IPhone 5 stopped vibrating

Question

Hello, all.
Last night my iPhone 5 stopped vibrating. I've had it just about a year now. I've looked through other threads for a solution to this problem but I haven't found one that works consistently. One thread told me to smack the rear upper left corner of my phone (which seemed a bit strange seeing as I shouldn't have to smack an expensive piece of technology in order to get it to work properly) and that works for a minute or so. Sometimes my phone will vibrate but that is very rare and sporadic. If I put my ear close to that same area, I can hear a click when the phone is supposed to vibrate which leads me to believe there is a hardware problem and I will most likely have to go to the Apple Store to get it fixed. Here are my questions:
- Is there anyone who has had a problem similar to this and if so what did you do to fix it?
- Are there any alternatives to paying to get it fixed? (iPhone repair isn't exactly in my college-student budget right now.)
- How much does it cost to fix something like this? Unfortunately, I don't have insurance.
Thank you so much!

Answer 1

Just wanted to post a final statement about the issue I was having.
First off, I have discovered that Apple has a recall on the iPhone 5 model for having issues with the wake/sleep button which I was also having.
I opted to get the ribbon cable needed to fix my phone and do the work myself.
Turns out the vibrator was not working due to the ribbon cable being torn.  When assembled from the factory, the glue that secures the battery in place also got on the ribbon cable and it seems had put a crease in the cable.
Once I replaced the cable, my wake/sleep button and vibrator issues were fixed.
Just thought I would update for others to see how I solved the issue.
Dan