Homescreen is blank

[Sheenatron]

Nothing seems to be working on my phone homescreen - no apps, no way to make calls etc - it's just blank. I restarted it, now the homescreen is blank and I can't use my phone. I can't recall any reason why this would be happening (eg, haven't dropped my phone etc).

When I press the power button, I see the time/notifications, but when I then unlock the phone, it just shows 'no recent apps' on a blank screen with the time/battery life/network in the top. I can swipe down and I can access settings from the notifications menu. I am getting notifications, and can access apps that way, but I have no widgets, no icons on the home screen, no obvious way to make phone calls etc. If I manage to get into an app, if I press the fingerprint sensor button to return home it vibrates to acknowledge I've pushed it, but does nothing.

The battery is charged. I have restarted, have left the phone off for a little while, have gone into safe mode (same problems as above), wiped the cache partition and wiped some of the data (not a full wipe, I can't remember the terminology - but it removed some of the settings like finger prints).

Please help!

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! Does it look like it's stuck in Smart View?

ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7sU3yGpRF8

 

[ashune]

Could you post some screenshots of your problem? It would make diagnosing the problem easier. Be sure to censor any personal information.

 

[Sheenatron]

Thank you both for your replies. I'm not sure if it was Smartcover. I watched the video, and searched my settings for Smart Cover - it was turned on, so I turned it off but it is still doing the same.

I was going to post screenshots initially, but couldn't work out how because I couldn't get into any of my apps. But I actually did a screen record, then swiped into my camera from the unlock screen, then went into the gallery and shared it from there. This seems to be the only way I can get into apps at the moment - by going through settings, notifications etc. I have no app menu and no icons on the home screen.

Here's a video: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1suMA4xnXsmb15qhI8AOIQJAljhRQXClb/view?usp=sharing

It shows the screen (no icons etc) once I unlock the phone, then clicking the square/triangle/circle buttons with nothing happening, then swiping the blind at the top down and going into settings, then finally some swiping left/right to show there's nothing hidden.

I hope this helps. I also hope I'm being stupid and it's an easy resolution! Thanks again.

 

[B. Diddy]

Thanks, that video helps. It doesn't look like the Smart View screen. Go to the system settings and search for "Home." What app is shown as the Home launcher? Are you able to install a 3rd party launcher like Nova?

 

[Sheenatron]

Thanks again! OK, I searched for Home and went into Home Screen & Wallpaper. However, when I tap 'Home Screen Settings' (in this screenshot) it doesn't do anything. It goes grey to show I've pressed it, but it does nothing. If I tap 'Home Screen Style' underneath, it works OK (and is currently set to 'Standard').



Thanks for your help

 

[ashune]

That's a weird issue. Try the following:

-- Go to Settings > Apps > Apps > search for Huawei Home and tap it. There are several things you should try here:

• If the app is disabled, enable it. (Although you should not be even able to disable it)
• Force stop the app and try to go to the home screen.
• Tap on Storage and then clear the app data. Note that you'll have to rearrange your home screen icons and widgets.

-- Go to Settings > Apps > Default apps > Home app. In case no home app is set, set Huawei Home as the default home app and try to go home. If it is already the default home app, go to the Play Store, install another launcher (I recommend Nova Launcher or Evie) and then set it as the default home app. If you are not able to open the Play Store on your phone because of this issue, you can try installing it from your PC. Go to the Play Store website, sign in with your Google account, and install it from there.

 

[B. Diddy]

OK, I searched for Home and went into Home Screen & Wallpaper.

I'm sorry, I meant to look for the Default Home App option. On a Pixel, it's in Settings>Apps & Notifications>Advanced>Default Apps​.

 

[Sheenatron]

Thank you again for your help guys

I have tried the above and it's still the same. However here is another video that showed some problems encountered while I tried this. It shows me going into settings via the top blind/notifications window, but when I click apps, the screen goes white, and then minimises into a window (as if I have pressed the square 'recents' icon at the bottom of the screen - I can assure you nothing was touching any part of the screen). I then tap the window to go back into apps and it does the same. The only way I can access apps in the end is to search 'apps' (as seen in the video).

https://drive.google.com/file/d/17sNHeQDjUKrmBmRvsGFDe0LEmWMPVJ_0/view?usp=sharing

I tried installing that Nova Launcher (via my PC as suggested) but it isn't showing on my phone. Both PC and Phone are logged into the same Google account.

Thanks again!

 

[ashune]

@Sheenatron did you find a soultion to your problem?

 

[Sheenatron]

Hi mr_master, no I didn't, thanks for checking - I replied but I think my message is awaiting moderation presumably as there is a link in it to another video. I had to jump through a few hoops to get to the applications setting (when I pressed it, it would kind of collapse into a window in a similar way as when you push the square 'recents' icon at the bottom of the screen) and not let me go into the applications settings. However when I searched for 'applications' and tapped this, it let me in fine. It showed Huawei Home as the default and I installed Nova (via my PC) as suggested, but it doesn't seem to be an option on my phone (which is logged into the same Google account).

Hopefully when my post is approved what I'm saying will make more sense!

 

[Javier P]

Thanks again! OK, I searched for Home and went into Home Screen & Wallpaper. However, when I tap 'Home Screen Settings' (in this screenshot) it doesn't do anything. It goes grey to show I've pressed it, but it does nothing. If I tap 'Home Screen Style' underneath, it works OK (and is currently set to 'Standard').

View attachment 319072

Thanks for your help

Have you tried changing the home screen style to "Drawer"? Can you open the app drawer after changing it?

 

[B. Diddy]

It might be time to do a factory reset. If that doesn't work, then it's possible the copy of the firmware on the phone has become corrupt (and since the factory reset uses that corrupt firmware, it's not enough to fix it). In that case, you would have to reinstall the firmware -- you might be able to do so using HiSuite; https://consumer.huawei.com/en/support/how-to/newbie-guide/en-us00416960/

 

[Sheenatron]

Hi Javier, yes, I tried that and it didn't work, but thank you for the input anyway! And yes B. Diddy, I'm coming to the same conclusion. The good thing is that I should be able to backup the last couple of things that haven't synced so hopefully this will fix it. Either way I will let you guys know. Thanks again.

 

[Javier P]

Hi Javier, yes, I tried that and it didn't work, but thank you for the input anyway! And yes B. Diddy, I'm coming to the same conclusion. The good thing is that I should be able to backup the last couple of things that haven't synced so hopefully this will fix it. Either way I will let you guys know. Thanks again.

Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[Sheenatron]

Hey everyone,

I did the factory reset and the home screen seems to be functioning as normal, all the icons are back and the widgets are working again, so that did the trick.

Thanks everyone for your help, it's so good of you guys to take the time to help people like me.

 

[B. Diddy]

Great! And it's also great that you were keeping important data synced and backed up -- good habit!

 

[Sheenatron]

Yes, thank god for the Cloud, it's easier than ever now. I lost a few bits and bobs, nothing super annoying but I'm really happy it's functioning now Thanks again

 

[Javier P]

Hey everyone,

I did the factory reset and the home screen seems to be functioning as normal, all the icons are back and the widgets are working again, so that did the trick.

Thanks everyone for your help, it's so good of you guys to take the time to help people like me.

Excellent! Glad everything is working fine.