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Repair information and guides for the fifth generation of iPhone. Model: A1387

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iPhone 4 vs iPhone 4s home button

Are there any differences between home button mechanism?

Answered! View the answer I have this problem too

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Ive taken apart my old GSM iPhone 4 many times, but I haven't taken my 4s apart to inspect it up close yet. The ifixit teardown pic shows the home button now attached to the front lcd assembly by some kind of mounting unit. On the iPhone 4, the plastic button was stuck to the flex cable with adhesive, which was plugged into the chassis. The front screen assembly just had a hole in it where the home button protruded through. Now it appears that the cable is on the chassis and the button is on the front panel, and they just press together in the middle when the front assembly is attached to the chassis. Anyone actually taken a look at this yet? Can that new home button assembly be removed and transferred to another screen assembly?

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Most Helpful Answer

Hello,

We have taken apart a few 4S's.

What we have found:

Home button itself is the same, however the flex cable attached to it is completely different. You can not swap the flex cables between the two and have it work, due to the screen.

And doing a screen swap from the 4S to the 4 will not work, due to physical differences, and locations of flex cables and components.

Hope this helps,

Xico Solutions

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I've been having a lot of problems the last few days because I ordered a cheap claimed-to-be iPhone 4S home button from China but it wouldn't fit. I kept searching for what I was doing wrong but couldn't find it. Then, I ordered a original 4S homebutton, as well as a original 4 homebutton. Turned out the so-called 4S button was a iPhone 4 button and that was why it wouldn't fit! The authentic 4 button was better than the fake 4 but not nearly as good as the one for the 4S. Note: I tried every combination of spacers and gaskets and whatsoever, it really was the homebutton causing the trouble.

Concluding:

A iPhone 4 homebutton WILL NOT FIT an iPhone 4S.

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So does that mean it is more reliable than the i4's as I have heard it being not responsive Is quite common and am worried my 4s will eventually suffer from this too.

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With the slight modification on the flex-cable for the iPhone 4S, it appears Apple heard us and fixed the issue. But I cannot guarantee that it won't suffer from the same problem the 4 had after a period of use. So far, I'm not seeing any problems with my 4S' home button :)

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Can anyone else confirm that a iphone 4 Home button Flex can not be used on the Iphone 4S, I don't see any difference in the flex itself.

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1 Comment:

on reflection, i can confirm that the flex is totally different. They are actually mirror images of them selves.

by

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Flex is not same 100%!!

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can I use an iPhone 4 home button in an iPhone 4s, just the button? because the 4 button does have the little metal square piece? thanx

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I just order the iphone 4 cable and it doesnt fit. I seems to be too big? what could be the problem?

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I'm a local repair shop in Brazil, I installed a lot of iphone 4s flex on iphone 4, but no the other way around. This seems like a perfect solution for the problems with design on the iphone 4 home button.

Again you can use the i4s flex on i4!!! it works perfectly!!

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The iPhone 4s Flex has black covering on the cable that is submitted to the dock connector. i tried installing the iphone 4s flex to an iphone 4, and it did not work, although someone here said it does fit. it didn't for me.

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You get the iphone 4s flex cable and install it directly on the iphone 4

frame, just like the iphone 4s. Do not try and put it on the button.

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you can use a 4 button on a 4s screen, just trim the flex off and leave the metal bit attached. It actually makes the 4s button better, it is more clicky because it has two clicky bits pushing against each other.

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I can confirm that the 4 and 4S flex cable is not the same. Its reversed.

Just bought 20 flex cables from china to a 4S and notest it the hard way.

If you do a google search and find the diffrent cables and compare them you can also see that they are reversed. Might be old news, but thought i might add my answer anyway

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You can put the 'guts' of the 4S home button into a 4. It shakes around a little but it does work. I tore the small ribbon cable coming off of the 4 during a dock swap out and had no choice but to try.

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Hi all, i just ordered 20 iphone 4 flexcables. Would they work on 4s's? Cheers

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Hi everyone, in fact many of you are correct of a fashion. Yes you can interchange the iP4 vs the iP4S home button and flex parts BUT BE AWARE !!!!.

Comment above: The iP4 vs iP4S flex is mirrored.

My reply: They ARE mirrored because they ARE different in each phone. basically this is because the flex is stuck to the rear of the plastic button in the iP4, but the flex is stuck onto the phone chassis in the iP4S.

Comment above: I fitted the iP4S flex into a iP4

My reply: In contrary to my above answer, YES you can fit the iP4S flex into the iP4. It just means that the original method has the flex-dimple stuck to the rear of the iP4 plastic button, BUT when you fit the iP4S flex to the iP4 you have to fit the flex-dimple to the phone, NOT to the rear of the plastic button as it was originally. You also MUST use the iP4S plastic button for it to work correctly. Any other way is simply wrong. (The person above who did this and it worked was only because the original flex-dimple was left of the rear of the plastic-button (which made it perform like the iP4S button does) . . . . which fair play whilst it worked is totally wrong for this job)

Comment above: The iP4 and iP4S home plastic-buttons are the same.

My reply: WRONG, they are certainly different. The rear of the iP4 plastic-button has a small cavity to allow the flex-dimple (that is stuck the the rear of the plastic button on the iP4) to have a minor cavity to press into. The iP4S home plastic-button has a shiny metal pad inserted into the rear of the plastic-home-button as this allow the plastic button to press into the flex-dimple that mounted on the iP4S phone chassis. Whilst it is not really correct the iP4S plastic button will work on the iP4, but the iP4 plastic button will NOT work correctly if fitted into the iP4S.

New comment: The gold contacts on the iP4 vs iP4S flex are on a different side of the flex assembly.

My reply: YES this is correct. However as the iP4 and the iP4S home button flex contact SOCKET has a contacting part on both side of the ribbon socket where the flex is inserted it actually means that the flex still works ok. Strange but true, I am guessing that Apple just consolidated the manufacturing of this items . . .which resulted in the gold connects 'appearing' to be on the wrong side of the flex . . . .but they do still work ok.

In conclusion my advise is don't worry if you use iP4 or iP4S home button parts . . . . . . . . . . BUT !!! . . .

***MAKE SURE that if you use an iP4 home-flex-assy that you also use the iP4 type plastic button and mount the flex-dimple on the rear of the plastic home button (just like the iP4 is designed to have)

or

***MAKE SURE that if you use an iP4S home-flex-assy that you also use the iP4S type plastic button and mount the flex-dimple on the phone chassis (just like the iP4S is designed to have)

How come I know all this rubbish ? Simply because I, like all your good selves, had the same ongoing problem when ordering parts from suppliers. The suppliers themselves are aften the cause of the confusion. Example: Your order the correct iP4 flex but they send to you the iP4S flex saying "it will work ok". Yes it will work BUT you have to know the details of what will basically be a 'modification' to your phone converting it from iP4 to iP4S home button design (or visa-versa).

GOOD LUCK ALL

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I accidentaly ordered a iphone 4 home button for 4s. Without knowing that it was the wrong button, i noticed it was different than the 4s and found the flex cable a bit hard to route, but i supposed it was like that, because it was a cheap chinese button versus the genuine. I assemble the phone, without knowing that i was putting the wrong button.

Iphone 4 button on 4s WORKING PERFECTLY (TESTED)

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Mirror flex my @%^.

http://www.macpost.net/1223/few-more-n94...

IPHONE 4 AND 4S BUTTONS ARE IDENTICAL (tested).

I wonder how much they pay you to spread this missinformation.

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