Introduction to iOS Home Screens

Home Screen pages display your apps and widgets and provide important information about your device and connections. Knowing how to get around your Home Screen pages is a basic skill you must master to use your device.

Home Screen top to bottom

Home screens display system status information at the top, apps and widgets in the middle, and a search box and dock at the bottom.

Getting to your Home Screen from an app

To return to your last Home Screen from an app, swipe up from the bottom edge of your screen (or press the Home button). Swipe up a second time (or press the Home button twice) to open the main Home Screen page (the page furthest to the left). Swipe left or right to flip through your pages. The last page to the left is your “main” Home Screen page. Swiping left from the main Home Page opens the Today View.

The Status bar

The Status bar is the narrow bar of icons across the top of your Home Screen. The status bar displays the time, information about connections, battery status, and other system information. The front-facing camera is also located here. Some of the status icons you’ll see include:

• Cell Signal . Shows whether you are within range of a cellular tower. The more bars shown, the stronger the signal.
• Wi-Fi   . Indicates Wi-Fi status. The number of bars indicates strength.
• Airplane mode  . Shows that Airplane Mode is on. Initially turns all radio signals (cellular, Wi-Fi or Bluetooth) off. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth can be turned on while in airplane mode, but cellular will remain off.
• LTE. Shows that your carrier’s LTE network is available.
• 3G/4G/5G. Shows what type of network you are connected to.
• Bluetooth  . Symbol displays when a Bluetooth device is connected.
• Battery    . Shows the charge level of the battery. If the device is being charged, a lightning bolt will appear next to the icon.
• Personal hotspot . Shows when providing an Internet connection and when connected to someone else’s hotspot.
• Location services  . An outlined arrow indicates location services is turned on. A filled-in icon appears when an app uses Location Services to find your location.
• Camera in use  . A green dot appears at the top of your screen whenever the camera is used.
• Microphone in use  . An orange dot appears at the top of your screen whenever the microphone is in use.

Apps and widgets

Each app you install adds an icon to a Home Screen. You can rearrange your apps by moving them to another Home Screen, or group them in folders.

1. Touch and hold any app on the screen, then tap Edit Home Screen .
2. Drag the app to another spot, or drag it to the edge of the screen and pause for the screen to change to the next screen.
3. Release the app when it is located properly. 
4. On iPhone X and later, tap Done to save. On iPhone 8 and earlier, press the Home button.

Spotlight/Search

The Spotlight/Search button resides just above the dock (look for the box labeled “Search”). When you swipe between Home Screens, the Spotlight button will briefly represent each Home Screen as a dark gray dot, with the current Home Screen showing as a white dot. After a moment, the Spotlight button will return to its normal display of “Search.” Tap the Spotlight/Search button to open the Search function. You can then type in, or use voice commands, to search for apps, docs, or information from the web. You can also open Search from any Home page by swiping down from the middle area.

The Dock

The Dock is a handy place to put the apps you use the most frequently. The Dock remains the same no matter what Home Screen you are on. You can customize the Dock to hold the apps or folders of apps you prefer.

1. Touch and hold any app on the screen, then tap Edit Home Screen .
2. Drag the app to the Dock at the bottom of the screen. 
3. On iPhone X and later, tap Done to save. On iPhone 8 and earlier, press the Home button.

Learn more

Learn more about Managing and Customizing Home Screens.