Although almost all control of our Android mobile is done via its touch screen, there are still the physical buttons to perform a series of basic functions such as increasing or decreasing the volume. Although, without a doubt, the most used button is probably the unlock or power button. Whether due to use or a defect, they may stop working.
It’s not too dramatic if the volume buttons break, but it will be a big problem in the case of the power button. Your Android phone probably won’t turn on, preventing us from making a backup before the imminent change to a new smartphone. With this trick you can turn it on even without the essential button working.
The trick to turn on an Android mobile whose unlock button does not work
We may shake our heads when we detect that our Android mobile has suffered an accident. A fall, wear, or simply a software bug may be the cause of the unlock button (or power in English) stops working.
With the unlock button broken, it’s a little harder to get to that PIN entry screen
This leaves us without the possibility of turn on the mobile, in case it is turned off or the battery is exhausted, in addition to making it difficult to lock once we have finished using it. This last action is possible from the operating system itself, since some layers include a button to lock the mobile.
However, once it’s turned off, there’s no going back– The broken button makes it technically impossible to turn on. At least that’s what we thought, because there is a little trick that will turn it on without any difficulty.
In such a situation, the ideal would be to bring the phone to technical service for repair; In case it is no longer under warranty and we are competent, we can try to change the button ourselves (unknowingly you could damage another component).
Whatever our situation (sending the cell phone for repair or choosing to buy a new one), it is necessary to turn it on one last time. Not only to save our data, but also to eliminate traces of our accounts. A factory reset is advised when it is no longer in our hands.
For all this, you obviously have to turn it on, which is done very easily with these steps:
- Connect your Android mobile to the charger and wall outlet.
- Expect it to charge at least 15-20% if it doesn’t have enough battery. You can skip these two steps.
- Unplug the cable from the cell phone, wait until the screen that displays the charged percentage turns off.
- Now, before connecting it, hold down the volume + button, and without releasing it, insert the cable into the charging port.
- Your Android mobile will boot into recovery mode: if it works with the touch screen, simply click on “Restart” or “Reboot system”.
- Do only physical buttons work? You will then have to wait a few minutes until the mobile restarts automatically.
Ready! From there we will enter our PIN code if we have SIM card, and we can now use it normally to save personal data and perform the necessary actions before sending it to the SAT. As we have seen, it will barely take a minute and the problem will be solved.
Cover image | Ricardo Aguilar for Xataka (with editing)
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