How to restore an application icon on the screen of any Android platform

Android schedulers differ from each other in features and allow you to change the appearance of the home screen, but in most cases they have one thing in common - there is an “Applications” icon on the screen that takes the user to a list of all games and programs. What if we lose this icon? How to restore it?

The app list shortcut icon behaves like other home screen shortcuts in many cases. This means that we may accidentally delete it. This can also happen if the launcher files are corrupted. Fortunately, restoring this icon is not a big problem.

The following tips are for almost any Android platform. However, you must remember that the last option (clear app data) may cause you to lose your launch settings, that is, the customization of icons and shortcuts on the home screen.

1. Look for the icon on the secondary screen

On Android we can have multiple home screens between which we can move left or right. Make sure the app menu icon isn't accidentally dragged from the bottom bar to any of your home screens.

If so, all you have to do is keep your finger on it, grab it and then move it back to the bottom panel.

2. Add the icon again using the home screen menu

The icon can be added back using the widgets or actions menu of the selected launcher. To do this, keep your finger on an empty space (except for icons or widgets) on the home screen.

A screen for adding new shortcuts will appear. Depending on our launcher, this may look different. In the case of Nova Launcher, you will find the New Actions tab, among which is the App List item.

Reasons for icons disappearing

It is quite difficult to determine why the icon of a particular application has disappeared. It all depends on a number of previous factors, the most popular of which are these:

transferring the program to a memory card;
accidental deletion of an application;
moving the utility icon to another location on the screen, or adding it to a thematic folder;
system failure;

It is almost impossible to independently determine the reason for the disappearance of the application icon, so let’s not hesitate and move on to solving the problem.

System Restore

This method is an extreme one, so if the icons disappeared and you tried to bring the shortcuts back to the desktop, but none of the methods described above helped, then you should run the system restore task. But don’t worry, this method is not as scary as the name might suggest. System Restore serves as a kind of rollback to your system. That is, by running this procedure, say, on the 19th day, all programs that you installed after this date will be deleted, and any changes related to the system will also be canceled.

Important: files, text documents or movies that are on your computer will remain unchanged. Only third-party programs will be removed.

And so, in order to start this procedure, open “My Computer” and right-click on an empty space. Then, from the provided context menu list, select the “Properties” option.

Now that a new window has opened, go to the System Protection section.

Now you are transferred to the “System Properties” menu, in which you need to remain on the “System Protection” tab and click on “Restore”.

The system recovery setup menu will then launch.

Important: you must select a restore point that was created before any problem appeared.

During recovery, your computer may restart several times - this is normal. The recovery itself takes up to 30 minutes maximum, it all depends on the hardware and how long ago the recovery point was.

How to return icons to your phone's home screen

All methods for returning missing icons will be simple for anyone, even the most inexperienced smartphone user. Read the information on each method carefully so as not to miss something important.

Method 1: Transfer the application to internal memory

Before moving on to the instructions, we note that this method is not suitable for all phones. Therefore, if your device does not support transferring programs to an SD card, proceed to the next method. And for everyone else, a detailed guide has been compiled:

Let's go to settings.
Go to the “Applications” tab.
We open the page with the program whose icon was lost.
Click on the “Storage” item, and then select “Change”.

Click on “Storage”

In the window that opens, set the “Memory card” option.

Select the “Memory card” option

At the end, we return to the desktop and check for the presence of the program icon.

Method 2: Search for an icon in the general menu

Some phones have a general menu with all installed applications. To go to it, a button in the shape of a circle with eight dots is usually used. Note that there is no such section on Xiaomi smartphones and many other devices, so don’t waste time and move on to the next method. As usual, you can read the instructions below:

Open the menu with all programs.

Open the menu with all programs

We carefully analyze each page for the presence of the missing icon. For convenience, you can use the search bar, if available.
After finding the icon, hold it and move it to the main screen.

Don't forget to make sure that the icon is pinned to your desktop.

Method 3: Search for an icon in folders

Some users create thematic folders on the main screen of their phone into which they place applications based on certain criteria. It is possible that the missing icon got there by accident. These instructions will help you check this:

Open the folder by clicking on it.
We look through the icons placed in it.
When you find a lost icon, hold it and move it to the main screen.

Looking for an icon in folders

That's it, this is where the instructions end.

Method 4: Reboot your phone

If the disappearance of the icon was caused by a system failure, then in most cases the problem is solved after rebooting the device. Hold the Power button and then select Restart from the options provided.

Click “reboot”

Wait until your smartphone turns on and make sure the icon appears.

Missing icons - an interesting way to quickly restore

You can return missing icons in another way - using launcher applications.

There are a lot of launchers developed, but most of them are made in a hurry - that’s why they are buggy.

I recommend "Hola Launcher" (no crashes were noticed during experiments). After installation, the appearance of the screen will be transformed (the built-in one will be replaced with a new one).

Moreover, if the icon disappears and is not in the list, you can create a new one. That's all. If you have any comments or solutions, drop them in the comments and we’ll fix them! Let's decide! Good luck!

Before you take drastic steps to restore your icons, try a few simple steps. Right-click on an empty space on your desktop and wait for the context menu to appear.

If you accidentally deleted an icon, then to restore it, select “Undo deletion” in the menu that appears. Another option is to go to the “Trash” and restore the necessary icons

. To do this, select what you need, call the context menu by right-clicking and select “Restore.”

If all your desktop icons, shortcuts and files have disappeared, leaving only the background image, this may be caused by a failure of the Explorer.exe process, which is responsible for displaying them. Open the “Task Manager” by simultaneously pressing the Ctrl, Alt and Delete keys. On the Applications tab, click the New Task button and enter Explorer.exe. Click OK.

If the problem appeared after you downloaded and installed some program, make a system backup (return to the state one or several days earlier). To do this, call the "Task Manager" and run a new msconfig task. Next, start the systems and specify a restore point - before installing this suspicious program. Click "Ok" and restart your computer. This method can also help if
there is nothing left
the desktop except

Usually, when icons or the Start button disappear on
the desktop
, deleting some files helps.
Bring up Task Manager and run a new regedit task. Go to Hkey_Local_Machine/Software/Microsoft/WindowsNT/CurrentVersion/Image File Execution Options and delete explorer.exe and iexplorer.exe files. Restart your computer. This should help you restore the icons
.

If you just have one or two icons missing from your desktop, then most likely the reason is not the way your computer works. Perhaps someone changed the desktop settings or simply deleted the icons.

Restoring folder icons

If you accidentally deleted the “Recycle Bin” shortcut from the Windows desktop or one of the programs did it, then there is nothing irreparable about it - Microsoft offers a choice of at least five ways to restore the shortcut. Some of them use only the native capabilities of OS components, others require manual modification of the Windows registry. Some of these methods are described below.

If you are using any tweaker program that changes the appearance of the Windows GUI (for example, TweakUI), then there is a very high probability that the Recycle Bin

- the result of her work.
Try to find in the settings of this program the setting responsible for displaying the recycle bin
on
the
desktop . If you don’t find it, look among the program settings for the option to roll back the changes it has made.

Restoring icons on the Android desktop

Restore via application menu

Deleted applications must be looked for in the launcher. This is a shortcut (picture below) that contains all the applications of the device:

Tap it on your smartphone. (It's usually shaped like six squares or circles.) This will show all the apps on your phone.
Find the one you want to put on the main screen. (If you can't find it, all smartphones have a search function located in this list.)
Touch and hold the screen
You will be able to reset the program to the desired location. To change the location, you need to press the application icon again.

Recover by holding down

The easiest option to get your lost or deleted widget back is to tap and hold the screen. (The Home screen is the menu that appears when you press the Home button.)
This will provide a new menu with customizable options.
Click "Widgets and Apps" to open a new menu.
Select the widget that was deleted by mistake.
Hold and drag to the prepared place. (You can change the location later.)
The program shortcut will appear in the location where you moved the icon and will be ready to use right away.

Installing a remote launcher

There are different versions of launchers in the Play Market - there is something for everyone’s taste.

Find what you need in the Play Market
Install on your phone
Arranging the shortcuts

Just like twice two

Reinstall the shortcuts you need

This method is suitable if all previous ones have failed. You just need to place the shortcut on your desktop. To do this, find the program you need in the start menu. And just drag the shortcut to your desktop.

If the required program is not in the start menu, search for it manually. You can do this in two ways:

Open the start menu and find the search command, then enter the exact name of the desired program in the required line (the example is presented on OS Windows 10). When the search returns results, right-click on the icon and select “Open folder containing file.”

When File Explorer opens with the shortcut you want, right-click on it again, then select Send to / Desktop (create shortcut).

Installing lost applications after updating

Restoring the main menu

If the link to the main panel (Launcher) on your phone is accidentally deleted, there is no need to worry.

Getting back the list of icons is easy, but the steps may vary depending on the smartphone.

Go to the static bottom bar where the main widgets are
You'll have to move one of the apps in this panel to make room for the widget. You can remove one of the unwanted programs (uninstall from the bottom panel) by holding it and confirming the removal, or simply move it to an unused hole on the main screen.
The free space will turn into a plus sign.
Clicking on it will display a list of options, one of which can be placed instead of a cross to fill the space.
Select a panel picture to put it on your home screen.

Running the "explorer.exe" subroutine

Explorer.exe is an executing system file that is responsible for launching and displaying the desktop, start menu and taskbar. But it happens that due to virus programs or simply system failures, explorer.exe is disabled. This means you will have to manually make it work. There are two ways to do this:

Via Task Manager

To enable it, you will have to launch the task manager using the keyboard shortcut “Ctrl+Shift+Esc”. After that, first click on “File”, then from the pop-up context menu “Run new task”.

Now you just have to enter “explorer.exe” in the task creation menu and click “OK”.

How to create a shortcut on the Android desktop

Now every child has their own gadget and they have been familiar with it for a long time immediately after purchasing the device. However, for others this information will be useful. So, in order to place any shortcut of a game or program on the desktop, we will do the following.

The steps are similar for Android devices with an operating system up to version 6.

Click the “All applications” button - its icon is a circle with three dots.
Select the desired application, game or program and hold your finger on it.
The screen will minimize and our desktop will appear. Select the location of the icon and release your finger.
To select the desired desktop screen, if there are several of them, drag your finger with the shortcut to the left or right corner of the screen, they will begin to scroll through.
If you have accumulated a lot of icons, you can combine them into folders or delete unused ones.

Create a shortcut to the Android desktop

Recover accidentally deleted shortcuts using the Recycle Bin

If all the icons have disappeared from the desktop, for example, you accidentally deleted them, then they can be easily restored. The fact is that all the files you delete are stored in a temporary park called the “Trash”. (The “mathcad” program will be used as an example).

And so, we find the trash icon on the desktop and open it. Next, we find the previously deleted program shortcut in it and right-click on it, calling up an additional context menu in which you need to select the “Restore” option.

Important: this method will not work if the shortcut was deleted a long time ago or the recycle bin was emptied.

How to remove shortcuts on Android

If you don’t have enough places for shortcuts, there are several options: create a new screen, group several icons into folders (for example, create folders with games, social networks and programs separately) or delete an unnecessary application.

Open the desktop, scroll to the desired screen with the icon.
We hold our finger on an unnecessary application. The icon will hang “in the air” or begin to tremble (visual effects are different on smartphones).
The words “Delete”, “Remove” or the trash icon will appear at the top of the screen, drag our icon there and the job is done.

How to remove a shortcut on the Android desktop

By deleting the application icon, it remains in the device memory. To remove the program itself, go to the “All applications” menu and follow the steps described above.

What to do if the icon disappears and you don’t find it in the menu - how to restore it then

Yes, sometimes the icon may not be found. Why? Because if, when moving (even accidentally), the icons do not move apart, then a folder will be created on its own and it will fit there. For example, like in the picture below.

Then open the folder (click on it) and drag it to the desktop using the method described above.

ATTENTION: carefully examine the screen of your smartphone or tablet, otherwise you may not notice the folder.

NOTE: creating such folders is a great way to reduce the number of icons that you rarely use (some have hundreds of them and you can get lost on the screen).

Possible problems and their solutions

The screens of mobile gadgets are highly sensitive to touch. Often, a user, without knowing it, accidentally clicks an icon or application into the trash. Therefore, before checking your device for errors, make sure that the program you are looking for is actually removed. For this:

Open Play Market.
By clicking on the icon in the form of 3 horizontal stripes in the voice search line, we call up the side menu.
Select “My apps and games”
Go to the “Installed” tab and check if the application we are interested in is in the list.
If there is, open the application page, delete it and reinstall it.
If the application is not in the list, open its page on Google Play and install it.
We protect ourselves from repetition of such situations: we set an automatic screen lock for the time when the gadget is not in use.

After reinstallation, the shortcut should return to its place. If this does not happen, or the shortcut is back, but only temporarily, you may have:

The system is infected with viruses

Today, malware is increasingly disguised as popular applications, and therefore the number of downloads is in the hundreds of thousands, or even millions of downloads. Most modern viruses do not harm the device directly (so they can collect information about you longer). However, there are also those that are aimed specifically at destabilizing the operation of the gadget. Removing programs or their shortcuts in this case is common. Therefore, when a problem arises, the first thing we do is make sure that the antivirus databases always remain up to date.

Developer problem

Application development is carried out not only by professionals, but also by amateurs. If the icon does not appear from the very beginning, most likely the author incorrectly specified the intent-filter in the manifest file. To test this theory, ask a friend (who has a phone from the same company as you) to install the problematic application. Doesn't he have a label either? Write to the developer until he fixes this bug, the problem will not be solved.

Problem with SD card

Applications from the Play market are automatically installed on the internal memory of the smartphone. However, the user can place third-party programs at his own discretion. Often, to speed up the system, they are placed on a removable memory card. But after booting the device, initializing the SD card may take several minutes. Applications installed on it do not respond to system requests at this time, as a result of which the icons are not displayed.

The problem can be solved in several ways:

Purchasing a more modern memory card with faster data processing and recording (not the best option, since it does not guarantee 100% results).
(the probability of success is maximum, but the smartphone may begin to slow down).
Rebooting the SD card (the optimal solution that helps in 85% of cases).

To disable and re-enable the memory card, go to “Settings” and open the “Memory” section. There (at the very bottom), first click on the “Disable MicroSD” item, and then (when the drive is deactivated) “Enable MicroSD”. We wait a couple of minutes, after which the shortcuts should appear.

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Sources used:

https://master-gadgets.ru/kak-vosstanovit-znachok-prilozhenija-na-jekrane
https://itduo.ru/kak-vernut-znachki-na-ekran-telefona-android/
https://itkek.ru/android-ios/kak-vosstanovit-ikonki-na-rabochem-stole-android
https://itpen.ru/kak-sozdat-yarlyk-na-rabochij-stol-android/
https://usercpu.ru/propala-ikonka-nastroiki-na-androide-pochemu-propadayut-prilozheniya-ili/

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Missing icons in a flash drive.

It happens that if the Android operating system or the programs installed in it are not working correctly, such a harmless action as moving an application from the main memory to a flash drive leads to the loss of the program shortcut on the desktop.

The reverse action helps to return the shortcut or icon to its place: transferring the program from the flash drive to the phone’s built-in memory.

This can be done in the following way. Settings - Applications - Your application - Move to phone.

If the application is already running, then there is a shorter path. Select the desired program from the list of running programs and hold it with your finger for 2 seconds. After this, the “Application Information” window and the “Move to Phone” button will appear.

It is worth noting that this problem of losing an icon does not depend on the type of flash drive inserted into the phone, but on the glitches of the application installed from the Play Marketa.

System failure

If you had to think about how to restore shortcuts from the desktop, while no one else has access to your computer (or it is password-protected), and there is nothing left on the monitor (except the task manager), then most likely in the operating system some kind of failure occurred. There can be many reasons for this. However, there is no need to panic in this case either - fixing the failure is an easy thing to fix. It would be much worse to lose data or even the operating system. But there is also a less pleasant reason.

The icon went into the folder.

What to do if for one reason or another the icon disappears and you cannot find its program in the application menu. This problem applies to phones running not on pure Android, but on MIUI-based firmware, for example a Xiaomi smartphone and similar ones.

You should look for the missing shortcut in folders on your desktop.

On the Android OS desktop, you can create folders and “throw” shortcuts of similar types of applications into them.

Creating a folder is very simple. Drag one icon onto another and drop it on the second icon. A folder will be automatically created containing two shortcuts.

It is quite possible that this happened earlier by accident. Unbeknownst to you, you or someone else has placed one shortcut on another and a folder has been created. Or more likely, the application icon was accidentally “thrown” into a nearby folder.

What to do, how to find the icon? You need to open all the folders that are on the desktop of your mobile phone and look carefully, look for the missing icon.

Note: Carefully examine the smartphone screen; you may not notice the folder; it may look like a shortcut.

Video: Menu button, where is it? Or a video about Launcher (desktop).

Video: Automatically adding shortcuts to the Desktop in Android.

Raffle

The first and most pleasant answer to the question: “Why do shortcuts disappear from the desktop?” - is that someone is simply playing a prank on you. Don't you live alone? Do your family/friends/work colleagues have access to your “iron friend”? Do you know how you will react to computer problems? Then you shouldn’t be surprised that one day you turn on your device, and the desktop shortcuts have disappeared. In this case, there is no room for panic - everything can be fixed with simple manipulations. But more on this a little later, because there is another reason why you may not see folders and shortcuts in their places.

Viruses

The most common, unpleasant reason for shortcuts and folders disappearing from the desktop is infection of the computer with all sorts of viruses. Yes, maybe you “caught” a comic infection that just hides icons and does not harm the system. Yes, it’s unpleasant, but nevertheless, in this case, if shortcuts have disappeared from the desktop, there is no need to panic. But if your “iron friend” is infected with something more serious, then such games of hide and seek may mean the imminent “death” of the operating system. However, if problems are detected in time, then fixing them will be quite simple. So, let's talk about what to do if you have problems with your desktop.

What to do if the settings icon has disappeared on Android, how to restore it