How to Move Icons on Your iPhone: Rearrange Your Apps

You probably spend plenty of time on your iPhone, but only a fraction of it on the Home screen. Regardless, you should have time to customize your phone and make it more attractive to you. Switch up the wallpaper, change the notification tone, and organize it up by arranging your app icons.

However, moving icons has been a pain for most iPhone users. iOS 13 seemed to make things worse. It takes longer for the iOS to respond when you want to move icons, but worry no more. We have a solution. Here’s how to move icons on the iPhone.

Press and Hold the Icon

Long press the app that you want to move. Hold your finger on the app for a few seconds, and it should enter edit mode. If this doesn’t work, try pressing and holding for a second, and then drag your finger across the screen to initiate edit mode.

You’ll know you’re in edit mode when the apps start jiggling and shaking on the screen. Some apps will have ‘x’ on the upper left, which means you can tap delete and erase them from your phone. From here, you can begin rearranging apps on your home screen.

press and hold apps

Drag Apps

Tap, hold, and drag and icons that you wish to move around the screen with your finger. All you have to do is drag the icons around with your finger to move them.

You can even move them from the first page of your home screen to another, simply by dragging the icon all the way to the side to move to the next screen over.

Create Folders

To make your homepage cleaner and clearer, create folders according to app purposes. Put similar types of apps in one folder, for instance, games apps in one folder and social apps in another. You can create folders without using third-party software. Follow these steps:

Once you’re in edit mode, drag one app over another to create a folder.
Rename the folder to label it for future use.
Tap outside of the folder to return to your home screen.
Drag and drop more apps into the folder as necessary.

If you would like to remove any of the apps from the folder, just enter the edit mode, tap the app in question, and drag it back out.

create app folder

Delete Apps

Deleting apps that you no longer need is one of the ways to arrange your icons. This creates space for you to move your favorite apps. You can delete an app you downloaded from the App Store or some of the built-in apps that come with the phone.

Once you’re in edit mode, click the “X” on the top left corner of the app you wish to delete. A notification will pop up to confirm that you want to delete that app; press “Delete” to confirm your decision.

If you change your mind, you can always re-download and re-install the app from the App Store.

delete iphone app

Press “Done” or the Home Button

Once you’re finished rearranging your apps, you’ll want to leave edit mode. On older iPhones that still have the button at the bottom of the screen, you can press the home button to complete and save your changes.

One newer iPhones, a “Done” button will appear at the top right corner of your screen. Tap this to complete and save your changes.

Alternative Method: Use iTunes

iTunes is famous for data backup, but did you know that it can also help rearrange apps on your iPhone home screen? Follow these steps to move app icons via iTunes:

Open iTunes on your computer and connect your iPhone.
Once your phone is connected to the computer, click the device icon in iTunes and then the “Apps” tab.
Every installed app on your smartphone will be listed under the Apps tab. The home screen of your iPhone will also appear.
Organize your apps by moving them around here, or create folders, add apps, and label them.

This method is only available for version 12.7 of iTunes and earlier. For some reason only known to Apple, the function was canceled after 12.7. All iTunes versions later than 12.7 cannot perform this task.

How to Restore Your Home Screen to a Default Layout

If you ever get bored by your home screen layout and want to go back to the default arrangement, you can do it. You might feel like the original arrangement was better. You can always reset the current arrangement and move the icons to their original position. Here are the steps:

Go to “Settings.”
Tap on “General.”
Scroll to the bottom and tap “Reset.”
Tap “Reset Home Screen Layout.”
Tap “Reset Home Screen” to confirm.

The apps will be arranged in the same order they were when the iPhone was new.

The Bottom Line

Now you have all the knowledge you need to rearrange the icons on your iPhone. You can also do the same on your iPad. Be careful not to delete your favorite app accidentally – your data may be deleted if you do. It’s always advisable to use your index finger instead of your thumb. If you have any questions, please comment below and we will be glad to help.

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