9 Effective Solutions to Restore Missing App Icons on Samsung Galaxy Phones
Can't find some of the installed apps or games on your Samsung Galaxy phone? Don't worry, it's a common issue that can be easily fixed. Whether you accidentally hid the app, placed it inside an app folder, or disabled it, there are several troubleshooting tips you can try to restore the missing app icons on your Samsung Galaxy phone.
Restart Your Phone
One of the simplest and most effective ways to fix temporary issues is by restarting your phone. This can often restore missing app icons and save you a lot of time. Just press and hold the Power button to open the power menu, then tap Restart. After your phone reboots, check the app drawer to see if the icons have returned.
Check App Folders
If you're using One UI, you can create app folders to better organize your apps and games. However, if your missing app is inside one of these folders, you won't find it in the app drawer icon in Samsung. Go through all the app folders on your phone and look for the missing app. If you find it, you can drag it out of the folder if desired.
Check Hidden Apps
One UI, like most Android skins, allows you to hide apps from the app drawer. If you've previously hidden apps on your Samsung phone, you can unhide it by long-pressing anywhere on the home screen, tapping the Settings icon in the bottom right corner, scrolling down, selecting “Hide apps on Home and Apps screens,” and tapping the red minus symbol next to the app icon to unhide it.
Restore Disabled Apps
If you've disabled an app, particularly a system app like Play Store, it may not appear on your Samsung phone. To re-enable the app, open the Settings menu, navigate to Apps, scroll down or use the search tool to find the app, tap on it, and then tap Enable. The app should then reappear in the app drawer.
Use Play Store to Check If an App Is Installed
If the missing app icons issue is only affecting one or two apps, make sure you haven't accidentally deleted them from your phone. If you have, you can easily find deleted apps. Open Google Play Store and search for the missing app. If you see the Install button, you may have previously removed the app. If you see the Open button, tap on it to access the app.
Disable Game Launcher
Enabling Game Launcher on your Samsung Galaxy phone automatically detects and organizes all the games installed on your device. However, this can sometimes make it seem like your downloaded games are missing. To have all your games appear in the app drawer, disable Game Launcher by going to Settings > Advanced features > Game Launcher.
Fix Issues With Custom Icon Pack or Change It
If you're using a custom icon pack on your phone, some app icons may not appear or look different. To fix this, long-press on your icon pack app, tap the info icon, go to Storage, and tap Clear cache. If clearing the cache doesn't help, try switching to your phone's default icons.
Clear Launcher App's Cache Data
Problems with your phone's default launcher app can also cause app icons to disappear. You can often fix these issues by clearing the temporary files collected by the launcher app. Open the Settings app, go to Apps, locate your launcher app, go to Storage, and tap Clear cache.
Change the Default Launcher App
If clearing the cache doesn't solve the issue, there may be a problem with the launcher app you're using. Try changing the default launcher app on your phone. Open the Settings app, go to Apps, tap Choose default apps, tap Home app, and select a different launcher from the list. You should also consider changing default apps in Samsung so that you won't fret with files opening in wrong apps.
By following these fixes, you should be able to restore the missing app icons on your Samsung Galaxy phone. Once you've done that, you can also customize the app icons on your Samsung phone and give them a fresh new look.
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