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Background

Many people have experienced a bug whereby the Sony Xperia Z3C (compact) no longer has functional home and back buttons. Specifically, the issue involves the buttons highlighted by the red rectangular box in the following image:

Broken Buttons

Problem

The problem may be caused by a number of reasons, from hardware issues to software upgrades. A solution is not easily found. As these buttons are essential for using the phone, when they are broken the phone is far less usable.

Workaround

A quick workaround is to rotate the phone "upside down" so that the buttons flip to the "top" of the screen.

Question

How do you fix this issue permanently?

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Requirements

To fix the issue, you will need:

  • A laptop or desktop computer
  • A USB cable

Then:

  1. Download Universal Android Debug Tools (ADB) onto the computer
  2. Install ADB into C:\Program Files\platform-tools.

ADB is installed and the phone is ready to be fixed. Another SE answer has details on using ADB.

Instructions

A message on Sony's forum (since moved) offered the following solution:

  1. Enable Developer Mode
    1. Tap Settings > System > About Phone
    2. Scroll down to Build Number
    3. Tap Build Number about 7 times
    4. Confirm Developer Mode, if prompted
  2. Put the Z3C into USB Debug mode
    1. Tap Settings > System > Developer Options
    2. Scroll down to Debugging
    3. Enable USB Debugging
    4. Tap OK to confirm, if prompted
  3. Plug the Z3C into the laptop or desktop computer
    • ADB must be installed before this step
  4. Connect the Z3C to the computer using the USB cable
  5. Confirm the connection, if prompted
  6. Open a command prompt
  7. Change to the ADB installation directory by typing:
    • cd "c:\program files\platform-tools"
  8. Make sure the device is listed by typing:
    • adb devices -l
  9. Change the overscan settings by typing:
    • adb shell wm overscan 0,0,0,30

The screen is shifted by about 30 pixels and the navigation buttons now work. It is safe to unplug the USB cable.

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