The vibration of the virtual HOME button is very important for smartphone users. To understand the user experience of different vibration modes of the HOME button, we designed 2 experiments to study this issue. Study 1 compared 4 different HOME buttons that were experienced either in or out of visual sight. The results showed that the perceived intensity was the key factor related to the tactile experience of the HOME button regardless of the particular vibration mode. Study 2 explored the influence of vibration intensity on users’ tactile experiences. The results showed that the frequency and amplitude of the vibration had a significant positive relationship with the overall evaluation of the tactile experience. More importantly, this effect was mediated by the perceived intensity. These results have implications for designing vibration modes that satisfy the needs of smartphone users. © 2019, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.