You want to call someone urgently and pick up your iPhone for it. After unlocking your phone, you look for the phone icon but don’t find it. The missing phone icon on the iphone means you cannot call, voicemail, or find your contact list. This can be a panic situation! Right? This blog discusses the best ways to pull you out of such a situation within minutes. Read it till the end to discover where your phone icon has gone!
Can you find missing Phone icon on iPhone?
When you purchase an iPhone, it comes with some apps, and you don’t have to download it from outside. The phone app is one of them. It is an integrated or fundamental part of an iPhone. You cannot install, update, delete or remove the icon from your device. Such things can only occur with the apps you have installed from the App Store. Searching the iPhone properly on each page folder can be helpful. You can easily discover the missing phone icon on iphone without any external help. If you also notice a lost phone icon on iPhone, read further to fix it.
Why Is Phone Icon Missing On iPhone?
Phone icon is on the bottom of the dock in any iPhone model. You might have shifted it to a folder or a different page if it’s not there. Removing the phone app icon from the home screen is possible on iOS 14 and IOS 15. You might have done this mistakenly or intentionally, and now you can’t recall.
Another reason for the missing phone icon on iPhone could be that you have hidden it in the phone’s app library for privacy purposes. Regardless, you can always get the phone app icon back on the dock.
How to find missing Phone icon on iPhone?
As said earlier, the phone app icon cannot be removed from a device but can only be hidden. If you have tried searching for a lost phone icon on iPhone, but still can’t figure it out, here’s the solution….
1. Spotlight Searching
This is the easiest searching option which you might have done this several times before to discover apps.
- Swipe the phone screen from the middle to the bottom. It will open the spotlight search box.
- Type ‘Phone’, and it will appear.
- If the app is inside a folder, the relevant folder will appear.
- Click on the icon to open.
- You can also take it to the home screen. For this, click and hold the icon and then drag it to the desired place.
2. Ask Siri
If spotlight searching does not work for you, you can rely on Siri. Siri follows all your instructions so you can instruct it to find the phone app icon too. Ensure that you are using an iPhone X or a later version.
- Go to Settings.
- Head to the Phone and then click Siri And Search.
- Tap on the toggle beside Show App In Search.
- Press and hold the side button of your iPhone to summon Siri. You can also press the front button if it’s present on your iPhone.
- Next, tell it to find the phone app. It will launch the app wherever it is hidden.
3. Reset Your Phone
When you buy an iPhone, the app icons are arranged in a special manner. The first home screen and the second screen’s top rows will only have Apple icons. The rest of the apps arrange themselves alphabetically. Resetting your phone will arrange the icons in the same manner as they were previously. It means you can see the integrated apps also like the phone app.
Here’s how to reset your iPhone.
- Go to Settings on your device.
- Click General.
- Find the Reset Home Screen Layout option and click on it.
This will initiate resetting the phone. After it is done, you can check the phone app sign in the dock.
4. Find In Hidden Home Screen Pages
The iOS 14 or later version allows you to hide app pages to get a simplified look. The phone app icon on your iPhone may have disappeared due to this.
Here is how to unhide the app icon.
- Find any empty area on the home screen.
- Long press it to activate edit mode.
- Click on the page dots at the bottom of the screen.
- It will show every hidden app page. Check one by one to find the phone app.
- When you find it, tick mark the page to make it visible.
- Next, click on Done.
5. Check App Library
Your phone’s app library contains a lot of apps that you cannot see on home pages. If you cannot find the phone app icon in the dock or other places on your iPhone, it is most likely to be in the App Library. It happens especially when a user uses iOS 14 or IOS 15 model and removes the app from the main page. The same case may have happened to you. Fortunately, the problem can still be resolved through the App Library. The library is vast, so you need to check it patiently one by one.
- Go to the main home screen of your iPhone.
- Keep swiping right until you find the App Library.
- When you discover the phone app icon, long press it until it jiggles.
- It will open a menu with seven options.
- Click on Add To Home Screen.
If you don’t find this option, the app is already on your home screen but hidden inside a folder. Therefore, try searching manually in each folder. Once you discover the lost phone icon on iPhone, press and hold to drag it to the home screen.
Alternatively, you can also swipe down the screen of the app library. Then, drag the phone app icon on the home screen by long pressing it. Even if the app is hidden inside a folder, this trick will automatically take it out of the folder.
Read also: How to Turn on or off Caller ID on iPhone?
Tips To Follow
- Never use any external app to remove the phone app icon forcefully.
- Apply the method of resetting your phone as a last option only. Although resetting the device won’t delete the contents, but you may find problems with the new arrangement of apps.
- Sometimes, the voicemail icon goes missing even when you have found a phone app icon. It can be due to the country or carrier, so reset all settings or reach out to your carrier for voicemail support.
- Take a screenshot of the home pages before clicking reset home screen layout. It helps you to remember how the app icons were arranged before resetting.
Frequently Asked Questions:
1. What can cause the phone icon to go missing on my iPhone?
The most common reason for the phone icon to disappear from your iPhone is due to accidental app displacement, which means it might have been moved or hidden in a folder. Other reasons could include restrictions being enabled or a software glitch causing the icon to disappear.
2. How can I retrieve the missing phone icon on my iPhone?
To retrieve the missing phone icon, you can use the Spotlight search to locate the app first. If you still can’t find it, you can reset your home screen layout in Settings. This action will reset app positions to their default locations. Please note that this action will rearrange all your app icons.
3. Can the iPhone phone icon be deleted?
No, the iPhone’s phone icon is a native app and cannot be deleted. If it’s not visible, it’s likely been moved into a folder or onto a different home screen.
4. What if resetting the home screen layout doesn’t bring back the phone icon on my iPhone?
If resetting the home screen layout doesn’t work, you could have software issues. In such a case, try restarting your iPhone. If the problem persists, consider updating the iOS or restoring the iPhone using iTunes or Finder on a computer. Remember to back up your data before any restore operation.
Conclusion
Missing phone icon on iphone can create a lot of trouble because you cannot call or voice mail anyone without it. The methods above help you to figure out lost phone app icons effortlessly. You can also try switching off and then restarting your device to discover lost apps. The solution mentioned in this guide can also be used to find other apps. If you still find any problems in finding the apps, let’s know through the comments. We will try to come back as soon as possible with the best solution.
