HOW TO EXTEND THE LIFE OF YOUR CORDLESS HANDSET
 
By far the #1 complaint for handsets sent to us for repair is BUTTON PROBLEMS. And of all the button problems we see, the #1 problem is with ... you guessed it...  the #1 button!

While the tips here are not guaranteed to make your buttons failure proof, they can at least help you reduce or delay button failure.
First, you should understand how your buttons work. From the outside looking in, you'd think that each button is individually installed. Actually, all the buttons are part of a rubbery membrane called a "keypad". The keypad lays above a circuit board which routes signals. When you push a particular button, the bottom of the button --- which has a layer of conductive material --- makes contact with the circuit board to complete a circuit... sending the proper signal to the handset's "brain" for dialing.

Upshot: Buttons on your handset will begin to fail when (1) material ("gunk") gets between the button and the circuit bard or (2) a button's conductive layer begins to wear away.
 
TIP #1: DON'T EAT OR DRINK WHILE YOU'RE ON YOUR PHONE!*

Nearly every phone that comes in for "button problems" has a nasty layer of gunk between the bottom of the keypad and the circuit board. There's only one source: saliva mixed with food and beverages. Saliva is natural, but its production is increased from eating or drinking. Compounding this problem is the minuscule particles of food and sugary beverages that join the spray. As you speak, this material is propelled into the handset through the spaces around the buttons. Over time, as you press the buttons, you distribute this matter further --- causing it to slowly migrate over and around the keypad until it finally seeps between the keypad and the circuit board. No more conductivity or, even more maddening, intermittent failure.

* Feel free to eat or drink while you're on the phone by using our ear-bud headset with garment collar clip microphone. Convenience of hands free operation while keeping handset away from your mouth!

SYN8390  $18.95
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TIP #2: DON'T USE YOUR THUMB TO DIAL.

Instead, hold the handset in one hand and dial with your other hand's index finger.
Here's what happens if you're right handed (roughly 90% of the population) and you dial with your left thumb. You can observe this for yourself: Hold the handset in your left hand and let's work backwards from the right-most column of buttons.

If you press the 3, 6 or 9 button, you tend to use the full pad of your thumb. This is good --- your thumb's pad helps distribute / cushion the pressure. In fact, pressure is generally limited by the pad of your thumb as it presses against the housing itself.

Now slowly move your thumb from the 9 button over the 1 button and see what your thumb does. By nature, as you pull your thumb towards your palm, your thumb bends and  --- most important  -- pivots, so that now you're pressing the 1, 4 & 7 buttons not with the full pad of your thumb, but rather with just a corner of your thumb. This results in the pressing force to be more highly concentrated in one spot... and this concentration causes the conductive layer to wear away faster than with the other buttons.

Combine this with other factors --- such as using the 1 button to answer all your calls, or using the 1 button to make long distance calls --- and you have a button that's overworked --- not only by frequency of use but also by the focused pressure from the "pivoted thumb". This combination makes the 1 button more vulnerable to failure than the other buttons.