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User profile for user: Oropendula
Oropendula Author
User level: Level 1
8 points

Home button pulse

Just trying a new 3rd gen iPhone SE. Even with haptics turned off in Settings the home button produces a single haptic pulse or knock each time it is pressed. Any suggestions for turning this feature off, please?

iPhone SE, iOS 15

Posted on Mar 18, 2022 11:18 AM

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User profile for user: Oropendula
Oropendula Author
User level: Level 1
8 points

Posted on Mar 18, 2022 11:48 AM

Thanks for quick reply. I understand the purpose of the haptic. I guess it might be of value to visually impaired users. But for the rest of us it is unnecessary as the screen will show if it detected a press of the Home button.

I would prefer to be able to disable this feature to save battery and mechanical wear. Perhaps Apple might issue an iOS update with this option ?

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User profile for user: Oropendula
Oropendula Author
User level: Level 1
8 points

Mar 18, 2022 11:48 AM in response to Revianmac

Thanks for quick reply. I understand the purpose of the haptic. I guess it might be of value to visually impaired users. But for the rest of us it is unnecessary as the screen will show if it detected a press of the Home button.

I would prefer to be able to disable this feature to save battery and mechanical wear. Perhaps Apple might issue an iOS update with this option ?

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User profile for user: Revianmac
Revianmac
User level: Level 4
1,991 points

Mar 18, 2022 11:29 AM in response to Oropendula

I have the iPhone SE 2020 with the same settings shown in your screenshot and mine does the same thing. I have come to learn that this is normal behavior to act and feel like a “pressable” home button. The home button on your phone doesn’t actually press, the haptic “pulse” makes it seem like it is being pressed and is a software thing rather than a moving hardware button - you can confirm this by shutting down your phone and noticing that the button doesn’t “press” while the phone is off.


This is actually a good thing because fewer moving parts means less wear and tear over the life of the phone - the home button will never “wear out”.

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User profile for user: Revianmac
Revianmac
User level: Level 4
1,991 points

Mar 18, 2022 12:02 PM in response to Oropendula

There is no mechanical wear. The home button doesn’t actually move and the haptic engine uses an electromagnetic mechanism rather than an offset motor. The amount of battery power used for this type of mechanism is negligible.


Hop on YouTube and check out iPhone SE (2020) Teardown by JerryRigEverything, he explains how the haptic engine and home button work.

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Home button pulse

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