Nothing lasts forever, and that's doubly true for your gadgets. Unfortunately, while you can do a lot to fix software problems that come with an old phone, broken buttons can be a lot more troublesome—especially if your warranty is up. Here are some ways to get around broken volume, power, and home buttons on your smartphone.
Replace Android Buttons with Button Savior
If the power or volume buttons on your Android phone are a little worse for wear, you can replace them with a few software apps. One of the best around is Button Savior, which adds a small panel on the side of your screen and gives you access to power, home, camera, call, and volume buttons. If you've rooted your phone, you can also simulate the back, search, and other buttons.
If Button Savior isn't quite what you're looking for, XDA user tobnddl (who inspired this post) runs down some other great options in a forum post. Turn off the Lights puts a software button on your screen that shuts your screen on and off, while Volume Control Widget is a simple, free widget that has sliders for notification, alarm, and media volumes. He also notes apps that use the phone's gyroscope and light sensor, which are pretty clever.
Android has a lot of similar apps out there, with different methods for replacing the buttons, so search around if none of the above get the job done for you. Button Savior is definitely our first choice, and with root access, there's little that it can't replace.
Replace iPhone Buttons with AssistiveTouch
If you're on an iPhone, you don't have as many options. Luckily, iOS 5 and above have a pretty great option built in called AssistiveTouch. Just head to Settings > General > Accessibility, and scroll down to AssistiveTouch. Turn AssistiveTouch on, and you'll see a small grey button overlayed atop your screen. You can move it around wherever you want, and tap the button to get a ton of options. Pressing the Home button simulates a home button press, while tapping Device gives you options for locking the screen, changing the volume, bringing up the multitasking menu, and more. In short, it replaces nearly everything you could previously do with a physical button.
If you're jailbroken, you have a few other, slightly easier options. Previously mentioned SBSettings puts useful settings in your Notification Center, so you can turn off your phone, adjust the volume, and more right from there.
Just because you don't upgrade your phone every year doesn't mean you have to deal with faulty buttons. These solutions aren't as great as having physical buttons, of course, but they should get you by, at least until your next upgrade.
Photo by myVector (Shutterstock).