How to move iphone apps from the app library to a home screen
Mia Phillips
Updated on March 29, 2026
Justin Duino is the Reviews Director at How-To Geek (and LifeSavvy Media as a whole). He has spent the last decade writing about Android, smartphones, and other mobile technology. In addition to his written work, he has also been a regular guest commentator on CBS News and BBC World News and Radio to discuss current events in the technology industry. Read more.
Apple added an App Library to the iPhone with the release of iOS 14. Like the App Drawer on Android, any apps not on your home screen will be stored in the App Library. Ready to remove an app from your home screen? Here’s how to move to your iPhone’s App Library.
Start by pressing and holding down on any app on your home screen that you want to move.
Next, tap the “Remove App” option from the context menu.
Your iPhone will ask if you want to move the selected app to the App Library or delete it. Select the “Move to App Library” button.
The app will now disappear from your home screen. Swipe over to the right-most home screen to view your App Library. You can find the app that you moved in one of the automatically-generated groupings or by tapping on the “App Library” Search bar.
You can find the app by scrolling through the alphabetical list of installed applications or by typing in the first couple of letters of the app’s name. Tap on the item to launch the app.
Although you most likely won’t move an app to the App Library accidentally, you can reverse your decision and quickly transfer apps back to your iPhone’s home screen whenever you like.
In order not to clutter your home screen, newly downloaded apps from the App Store can be sent directly to the App Library. But what if you later want to open the app without having to search through the library? Here’s how to move apps from the App Library to your iPhone’s home screen.
Start by swiping to the rightmost home screen on your iPhone to open the App Library. Here, locate an app that is not already on your home screen. Long press the app icon until a menu appears.
Tap the “Add to Home Screen” button in the context menu.
The app will be moved and placed on your home screen automatically.
Going back to the app library, if an app is already on one of your home screens (visible or hidden), the “Add to home screen” option will not appear in the context menu. Instead, you will have to enter Jiggle mode.
How to remove apps and pages from your iPhone home screen
Find an app in your iPhone’s app library that’s already on your home screen. Long press the app icon. After a second, a context menu will appear. Keep pressing the app until it appears on your home screen.
As mentioned above, going this route will activate Jiggle mode (where your apps and folders will bounce around on your screen). Long press your app and drop it wherever you want on your iPhone. Tap the “Done” button in the top right corner when you are done moving the app.
If you can’t find a specific app in one of the App Library’s auto-generated folders, you can tap on the search bar to locate the app.
Use the alphabetical list to find an application. Then long press the list until it is highlighted. The block will look like it’s floating above the rest of the menu when selected correctly.
Without lifting your finger, move it left or right. You will be immediately transferred to your home screen, with Jiggle mode enabled.
As before, place the app wherever you like on your home screen or drop it in a folder. Tap the “Done” button in the top right corner when you’re done rearranging your layout.
How to Move iPhone Apps from a Home Screen to the App Library
Arrange your iPhone apps by task, location, or color
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What to Know
- To rearrange an app, tap and hold it, drag it to a new location, and drop it.
- Create multiple Home screen pages by dragging an app or folder to the right and tapping the Home button to save the new page.
This article explains how to rearrange apps and folders on iOS 4 through iOS 12.
How to Rearrange Apps and Folders on an iPhone
One of the easiest ways to customize an iPhone is to rearrange the apps and folders on the Home screen. Apple sets a default, but that arrangement doesn’t work for most people, so change your Home screen to fit how you use your iPhone. Store apps in folders, put your favorites on the Home screen so you can easily access them, and rearrange your apps and folders. Because the iPod Touch runs the same operating system, you can use these tips to customize it, too. To rearrange the iPhone’s screen apps:
Tap and hold an app until the app icons shake.
Drag the app icon to a new location on the screen. Rearrange apps in whatever order you want, but there can’t be an empty space between apps.
To move an icon to a new screen, drag the icon to the right or left side, then release the icon when a new screen appears.
When the icon is in the place you want it, take your finger off the screen.
To save the changes, swipe up from the bottom of the screen in iPhone X or press the Home button in earlier iPhone versions.
You can also choose the apps that appear in the dock at the bottom of the iPhone screen. Rearrange those apps the same way you rearrange apps on the Home screen. Or, replace apps with new ones by dragging the old ones out and new ones in while the apps are shaking. The dock is visible on all Home screen pages, so fill it with your most frequently used apps for convenience.
Create iPhone Folders
You can store iPhone apps or web clips in folders, which is a handy way to keep the Home screen neat, or store similar apps together. In iOS 6 and earlier, each folder could contain up to 12 apps on the iPhone and 20 apps on the iPad. In iOS 7 and later, that number is virtually unlimited.
Create an iPhone folder by dragging one shaking app on top of another. Then drag other apps to the folder and assign a name. Rearrange folders the same way as apps. Just press until they shake, then use drag and drop.
Create Multiple Home Screen Pages for Apps and Folders
Most people have dozens of apps on their iPhones. If all of these apps were in folders on a single screen, it wouldn’t be easy to use. That’s where multiple Home screens come in. Swipe side-to-side to access these other screens called pages.
There are different ways to use Home screen pages. For example, use them as an overflow, so new apps go there, or order them by app type with all music apps on one page and all productivity apps on another. A third approach is to organize pages by location: a page of apps used at work, another for travel, and a third for use at home.
To create a new page:
Tap and hold an app or folder until the screen shakes.
Drag the app or folder to the right side of the screen. It will slide over to a new, blank page, which the iPhone adds automatically.
Release the app so that it moves to the new page.
Swipe up from the bottom of the screen (iPhone X and up) or click the Home button to save the new page.
Scroll Through iPhone Pages
If you have more than one page of apps on your iPhone after rearranging them, scroll through the pages either by flicking them left or right or tapping the white dots above the dock. The white dots indicate the number of pages.
App Library was introduced in iPhone with iOS 14 and iPad with iPadOS 15. Since then, it has stayed on future versions, including iOS 15. If you aren’t a big fan of App Library, you might want to disable it temporarily or turn it off entirely.
The bad news is you can’t disable or toggle off App Library on iPhone. But there are some things you can do to make sure you do not have to use it ever. So you can’t get rid of App Library, but we show you how to ignore it.
What’s App Library?
Since you’re looking to disable App Library, I’m confident you already know what it is. Here’s a recap.
App Library is a single screen that has all the apps currently installed on your iPhone. It also displays the apps you have offloaded and the website shortcuts you have added to your Home Screen.
You can access App Library by swiping left on the last Home Screen. Once you’re in App Library:
- Tap the regular-sized app icon to open that app.
- Tap the smaller app icons to open that folder/category to see more apps.
- Swipe down on the App Library screen or tap the top search bar to see all apps in alphabetical order.
This is App Library on iPhone.
Now you that have a better idea of what App Library is, here are some recommendations to ensure you never have to use it if you want to disable it.
1. Make all Home Screen pages visible
Starting with iOS 14, you can hide Home Screen pages to have less distraction and reach App Library quickly. But since you do not want to use App Library, make sure all your Home Screen pages and apps on these are visible. To do that:
- Press an empty area on the Home Screen until all apps start jiggling.
- Tap the tiny dots above the Dock.
- Ensure all Home Screen pages are checked and tap Done.
2. Use Spotlight Search
Even if you don’t want to unhide all Home Screen pages, you can search for and open any app. To be straightforward, in many cases, this is quicker than going to App Library and locating the app there.
You can access Search by pulling down the Home Screen. Starting with iOS 15, you can also access it from your Lock Screen by the same swipe-down gesture. As soon as Search launches, your iPhone keyboard is already on screen, making it quicker to type the app’s initial letters and open it.
3. Ensure apps do not download only to App Library
To declutter your Home Screen, you can have newly downloaded apps show up only in the App Library and not the Home Screen. But as you want to use App Library as little as possible, make sure you do the opposite. That is, ensure the new apps show on the Home Screen (like before) and not only in the App Library.
- Open the Settings app.
- Tap Home Screen.
- Under Newly Downloaded Apps, tap Add to Home Screen.
4. Move apps out of the App Library to the Home Screen
To ensure you never have to go inside the App Library, make sure all your apps are on the Home Screen. So, if you believe any app is hidden and not showing on the Home Screen, go to the App Library, find the app there, and press its icon until you see it on the Home Screen.
5. Remove App Library from iPad Dock
If you have an iPad running iPadOS 15 or later, you will notice the App Library shortcut on the Dock.
If you don’t like it, here’s how to disable the App Library shortcut on your iPad:
- Open the Settings app.
- Tap Home Screen & Dock.
- Under Dock, turn off the switch for Show App Library in Dock.
6. Ignore App Library
I don’t detest App Library, but I’m not fond of it either. Sure, I have heard people liking it. But I’m not one of those.
I wish Apple added an option in the Settings to disable it. But unless that happens (if ever), your only choice is to ignore it.
7. Jailbreak the iPhone to remove App Library
Finally, what Apple doesn’t let you do, the jailbreaking community often does. So, if you’re into jailbreaking your iPhone, there is a jailbreak tweak to disable App Library entirely.
Guide to put Message icon back to your iPhone home screen or dock.
‘I accidentally deleted the Messages icon while trying to hide it from my iPhone home screen.’ This is a common query of most iPhone users. Though it’s certainly worrisome if the messaging app suddenly disappears from your iPhone since it’s an essential app. That said, if you can’t find the Messages app on your iPhone or iPad then you shouldn’t worry.
Table of Contents
How to reinstall the Messages app on your iPhone
In case the Messages app icon is missing from your iPhone then you might be looking to reinstall it. The fact is that you can neither download nor reinstall the Messages app on an iPhone. Moreover, you cannot explicitly update the Messages app on iPhone since its updates are tied with iOS updates.
The reason being, just like Mail and Notes, Messages is a core element of iOS and iPadOS that is baked in the operating system. It is also the default messaging app on iPhone. Hence, it is not possible to Offload or delete the Messages app unlike few other pre-installed apps on iOS such as GarageBand and iMovie.
This means that the Messages app is intact on your iPhone with all your text messages and custom settings. Perhaps, the app isn’t appearing as you might have accidentally removed it from your home screen or moved it to an app folder.
Thankfully, you can easily add the Messages app back to the home screen on your iPhone and access it like before. Let’s find out how to restore the Message icon on iPhone running iOS 14.
How to add Messages to the home screen in iOS 14 on iPhone
Use one of the below ways to get the Messages app back on your iPhone or iPad.
Using App Library on iOS 14
- Go to the App Library and open the Social folder. [Refer: How to find iOS 14’s App Library]
- Look for the Messages app.
- Press and hold an empty area on the screen to activate the jiggle mode.
- Tap and hold the Messages app icon and drag it to one of the home screens.
- Tap ‘Done’ at the top-right after moving the app.
Using Spotlight Search
If the message icon isn’t present on your home screen, then use Spotlight Search to see if the app is there in an app folder. This method also works with iOS 13.
For this, simply swipe down the screen while you are on the home screen. Type messages in the search box at the top. The particular app folder name in which the Messages app is residing will be shown. You can now move ‘Messages’ from that folder to your main home screen or some other app folder.
TIP: If Messages don’t appear in Spotlight Search then go to Settings > Messages > Siri & Search. In the While Searching section, turn on the toggle button next to “Show App in Search”.
Find Messages in the App Library
If Messages isn’t there in the Social app group then just search for the app in the App Library.
To do so, swipe down on the App Library page and search for Messages. To put Messages back on the iPhone dock, press and hold the Messages app icon and continue holding it until you can add the app back to the home screen. Then drag and place the app in the dock.
Alternative Way – Long-press the Messages icon in App Libray and select “Add to Home Screen”. Note that the add to home screen option won’t appear if Messages is already there on your home screen, in an app folder, or even on one of the hidden app pages.
Find missing Messages icon on hidden home screen pages
Messages app may not be visible if you have hidden its respective app page for a bare look in iOS 14.
To unhide the Messages app, follow the steps below.
- Long-press an empty area on your home screen.
- In Edit mode, tap the page dot button in the bottom center of the screen.
- Look carefully for the hidden app page containing the Messages app.
- Tick mark the specific app page to unhide it.
- Hit Done at the upper-right corner.
Reset Home Screen Layout
This is probably the easiest way to restore the home screen layout and appearance on your iPhone.
NOTE: Avoid using this method as it rearranges all apps on the home screen and removes home screen widgets too.
To restore the default home screen layout in iOS 14, head to Settings > General > Reset. Select the “Reset Home Screen Layout” option and tap “Reset Home Screen” to confirm.
One of the most interesting additions that come with the iOS 14 update is the new App Library. Within this feature, Apple gives its users the option to move, delete, and hide unwanted pages of apps and clean up their home screen.
App Library can be thought of as similar to Android’s app drawer, located right past the last home screen page on your iPhone. It automatically sorts all the apps by category and organizes them in folders. If you’ve been fiddling around with the new iOS 14 update, you may have seen it and tried to get a hang of it already. Perhaps, you may already know how to hide your pages or how you can automatically move downloaded apps to the App Library.
What if you want to move the apps stored in your App Library back to the home screen or what if you want to delete an app stored here? These are good questions, but we have the answer. In this article, we’ll cover how you can move and delete apps from App Library.
How to Move and Delete Apps from App Library
Moving apps back to the home screen and deleting apps directly from the App Library is not as complicated as you may think. So, without further ado, let’s get started.
- Head to the App Library section by scrolling past the last page on your home screen. Now long-press on an empty space in the App Library to enter jiggle mode or edit mode.
Now, tap on the “X” icon next to any app here to delete it from your iPhone. When prompted, choose “Delete” to confirm. You won’t see the delete option next to smaller app icons in the App Library. This is because those apps are stored in folders, but we’ll get to them in a second.
To move an app stored in the App Library back to the home screen, long-press on the app icon and choose “Add to Home Screen” as shown in the screenshot below.
Once you do this, you’ll be able to find and launch the app from your home screen.
To delete an app stored in a folder, you’ll need to open the respective folder by tapping on the small app icons in the App Library. Next, long-press anywhere within the folder to enter jiggle or edit mode. Then, tap on the “X” icon to access the delete option. To move apps back to the home screen, you’ll need to manually drag and drop them on the home screen.
Now you’ve learned how to delete apps from the App Library or move them back to the home screen.
Although App Library serves as a quick and convenient way to keep your apps organized and properly sorted, it doesn’t do a great job if you want to open certain apps as fast as possible. For that, you’ll need to rely on Spotlight search.
If you haven’t set up App Library properly on your iPhone, you may want to learn how you can set your device to automatically move installed apps directly to the Recently Added section of your App Library. It’s something that’s not enabled by default.
Updated your iPhone to iOS 14 just recently? In that case, you may be interested in adding widgets to your home screen and give it a completely different look. Or, if you’re a multitasker, a feature like the new Picture in Picture video mode could come in handy quite often.
We hope you were able to get the most out of the App Library feature that iOS 14 has to offer. Have you been enjoying the new changes in iOS 14? What’s your favorite feature so far? Do share your valuable opinions and experiences in the comments section down below.
The next version of Apple’s mobile platform – iOS 15 is bringing a ton of features to FaceTime, Photos, and Safari but to make it easier to search for stuff, the Cupertino company is also making Spotlight search feature more functional than ever. With the new and improved Spotlight features like new search cards, wider image searches (animals, people, places, and more), recent conversations, appointments, shared photos, files, and more.
Among the new additions to ‘Spotlight’ search is the ability to move apps directly from Spotlight to your Home Screen, thus negating the need to go to the App Library to do the same. In this post, we’ll help you learn how you can move apps from Spotlight to your iPhone Home Screen with minimal effort.
- How to Move Apps from Spotlight to Home Screen on iOS 15
- On iPhones without the home button (iPhone X and newer models)
- On iPhones with Home Button (iPhone 8 and earlier models)
How to Move Apps from Spotlight to Home Screen on iOS 15
Moving an app from Spotlight to your Home Screen on iOS is pretty easy but the steps may differ depending on the iPhone you own.
On iPhones without the home button (iPhone X and newer models)
Before you move your desired apps to the Home Screen, open Spotlight on your iPhone by swiping downwards on your Home Screen. When Spotlight opens you will be able to see a bunch of apps labeled under ‘Siri Suggestions’.
If your desired app isn’t listed here, tap on the Search bar at the top and start typing the name of the app you wish to move to your Home Screen.
When you find your desired app, tap and hold on its icon and drag it towards an empty space.
The Spotlight screen will disappear in a moment and when it does, drop the app’s icon anywhere you wish on your iOS Home Screen. Before you place the app on the Home Screen, it will be marked by a green ‘+’ icon at the top right corner.
When you drop an onto the iOS Home Screen, the ‘+’ mark should disappear. Tap anywhere on your Home Screen to confirm your changes.
On iPhones with Home Button (iPhone 8 and earlier models)
The means to drag apps from Spotlight to Home Screen differs slightly between different iPhone models. We noticed that the aforementioned steps work only if you have an iPhone X or a newer device. The same steps won’t work if you own an iPhone with a Home Button like the iPhone SE (2020), iPhone 8, and older models.
But don’t worry, the steps aren’t drastically different.
On these iPhones, you can access the Spotlight the same way as you would on any other iPhone which is by swiping downwards on your Home Screen.
Once you do that, find/search for an app that you want to move to your main screen.
When you find your desired app, tap and hold on its icon and drag it to some other part of your screen.
Unlike on the newer iPhones, Spotlight doesn’t disappear when you drag around an app’s icon. To make it disappear and get to the Home Screen, you actually have to use your other hand to press the Home button on your iPhone.
When you do that, the app icon will now be draggable to any portion of your iPhone’s Home Screen. Drag and place the app’s icon to your desired position and then tap an empty space on the screen to confirm the changes.
That’s it. You have successfully moved an app from Spotlight to your iOS Home Screen.
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Move app icons, create and add folders to your Home screen, and sort apps into new folders.
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If you enjoy downloading and trying new apps, the Home screen on your iPhone or iPad will quickly fill up with little app icons. At a certain point, you may want to organize those apps into folders, which you can label. I’ll go over everything you need to know about organizing your home screen on the iPhone or iPad, including how to move app icons, how to create and add folders to your Home screen, and how to put those apps into the new folders. Creating a folder is fairly easy once you get the hang of it, and you can create new folders on iPhone for all the different categories of apps you might have. On my Home screen, I have a folder dedicated to Apple apps, games, productivity, social media, and more.
Why Make App Folders on Your iPhone?
Folders are the best way to organize your apps when they start to get out of hand. I recommend looking at the apps you already have and seeing if any categories stick out to you. Do you have a few fitness and health apps? What about recipe apps? It will vary from person to person, but in general, creating new folders for your apps is a smart way to make the various app icons look clean and organized. Once you know how to make folders on your iPhone, you may just end up wanting to put all your apps in folders (like I did).
How to Move App Icons on the iPhone
When you want to move an app icon on your iPhone Home screen:
- Press and hold a blank part of your Home screen until it enters jiggle mode.
- Next put your finger on the app icon you want to move and drag it to where you want to move it.
Pro-tip: the Dock on your Home screen is located at the very bottom. Those four apps are the only apps that stay in the same place as you scroll through your Home screens, so it makes sense that you would put your most used apps there or the apps you need to quickly access.
How to Change Which Apps Are in Your iPhone Dock
- Once your apps are in jiggle mode, drag app icons out of your Dock to create space.
- Then drag other apps into your Dock.
How to Make App Folders on an iPhone
Now that you’re comfortable with how to move app icons, let’s create a new folder:
- Hold your finger on a blank part of your Home screen until it enters jiggle mode.
- Drag one app directly into another app. When they overlap, the apps will merge into a folder.
How to Use App Folders on Your iPhone
- A folder on your iPhone can have multiple pages for apps, which means you can easily store a lot apps in a single folder, while also having multiple folders.
- To open a folder on the iPhone, simply tap on the folder.
- At the top of the folder will be its label. Long press on the folder until it enters jiggle mode to edit the name of your folder.
Swipe left or right to move between pages within the folder.
By organizing your apps into folders you’ll drastically increase the number of apps you can fit on your iPhone’s Home screens.
The App Library organizes the apps on your Apple device so you know where and how to find them.
Keeping track of all the apps on your iPhone or iPad can be a challenge, but the App Library has made it easier. This feature allows your device to intelligently organizes apps into folders based on categories such as suggested apps, recently added apps, social, entertainment, shopping, music, games, and more.
You can open the App Library with a simple swipe, then open a specific app from its folder, perform a search for the right app, or browse all your apps in alphabetical order. Apps can be moved from the App Library to the home screen, or deleted entirely, but apps in the library cannot be moved from one folder to another. If you feel an app has been categorized in the wrong folder, there’s nothing you can do.
Overall, the App Library is a helpful tool for managing your apps and finding the ones you need. It’s especially useful if you haven’t already manually organized your apps into different folders. Here’s how the feature works.
Update Your iPhone or iPad
To use the App Library, you will need to update your iPhone to iOS 14 or higher and iPad to iPadOS 15 or higher, if you haven’t already done so. On either device, go to Settings > General > Software Update. Your device will indicate that your software is up to date or it will prompt you to download and install the latest update.
Open the App Library
After you’ve updated your device, open to the home screen and swipe to the left until you bump into the App Library screen. Here, you’ll see various folders with your apps neatly organized and tucked into each one based on the most fitting category.
Some of the apps have large icons, while others sport smaller icons in groups of four. You can open an app that has a large icon by just tapping it. For apps with small icons, tap anywhere in the quadrant of four small icons to bring up a screen displaying all of the apps in that category. From there, just tap the app icon.
Search for Apps
If you’re having trouble finding a specific app, you can browse or search for it. Swipe down on the App Library screen to view an alphabetical list of all the apps installed on the device. To find a specific app faster, tap a letter on the right-hand side to see all apps starting with that letter.
Alternatively, start typing the name of the app you want in the App Library search field at the top to see the corresponding apps. Tap the app icon to launch the app.
Add Apps to Home Screen
You can add an app from the App Library to your home screen if it’s not already there. Long-press on the icon to open the command menu, then tap Add to Home Screen. The app’s icon appears on the next free spot on your home screen but also remains in the App Library.
Another method of moving apps is to hold down on an app until all the icons start jiggling. The home screen will then appear, allowing you to place the icon into the correct position. You can also hold down on an icon from the home screen and select the Edit Home Screen command from the menu to make all the apps jiggle.
Remove or Delete Apps
To remove an app from the home screen, press down on the icon and tap Remove App from the pop-up menu. You are then asked if you want to delete the app or move it to the App Library. Tap Remove App, then choose Remove from Home Screen.
You can delete any app in the library by pressing down on its icon. Tap the Delete App command to delete it and then confirm the deletion. Note that this doesn’t just remove the app from the App Library; it uninstalls the app entirely, so be careful with this option.
Set Where Apps Are Downloaded
If you want to control where new apps are installed, head to Settings > Home Screen (or Home Screen & Dock on an iPad). Under the Newly Downloaded Apps section, choose Add to Home Screen to add new apps to both the Home Screen and the App Library. Tap App Library Only to add new apps to the App Library but not your Home Screen.
Under the Notification Badges section, you can enable Show in App Library to change the notifications you see while in the App Library.
The iPhone 5’s navigation system includes a series of Home screens containing, at most, 20 icons per screen. Whether these icons are for folders containing multiple apps or for individual apps, it’s likely that you will eventually have multiple screens through which you need to navigate. This can make it difficult to locate specific apps that you use a lot. Fortunately there is also a dock that remains stationary at the bottom of the screen which can contain four apps. But if there is an app in that dock that you don’t use a lot, you might want to remove it. You can read our tutorial below to learn how to remove an app from the dock at the bottom of your iPhone screen.
Removing an App from the iPhone Dock
Note that this tutorial focuses specifically on moving an app from the iPhone’s dock. Once an app has been removed, you can elect to drag a different app into the dock to replace it using the same technique outlined below.
Step 1: Unlock your iPhone to display a home screen.
Step 2: Touch and hold your finger on one of the app icons at the bottom of the screen until they start to shake and a small x appears at the top-left corner of some of the apps.
Step 3: Drag the app icon out of the dock at the bottom of the screen to a spot on the home screen.
Step 4: Press the Home button (the physical, rounded square button under your screen) to exit this mode and lock in your new app layout.
Have you been looking for a cheap iTunes alternative to rent or purchase movies or TV show episodes? Amazon Instant is typically less expensive, plus they are constantly having sales. Additionally, you can use the free Amazon Instant app to view your videos on your iPhone.
Matthew Burleigh has been writing tech tutorials since 2008. His writing has appeared on dozens of different websites and been read over 50 million times.
After receiving his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Computer Science he spent several years working in IT management for small businesses. However, he now works full time writing content online and creating websites.
His main writing topics include iPhones, Microsoft Office, Google Apps, Android, and Photoshop, but he has also written about many other tech topics as well.
Those who have purchased the Apple iPhone 8 or iPhone 8 Plus may be wondering how to move app icons and widgets on the Home screen to make the phone more organized and useable.
After all, it only makes sense to make sure the apps and widgets you use the most are the ones that are the most readily available to you and that clutter on your smartphone doesn’t detract from your smartphone’s usefulness.
It might be confusing to some that they can’t move apps around like normal, by tapping and holding on the app, but it does work.
First of all, there are several ways to move app icons around on the Today screen and organize different widgets.
For those who don’t know how to move icons around on iPhone 8 and iPhone 8+, we’ll explain how to move both widgets and app icons around in this article, helping you keep your iPhone optimally useable by you.
How to Add and Adjust Home Screen Widgets On iPhone 8 or iPhone 8+
- Unlock your iPhone 8 or iPhone 8 Plus.
- Go to your Home screen.
- Go to the Today screen by swiping right from either the Home screen or the lock screen.
- Scroll down to the bottom then select Edit.
- Add and remove widgets from this screen, or you can drag and move them around.
Additionally, you can also opt to edit the widgets by going to the settings of their corresponding app. You can learn more about using widgets in this TechJunkie how-to article explaining how to change widgets on the iPhone 8 and the iPhone X.
How to Rearrange Icons On an iPhone 8 or an iPhone 8 Plus
- Switch on your iPhone 8 or iPhone 8 Plus.
- From the Home screen, search for the app icon or icons that you want to rearrange or move.
- Press and then holding the relevant app’s icon.
- While still pressing on it, drag it to where you want it to be.
- Release the app icon when at the new location where you want the app to be located.
The above quick steps can also add apps to the Home screen from the App Drawer and should allow you to move and adjust different icons on the iPhone 8 and the iPhone 8 Plus as needed.
If you drop apps on top of each other they start to form into folders which are a great way to organize apps that have something in common. For example, you might put all your work-related apps in one folder and all your social media apps in another folder.
Do you have any suggestions on the most efficient way to re-arrange widgets and app icons on your iPhone? If so, please don’t hesitate to tell us about it in the comments below!
If you have more than a screenful of apps on your iPhone, you should arrange them to have the ones you use most on your home screen. That way you don’t have to swipe through your screens to find your favorite apps. If you take the time to organize your apps, then your most-used apps can be ready to go when you unlock your iPhone.
But getting those apps onto your home screen can be frustrating. Organizing your apps can be difficult and take more time than you want to spend. You may give up and just accept that you’ll have to scroll through screens to find your favorite apps.
What Could Go Wrong?
There are many ways to go wrong when you try to move the apps on your iPhone. Sometimes when you try to move an app from one screen to another, you end up layering it on top of another app creating an unwanted folder.
Or you may need to move an app over many screens to get it to the home screen, potentially rearranging apps on each screen as you go.
Or you may slide an app to the edge of a screen but it doesn’t move to another screen. Or it moves too many screens.
In other words, by trying to organize your apps you may instead make your phone less organized and make it harder to find the apps you’re looking for.
The Easiest Way to Move an App on Your iPhone or iPad
The good news is that there’s a handy trick to make moving apps between screens and within folders much easier, saving you time and frustration. After you learn this trick, rearranging the apps on your iPhone will take less time, and organizing your apps will be easier.
How to Move Apps on Your iPhone
To move an app on your iPhone, press and hold the app icon. You may see a pop-up screen, depending on what model iPhone you have, or the apps may just wiggle.
If a pop-up screen appears, tap Edit Home Screen.
Press and hold the wiggling icon of the app you want to move.
Drag the app to where you want it to be on that screen. But if you want to move the app to a different screen, use the handy trick that’s described below.
The Handy Trick that Makes Moving Apps Much Easier
Here’s the trick that makes moving apps between screens much easier:
To move an app across different screens, press and hold the wiggling app icon with one finger, and swipe the screen with a different finger. While still pressing the app icon with one finger, keep swiping with the other finger until you’ve arrived at the screen where you want the app to be.
Then lift your finger from the app icon to place it there. You can repeat this process until you’ve rearranged all of the apps you’d like to move to different screens.
To finish the process, either swipe up from the bottom of the screen or press the Home button, depending on what model iPhone you have. In just a short time you can move your favorite apps to your home screen and move less-used apps off of your home screen.
Tip => Place your iPhone on a surface such as a tabletop so you can press and hold the app with the finger of one hand while swiping using a finger on the other hand.
Moving an App within a Folder
This trick of using two fingers works both with moving an app between screens and moving an app within a folder. If you have a folder that has more than one page of apps, you may want to rearrange apps within the folder so your favorite apps appear on the first page of the folder.
You can use this two-finger trick to move an app between pages of a folder. Move a wiggling app icon by pressing it with your finger, while using a different finger to swipe between the pages of an app folder.
How to Find an App on Your Phone
Sometimes, in spite of our best intentions, we can make mistakes when moving apps. Maybe we get interrupted, drop our phone, or lift our finger accidentally when trying to move an app between screens. The next thing you know, you’ve moved the app but can’t find where it landed.
If you can’t find an app on your phone, swipe down from the home screen to reveal the search bar. Type in the name of the app. Your search results will include the apps you have on your phone that match the name of the app you’re searching for.
If the app is in a folder, the name of the folder will show in the search results.
Tap the app icon in the search results to open the app.
You can also ask Siri to open the app. Say, “Hey, Siri. Open Camera” for example.
Your Thoughts
Do you keep your favorite apps on your Home Page on your iPhone? Have you ever been frustrated in trying to move apps between screens on your iPhone? Did you know about this handy trick to move apps between screens more easily? Have you ever had difficulty finding an app on your iPhone?
Share your thoughts in the Comments section below!
When you first set up your iPhone there are going to be some default icons on the primary Home screen. But not all of the default apps fit on that screen, so the remaining icons are placed on a secondary Home screen that you access by swiping to the left on the first Home screen.
Some of the apps that you need the most can be tough to find on your iPhone.
Whether it’s a default app that isn’t located on the primary Home screen or a third-party app that you just installed from the App Store, it’s likely that you will want to rearrange the current layout of your icons.
An important icon that you might want to move is the Contacts icon. This quickly opens the contact list that you have saved to your iPhone, allowing you to find contacts so that you can call them, send them a text message, initiate a FaceTime call, and more.
You can move the Contacts icon to the Home screen on your iPhone by navigating to the second Home screen, opening the Extras folder, tapping and holding on the Contacts icon, choosing Edit Home Screen, then dragging the icon to the desired location and tapping the Done button.
We have previously written about where you can find the Contacts icon on your iPhone 5 in iOS 7, but that location is actually more difficult to access than navigating to your Contacts through the Phone app.
Fortunately, the app icons on the iPhone can be moved around to suit your own preferences, which allows you to move the Contacts icon to a location that is more convenient for you. So if you would like to have a Contacts icon directly on your Home screen, you can follow the steps below to learn how.
After updating to iOS 14 you may have noticed that iPhone app icons for newly downloaded apps are missing from home screen. Many users are seen complaining that app is downloaded but no icon appears on their iPhone’s home screen.
What many users don’t realize is that the issue of iPhone apps missing from home screen after installation is caused due to iOS 14’s new App Library feature. And in fact it is a feature and not a bug.
By default iOS puts a newly downloaded app’s icon in App Library. Users can open this new app by using Spotlight search, App Library’s Recently Added section or through App List feature of App Library.
However this is annoying for some users who want a newly downloaded app’s icon on their device’s home screen. If you are one of those users, then we are here to help.
Fix iPhone Apps Missing From Home Screen After Download Issue
Thankfully you can solve iPhone apps missing from home screen after download issue by following a few simple steps.
- Open Settings and go to Home Screen option.
- On the Home Screen page choose ‘Add to Home Screen‘ option.
That’s it, now newly downloaded apps will appear right on the home screen as they did before.
How To Hide A Newly Downloaded App’s Icon
You can still hide any newly downloaded or existing app’s icon from the home screen. To do so simply follow these steps.
- Find the icon you want to hide on the home screen.
- Long press on its icon to access the home screen icon menu.
- Tap on ‘Remove App’ option.
- From the popup tap on ‘Move to App Library’ option.
How To Find An App That Was Previously Downloaded And Add Its Icon To Home Screen
Are you unable to find app icon for the app that you had previously downloaded? Simply follow these instructions to find the previously downloaded app’s icon and add it to the home screen. With this guide you can get an app back on your iPhone home screen.
- Access the App Library page by going to the last page of your iPhone’s home screen.
- When on the App Library page swipe down to access the App List page.
- Scroll through the list to find the app you are looking for.
- Long press on app’s icon (located on left side) to access the icon menu.
- From the list tap on Add to Home Screen option.
There you have it. This is how you can solve the iPod touch and iPhone apps missing from home screen after download on devices running iOS 14.
In this guide you also learnt how to hide app icons from the home screen and how to add icons of apps you had previously downloaded to the home screen.
If you have any questions regarding this tutorial, then let us know in the comments below.
Though iOS is a stable enough operating system, it still contains various potential issues. Have you ever encountered a situation that one day you unlock your iPhone and found all your apps disappeared on your phone? Usually, this issue occurs after an iOS system update. Sometimes a single app is lost, and sometimes the whole page. If by any chance you are troubled by this problem, I think this passage can offer you the best solutions to fix this issue. All the methods are easy-to-use and workable.
Part 1. Why my apps disappeared from iPhone?
Before the detailed tutorial, I think understanding why my apps disappeared from iPhone happens is necessary. However, it is still no precise or official explanation for this problem. This issue looks like that iOS system clean up the outdated apps automatically. There are two different situations: apps disappeared but are still installed on your iPhone, or your apps were uninstalled without your permission. The latter one can be due to the iOS new feature – Offload Unused Apps. Read on the post, and I will list out the responding methods to troubleshoot this issue.
Part 2. Top 6 methods to fix apps disappeared on iPhone
Method 1. Find your apps in Apps Library
If your iPhone is now running in iOS 14 or later version, you can see find the app from Apps Library. Apps Library is a feature that will sort the apps on your iPhone automatically. If you have found that the app was lost on your iPhone but still installed, try finding it in Apps Library. If you don’t know how to, just follow the following steps.
Step 1: Go back to your home page and swipe left until you see the Apps Library.
Step 2: Find your app in the corresponding folder. If you can’t find it, the search bar on the top will help you.
Step 3: When you find the app, keep holding until a dropdown appears. Click on the Add to Home Screen.
Method 2. Reboot your iPhone
If you face the app disappeared from iPhone but still installed, restart your iPhone is not a bad choice. Reboot your iPhone means to force refresh your iPhone, which can help you get the icon of your lost app back.
If you are attempting to use this method, follow the corresponding way to restart your iPhone.
iPhone 6s or earlier: Keep holding the Power button and Home button simultaneously. When the Apple logo appears, release the two buttons.
iPhone 7: Keep holding the Volume Down button and the Power button simultaneously. When the Apple logo showing up, release the two buttons quickly.
iPhone 8 or later: Hold and release the Volume Up button quickly, and then hold and quickly release the Volume Down button, then press and hold the Side button until the Apple logo shows up.
Method 3. Disabled Offload Unused Apps
Offload Unused Apps is a new feature that aims at releasing more storage of iPhone. If you update your iOS system version and your iPhone exactly exists unused app, you will meet the issue that apps disappeared from iPhone. Switch off this feature to stop the next offload. You can enter Settings > iTunes & App Store > Offload Unused Apps. It is worth noting that this method can’t get your lost apps back, and you should install them again via Apps Store.
Method 4. Reset all your iPhone settings
iPhone setting changed unknowingly will cause the issue that apps disappeared from iPhone home screen. Hence, reset all your iPhone settings is a workable way to fix this issue. You can reset your iPhone via Settings > General > Reset > Reset All Settings. Though this operation won’t erase all your iPhone data, you will lose your keyboard dictionary, screen layout, Wi-Fi password, and so on.
Method 5. Restore your iPhone from iTunes
If you had ever backup your iPhone via iTunes, you can try to use this method to fix the problem that my apps disappeared from iPhone. As an Apple official tool, iTunes can always help us in many different situations. Connect your iPhone to iTunes, wait until iTunes detects your iPhone. Then, click the tiny iPhone icon, select Summary and click the Restore Backup. Your lost apps will be back once the restore process is done. But remember, your iPhone will lose the data that you aren’t backup.
Method 6. Fix apps disappeared from iPhone using TunesKit iOS System Recovery
When the above four methods are not working, you should consider whether if your iPhone faces some software issues. I think TunesKit iOS System Recovery can meet your need in fixing this problem. It is a dedicated iOS fixing tool that can help you deal with the common iOS issues like iPhone stuck on update requested, iPhone X stuck in Recovery mode, or iPhone could not be restored the device cannot be found.
The iPadOS 15 brings several interesting features to customize the iPad’s home screen. You can add widgets, use App Library, hide pages, and do much more. Whether you are trying to make your iPad’s home screen look better or be productive, this tutorial will help you in customizing the iPadOS 15 home screen. You will enjoy the tips and tricks mentioned here. Let’s get started.
Tips to Set up and Customize Home Screen on iPad
1. Add Widgets to Home Screen
One of the major features that was introduced in iPadOS 15 is the ability to add widgets to iPad’s home screen. Long press anywhere on the iPad’s home screen to enter the editing mode. When the icons start to shake, tap on the add (+) icon at the top. You will be taken to the widget gallery. Find that widget that you want to add. Tap on the Add widget button to add it to home screen. Alternatively, drag the widget to the home screen.
On the home screen, you can reposition the widget and create widget stacks. We have covered widgets separately in another post. Check out how to use widgets on iPadOS 15.
2. Access App Library
Another feature that made to iPadOS 15 is App Library. If you are an iPhone user, you must have seen it on phones running iOS 14+. The App Library houses all the installed apps on your iPad. It’s like the App Drawer of Android. The apps are automatically grouped in various folders depending on their type. Some folders present in App Library are Social, Creativity, Entertainment, Productivity, and more. Unfortunately, at the time of writing, you cannot customize App Library as per your preference.
The App Library can be accessed in two ways on iPad. The first method is similar to what is present on iPhone. That is, go to iPad’s last home screen page and swipe left on it to open App Library.
Alternatively, you can access App Library on iPad from Dock too. Tap on the first icon from the right side to go to App Library.
3. Turn off App Library in Dock
In case you aren’t in favor of the App Library icon taking up space in the Dock, you can remove it from there. For that, go to Settings > Home Screen. Turn off the toggle next to the Show app library in Dock.
4. Use App Library Folders
Each folder in App Library shows four icons. Three most-used apps from that folder appear first followed by a mini folder (looks like four app icons) that is home to other apps in that folder. Tap on the four-app icon to reveal other apps.
In addition to automatically generated folders, you’ll find Suggestions and Recently Added folders in App Library. The Suggestions folder will show different apps at different time based on your usage habits. As the name suggests, the Recently added folder holds newly installed apps on iPad.
5. Enable Notification Badges in App Library
By default, notification badges will only appear for apps available on the iPad’s home screen and not in App Library. However, you can enable notification badges for App Library by going to Settings > Home Screen. Enable the toggle next to Show in App library under Notification badges.
6. View Apps in Alphabetical Order
You can view all the installed apps on your iPad in alphabetical order using App Library. First, go to App Library. Then either tap on the Search bar or swipe down to reveal the alphabetical list of the installed apps. You can also use the search bar to find your apps.
7. Add New Apps to App Library Only
With iPadOS 15, you can choose whether the new apps go to App Library alone or both home screen and App Library. To modify the setting, open Settings > Home Screen. Tap on App Library only under Newly downloaded apps if you want to add the new apps to App Library only. With this option selected, you will have to manually add apps on the home screen as shown next.
8. Add Apps to Home Screen From App Library
To move an app from App Library to home screen, long-press its app icon in App Library. Select Add to Home screen from the options. The app icon will be added to your iPad’s home screen. If the app icon is already added to home screen, you will not see the Add to Home screen option.
There’s another way to add apps to Home screen from App Library. For that, hold the app icon in App Library and drag it upwards. When the home screen opens, lift your finger up to put the icon on home screen. Using second method, you can add multiple icons of the same app on your home screen.
Tip: You will also be able to share apps with others by using the Share app option.
9. Hide Apps From Home Screen
Are you wondering how to remove already installed apps from home screen and keep them in App Library alone? For that, long press the app icon on home screen until a menu appears. Tap on Remove app followed by Remove from home screen.
Alternatively, touch and hold anywhere on home screen until icons start to shake. Then tap on the (-) icon on the app icon. Choose Remove from home screen.
10. Hide and Move Home Screen Pages
Instead of removing the apps individually to delete a page, you can hide the entire home screen page on your iPad. This is a great feature to customize the iPadOS 15 home screen.
For that, long press anywhere on the Home screen. When the icons start to jiggle, tap on pages icon at the bottom. You will see all the available home screen pages on your iPad. Uncheck the box available under a page to hide it from your iPad’s home screen. Tap on Done at the top to save changes. Similarly, you can unhide pages anytime by checking the box under them.
11. Delete or Uninstall Apps
To uninstall an app from your iPad, long press the app’s icon on home screen. Select Remove app followed by Delete app.
If the app isn’t available on home screen, you can delete it from App Library as well. Long press the app’s icon in App Library. Select Delete app from the menu.
12. Delete Multiple Apps Quickly
The above method can get a bit tedious if you have to delete multiple apps from your iPad. Fortunately, an alternative exists. Long press on the home screen to enter the editing mode. When icons start to jiggle, open App Library. Alternatively, you can also long-press on the empty area at the bottom of the App Library to enter the editing mode directly in App Library.
The app icons in App Library will have an X icon on them. Tap on the X icon one by one to uninstall apps from your iPad. This method will save time as compared to the previous one.
How Did You Customized iPadOS 15 Home Screen
Those were several ways to set up and customize the home screen on your iPadOS 15. At any point, if you want to reset your home screen to place stock app icons back to their position, go to Settings > General > Reset > Reset home screen layout. Currently, you cannot hide or move apps between folders in App Library. We hope Apple adds the ability to customize App Library in future builds of iPadOS. Meanwhile, check out how to use Quick Notes on iPadOS 15.
Mehvish
Mehvish is a technology enthusiast from Kashmir. A computer engineer by degree, she’s always been keen to help when someone finds technology challenging. Her favorite verticals include how-to guides, explainers, tips and tricks for Android, iOS/iPadOS, Windows, social media, and web apps.
