If you feel that your power button is acting up, the most important things you need to do in order to ensure that you don’t lose access to your device is to turn ON USB debugging and Scheduled Power ON.
How To Turn ON USB debugging on Android?
- Open your Settings app.
- Tap on Developer Options. If you don’t see Developer Options in Settings, you can turn it ON by going to About phone and then tap on Build number a few times till you see a pop-up message that reads “You are now a developer”.
- Toggle Developer options ON.
- Find USB debugging and tap on it to toggle it ON.
How To Turn ON Scheduled Power ON?
If your device supports Scheduled power ON/OFF, you can turn it ON in Settings to automate power ON and power OFF. If you have a damaged power button and your device shuts down, then you can rest assured that it will boot up at a pre-set time.
- Go to Settings. Search for “Scheduled power ON/OFF” in the search button shown in the upper right corner.
- Toggle Power ON and set the time you want it to power ON every day.
How To Unlock Your Android Device When Power Button Doesn’t Work
We can consider two scenarios where you can be stuck with a damaged power button. Your device may be in the ON state or it may be switched OFF. Try not to let your device shut down as the steps to gain control of your device without a power button are much easier when the device is ON.
Ways to restart your device with a damaged power button when the device is OFF.
- Once all your charge is depleted, simply connecting your device to the charger may restart your device. You can also try to press your volume buttons in different combinations to boot into recovery menu. There you can select “reboot system now” by tapping on the Power button.
- Try connecting to a PC or a laptop via USB cable. This action might reboot the device too.
- If you have USB debugging enabled, then you can restart your device using ADB commands. You can find ADB drivers here or here. Install your device drivers and then you can reboot your device by typing the “adb reboot” command. Follow online tutorials for your specific device.
How to unlock your device with a broken power button when your device is in the switched-ON state
It is relatively easier to wake your screen when the device is in the switched-ON state. You can try calling your device from another number to light up the screen. Connecting the charger or a USB cable may also turn ON the screen. Devices with fingerprint sensor will wake up with the touch of a fingertip.
You can use apps to compensate for the power button. These apps can turn OFF your screen, wake up the display or, perform the most necessary task of booting up your device.
Apps to replace your power button
Note: Apps of this kind generally use device administrator rights. Before uninstalling them, you have to go to Settings>>Device Administrators and untick the app from the list.
It is a lightweight app that does exactly what the name suggests. A gentle shake can wake up your display and can also turn it OFF.
Gravity Screen is a highly useful app if you have a broken power button. It can automatically turn your screen OFF when you put it in your pocket or on a flat surface. You can choose to keep the screen ON while the device is in motion. Gravity screen allows you to set your own parameters to calibrate its various sensitivities to your preference.
This app can make your volume button act like a power button to wake up your screen from sleep. But you cannot use it to restart your device. It can also show a persistent notification in your notification panel which can turn your screen off when you tap on it.
Although these apps are helpful, they can be heavy on your battery and can damage your battery life in the long term. Consider these apps and techniques as a temporary solution and get your device fixed permanently by visiting some nearby store.
Did you find these ways to deal with a broken power button helpful? Share your thoughts in the comments.
