Help - restore deleted icons to app drawer?

[dhdoyle]

I came to the Android world from the iPhone and Blackberry. Before I understood the Android way of doing things, I decided to "clean up" the apps drawer and delete a bunch of icons that I thought I didn't need. Now I've discovered that I want some of them back. The Application Manager shows that the apps are still installed, but I can't start them. How to I restore those Icons to the Apps Drawer? Thanks for helping a fool:-[

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central!

First, let's make sure we're on the same page. When you say "apps drawer," you're referring to the all apps list, not the homescreen, right? Because deleting icons from the homescreen is simply removing a shortcut, not completely deleting an app.

I don't have an S4, so I don't know how different the app drawer is from the one on my Razr Maxx. How exactly did you delete the icons from the app drawer? If you longpress an icon in the app drawer, you should then see options for "App Info" and "Uninstall," and dragging the icon to an option will execute it. So if you dragged an icon in the app drawer to the Uninstall option, then it should be gone from your phone. I think the S4 also gives you the option to hide an app in the app drawer, so if there's an option for "show hidden," make sure it's checked.

It's possible to Disable apps in the Settings/Apps menu, so if you're still seeing the apps installed but they can't be started, then perhaps you disabled them. Go to Settings/Apps/All, and scroll down all the way to the bottom, which is where Disabled apps are usually listed (although on Android 4.3, the Disabled apps are now a separate list under Settings/Apps). Find the app you might have disabled, select it, then tap "Enable."

Try that for starters.

 

[dhdoyle]

B. Diddy,

Thanks for taking time to clarify the vocabulary. I'm still not familiar with Android nomenclature. I'm using a Verizon S4 on Android 4.2.2
I deleted some icons from the app drawer (not the home screen) by long-pressing the icon and then dragging it to a trash can at the top of the screen.
Yes, I have disabled other apps and they are shown at the bottom of the Settings/Apps/All screen
Yes, I uninstalled some other apps.

No, I didn't keep track of the changes I made. However, there are several apps shown in Settings/Apps/All for which I don't have an icon in the app drawer. Take Photo Editor for example. It's available from within the Gallery, but isn't it also a stand-alone app? When I look over the Settings/Apps/All list, I see other apps (not Android modules or services) that don't appear in my apps drawer. I may be on a wild goose chase and all my apps may be accounted for. I just don't know.

Thanks again.

 

[B. Diddy]

Not everything you see in Settings/Apps/All is a standalone app that you can open on its own. For example, on my Razr Maxx, there's an app listing for "Audio Effects," which I think is for the built-in equalizer--but you can only access it from the Settings menu. What are some of the other apps you see that aren't in the app drawer?

 

[Dave-in-Decatur]

I deleted some icons from the app drawer (not the home screen) by long-pressing the icon and then dragging it to a trash can at the top of the screen.

I'm pretty new to the S4 myself (it's my second Android phone), but I'm not sure that this action has any effect on an app in the app drawer. Long-pressing an app in the app drawer will not, in fact, show ou options for "App Info" and "Uninstall" in this version of Android. Instead, it initiates putting a shortcut to it on one of the Home screens. If you move it to the trash can, you're basically just canceling that shortcut, not doing anything to the app in the drawer.

You can hide (and later view and unhide) apps while in the app drawer by tapping the Menu key and selecting the appropriate option. That's also where you can uninstall apps (if they're uninstallable; the apps pre-installed on the phone can't be uninstalled, only hidden and disabled).

B. Diddy has explained about re-enabling disabled apps. As for the ones you uninstalled, you can get them back. Go to the Play Store, tap the Menu key, and select My apps. Select the All tab and find any apps that belong to you but are not installed, tap the ones you want to get back, and select install. This possibility always exists for every app you've acquired. Even ones you wish to heaven you'd never heard of in the first place.

Hope that's helpful!

 

[B. Diddy]

Thanks for that clarification! And since it's always helpful, here's a link to the S4 manual: http://downloadcenter.samsung.com/c...-I9500_UM_EU_Jellybean_Eng_Rev.1.0_130412.pdf

 

[slessera]

Re: Help - restore deleted icons to home page drawer?

The messinging icon on my desk top has disappeared and I would like to have it restored. Phone is Tracfone LG

 

[payal shah]

Hello, can anyone help me? I'm an oneplus 5T user. I accidentally deleted my launcher. I installed it again but my inbuilt icon packs have been deleted. Can anybody tell how can I restore it ?