The fastest way to change your home screen
The steps depend on whether you use an iPhone or Android phone. On an iPhone, press and hold any empty space on your home screen until a menu appears, then tap "Customize Home Screen" at the bottom. On Android, the method varies by manufacturer — most phones let you long-press an empty area and select "Home screen settings" or "Wallpapers and styles," but Samsung, Google Pixel, and other brands each have slightly different paths. Both let you change your wallpaper, rearrange apps, add widgets, and hide entire pages of apps.
The changes take effect when ready. You do not need to restart your phone, and you can undo almost any change by going back into the same menu.
Key Takeaways
- On iPhone, long-press an empty home screen space and tap "Customize Home Screen" to access wallpapers, app layout, and app library settings.
- On Android, long-press an empty area and look for "Home screen settings," "Wallpapers," or "Styles" — the exact name depends on your phone brand.
- You can change your wallpaper, move apps around, add widgets, and hide entire pages without affecting how your apps actually work.
- Most changes are reversible, and you can experiment without worrying about breaking anything.
Changing your wallpaper on iPhone
Press and hold any empty space on your home screen until the customization menu appears. Tap "Wallpaper" at the bottom of the screen. You will see options to choose from Apple's built-in wallpapers, your photo library, or dynamic wallpapers that change throughout the day. Select the image you want, then tap "Add" and choose whether to explore it to your lock screen, home screen, or both.
If you want to use a photo from your camera roll, tap "Photos" in the wallpaper menu, find the image, and tap "Add." You can crop and position the image before confirming. The wallpaper applies when ready, and you can change it again anytime by repeating these steps.
Changing your wallpaper on Android
Long-press an empty area of your home screen. Most Android phones show a menu with options like "Wallpapers," "Styles," or "Home screen settings." Tap whichever option appears. You will see wallpaper choices from your phone's default collection, your photo library, or third-party wallpaper apps you may have installed.
Select an image, preview how it looks, and confirm the change. Some Android phones let you set different wallpapers for your lock screen and home screen separately. If you do not see a wallpaper option in the long-press menu, try opening your phone's Settings app, searching for "Wallpaper," and selecting it from there.
Rearranging apps on your home screen
On iPhone, long-press any app icon until a menu appears. Tap "Edit Home Screen" (or just tap the icon again if you are already in customization mode). The icons will start to jiggle, which means they are ready to move. Drag any app to a new position, or drag it to the edge of the screen to move it to a different page. When you are done, press the home button or swipe up from the bottom to exit edit mode.
On Android, long-press an app icon and select "Move" or drag it directly to a new spot. The exact steps vary by phone — some phones let you drag when ready, while others require you to enter edit mode first. If dragging does not work, try long-pressing the app and looking for a "Move" or "Reorder" option in the menu that appears.
Adding and removing widgets
On iPhone, long-press an empty space on your home screen and tap "Customize Home Screen." Tap the plus sign at the bottom left. You will see a list of apps that offer widgets. Tap an app name to see its available widgets, select the size you want, and tap "Add Widget." The widget appears on your home screen and updates automatically — for example, a weather widget shows the current temperature without you opening the weather app.
On Android, long-press an empty area and select "Widgets" (or search your app drawer for "Widgets"). Tap and hold a widget to drag it onto your home screen. Some widgets let you resize them by dragging the corners. To remove a widget, long-press it and select "Remove" or drag it off the screen.
Hiding pages and organizing app libraries
On iPhone, long-press your home screen and tap "Customize Home Screen." Scroll down to see all your home screen pages listed as dots. Tap any dot to turn it gray, which hides that entire page from view. This is useful if you have pages full of apps you rarely use — they stay on your phone but do not clutter your home screen. You can unhide pages anytime by tapping the gray dot again.
On Android, the process depends on your phone. Some phones let you swipe to a page and tap a hide or delete icon. Others require you to long-press the page itself. Check your phone's home screen settings menu for an option to manage pages. Note that hiding a page does not delete the apps — they remain in your app drawer and can still be found by searching.
Undoing changes and resetting to default
On iPhone, you can undo most changes by going back into customization mode and moving things back. There is no single "reset home screen" button, but you can manually restore the default layout by dragging all your apps back to their original positions. If you want a completely fresh start, go to Settings, tap General, then Reset, and select "Reset Home Screen Layout." This returns everything to Apple's default arrangement.
On Android, the reset option varies by manufacturer. On Google Pixel phones, long-press your home screen, tap "Home screen settings," and look for a "Reset" or "Restore default" option. On Samsung phones, open Settings, search for "Home screen," and select "Reset home screen." Other brands may have the option in their home screen app's settings menu. If you cannot find it, try uninstalling and reinstalling your home screen launcher app, though this is rarely necessary.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will changing my home screen affect my apps or data?
No. Rearranging apps, changing wallpapers, and hiding pages only change how your home screen looks. Your apps, photos, messages, and all other data remain exactly as they are. You can change your home screen back anytime without losing anything.
Can I use a photo from the internet as my wallpaper?
Yes. Save the image to your phone's photo library first, then follow the wallpaper steps for your phone type. On iPhone, tap "Photos" in the wallpaper menu. On Android, select "Photos" or "Gallery" depending on your phone. You can crop and position the image before explore it.
What is the difference between hiding a page and deleting apps?
Hiding a page keeps all the apps on it but removes the page from your home screen view. Deleting an app removes it from your phone entirely (though you can reinstall it later from your app store). Hiding is useful for decluttering without losing apps you use occasionally.
Why do some widgets not update in real time?
Widgets update on a schedule set by the app developer, not continuously. A weather widget might update every 30 minutes, while a news widget updates once an hour. This saves battery life. If a widget seems stuck, try removing and re-adding it, or restart your phone.
Can I use third-party home screen apps instead of the default one?
Yes. Both iPhone and Android support third-party launchers and home screen apps from the App Store or Google Play. These apps let you customize your home screen in ways the default launcher does not allow. Install one, set it as your default home screen app in Settings, and use it the same way you would use the built-in one.