Icons Disappeared? Top 3 Ways to Restore Deleted Icons on Android

Basil Rathbone

• Filed to: Backup Android • Proven solutions

Android app icon missing！How do I get my app icons back?

For many reasons, the installed app icons might be deleted or disappear from Android home screen. If you have the app backup before, there is no need to worry, because you can use them to reinstall deleted apps or get your needed icons back on Android. If you don't have a backup, you may ask How to restore deleted icons on Android without installing them again? Obviously, it would become difficult if you don't have an app backup, but it doesn't mean there is no way to achieve it.

In this article, you'll learn 3 different ways to get deleted icons back to the Home screen or App launcher screen. Now, just go to the section or method you're interested in as follows: All methods below can be used to restore missing icons on Android.

Part 1: Apps Disappeared from Home Screen, How to Fix It?

The best place to start is the app drawer if the app icons are missing on your home screen. The icons in the middle bottom of your home screen expose all the applications installed when you click on them. It's a six square-shaped icon that brings up all the applications for review and access.

The ways to put an application on the home screen are:

1. Locate the application you want to create a shortcut icon.

Press and hold the icon, and it would show your home screen where you can place it for quick access. You can swipe left or right to place it on other home screen pages to create a shortcut icon. This would be the best way to get the lost icons back without looking for any other troubleshooting tips.

2. One of the most common ways you can do is restart the device and try if it restores back the lost icons.

3. The other reason for disappearing icons could be the settings in applications.

You can check-in "Settings > Applications > App info" and look for if the app is disabled. You can refresh it, and that way, it would bring the app to its default mode and the icons would appear again.

Part 2: App Icons Disappeared from App Launcher?

Android users have been using various kinds of launchers for a better interface. There are many launchers available in the market apart from Google launchers. But in some cases, you have lost the basic application icons. A few simple steps would help you get back the lost icons on your launcher home screen.

Step 1 our launcher may have an option to hide the applications installed and that's why you cannot get the icons on the home screen. In such cases, you can bring up the app launcher and click on Menu, and from there, you can unhide the applications. These options could vary according to the launcher you have installed.

Step 2 The easiest way to get the lost icon is to open the app drawer, hold and press the application icon and place it on the home screen wherever you need it. The pop-up would always create a new menu on the home screen when you place the shortcut icons of your importance. You can drag the icons exactly where you need them.

Step 3 If the launcher is creating some kind of issue, then it might be a good idea to go for a new launcher. There are ample options you can choose from on Google Play Store, all the launchers available there come with the best features. You can choose the best that fits your requirement. Get a good launcher of your choice and install it to get a customized home screen. You would get a different home screen other than the default one.

Step 4 You can also look in the launcher menu. If you have hidden some apps, then you can access the settings and enable or unhide those apps. This might be a reason behind the lost icons. You can check this out before proceeding ahead for something else. You would be able to access the applications again by applying this part. It might say Stop/Disable or Enable/ Start accordingly. You can choose and tap on the option you want to apply.

Step 5 In a few cases, if you have permanently deleted the applications and there is no shortcut icon on the home screen. You can check for a backup at the play store for your most popular applications. It might give you an option like Open or Update, depending on the scenario. This way you can reinstall the applications from the store with a few other apps available in stock.

If anything doesn't work and you have lost the basic applications like camera, messaging, etc. then the factory reset is the option you can choose. However, before considering this option, it is advised that you follow the above steps. Possibly these steps would bring your lost icons for sure.

Part 3: How to Restore Deleted Icons from Backups?

Just like we mentioned at the beginning, if you have an app backup in advance, then you can easily find out how to restore deleted icons on Android from these backups. So, you'd better find a professional tool to help you back up Android apps and restore them whenever you need them. Here, we could like to strongly recommend dr.fone - Phone Backup (Android) for your reference.

dr.fone - Phone Backup (Android)

Best way to get back your deleted icons on Android

• Back up all types of data on your device including music, photos, videos, apps, messages, call logs, contacts, SMSs and more.
• Restore the backup you have created. You can also restore data from an iCloud backup file or an iTunes backup file.
• You can use it to selectively backup data on your device. This means that you can choose to back up one of the videos on your device instead of backing up all of them.
• Restore iTunes/iCloud backup to Android selectively.
• You can restore iTunes backup to Android and iCloud backup to Android.

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With it, you can easily backup Android apps or other types of data to the computer within a few clicks and restore your needed app icons or app data to Android without data loss. Now, let's check the detailed steps below:

Step 1: Download, install, and launch the program; it starts with the main window that has many options for your Android device. You need to choose Phone Backup and proceed further.

Step 2: Connect the Android device to the computer with a USB cable and click on OK to proceed ahead. It would ask you to permit USB debugging. If you have not enabled USB debugging, then you may enable it, and the program would detect your device automatically. Now, click on Backup to take the data on the go.

Step 3: In case you have initiated data backup earlier, then the option View backup history would take you the earlier backup history already done. You can access the old files by clicking on them.

Step 4: Choose a backup file and click the 'View' button to check the detailed contents. Here, you can directly view the apps category and tick the apps that you wish to restore. Then hit the 'Restore' button ToS ave them on your Android device.

Final Thought

There are 3 ways to restore missing icons on Android, which one are you ready to try first? I hope all of you will find out the missing icons on Android after following the above solutions.

And in order to avoid this trouble happening again, you're strongly recommended to backup apps from Android to computer with dr.fone - Backup & Restore, so that you can easily restore your data to Android as you like. What's more, you'll never worry about other types of data loss issues on your device after owning this powerful software on your computer.