Your iPhone (or other iDevice) has but one button you use constantly: the home button. It has many functions, and so it's prone to becoming unresponsive through heavy use and the passage of time. Designer Khoi Vinh has discovered that this problem is easily resolved with a little WD-40:


In my experience, on not just my own iPhone 4 but also on my girlfriend's, WD-40 restores the responsiveness of the iPhone's home button to basically like-new condition. I just sprayed a little bit of WD-40 directly on the button, then pressed the button rapidly a few dozen times, tested its responsiveness afterwards, then repeated the process two or three times until it began to improve. Then I used the phone for a day or two to see how well the button did in actual use; I found that after a few days the problem ebbed back slightly, at which point I applied more WD-40. After the second or third application, the responsiveness remained indefinitely.


Khoi also notes on his blog that spraying WD-40 could possibly void your warranty. If you're concerned, contact Apple Support or head into an Apple Store before you give this a try.

Title photo remixed from an original by Joshin Yamada.

The Miracle of WD-40 | Subtraction