5 Android Apps That Can Be Used as Alternative for Your Broken Home Button

These days, there is an increasing number of Android phones being manufactured without physical home buttons, although Samsung devices still do. And being the best-selling Android manufacturer, imagine how many millions of such buttons are still getting into the hands of its consumers. And one of the most common problems Android users encounter is a broken home button. If this happens to you, this may feel like the end of the world for you and your phone since you use this particular button most of the time.

So how do you deal with a broken home button? Luckily, it's not the end of the world...yet. Here are some Android apps that you can use to actually replace the function of your ailing home button. Each app on this list has a different approach, but all of them offer a single goal of taking you back to your phone's home screen without having to press a physical button.

Swipe Home Button

The Swipe Home Button app includes several gestures that you can perform by swiping from the bottom of your screen. These gestures can be customized to do a variety of tasks, which includes going back to the home screen, showing recent apps, skipping tracks in your music player, or opening certain apps. You can download the app from Google Play store for free.

Multi-action Home Button

Multi-action Home Button is an app designed specifically for phones that don't have virtual home buttons. All you have to do is tap the bottom center of the screen in order to activate the home button or perform other actions. One little thing you may not want about this app -- it inserts an item in the notification drawer that does nothing other than remind you that the app is running. But if you don't mind the extra clutter, this app does the job for you.

This is another free app that you can get anytime from Google Play.

My Home Button

What the My Home Button app does is it places a permanent bar in your notification drawer that can bump you out to your homescreen whenever you like. It's pretty tucked out of the way unlike a floating home button, but it also doesn't block any of your on-screen content either. It has an expandable nature in case you want to create buttons for opening recent apps or expanding notifications as well. Be warned that installing the app can add extra clutter to your notification drawer, which you may not want to deal with. Other than that, My Home Button is a pretty good app to go with if you're tired of your broken home button.

Button Savior

Button Savior works by sticking a little dock on the side of the screen that disappears behind a small transparent toggle when it's not in use. If you tap that arrow, it pulls the dock back out, displaying icons for performing various tasks. The Button Savior app can be customized, which means you can change the icons on the dock, which side of the screen everything resides on, and the order in which everything appears.

This app is also free from the Google Play store.

Easy Touch

Easy Touch is an app that adds an icon, which floats on top of your other apps. Whenever you tap the floating icon, you have other options aside from returning to the home screen -- you also have the option to lock the phone, toggle settings, or access your favorite apps.

And what's another good thing about using this app is that it's totally free.

These apps can help you continue to use your beloved phone, even if it's home button is already broken. And even if your home button is completely working, you can still use any of these apps if you would like to give your physical home button a rest or make up for the lack of a virtual button that you wish you had. Alternatively, these apps serve as a great alternative if you're tired of reaching the far end of your phone just to return home.