I had something even weirder tonight.
I did a factory reset, then proceeded to install everything back on when I noticed that my home key wasn't doing its job at all. Still had the haptic feedback so the input was received, but it did absolutely nothing. So I did another factory reset and that seemed to have cured the problem. My home button is working again (but i still have the other problem from time to time)
Had it happen again inadvertently today, if you notice from my video the spot where it can be activated next to the Maps icon also happens to be conveniently where your finger ends up when swiping to unlock. I was holding the phone one handed and unlocking with my thumb and it triggered the problem. Might try for an exchange this week. It shouldn't behave this way.
For those of you who are experiencing it with your Back button, does the backlight turn off for 9 seconds on your Back button?
I don't know everything about how the hardware works but I'm guessing that there is some kind of short, the controller for the capacitive layer gets confused and resets. Could explain why it takes the same amount of time to come back to normal every time. It also seems like it might be related to case/screen flex, where pressing on a part of the case bends the capacitive layer just enough to short the circuit.
This issue came on my two days old Nexus S too, but with the back button. It has happened two times now. I think that's a software issue that come along with Gingerbread. It's something like it registering a touch and sometimes the OS think it was the buttons that were pressed...
ViLANDER said:
This issue came on my two days old Nexus S too, but with the back button. It has happened two times now. I think that's a software issue that come along with Gingerbread. It's something like it registering a touch and sometimes the OS think it was the buttons that were pressed...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Does your back button black out for ~9 seconds?
I haven't had any button issues whatsoever since I got mine on the 24th.
No, more like two seconds.
Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk
selectormoldy said:
Does your back button black out for ~9 seconds?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
No, more like two seconds.
Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk
Here's a new video shot today showing the issue occurring with only normal light touching:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6YFcOZwX2o
Also last night it happened while I was inserting a cable into the headphone jack.

[Q] any solution to Power button sensetivity?

Hi,
Did u feel in your's phone that the power buttom working twice in one click??
Its make me crazy !!!
I checked in "key test" and when i click on the power buttom it's send dubble command
What can i do?
I have this problem as well. The best solution I've found is using CM7 -- there's an option to wake the device with the volume rocker, and it works much easier.
Good luck.
just started noticing this issue on my phone recently - extremely annoying. i wonder if it's the button going bad or if it's the switch itself going bad and getting caught in some kind of weird angle upon release?
HTC said that it is a hardware issue, and why do we need more threads like this? I am sure there have been at least 2.
Hi everyone, just registered here as am having a few pretty big annoyances with my Sensation.
Just wanted to chip in with my experiences of back-button issues; I've already had to send one Sensation back because the button's microswitch went faulty (was stuck on) and it looks like this is a weak link with this hardware.
Has anyone else had the power switch fail on them completely?
/Al

[SOLVED]Jelly Bean update broke power button?

Hi,
I recently received the OTA update for Jelly Bean, and I upgraded with no problems. However, now, my power button is only working when it wants to. If press it a bunch of times, it might turn on if I'm lucky, but most of the time it doesn't work. Right now, the only way for me to activate my screen is by connecting the charger, or asking someone to call me. The only way to turn off the screen is to wait for it to turn off! As you can imagine, I am quite PO'ed by this problem.
Has anyone run into a similar situation? It seems like a software issue to me because before the update, the button was working perfectly. Everything is stock, by the way. I was on CM9 before the update, but I flashed to stock ICS so that I could install the OTA update. I don't have the clockworkmod recovery anymore either.
Please help!
UPDATE:
I did a little hack to fix it, at least temporarily. Not sure how long it will last now, but at least it didn't cost me any $$$.
quoting myself from below:
I couldn't figure out how to root my phone without a power button because I'm a lazy guy and a work-around just isn't worth the trouble imo. So, instead, I decided to just open it up and see if I could fix it....and I did
First things first though:
I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGES TO YOUR PHONE THAT MAY ARISE FROM THIS METHOD!
It's not a permanent fix, more like a hack, but a hack is better than a work-around any day. What I did was find the button on the motherboard, and then 'pinch' it with a small pair of pliers. My original fear was that the problem lied elsewhere on the phone because the actual button seemed to be clicking properly, but it's pretty much impossible to figure out what else the button is connected to and fix it. Luckily, pinching it made it work! I guess that the clicking mechanism isn't the same thing as what makes the contact in the button. If you are going to try pinching it, try not to pinch too hard. I did it a little too hard, and now the button doesn't come out as much as it used to, so it doesn't feel as good as the volume buttons. I'm pretty sure you just need to squeeze it enough so that it gets squished enough to make contact when you press it. Squeezing too much could almost definitely result in destroyed button.
So if anyone has the problem on their phone, and doesn't feel like paying a bunch of money and waiting a long time for it to be fixed, you can try this method to fix it (probably temporarily). Only problem, I guess, would be that you'd have to be more careful with how you treat the power button from now on. If you are good with a soldering iron and working with tiny components, you can probably find a new button on the internet and replace it yourself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Sounds like infamous broken power button, which our phones suffer from.
Check this for a workaround.
Happened to me too. I tried to comfort myself into thinking it was a software problem. If your bootloader is unlocked and you're rooted, boot into recovery using Quick Boot and try to flash another rom and see if it solves anything. But I'm not hopeful. Most likely your power button just decided to give way.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.siriusapplications.quickboot
For now, if you set the lock screen to 'none' you can turn the phone on if you press the volume buttons.
If you're using a custom rom, I'm sure there's a option to wake the device using volume button under the display settings.
If you're using cm10, you can add the sleep button to the power widgets.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
Thanks for the reply guys. That's what I love about this forum: someone always has an answer to everything.
If the button actually broke I'm going to be very disappointed since I was trying to sell it to get a galaxy nexus. Horrible timing. :crying:
I Just found something weird. When I pull the battery, I can't power on the device with the power button, but if I connect the charger, then the button works. That is, it will power on when I press the button, not automatically when I connect the cable. Yes, the cable shows the charging icon, but it doesn't boot until I press the power button.
I still haven't flashed back to ICS to see if that fixed anything, but I'll post an update when I do.
I couldn't figure out how to root my phone without a power button because I'm a lazy guy and a work-around just isn't worth the trouble imo. So, instead, I decided to just open it up and see if I could fix it....and I did
First things first though:
I AM NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGES TO YOUR PHONE THAT MAY ARISE FROM THIS METHOD!
It's not a permanent fix, more like a hack, but a hack is better than a work-around any day. What I did was find the button on the motherboard, and then 'pinch' it with a small pair of pliers. My original fear was that the problem lied elsewhere on the phone because the actual button seemed to be clicking properly, but it's pretty much impossible to figure out what else the button is connected to and fix it. Luckily, pinching it made it work! I guess that the clicking mechanism isn't the same thing as what makes the contact in the button. If you are going to try pinching it, try not to pinch too hard. I did it a little too hard, and now the button doesn't come out as much as it used to, so it doesn't feel as good as the volume buttons. I'm pretty sure you just need to squeeze it enough so that it gets squished enough to make contact when you press it. Squeezing too much could almost definitely result in destroyed button.
So if anyone has the problem on their phone, and doesn't feel like paying a bunch of money and waiting a long time for it to be fixed, you can try this method to fix it (probably temporarily). Only problem, I guess, would be that you'd have to be more careful with how you treat the power button from now on. If you are good with a soldering iron and working with tiny components, you can probably find a new button on the internet and replace it yourself.
hopefully samsung issues a patch or something, this is just sad. after I did the OTA my power button also S#1T the bed. thanks to all the people who came up with the suggestions above...

Power button problem?

Just bought Z5 dual in green.
Still brand new, 1 hour old.
A moment ago, power button got a bit sticky and would not pop back up.
Therefore could not turn screen on.
It has gone away since, only happened once.
But I am fairly sure that after this episode, power button started to make a tacky clicking sound every time I press the button.
QUESTION
does your z5 make this sound, and it's just that I failed to notice it from the beginning? Is this normal?
Was the power button getting stuck once a fluke, and won't happen again? Or could it be manufacturing defect?
Bit of a hassle to go back to the shop for exchange, and wanted to know if this sound is normal amongst other users or not.
Thanks for your replies in advance!
Any comment or opinion is greatly appreciated!
My power button clicks every time I use it which isn't often since I have tap to wake and the fingerprint sensor set up. Never got stuck though.
augie7107 said:
My power button clicks every time I use it which isn't often since I have tap to wake and the fingerprint sensor set up. Never got stuck though.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the reply!
Just wanted to check, that my button clicks in sensation when pressed, as well as making the clicking sound at the same time.
Hard to describe, but I would say it sounds similar to a pc mouse clicking sound.
If I was blindfolded and someone wss clicking my power button, I could have thought that someone was using a pc mouse
Yours sounds like this too?
Yeah, it clicks at a slightly higher pitch to the volume key click.
jewelkobayashi said:
Just bought Z5 dual in green.
Still brand new, 1 hour old.
A moment ago, power button got a bit sticky and would not pop back up.
Therefore could not turn screen on.
It has gone away since, only happened once.
But I am fairly sure that after this episode, power button started to make a tacky clicking sound every time I press the button.
QUESTION
does your z5 make this sound, and it's just that I failed to notice it from the beginning? Is this normal?
Was the power button getting stuck once a fluke, and won't happen again? Or could it be manufacturing defect?
Bit of a hassle to go back to the shop for exchange, and wanted to know if this sound is normal amongst other users or not.
Thanks for your replies in advance!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
mine is failed as well! I will post my experiences with SONY UK.
jewelkobayashi said:
Thanks for the reply!
Just wanted to check, that my button clicks in sensation when pressed, as well as making the clicking sound at the same time.
Hard to describe, but I would say it sounds similar to a pc mouse clicking sound.
If I was blindfolded and someone wss clicking my power button, I could have thought that someone was using a pc mouse
Yours sounds like this too?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yes, mine sounds exactly like that.
Got the same issue, it's like the power button is sliding down, and you have to push it up to make it clickable again.
Thanks for your input guys.
I went back to sony centre where I got it from, and checked other Z5's
Since they all made similar clicking sounds, I decided to wait and see how it goes.
If I get the sticky power button again, I will return it.
Other than that, it is running beautifully!
It runs cooler than my Z3 too!
I got this thing too and i dont know if take it back to support... I started to noticed it up when i disabled fingertip sensor to unlock it just to check some stuff.
So maybe its my paranoia lol
dfavefenix said:
I got this thing too and i dont know if take it back to support... I started to noticed it up when i disabled fingertip sensor to unlock it just to check some stuff.
So maybe its my paranoia lol
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Are you talking about the power button not coming back up? Our the stake clicking sound?
Update in my situation
Since the initial problem, it had not happened or repeated again, so I can say that it has worn in nicely.
jewelkobayashi said:
Are you talking about the power button not coming back up? Our the stake clicking sound?
Update in my situation
Since the initial problem, it had not happened or repeated again, so I can say that it has worn in nicely.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
In the clicking sound
The Power button is clicky. It is not a fault!
The clicking sound is normal but even mine got stuck once, had to press it a few times to get it to come back up. Yours certainly wasn't an isolated incident.
I have been in a shop checking a new one and the button doesnt need to press so much like mine one. The girl has said me that if i send it to support they wont do anything to the phone because it does work well. Its just a little diference touch...
I will send it to support in december that i wil get a phone from a friend so i can use it while the checking thing
I have a gold Z5 (I know!)
They power button slipped downwards under the casing as I used it. EE were actually really helpful for once and replaced it as I'd only had it 4 weeks. Unfortunately the replacement phone has the same issue. It doesn't affect the function of the button at all, I just worry that it will slide down too far into the body and not come up again.
I don't think EE will replace it again as the guy was very nice and tried a few different ways to log the problem until it was accepted for replacement. It seems to be a problem for a few people, but as long as it keeps working I'm not too fussed! Just thought I'd mention it so anyone else with the same issue doesn't feel alone ?
I am having the same problem, Z5 gold rev2, got the phone on 5th february, wich is now 11 days old, power button gets stuck sometimes, thanks God I have double tap to wake, wich makes things less painful, but I am afraid that this could get worse by the time. Otherwise this phone is such a beatuy! works very well, but this with power button ruins good experience that I have with this device.
spaha-bih said:
I am having the same problem, Z5 gold rev2, got the phone on 5th february, wich is now 11 days old, power button gets stuck sometimes, thanks God I have double tap to wake, wich makes things less painful, but I am afraid that this could get worse by the time. Otherwise this phone is such a beatuy! works very well, but this with power button ruins good experience that I have with this device.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I am the OP.
My phone has not become worse. Everything the same, and is working all ok.
From my experience, pushing down on the button AND sliding the power button down towards the bottom of the phone at the same time makes it get stuck in that position. So as long as you avoid the sliding down bit, I never encountered a repeat of the problem.
If it does happen, and I have yet to hear of a power button on z5 that got permanently stuck, all you do is slide it up while depressing the power button.
Everything is still water resisting and perfect.
To add, I've been using it naked, and it is surprisingly scratch-free!

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