No It's not needed. You can Jailbreak the unit then in Cydia install activator. It will let you use a finger swipe to replace the home button, it's a very useful app. To get into DFU mode here is a link that has a tutorial on ho to get into DFU mode without a home button. Update: Here is the link http://iphoneblogr.com/2012/06/enter-dfu-mode-without-home-or-power-button-video-tutorial/