Clara HD My Clara HD's power button has developed a hairline fracture

Cactus Chef · 03-19-2025, 12:00 PM

Apologize for the quality of the pictures, the camera was absolutely refusing to focus on the bit, and I just had to take a dozen with flash and hope I got lucky.

So, as mentioned, the power button seems to have two curved hairline cracks running down the center of the button. I think they are completely separated at this point, because I can gently depress the left side of the button and see only that half the the left of the crack flex.

I am curious if there's anything I can do to stop it from getting worse. I'm a bit peeved that this happened at all, because I've had it in an official Sleepcover since maybe Week 3 of owning the device (back in 2019), which contains a magnetic flap that is specifically supposed to protect the power button and charging port!

Aleron Ives · 03-19-2025, 05:13 PM

The main thing to do would be to never press the power button unless you must. Use the sleep cover for waking and sleeping so you don't need to touch the button.

Calenorn · 03-19-2025, 09:27 PM

Oddly, my Clara's power button just disintegrated yesterday. The rubber-like material split in the middle, grew crumbly, and all the pieces just fell out.

The small, white power button (formerly covered by the black rubber button) still works. I have to push it with a straightened paper clip.

Honestly, I never liked that button. I have big fingers! The button is so small that you need good fingernails to use it, and it does not click or latch to let you know that you've successfully pressed it.

John F · 03-20-2025, 07:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aleron Ives

The main thing to do would be to never press the power button unless you must. Use the sleep cover for waking and sleeping so you don't need to touch the button.

And for those who don't use a sleep cover, NickleMenu can be used to sleep and power down.

Aleron Ives · 03-20-2025, 05:37 PM

Yes, but then you have no way to wake from sleep without pressing the broken power button. You need either a sleep cover or a magnet to handle the wake up situation.

Quoth · 03-20-2025, 06:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aleron Ives

Yes, but then you have no way to wake from sleep without pressing the broken power button. You need either a sleep cover or a magnet to handle the wake up situation.

Yes. Though I've repaired buttons using dismantled €2 calculators.

Alastair_S · 03-20-2025, 07:29 PM

You could try putting a dab of glue on the end of a cocktail stick and working the glue into the cracks. I'm just not sure which type of glue would be best.

Cactus Chef · Yesterday, 11:09 AM

*sigh*

I took it to a friend who has helped me do some delicate glue-working in the past to see if he thought it would be feasible to try putting some glue on the end of a needle.

For reasons unclear to me, after advising that the button was splitting in half, he then decided to start aggressively pushing the button on both sides of the fracture, which has now reinforced the split and pushed half of the broken plastic into the device. Suffice to say, I won't be taking it to him in the future.

The right half still seems to give some resistance when I push it, so I'm assuming this is the half that is glued on and over the sensor. I'm just not sure what I can do at this point to prevent it from getting any worse.

The device otherwise still works well, and I travel with it all the time, so it would be a huge shame to have to consign it to a drawer because of the loss of 5 cents worth of rubber.

03-19-2025, 12:00 PM	#1
Cactus Chef Evangelist Posts: 487 Karma: 6655750 Join Date: Apr 2019 Device: Kobo Sage, Kobo Clara HD, Galaxy Tab S5e, Kindle 4th Gen	My Clara HD's power button has developed a hairline fracture Apologize for the quality of the pictures, the camera was absolutely refusing to focus on the bit, and I just had to take a dozen with flash and hope I got lucky. So, as mentioned, the power button seems to have two curved hairline cracks running down the center of the button. I think they are completely separated at this point, because I can gently depress the left side of the button and see only that half the the left of the crack flex. I am curious if there's anything I can do to stop it from getting worse. I'm a bit peeved that this happened at all, because I've had it in an official Sleepcover since maybe Week 3 of owning the device (back in 2019), which contains a magnetic flap that is specifically supposed to protect the power button and charging port! Attached Thumbnails

Yesterday, 11:09 AM	#8
Cactus Chef Evangelist Posts: 487 Karma: 6655750 Join Date: Apr 2019 Device: Kobo Sage, Kobo Clara HD, Galaxy Tab S5e, Kindle 4th Gen	sigh I took it to a friend who has helped me do some delicate glue-working in the past to see if he thought it would be feasible to try putting some glue on the end of a needle. For reasons unclear to me, after advising that the button was splitting in half, he then decided to start aggressively pushing the button on both sides of the fracture, which has now reinforced the split and pushed half of the broken plastic into the device. Suffice to say, I won't be taking it to him in the future. The right half still seems to give some resistance when I push it, so I'm assuming this is the half that is glued on and over the sensor. I'm just not sure what I can do at this point to prevent it from getting any worse. The device otherwise still works well, and I travel with it all the time, so it would be a huge shame to have to consign it to a drawer because of the loss of 5 cents worth of rubber. Attached Thumbnails

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03-19-2025, 05:13 PM	#2
Aleron Ives Wizard Posts: 1,629 Karma: 16302664 Join Date: Sep 2022 Device: Kobo Libra 2	The main thing to do would be to never press the power button unless you must. Use the sleep cover for waking and sleeping so you don't need to touch the button.

03-19-2025, 09:27 PM	#3
Calenorn Brash Fumbler Posts: 1,202 Karma: 9224939 Join Date: May 2013 Device: NST, Kobo Mini	Oddly, my Clara's power button just disintegrated yesterday. The rubber-like material split in the middle, grew crumbly, and all the pieces just fell out. The small, white power button (formerly covered by the black rubber button) still works. I have to push it with a straightened paper clip. Honestly, I never liked that button. I have big fingers! The button is so small that you need good fingernails to use it, and it does not click or latch to let you know that you've successfully pressed it.

03-20-2025, 05:37 PM	#5
Aleron Ives Wizard Posts: 1,629 Karma: 16302664 Join Date: Sep 2022 Device: Kobo Libra 2	Yes, but then you have no way to wake from sleep without pressing the broken power button. You need either a sleep cover or a magnet to handle the wake up situation.

03-20-2025, 07:29 PM	#7
Alastair_S Zealot Posts: 120 Karma: 1767614 Join Date: Feb 2014 Device: Kobo Touch	You could try putting a dab of glue on the end of a cocktail stick and working the glue into the cracks. I'm just not sure which type of glue would be best.