Apple iPhone Home Button Doesn't Work

Any time there is a problem with his iPad or iPhone, my husband just hands the device over to me and assumes I can fix it. I do like Apple products, and have always liked gadgets. But I don't always have the answer to the problem. And that was the case yesterday when, on our morning walk, my husband said his phone wasn't working. After the usual reboot, nothing changed. I could at least reboot it, but couldn't get past the main screen. The home button was stuck. He could still get phone calls though. The device is my old iPhone 5 and needs to be eventually be replaced. But this wasn't the time I wanted to go that route. So I looked up home button problems on the internet and found an article that really helped and saved us a drive to the Apple Store. The issue can be either hardware or software, and there were several suggestions. But this is the one that worked for us. It's called assistive touch, and needs to be turned on via general settings, then accessibility, then assistive touch, then turning on assistive touch. A little icon then appears and can be moved around the screen wherever you like. When selected, a larger option screen comes on, where "home" can be selected. The way I learn best is to solve an issue when it occurs rather than reading about something and never having to use it. There are a lot of other functions and personal settings that are out there to make the iPhone or iPad much more useful. I just don't know what they are. So before we run to the Apple Store I like to try and figure it out. I like it even more when I've succeeded.