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An Android launcher controls the Home screen, app drawer, icons, widgets, folders, and the gesture that opens your apps. If you only want to rearrange icons or add widgets, use the launcher already on your phone: touch and hold an empty area of the Home screen, then tap Home settings. If you want a different Home interface, install another launcher and select it as the phone’s default Home app through Settings. The exact labels and gestures vary by manufacturer, Android version, and launcher.
First decide whether you need a new launcher
Android launcher setup has two separate jobs. You can customize the current launcher, or you can replace that launcher with another app. Choosing the wrong path creates unnecessary work: installing a new launcher will not fix a problem that could be solved by moving an icon, changing a grid, or adding a widget.
| What you want to do | Best first step | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| Move icons, add widgets, create folders, or add Home-screen pages | Open the current launcher’s Home settings | Your existing Home interface remains in place; only its layout and available options change. |
| Use a different Home-screen design or app-drawer experience | Install a launcher and set it as the default Home app | The new launcher becomes the interface shown when you press Home or use the Home gesture. |
| Configure a company-owned or single-purpose device | Follow your device-management administrator’s instructions | Managed-device policies can select a persistent Home activity; this is not the normal consumer setup route. |
Google’s Android Help describes the goal this way: “To quickly get to your favorite content, you can customize your Home screens.” Its instructions also warn, “Important: Some of these steps may vary based on your device.” Read every menu name below as a common route rather than a guarantee for every phone. Google’s Home-screen guide documents the standard consumer controls.
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What an Android launcher actually controls
A launcher is the app that supplies the Home screen and usually the app drawer. It decides how pages are arranged, where favorites sit, which widgets are available, how folders look, and which gesture opens the complete app list. Android identifies Home apps with the CATEGORY_HOME intent category. That technical detail explains why Android asks you to choose a default Home app, but ordinary users should make the choice in Settings, not by editing developer APIs.
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Android’s developer documentation also describes persistent preferred activities for managed dedicated devices. The DevicePolicyManager.addPersistentPreferredActivity() method is intended for device-management software and kiosk-style deployments, not for selecting a launcher on a personal phone. Android’s dedicated-device cookbook provides that administrator-focused background.
Open the current launcher’s Home settings
If you are happy with the current launcher, begin here. This route avoids installing an additional app and keeps your existing Home behavior.
- Go to a Home-screen page.
- Touch and hold an empty area, away from icons and widgets.
- Tap Home settings when the menu appears.
- Review the options your launcher exposes, such as page layout, suggestions, notification dots, rotation, or the way the app list opens.
Some phones label the entry Home settings, Launcher settings, or similar wording. If holding an empty area does nothing, open the Settings app and search for Home, Launcher, or Default apps. A manufacturer may place these controls under a display or home-screen section instead. The available switches are determined by the selected launcher, so two phones running similar Android versions can show different lists.
Install and select a different default launcher
Use this procedure when you want to replace the whole Home interface. You need an Android launcher app that is compatible with your phone and Android version. Install it from your normal app source, then open it once so it can display its setup prompt.
General phone-agnostic procedure
- Install the launcher you chose.
- Open the launcher. Many launchers ask whether to use it as the Home app.
- When Android presents a choice, select the new launcher and choose Always if that option is shown.
- If no prompt appears, open Settings and search for Default apps, Home app, or Home screen.
- Open the matching setting and select the installed launcher.
- Press the Home button or use the Home gesture to confirm that the new interface appears.
Do not assume that a menu path from one phone applies to another. Buttons, navigation modes, and labels change between manufacturers and Android releases. Searching Settings for the terms above is usually more reliable than following a brand-specific sequence copied from another device.
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Microsoft Launcher as a documented example
Microsoft documents one concrete route for Microsoft Launcher. If the launcher asks during setup, choose Always. If it does not ask, open Settings > Apps > Default apps > Home screen, then choose Microsoft Launcher. This is a Microsoft-specific example, not a universal Android menu path. The vendor’s instructions are available in Microsoft Support’s Microsoft Launcher guide.
| Situation | Action | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| A first-run prompt appears | Choose the launcher and tap Always | Android records that app as the default Home handler instead of asking each time. |
| No prompt appears | Use Settings search for Default apps or Home screen | The launcher can still be selected from the system’s default-app controls. |
| The named menu is missing | Look for equivalent wording such as Home app or consult the phone maker’s settings layout | Menu names and nesting differ by device. |
Switch back to the previous launcher
Open the same default-app area and select the former Home app. If you cannot identify it, search Settings for Home app or Home screen and inspect the available choices. Switching the default does not uninstall either launcher; it only changes which one handles the Home action.
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Arrange apps on your Home screen
After choosing a launcher, populate its pages. Google’s consumer instructions use the app list, often called the app drawer, as the source for placing an app on a Home page. The exact gesture that opens that list belongs to your launcher; on many phones it is a swipe up from the bottom edge.
Add an app icon
- From the Home screen, open the app list. If your launcher follows the common gesture, swipe up from the bottom.
- Touch and hold the app you want.
- Keep holding while dragging it to the desired Home-screen page and position.
- Release it. If the page is full, move an existing item or place the app on another page.
Removing an icon is not the same as removing the app. A command labeled Remove takes the icon off the Home screen while leaving the app installed in the app drawer. Uninstall removes the app from the device and may remove its stored data according to Android’s uninstall behavior. Read the label before releasing your finger on a menu option.
Add an app shortcut
Some apps expose shortcuts for common actions, such as opening a particular conversation or composing a new item. To place one:
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- Touch and hold the app icon.
- When its shortcut list appears, touch and hold the specific shortcut you need.
- Drag the shortcut to a Home-screen page and release it.
Shortcuts are optional features supplied by the app and launcher. If no shortcut list appears, that app may not provide one, or the current launcher may not expose it.
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- Touch and hold an empty area of the Home screen.
- Tap Widgets.
- Find the app that supplies the widget.
- Touch and hold the widget, then drag it to a Home-screen page.
- Release it in an open area.
For a widget that supports resizing, touch and hold it after placement. An outline with handles appears; drag the handles to change its width or height, then tap elsewhere to finish. Not every widget is resizable. Google notes that some widget steps only work on Android 14 and later, so an older device may not show the same picker or resize controls. The complete set of app, shortcut, and widget actions is covered in Google’s Home-screen content guide.
Create and name a folder
- Touch and hold an app icon or shortcut.
- Drag it on top of another app or shortcut.
- Release when the two items overlap. The launcher creates a folder.
- Open the folder and use its name field or edit control to enter a label.
- Tap outside the folder to close it.
Folder behavior is launcher-specific. Some launchers let you add more items by dragging them into the open folder; others provide additional folder appearance settings in Home settings.
Add, remove, and reorder Home-screen pages
Create an additional page
- Touch and hold an app, shortcut, widget, or folder.
- Drag it toward the right edge of the current page.
- Continue moving right until a blank page appears.
- Release the item on the new page.
The new page is created as part of that move. You can then place other items there or move an item from another page.
Remove a page without uninstalling anything
- Move every app, shortcut, widget, and folder off the page you no longer want.
- Once the last item leaves, the launcher removes the now-empty page.
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Reorder pages and choose the main page
Many launchers let you enter an overview by pinching inward or touching and holding an empty area. If your launcher displays page thumbnails, drag a thumbnail left or right to reorder it. A home-shaped marker or similar control may identify the page shown when you press Home. These controls are not part of one universal Android layout; use the instructions shown by your selected launcher.
Understand the app drawer before changing it
The app drawer is the launcher’s complete app list. Android does not provide one universal drawer gesture or one system-wide drawer customization panel. The selected launcher controls how you open it, whether apps are grouped, and which sorting or search controls exist.
Google’s general instructions describe swiping up from the bottom to reach apps when adding favorites. Microsoft describes swiping up from the dock to open Microsoft Launcher’s app drawer. Those examples cannot be combined into a rule for every phone: navigation mode, dock design, and launcher settings can change the gesture.
Find your launcher’s drawer controls
- Open the app drawer using the gesture shown by your launcher, or use its on-screen app-list button if one is provided.
- Look for a search field, overflow menu, or drawer-specific settings icon.
- Open the launcher’s Home settings and inspect sections named App drawer, Apps list, Search, or Layout.
- Change only the options your launcher exposes, then reopen the drawer to verify the result.
Available features may include search, alphabetical ordering, categories, hidden-app lists, or drawer backgrounds, but the supplied Android and vendor instructions do not establish a universal method for changing layout, sorting, folders, or gestures. If an option is absent, the launcher may simply not support it.
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The phone keeps asking which launcher to use
Android has not recorded a permanent default, or the previous default was cleared. Open Settings and search for Default apps, Home app, or Home screen. Select the launcher and choose the permanent option if your phone presents one. Reopen the Home screen to test it.
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The launcher is installed but never appears as a choice
Confirm that installation finished and that the launcher opens normally from the app list. Then restart the default-app selection from Settings search. If the launcher is incompatible with the device or Android version, its own documentation may list a limitation; do not assume that every launcher supports every phone.
Holding an empty area shows no Home settings
Make sure you are touching an unoccupied part of the actual Home screen, not an app page or a widget. If the menu still does not appear, search Settings for Home or Launcher. Some launchers expose their controls through a dedicated settings icon instead of a long-press menu.
An app icon will not move to a page
Touch and hold until the icon can be dragged, then move it slowly toward the page edge. If no blank page appears, continue moving right with the item held; a new page is created only when the launcher detects the edge movement. A full page may require moving another item first.
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Check the widget picker under the app that supplies it. Some apps provide no widget, and some widgets have a fixed size. If the picker or resize handles differ from the instructions, Android version and launcher support may be the reason; Google’s documentation specifically limits some widget actions to Android 14 and newer.
You removed an icon and think the app was deleted
Open the app drawer and search for the app. If it is present, only its Home-screen icon was removed. Use the drawer or the launcher’s add-to-Home action to place it again. An explicit Uninstall command is required to remove an installed app.
The app drawer gesture does not work
Try the gesture documented by the selected launcher rather than assuming a universal swipe. Check whether the phone uses three-button navigation or gesture navigation, then inspect Home settings for an app-drawer or navigation option. A dock swipe, a bottom-edge swipe, and a dedicated app-list button are different implementations.
Which setup path should you use?
| Decision | Use the current launcher | Install and select another launcher |
|---|---|---|
| Goal | Change icons, widgets, folders, favorites, or pages | Replace the complete Home interface or drawer behavior |
| Installation required | No | Yes, plus selection as the default Home app |
| Settings entry point | Long-press an empty Home area, then Home settings | Launcher prompt, or Settings search for Default apps/Home app |
| What varies most | Available layout and widget controls | Default-app labels, prompt behavior, compatibility, and drawer features |
| Best troubleshooting source | The phone maker or current launcher’s help | The installed launcher’s setup guide plus the phone’s default-app settings |
There is no evidence here to rank one launcher as universally fastest, most private, or most customizable. Compare a candidate only on the controls it actually offers on your device, the default-app path it documents, and compatibility with your Android version.
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For most people, the least disruptive order is:
- Back up or note any Home-screen arrangement you need to recreate.
- Open the current launcher’s Home settings and determine whether it already provides the change you want.
- If it does, add apps, shortcuts, widgets, folders, and pages without installing anything else.
- If it does not, install the alternative launcher and set it as the default Home app.
- Rebuild the new Home pages, then test the Home button or gesture and the app-drawer gesture.
- Keep the former launcher installed until you are satisfied. Remove it only after confirming that you can return to a working Home app.
This order separates layout changes from default-app changes, making it easier to identify whether a problem comes from an individual widget, a page arrangement, or the launcher selection itself.
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