Technology
How to turn on a phone with a broken power button
A broken power button can be frustrating, especially if it prevents you from turning on your phone.
Fortunately, there are several methods you can use to turn on your device without the power button.
Connect your charger
One of the easiest methods is to connect your phone to a charger. Many smartphones turn on automatically when they are connected.
If your phone has any battery charge left, plugging it into a charger can wake the phone from sleep even if the power button is broken. Wait for a few moments to see if the phone turns on on its own.
Use a key combination
Most modern phones allow you to use other hardware buttons to turn on the device. Usually you can try the following combinations:
- Volume down + Home button + Volume up
- Volume down + Volume up + Home button
- Volume down + Volume up
Hold these buttons together for a few seconds until you see the splash screen. If your phone has a physical home button, that is usually part of the combination.
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
Use USB debugging
If you enabled USB debugging on your phone before the power button broke, you can enable it using ADB (Android Debug Bridge) from your computer. Follow these steps:
- Connect your phone to your computer using a USB cable.
- Open a command prompt or terminal on your computer.
- Type the command adb devices to ensure your phone is recognized.
- Enter the adb reboot command to turn on your phone.
This method requires prior installation of USB debugging, so it is only effective if the feature was enabled before the power button malfunctioned.
Here you will find our guides on how to root your Android phone or tablet and how to get your Android phone out of safe mode, which covers USB debugging. You also need to download and install Minimal ADB & Fastboot on your computer.
Download an app
If your phone is still functioning but the power button is unreliable, you can download an app like Power Button to Volume Button from the Google Play Store.
This app allows you to use the volume button to turn on the screen instead of the power button.
There are also apps like Gravity Screen that wakes up your phone screen when you pick up the device, and Shake Screen On Off that does something similar.
Seek professional repair
If none of the above methods work, it may be time to seek professional help. A repair shop can repair or replace the broken power button, restoring full functionality to your phone.
If you can get away with it this time, consider backing up your data regularly to avoid losing important information if the device becomes completely unresponsive.
