Apple recently started a replacement program for defective sleep/wake buttons on the iPhone 5. This issue has only affected phones manufactured prior to March 2013, but if you think your phone falls into that timeframe you should listen up!
If your phone has a broken sleep/wake button, you will be unable to lock your phone. The button may seem stuck and non-responsive. If this seems to be the case with your iPhone 5, you have a couple options to replace the broken part:
1. Bring it to us, to an Apple Store, or any Apple Authorized Service Provider. We (or they) will examine the phone to determine if the phone falls is eligible for this program. If the phone is eligible, it will be sent to closest Apple Repair Center. You will be able to receive a temporary replacement phone until yours is fixed and returned in 4-6 days.
2. Call Apple and tell them the problem. They'll mail you a box to send in your phone and pay for the postage both ways. The repair center will check the phone for eligibility, fix the button, and send it back as soon as they can. It should be a 4-6 day turnaround.
Definitely make sure to back-up all your files onto iCloud or iTunes before giving the phone away, as you will need to erase all your data before they can fix your phone.
You can check your iPhone’s eligibility for this replacement program here.
Have you or anyone you know encountered this problem before? Have you gotten your iPhone fixed through this program? Let us know in the comments below.