How to Disable Any Physical Button on Android Devices
Has your phone’s volume button gone mad? Does it constantly increase or decrease the volume on its own? Or has it become stuck inside the chassis, causing the volume to continuously decrease? Or, worst of all, is your Power button broken? All of these issues can be easily resolved by disabling the buttons and using a third-party app to control volume and power on/off. However, please note that your phone must have Root access in order to complete this task.
If you have a rooted Android phone and want to disable the physical buttons on your device, whether they are broken or functioning, simply follow these steps.
Disable Physical Buttons on Android
To disable the physical/hardware buttons on Android, edit the root file that enables these buttons. Access the root files with a file manager like ES File Explorer or a root explorer like Root Explorer. We used ES File Explorer for simplicity. Note that ES File Explorer has unnecessary add-ons, so we found some alternatives.
Step-1: Open ES File Explorer and enable Root Explorer. Tap on “Root Explorer” to access the options and change the Read and Write settings for root files. Select “Mount R/W” and choose write (W) for the “/system” files. This allows us to edit the system OS files.
Step-2: Under the Local tab in the ES sidebar, tap on /Device. This folder contains all the root files. Navigate to system/usr/keylayout. Here, you will find Generic.kl and other files for keypad and physical button operation triggers.
Here, you need to find the perfect file for your needs. First, try the step below in the “Generic.kl” file. If that doesn’t work, try it in other files with keywords like “Volume_Up,” “Volume_Down,” and “Power.” MediaTek device users only need to edit the “mtk-kpd.kl” file, as shown in the screenshot above. Follow the next step carefully.
Step 3: First, create a backup of the file you’re going to edit. Since I have a MediaTek device, I’ll be editing the “mtk-kpd.kl” file. To create a backup, make a copy of the file and add “.bk” as the extension.
Step-4: Save the file by hitting the back button and hit Yes. Then, reboot the phone. The specific button on which you added a # won’t function, meaning it’s now disabled.
Basically, what you did here is commented out the code line for that specific button. Anything after # in that specific line won’t be compiled and executed by Android. So, Android is unable to execute the button so the button won’t work now.
App Solutions for On-screen Functioning of Physical buttons
You have disabled a physical button on your device, but its function is still active. Other applications can easily trigger this function (such as adjusting volume or turning the screen on/off). To control volume on-screen, you can try Pie Control or explore a list of apps that offer this functionality. Please inform us if the suggested method of disabling hardware buttons was effective. If you have any tips related to this topic specific to your phone, feel free to share them. You can also post your question in our forum.
As Fred Humiston, the author behind Twothirds.us, I focus on providing practical and easy-to-follow guides and solutions for a variety of technical issues that people commonly face.
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