iPhone 101: How to Reset Your Home Screen Icons to Default
Welcome to iPhone 101, where TiPb helps new iPhone users use their new iPhones — or just gives you a handy link to send to your new iPhone using friends.
This time we’re tackling something near and dear to every child-caring adult’s heart: how to resent your iPhone Home Screen to default. Because as we all know, you let your child at your iPhone, and they can switch around your icons — even blank your Home Screen — in no time flat (and yes, the above is a real screenshot of an iPhone after a 3 year old spent about 5 minutes on it…)
Luckily, there must be a lot of parents at Apple, because they’ve made it lickity-split simple to restore.
From the home screen, tap Settings (yeah, if you can find it — but at least they can’t delete that or any built-in application).
From Settings, hit General, then choose Reset.
From the Reset menu, choose Reset Home Screen Layout. When it asks you to confirm, tap the big red Reset Home Screen button.
And you’re done. Your iPhone’s icons will be back to the way Apple ships them… until your child gets a hold of them again!
June 1st, 2009 at 2:14 pm
Isn’t this a feature of 3.0? Maybe I’m wrong but I don’t remember it on 2.2.1
June 1st, 2009 at 2:34 pm
@Matt Hall
I noticed that the screenshot they used must be 3.0, because it’s got that magnifying glass searcher icon to the left of the first homescreen page, so I’m wondering if you’re right.
June 1st, 2009 at 2:34 pm
Matt, Its on 2.2.1, its been on every version since at least 2.0 when I last used it.
Back then, I had no apps other than the default, so I don’t remember if this restored apps deleted by pressing the wiggling X. Anybody know?
June 1st, 2009 at 2:40 pm
Ah cool. I don’t remember ever going into reset while using 2.0. But as far as with 3.0 I have explored it throughly.
June 1st, 2009 at 2:58 pm
Oh my gosh! My son did this the other day. What a mess!
What happens to your non-default programs?
June 1st, 2009 at 3:38 pm
Yes it is 3.0 probably beta or the crack one but the same except crack is way better u could customize ur iPhone with it
June 1st, 2009 at 4:16 pm
@Joe McG: looks like you have to sync up to get those back! Yeah, keep an eye on those kids when they’re messing with your phone my goodness!
June 1st, 2009 at 4:24 pm
Careful: the home screen is restored indeed.
And all the other apps and icons are alphabetically re-sorted.
June 1st, 2009 at 4:30 pm
What about the other apps you may have? Are they deleted after reset?
June 1st, 2009 at 4:49 pm
Hmm. They should work on enhancing how we organize our apps.
June 1st, 2009 at 4:51 pm
@ Roger – Look directly above your own post sir and you will find your answer.
June 1st, 2009 at 4:53 pm
Agreed Omari, they need to have a tool built into iTunes that allows you to reorganize icons which are they moved on the phone during sync. If you ever restore your phone and reload all of your apps again they become alphabetized as Roger said. Even if you have screenshots of your iPhone taken before you restore it is a huge pain moving them all back to your desired locations.
June 1st, 2009 at 5:35 pm
How do you end up with a blank homescreen? Now I feel dumb that a 3 year old can do it in 5 minutes yet I can’t figure it out.
June 1st, 2009 at 6:40 pm
Apple should build in a home screen locker that locks them in with a pass code. Just saying. this could avoid the blank home screens. and people messing with it.
June 1st, 2009 at 6:54 pm
I have 2.2.1 and have that on reset menu..
June 11th, 2009 at 11:43 pm
Is there a way to reset your calendar? Btw don’t make a all day date from 1933 to 2069
June 17th, 2009 at 10:35 pm
yep the reset for home screen works well BUT indeed does reset ALL other icons on ALL other pages alphabeticly … Al ur spot on man!
June 28th, 2009 at 7:26 am
i have just updated the new software and all my apps have disappeared, can anybody tell me where they have gone please? thanks
July 22nd, 2009 at 8:21 am
guys.. i don’t even have that settings option..what do i do to get it back ive got everything else except settings
August 10th, 2009 at 4:13 am
none of the apps are showing up on the homescreen of my iphone. i just got it from a friend so he resetted it and now the homescreen in completely blank. is there anything i can do??
November 22nd, 2009 at 3:55 am
My factory icons disappeared, just the custom installed programs visible. Settings, Contacts, Calendar, Calculator, all disappeared. The re-jailbreak doesn’t helped, restore doesn’t helped… Any suggestions?