Android is a popular smartphone operating system and is widely used for its seamless functionality. Yet, it too can have its share of issues. One such issue is Android home and back not working. And, to be honest, life can become difficult without these two buttons. You’ll surely have a hard time accessing your smartphone. If the issue persists, we’d recommend that you take it to a service center.
But, before you make that effort and possibly spend cash, here are some simple measures you can take to resolve the issue –
Fixes: Android Home and Back Button Not Working
1. Use Third-Party Apps
Since your Android home and back buttons are not working, you can use a third-party app that would help substitute the home and back buttons on your phone. A third-party app will help you navigate till you are able to resolve the issue. Here are some of the best apps that you can use if the home and back buttons are not working on your Android phone –
1. Navigation Bar (Back, Home, Recent Button)
This app can be of great help in case your Android home and back buttons are not working or you are having trouble accessing them. The app has a single press home, recent and back buttons. You can easily auto-hide the navigation bar for as long as you want and there are tons of other features as well.
2. Soft Keys – Home Back Button
The app is a great replacement for the home and back button. It has a decent interface and it even lets you change the location of the navigation bar. You can choose where to place your back button and even increase and decrease their size. Apart from that, you can even change the transparency of the buttons as per your choice.
3. Back Button (No Root)
With over 5 million installs, the app is a great replacement for the back button on your phone. Despite having a small download size, it offers several options. You can increase and decrease the button size, change the orientation of the button, and even change its color.
2. Force Restart the Device
Force restarting your smartphone can prove to be an effective solution for many issues such as Android home and back button not working. It fixes all the glitches which can possibly lead to issues like these. For this, hold down your smartphone’s power button for 7-10 seconds. After the phone restarts, the home and the back button on your Android phone should work just fine.
3. Wipe Cache Partition
Another way to resolve the Android home and back button not working is to choose wipe cache partition. This helps get rid of logs, temporary files, and app remnants. To the same follow the steps mentioned below –
1. Switch off the phone by long-pressing the power and volume down button
2. Select Recovery mode
3. Tap on Wipe cache partition
4. Tap on confirm
Now, instead of shutting down your phone and wiping the cache partition,
4. Check Updates
Updates in your Android firmware can help fix any bugs in the operating system. For this step, you would neither need the home or the back button, instead, all you would need is a stable internet connection. To check your device for updates, follow the steps mentioned below –
1. Open Settings
2. Scroll down and tap on Software update
3. Tap on Download and install and check if there is an update available
4. Tap on Download
5. Factory Reset
Last but not the least, if none of the above solutions seem to work, you can try factory resetting your device. Though this will erase all the data that’s there inside your phone, it will revert the functions of your phone back to its original settings. In simple terms, your Android smartphone will go back to the state it was in when you had purchased it.
1. Tap on Settings
2. Tap on General Management
3. Tap on Reset
4. Tap on Factory data reset
Wrap Up
Android home and back button not working is quite a common issue with many users and can be resolved using several ways some of which are mentioned above. If you liked the blog, do give it a thumbs up and share it with your friends. You can also find us on all social channels.
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