Chosen Solution
I recently replaced the battery in my phone. After doing so, my home button stopped working. I’ve restored my phone in case it was a software error, but it makes no difference. When opening up my phone to replace the battery, I noticed a screw had somehow come separated from the dock connector. Once I placed it back in the dock connector and put the phone back together, the home button became unresponsive. I figured the loose screw was just the result of using the home button excessively for 3 years, so I assumed I needed a new home button ribbon. I have since ordered and successfully replaced my home button and home button ribbon, however my home button still does not work. When I open the phone up and press tweezers against the prongs on the dock connector, the iphone responds to this as a press of the home button. If that’s working fine, and I’ve replaced the home button ribbon and home button, where else could the problem be?
It sounds like you’ve damaged the home button contacts either on the home button itself or on the lightning dock side, the home button is relatively easy to fix and if you can take the screen off you shouldn’t need a guide to replace the home button, the lightning dock assembly is another story, follow this guide to replace iPhone 5c Lightning Connector Assembly Replacement
