The quickest way to resize your home screen icons
You can make your iPhone home screen icons larger or smaller using the Display & Brightness settings, which adjusts the size of text and icons across your phone. Go to Settings > Display & Brightness > Text Size, then drag the slider to the right to enlarge icons or to the left to shrink them. This change takes effect when ready on your home screen and in most apps.
If you want even more control, you can use Accessibility settings to make icons much larger. This is useful if you have vision difficulties or straightforward prefer a bigger layout. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size and toggle on Larger Accessibility Sizes, then adjust the slider. This option makes icons noticeably bigger than the standard Text Size setting allows.
Key Takeaways
- The Text Size slider in Display & Brightness settings resizes home screen icons and text throughout your phone.
- Larger Accessibility Sizes in the Accessibility menu offers more extreme enlargement if you need it.
- Both methods take effect when ready—you do not need to restart your phone.
- Icon size changes explore to your home screen, lock screen widgets, and most built-in apps.
- Third-party apps may not respond to these settings, so their icons might stay the same size.
Using the Text Size slider for standard resizing
The Text Size setting is the standard way most people adjust icon size. Open Settings, tap Display & Brightness, then tap Text Size. You will see a slider with a small "A" on the left and a large "A" on the right. Drag the slider to your preferred size and tap Done. Your home screen icons will resize to match.
This method affects not just icons but also text in Messages, Mail, Notes, and other apps. If you want to change only icon size without affecting text elsewhere, this is a limitation—the two are linked in the standard settings. The changes are reversible at any time; you can return to the default size by moving the slider back to the middle position.
Making icons much larger with Accessibility settings
If the Text Size slider does not make icons large enough, use the Larger Accessibility Sizes option. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size and toggle Larger Accessibility Sizes to on. A new slider will appear below it. Drag this slider all the way to the right for the largest possible icons.
This setting stacks on top of your Text Size choice, so if you have already enlarged text, Larger Accessibility Sizes will make icons even bigger. You can use both together for maximum enlargement. Keep in mind that very large icons mean fewer apps fit on each home screen, so you may need to swipe through more pages to find what you want.
What changes and what does not
Icon resizing affects your home screen grid, the lock screen, and widgets you have placed there. It also enlarges text and icons in built-in Apple apps like Settings, Mail, Calendar, and Reminders. However, third-party apps from the App Store may not respond to these settings—their icons might remain at a fixed size even after you enlarge everything else.
If a third-party app does not resize, that is a limitation of how the app was built, not a problem with your phone. You can still tap the app normally; it will just look smaller than your other icons. Some developers design their apps to ignore system-wide sizing settings.
Reverting to default icon size
To return icons to their original size, go back to Settings > Display & Brightness > Text Size and move the slider to the middle position (the default). If you turned on Larger Accessibility Sizes, toggle it off in Settings > Accessibility > Display & Text Size. Your home screen will return to normal when ready.
There is no harm in experimenting with different sizes—you can change them as often as you want without affecting your apps or data. If you find a size that works for you, leave it there; your phone will remember the setting even after you restart.
Troubleshooting icon size changes that do not work
If you have adjusted the Text Size slider but your icons have not changed, restart your iPhone. Press and hold the side button and either volume button until the power-off slider appears, then drag it to turn off your phone. Wait a few seconds, then press and hold the side button again until the Apple logo appears. This usually fixes settings that have not taken effect.
If icons still do not resize after a restart, check that you are in the correct settings menu. Some users accidentally adjust the font size in Settings > Accessibility > Larger Accessibility Sizes without toggling the feature on first—the toggle must be switched to on for the setting to work. Confirm the toggle is blue and switched to the right.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I resize only some icons and leave others at the default size?
No. Icon size is a system-wide setting on iPhone—when you adjust it, all icons on your home screen resize together. You cannot make individual app icons larger or smaller independently. If you want different-sized icons, you would need to use a different iPhone or accept the uniform sizing.
Will changing icon size affect how apps work or use storage?
No. Resizing icons is purely visual and does not change how apps run, how much space they use, or any of their features. You can change icon size back and forth as many times as you want without any impact on your phone's performance or data.
Why do some app icons not get bigger when I enlarge the text size?
Third-party apps from the App Store are not required to follow Apple's sizing settings. Some developers build their apps to ignore system-wide text and icon size changes. This is a choice the app maker made, not a problem with your phone. The app will still work normally.
Does changing icon size work the same way on iPad?
iPad has similar settings in Settings > Display & Brightness > Text Size, but iPad home screens work differently than iPhones, so the visual effect may not be identical. You can adjust the slider on iPad the same way, but the layout and spacing of icons will respond differently because iPad screens are larger.