Nexus 6P - Biggest Gripe: Power/Volume Button Location

[cwbcpa]

I've only had mine for 2 days but I would say this is my biggest issue with the phone. That being said, if that's my biggest issue, this is one heck of a phone. It's my first Nexus and I am really enjoying it.

 

[chezm]

Only had this for 2 days and really like the placement of the buttons, its my first phablet phone and appreciate the location as its easy to reach.

 

[ansextra]

Button placement is the main thing I miss about my LG G4. I really liked the back buttons. Of course, the LG G5 move them to the side like everyone else and I really love where the fingerprint scanner is on the 6p so I can live with the button placement.

 

[jim1405]

After 6 months I love the phone overall but really don't like the button location. Not a deal breaker but the #1 area I would love to see improved in future phones.

 

[thelexingtonUK]

Like some of the other posters here - I actually sold on my nexus 6p (Google wouldn't let me return it) because of the buttons. Every time I touched my phone I accidentally pressed something to the point where most times I took it out of my pocket I'd have turned it off. Also, it was totally unusable with my car mount. I too got a case but the issues persisted (Google let me return that though! Haha). What's annoying is that it was a truly glorious phone, however it was a made a completely defunct product at the design phase. How Google didn't pick up on this issue is baffling to me.

 

[Mack Jones]

I like the 6P better than the iPhone 6+. The protective cover I put on it recesses the power and volume buttons, so I don't have the inadvertent pushing problems. My biggest gripe is that it has no instruction manual, just a user's guide. They assume you already know about the phone's mechanical construction, for instance. They could at least have put in a front chapter that told you where the buttons were and what they were for.

 

[GreatCanadian]

Oh my. Sold the phone because the buttons weren't quite perfectly located? Ok. But sold the phone because it was unusable with the car mount? And MOST times you took it out of your pocket it was turned off? That has never happened to me.

Sure, I believe (in my opinion, and for my personal preference) that the power button is too close to the volume button, and the buttons are somewhat sensitive. But I'd be embarrassed if I had to tell anyone that I got rid of my 6P for those reasons. Pretty petty. The phone has so much to offer that "imperfect" buttons are a small price to pay. Vanilla Android? Nah, I'll drop that for better buttons. Quick security updates? Nah, I'd prefer better buttons. Seems absolutely insane to me

If button location is the prime reason to sell a phone, then there ain't too much to complain about.

GC

 

[LeoRex]

Well.. usability issues can cause big headaches. In the times I use my wife's S7, I hate the thing. I have my own reasons, but I absolutely hate HW home buttons and can't stand using them and would never buy a phone for my own use that has one. But others don't have the same reaction.

There's no perfect placement really. If they moved them, there would be a different group of people complaining about their location. I happen to like the button placement on the 6P.... I generally hold the phone with my left hand, with most of the pressure on my index (which is right above the power) and my pinkie. The volume is right under my middle finger, but I don't really have mistouches. But I got big hands.

 

[GreatCanadian]

There's no perfect placement really. If they moved them, there would be a different group of people complaining about their location.

^This

I hate HW home buttons as well, but if the only phone that allowed me to have quick security updates and vanilla android had to include HW home buttons, I'd willingly accept the HW home buttons without complaint. And if I did complain about the location of buttons, I would not say that they are in the wrong location. I would say that they are in the wrong location FOR MY PREFERENCE.

 

[GAM555]

Agree 100% I constantly hit the VC it really is annoying, I know I'll adjust this is too good a phone. I also have the Honor 5x (both made by Huawei btw) the power button is in same place as 6p but the VC is located above the power button. It's absolutely perfect (for me). Unfortunately it's not as good a phone, it's my backup (Amazon prime day $120). Other than that love 6p.

 

[rpmm70]

The button locations are not a deal breaker for me, but I would prefer to have the volume rocker on the opposite side of the power button

 

[elcustardo]

Yup another here. Switched off the power button camera feature due to hitting it so many times by accident.
Also I wish the finger print scanner acted as a home (or better configurable) button when the phone is unlocked.

 

[TrackFan]

The freaking power and volume up/down buttons?! LOL. Those are only mildly disappointing to me and I'm way over that (even though I have to place my phone just so in my car mount). Took me about two days to get used to it. My biggest gripe? The close to useless bluetooth, though I've even found a minimally acceptable 'fix' for that too. I wouldn't trade my 6P for any of the Samsung bloatphones though.

 

[boss.king]

This is probably one of the few hardware complaints I have. Because there are so many buttons on the one side I always seem to press something when grabbing the phone. Not a deal breaker but not smart button placement from Huawei.

 

[HaboobZ]

Probably the only complaint I have on the phone so far (only about 2 weeks old). I am constantly turning the volume off, etc.

 

[STiK]

I bought this thing a couple months ago.. I love everything about this phone and I will not be giving it up anytime soon.. That said, I can't get used to the volume rockers placement. The combination of placement and sensitivity have me hitting them things all the time. I posed on in the 6P community on G+ and of course there can't be anything wrong with their device While I will find a way to combat this, I agree that the placement should have been up another half inch to an inch. For a one handed right hand user, those buttons are right in the dead center of ones natural thumb position. That is assuming that you are also wanting your finger within easy reach of the fingerprint sensor. I'm sure some have come up with crazy ways to hold their phone to combat this but one shouldn't have to.. Shifting phone around in hand to hit certain spots is how phones get broken. This should be limited as much as possible with design.

 

[GSDer]

For a one handed right hand user, those buttons are right in the dead center of ones natural thumb position.

Perhaps for you - I'm right-handed, use the phone one-handed (except when typing, in which case I switch to landscape orientation) but I hold the phone in my left hand, so the button placement is no issue. YMMV.

 

[chin kim]

Nexus 6 had awful curved back. Nexus 6p volume buttons smack in the middle. Google engineers must not account for people using Google map for GPS.

 

[LeoRex]

Heh, I have big hands, so the placement is perfect. If I hold with my right hand, the buttons are in the void between my thumb and hand. With left, the buttons are easily hit with my index.

 

[Richard Feynman]

Curious is any of us here who dislike the button placement have since upgraded to other phones, and if so, to what? It's upgrade time for me and even though I otherwise really like the Nexus/Pixel line I came to dislike the inability to hold this phone comfortably without inadvertantly adjusting volume so much that I won't buy another Pixel.