We recently pointed to a suggestion that WD-40 was a useful way of loosening a stuck iPhone home button. Several readers highlighted out potential downsides of that approach, and one in particular sticks out: the solvents in WD-40 will ruin the internals of the iPhone if they get inside.
As Alex notes over at Gizmodo, a report on iMore highlights that not only is liquid in general bad for your iPhone, WD-40 could dissolve the plastic on the home button and other internal plastics as well. Looks like the best fix for a stick button is, alas, a Genius Bar trip.
Warning: WD-40 will not fix your Home button [iMore via Gizmodo]
James Smith
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 at 2:17 PMWhat about the old favourite Isopropyl Alcohol?
Ginji
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 at 2:22 PMWD-40 might not be a good idea, but Isopropyl alcohol is. No harm if it comes into contact with the electronics as long as the purity is high enough.
Colby
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 at 2:30 PMTrue, but what would be the point of that? There’s no lubricant in isopropyl, so the most you could hope for is it dissolving glue or solidified foreign substance.
(WD-40 has lubricant dissolved in the solvent, so once the solvent evaporates you’re still left with lubricant.)
Sam
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 at 3:11 PMPlastics seldom need lubricating – if lubrication IS required, than the component shouldn’t have been made of plastic in the first place.
If the button isn’t functioning properly, it’s more likely dirty. That being the case, isopropyl alcohol will disolve whatever contaminant is there before evaporating.
Jack Cola
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 at 2:22 PMWouldn’t it be a good idea to edit your previous article saying “DON”T DO IT! READ THIS ARTICLE FIRST? In big capital letters?
ky
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 at 2:39 PMYou can purchase “Electrical Contact Cleaner” from any electronics store, which will fix any issues with a dirty contact. WD40 is not a contact cleaner.
Jackson Bison
Thursday, February 9, 2012 at 3:39 PMUm, it’s not the contact that needs cleaning…
dfg
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 at 3:30 PMso wd-40 didn’t work…. so sticky tape than, that should solve the problem
John
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 at 3:32 PMWhat do I do with my damaged iPhone now? :P
Kendal
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 at 4:41 PM1.10 Use of this Website is at your own risk
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johnd
Wednesday, February 8, 2012 at 11:02 PMDisclaimers like these never stand up under testing in court. You can’t just deny all responsibility like this. It’s like those disclaimers in car parks; they do have a duty of care and you can claim against them if your car is damaged.
Really, the use of WD-40 is so obviously wrong that printing the original advice shows how little fact checking goes on for stories like this.
Kendal
Thursday, February 9, 2012 at 9:22 AMThis warranty does not apply: (a) to damage caused by use with non-Apple products; (b) to damage caused by accident, abuse, misuse, flood, fire,
earthquake or other external causes; (c) to damage caused by operating the product outside the permitted or intended uses described by Apple; (d)
to damage caused by service (including upgrades and expansions) performed by anyone who is not a representative of Apple or an Apple Authorized
Service Provider (“AASP”); (e) to a product or part that has been modified to alter functionality or capability without the written permission of Apple; (f)
to consumable parts, such as batteries, unless damage has occurred due to a defect in materials or workmanship; (g) to cosmetic damage, including but
not limited to scratches, dents and broken plastic on ports; or (h) if any Apple serial number has been removed or defaced
Jason
Thursday, February 9, 2012 at 8:22 AMSo what’s going to happen to my now damaged iPhone now?
pu
Thursday, February 9, 2012 at 5:19 PMif the article told you that running over your iphone with a car will fix the button problem, would you do it?
anyone with half a brain would’ve known this was a bad idea.
Jason
Monday, February 13, 2012 at 10:14 AMWell insaulting people is not the problem, most people would not know what WD40 is made out of or what it would do to the insides of a phone.
How in god’s name did Lifehacker think this was a good idea in the first place, and what is it going to do about my damaged iPhone now.