Lock button not working for locking screen

anon626

Hey guys, I'm new to Pixels and Graphene, I bought a Pixel second hand and the lock button on and off will stop working when I try to lock the phone, but I can still long press it to restart or lock down. It's super annoying and usually restarting the phone once or twice lets me just click it once again to lock it. So is this more a software issue than a hardware one? And is there a fix? Thanks.

Johnnyloans

anon626 lock button on and off will stop working when I try to lock the phone

I've only had this happen when my phone is frozen for a little bit so there's a delay until it reacts to the power button. This has happened only twice for me.

Maybe the button itself isn't working well? Are you able to return the phone? Hopefully that was disclosed to you beforehand if that's the case.

anon626

Johnnyloans No I'm not able to return it :/. Would it be worth making taking it to like iFixIt?

Johnnyloans

anon626

Does the power button feel the same as the 2 volume buttons? (Try pressing the buttons and compare is what I mean. Sound and feel. My power button sounds different from volume but it still sounds like a click)

You could try rebooting the phone and at the yellow warning sign when it first turns on, tap the power button a few times and it should cycle between: "pause" & "resume" I believe.
This should eliminate the question of software issues. Does the power button always work at the yellow warning screen?

Johnnyloans

anon626 Would it be worth making taking it to like iFixIt

I haven't heard of a repair store called ifixit, but yes a phone repair business can fix the power button.

Backup any important data in case the power button or anything gets worse.

anon626

Johnnyloans That's something I also need to learn, so used to iCloud backups, does Graphene have an equivalent that backs up the entire phone like iOS?

Johnnyloans

anon626

There is seedvault in the system settings but I wouldn't trust it honestly.

You can download an app thatll backup various things to a file on your phone or a USB device.

Or export/backup things from individual apps with the functionality.

For example fossify messages is on the play store or fdroid.
https://github.com/FossifyOrg/Messages

Set that as your texting app then export your text messages. It should be 1 file I would guess.

It's recommended to get a new contacts app, calendar app, files app.

Fossify contacts can export your contacts into 1 file to later import if need be.

I don't know if you have cloud storage or what but I guess upload the exported files there or to a PC or USB drive. Good idea to have backups in 2 places in case your pc dies or lost or There's a flood/fire.

It's a good idea to backup before going to the phone repair store. Anything could happen.

I think you're getting close to the end of the tunnel and it'll all work out <3

vtek

You didn't hear this and i didn't say it :)

If it were me AND my phone was older AND i didn't want to send it for repair AND i was reasonably certain it was a physical problem (not apps hanging, etc.), i MIGHT dip a toothpick into some WD-40 and spread it around the power button and ... see what happens.

I assume there's some water proofing involved with the buttons, so I don't know if this would work, but what I do know is that WD-40 works miracles on electrical contacts. ₁₀ years ago i fixed a 35 yr. old washing machine where the keypad was acting up and it's still working like a champ. Works on USB contacts too.

anon626

vtek Interesting idea, but the lock button isn't sticking. So would WD-40 be relevant for this?

Johnnyloans

anon626

I don't think squirting wd40 will do anything except make your phone smell funny. Phones are meant to resist being in shallow water--greater than 1 atmosphere of pressure.

If it does get inside, the switch's contacts are inside a fairly solid or a hermetic casing similar to this black one.
https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/NKK-Switches/GB15JHD?qs=GoBI4lfSlcMY0P%2FVhvkodg%3D%3D

It isn't going to slip through 2 cracks/seams

vtek

anon626 Potentially, yes, but probably unlikely. as @Johnnyloans and I have said, there's likely waterproofing involved that could prevent the WD-40 from getting to the electrical contacts. That the button isn't sticking is irrelevant; it's the contacts that may be the problem (dirt, corrosion, etc.) ... All that said, i doubt it could do any harm if you applied a very small amount as I described.