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Touch, Don't Press: Extend the Lifespan of Your iPhone 5s Home Key

Jan 12, 2014 08:05 PM
Smartphone home button on wooden surface.

Take a minute and think about how many times a day you press the home key on your iPhone . . . a lot, right? It is quite literally the most important button on your device. If the home key stops working, you won't be able to multitask or back out of apps to go to your home screen, so preserving its life should be priority, otherwise you're stuck using one of these tips for fixing your home button.

Close-up of a smartphone displaying a green landscape on its screen.

Luckily, for 5S users, you can add a tweak that will utilize your touch ID sensor, instead of having to actually press your home key. The requirements are a jailbroken 5s running iOS 7 and a working touch ID sensor.

Virtual Home

Open Cydia, then search and install the free Virtual Home tweak.

Virtual Home app icon featuring a drill graphic.

When your device restarts, you will be able to perform the following actions:

  • Single tap for home screen
  • Tap and hold to multitask
  • Tap to detect unlock without pressing home or unlock button

It should be noted that some bugs have been reported, like whenever a new app is downloaded from the app store virtual home stops working, but it is easily fixed by re-springing (restarting) your device. Other than that, it's a really cool tweak that most iPhone 5s users should appreciate and utilize.

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