By default, the iPhone’s Messages app is on the Home screen. If the app is no longer on your iPhone’s Home screen, you might accidentally think you’ve uninstalled it. However, the Messages app is pre-installed; hence you can’t uninstall it. So, how do you find and put the Messages app back on the Home screen?
There are several ways you can find and put the Messages app on the Home screen of your iPhone. The app might be hidden on the Home screen page or somewhere on your phone. However, you can use the app library or Spotlight search to find and put it back on the Home screen.
Irrespective of the version of iOS you use, you can return the Messages app to the Home screen. This article elaborates on different ways you can return the Messages app to the Home screen of your iPhone.
How To Find and Return the Messages App to Your iPhone’s Home Screen
If you are an avid iMessage user, having the Messages app on your Home screen makes it easy to access when needed. Perhaps, the app isn’t on the Home screen anymore; you can use any of the four methods below to put the app back on the Home screen.
Method #1: Using the App Library
If you can no longer find the Messages app on the Home screen of your iPhone, you should search for it in the App Library of your iPhone. Note that the App Library feature is not available on all iPhones. If your iPhone is not running iOS 14 or later, you wouldn’t have the App Library feature.
Here’s how to use the App Library to find and return the Messages app on your iPhone Home screen.
- From the Home screen of your iPhone, swipe left to get to the App Library.
- Tap on the “Social” folder and find the Messages app there.
- When you find the Messages app, tap and hold it until it starts to jiggle.
- Drag it to the Home screen and when you position it where you want it, drop it and tap on “Done” at the top right corner of your screen.
Method #2: Using Spotlight Search
Another way to search for the Messages app when it’s no longer on the Home screen is with the Spotlight feature. The Spotlight search is a feature on your iPhone you can use to find anything from apps to files and setting options. The Spotlight search is available on iPhones running iOS 13 or later.
Here’s how to use the Spotlight search to find and return the Messages app on your iPhone Home screen.
- On the Home screen of your iPhone, swipe down from the middle of your screen.
- Tap on the search field, then enter “Messages”.
- As you type, search updates result in real-time, but if the app does appear on Spotlight search, go to Settings > “Messages”> “Siri & Search”, then toggle the switch for “Show App” in search.
- When you find the Messages app and the folder it resides in, move it from that folder to the Home screen.
Method #3: Checking Hidden Home Screen Pages
You can create and add apps to pages and folders on the Home page of your iPhone. This makes it possible to add groups of apps you deem to belong to the same group and then hide the page. When you can’t find the Messages app on the Home screen of your iPhone, it could be that you’ve accidentally moved it to one of those folders.
Here’s how to find the Messages app on a hidden Home screen page and return it to the Home screen.
- Tap and hold an empty area on the Home screen of your iPhone to enter edit mode.
- Click on the page dots at the bottom center of your screen.
- Look through the hidden pages for the Messages app.
- Tap on the mark on top of the mark to unhide it.
- Tap on “Done”, then move the Messages app from that page to your Home screen.
Method #4: Resetting the Home Screen Layout
If you are still finding it difficult to move the Messages app back to the Home screen, then at this stage, the only option you’re left with is to reset your Home screen layout. Note that resetting your screen layout rearranges all your apps on your Home screen to default mode. Hence, any widget you might have added or app folders you created will all be removed.
Here’s how to put the Messages app on the Home screen by resetting your Home screen layout.
- Launch the Settings app on your iPhone.
- Tap on “General”, scroll down, and click “Reset”.
- Tap on the “Reset Home Screen Layout” option, and confirm you want to reset it.
That you can’t find the Messages app doesn’t mean you won’t still receive text messages and iMessages from people. You might not just be able to view them until you find and access the app.
Conclusion
Resolving the issue is pretty simple when you can’t find the Messages app. So, if you don’t know what you did or wade through dozens of folders searching for it, use any of the methods explained in this article to return the Messages app to the Home screen.
