How to Get an App Back on the Home Screen of Your iPhone (2023)

* This post is part of iPhone Life's Tip of the Day newsletter. Sign Up. *

If apps have disappeared from your Home Screen on an iPhone or iPad, you should check your App Library and look for hidden Home Screens. If you accidentally deleted the app, we'll show you how to restore deleted apps on an iPhone Home Screen. Whatever the reason you can't find an app, we'll show you how to add an app back to your Home Screen!

Jump To:

• How to Get Apps Back on the Home Screen Using the App Library
• Reveal Hidden Home Screens (If ALL Apps Disappeared from a Home Screen)
• How to Add an App to Your Home Screen by Redownloading
• Frequently Asked Questions

How to Add an App Back to the Home Screen of Your iPhone & iPad

If an app is missing from your Home Screen, there are a few different things that may have happened. Your hidden app might be there, but just lost in the crowd or hidden in a folder. You might have hidden a Home Screen, and be missing all the apps on that screen. Finally, you may have accidentally deleted the app that's not appearing on your Home Screen, in which case we'll show you how to redownload an app. For more great tutorials on how to restore apps, photos, and missing data to your iPhone, check out our free Tip of the Day. 

How to Get Apps Back on the Home Screen Using the App Library

If an app disappeared from the Home Screen on your iPhone or iPad, the first place you should look is the App Library. Every app on your iPhone can be found in the App Library, even if you’ve removed them from your Home Screen. Here’s how to put apps back on the Home Screen of an iPhone using the App Library:

1. First, find your App Library by swiping left until you've gone one screen past your last Home Screen page. Your App Library is made up of groupings or folders of apps that auto-sort.
   
   
2. If you don't immediately notice your missing app in the App Library, the fastest way to find it is to search for it. If you do see it, skip to step 4. Tap the Search bar that says App Library with a magnifying glass to search.
   
   
3. Type the name of the app.
   
   
4. You should see the app icon appear in the results list. Press and hold the app icon until a menu appears and tap on Add to Home Screen.
   
   
5. If you don't see the option to Add to Home Screen, it likely means the app is buried in a Home Screen folder or on a hidden Home page. In this case, you can press and drag the app icon back onto your Home Screen. 
   
   

If you searched but can’t find the app in the App Library, it means the app isn’t on your iPhone and you’ll need to restore the deleted app on your iPhone Home Screen using the App Store.

Return to top

Reveal Hidden Home Screens (If ALL Apps Disappeared from a Home Screen)

One time all my apps disappeared from my Home Screen, and it turned out that I had accidentally hidden the entire Home Screen! If several apps disappeared from your iPhone but are still installed, it might not be the apps that are disappearing, but the Home Screen itself! Apple has made it possible to hide multiple apps at once by hiding entire Home Screen pages. Here's how to get apps back on your iPhone Home Screen by checking to see if you have hidden iPad or iPhone Home Screen pages:

1. Long press the background of your Home Screen until the icons jiggle.
2. Tap the horizontal row of dots at the bottom of the screen.
   
   
3. You will see all of your Home Screen pages. If a Home Screen doesn’t have a checkmark underneath, and has a minus on top, that means it is hidden. Tap the empty circle to make the Home Screen page visible.
   
   
4. Tap Done to return to your regular Home Screen view. 
   
   

Now, when you swipe between your Home Screen pages, you should see the missing Home Screen again, containing all the apps that were removed with the Home Screen. 

Return to top

How to Add an App to Your Home Screen by Redownloading

If an app icon has disappeared from your iPhone but is still installed, you can search for the app via Siri Search, or search for the app in the App Store. I recommend using the Siri Search method below, since you cannot add an existing app back to your Home Screen from the App Store if it is still installed. Also, you can hide apps from your Home Screen as well. 

How to Find an App Not Showing on an iPhone with Siri Search

If you’ve checked the App Library and any hidden Home screen pages and you still can’t find the app on your iPhone, it may be hidden in an app folder. Here’s how to find missing app icons on the iPhone and find the name of the folder where the app is.

1. If you have iOS 16, tap Search above your dock. If you have an earlier software version, you won't see the Search icon. In this case, swipe down from the center of the Home Screen to activate Search. 
   
   
2. Type the name of the missing app in the Search field; try to match it exactly if possible. 
   
   
3. If the app icon appears with a download icon, the app isn't on your iPhone. But if you tap it, the app will start downloading.
   
   
4. If the app is on your Home Screen but hidden in a folder, you'll see the folder name listed on the right. You can return to your Home Screen and open the folder to find the app.
   
   
5. If the app is on your device but not hidden in a folder, the app icon will appear at the top of your screen. If you want to put the app back on your Home Screen, press and drag the app to the right to place it back on your Home Screen.
   
   

Return to top

Download Deleted Apps from App Store to Add Them to Home Screen

If you've tried the methods above and your iPhone app is still not showing on your Home Screen, there's a good chance your app has been accidentally deleted. In this case, we'll use the App Store to check whether the app is installed and redownload it on your iPhone. Here’s how to find hidden apps on your iPhone using the App Store and how to get apps back on your Home Screen once you find them.

1. Open the App Store app.
   
   
2. Tap Search.
   
   
3. Tap the Search bar, then type in the name of your missing app.
   
   
4. Now, tap Search and your app will appear! 
   
   
5. If there is a download icon next to the app, tap it to download the app again. Once it has downloaded, it will appear on your Home Screen.
   
   
6. If Open appears, the app is still on your iPhone. You can tap the app to access it immediately, however, you cannot move an existing app to your Home Screen from the App Store. To do this, return to the App Library section above.
   
   

Return to top

Sometimes an app will disappear. Does this mean that there is an app missing on your iPhone? It’s possible. Whether you have a missing app on your iPhone, a hidden app on your iPhone, or have simply deleted your app, we've taught you various strategies about how to find a hidden app that disappeared from your iPhone.

Sometimes, it's the App Store that's missing on your iPhone or iPad, but we'll show you how to get the App Store back, too. If you find the App Library distasteful, you can also check out our tips on how to minimize its impact on your life.