Fingerprint scanner stopped working but home button still working

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iPhone 7 Plus

Released September 16, 2016. Models A1661, A1784, and A1785. Available in 32, 128, or 256 GB configurations in Rose gold, gold, silver, black, jet black, and (Product)Red.

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Isaac Legg @ileg155

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Posted: Jul 20, 2018

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Fingerprint scanner stopped working but home button still working

Hi guys, the taptic feedback engine and the fingerprint scanner of my partners phone have stopped working however the home button still works for navigation and all other features. When I go into the settings to add a new fingerprint it doesn't tell me that it failed but does tell me that I've pressed the home button too hard and does not allow me to add a new fingerprint. Any ideas, I am aware that I cannot replace the home button

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Ben @benjamen50 Rep: 159.8k Mtwo Perform 11 191 368 · Answer 1 · 2018-07-21T04:45:07-07:00

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Ben @benjamen50

Rep: 159.8k

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Posted: Jul 21, 2018

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This can happen due to a few reasons:

- Liquid got onto the home button and has seeped under the home button causing liquid damage to the fingerprint sensor of the home button and/or the home button connector.

- After a screen replacement, the home button ribbon got damaged during removal when transfering to the replacement screen.

- Software bug, if this is the case a restore via iTunes would fix this. Note that it'll wipe all data on phone so make an backup via iTunes for example.

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I believe it has gotten water into it, do you think I'll be able to clean the home button and restore the fingerprint scanner

Jul 22, 2018 by Isaac Legg

In some cases yes, but if the liquid damage is more serere where the pins have gotten black / corroded it may need resoldering and/or screen being replaced.

Worst case scenario is a replacement home button required resulting in no TouchID / fingerprint functionality as only the home button that came with the phone will have working touch ID.

What I use is cotton swabs and/or a brush with 99% isopropyl alcohol to clean it. Ethanol works too. Use it sparingly as you don't want it to seep into the layers of the screen.

Jul 23, 2018 by Ben

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