Removing widgets from the home screens

[dougocotton]

I'll confess that I'm new to all this -- my cell phone isn't smart and I've only had my Nexus 7 for a few days. I know my way around a PC but I've never used an Android product before. My first dumb question:

I want to remove some widgets from the home screen. The instructions say to "touch & hold, then drag (the widget) to the Remove icon at the top of the screen." There is no Remove icon at the top of the screen, at least nothing that I recognize as meaning Remove and nothing that acts like a Remove icon. There's also no trash/recycle icon. Please, how do I delete/remove unwanted widgets?

Thanks.

 

[TraderGary]

Drag to the top and the red delete will appear out of nowhere. Drop on the red X and it's gone.

Sent from my incredible new Nexus 7 (2013)

 

[patruns]

Also, go into your Play Store app and in the settings uncheck the box next to auto-add widgets so you don't get more every time you download a new app.

 

[DirkBelig]

Jump to 0:35 for the remove demo:

 

[dougocotton]

Thanks to all for the answers. It didn't work that way on my Nexus 7, and I'm wondering if mine just has different software. Dragging stuff to the top never made the red thing appear, as described by TraderGary and as seen in DirkBelig's video. That just never happened on my tablet. Instead I've discovered that things seem to be deleted (at least they're gone from the screen) if I hold and drag an icon, and then full-force fling it off the top of the screen, like pitching a fastball. Voooosh!

So, no complaints. And ten days in, my Nexus 7 is dollar-for-dollar the best piece of technology I've ever owned. Thanks again.

 

[mchockeyvette27]

Thanks to all for the answers. It didn't work that way on my Nexus 7, and I'm wondering if mine just has different software. Dragging stuff to the top never made the red thing appear, as described by TraderGary and as seen in DirkBelig's video. That just never happened on my tablet. Instead I've discovered that things seem to be deleted (at least they're gone from the screen) if I hold and drag an icon, and then full-force fling it off the top of the screen, like pitching a fastball. Voooosh!

So, no complaints. And ten days in, my Nexus 7 is dollar-for-dollar the best piece of technology I've ever owned. Thanks again.

Flicking widgets and apps to the top of the screen works too. As far as dragging widgets to the top to delete them, I guarantee you that also works. The software is no different than anyone else's.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[mandii10]

Does anyone know how to remove widgets from a home screen on the Phone Pad Mini 7. Nothing happens if you keep your finger on the widget. No deleting options show up nor do any settings.

If anyone knows how to hide or delete the widgets please let me know!!

 

[B. Diddy]

Does anyone know how to remove widgets from a home screen on the Phone Pad Mini 7. Nothing happens if you keep your finger on the widget. No deleting options show up nor do any settings.

If anyone knows how to hide or delete the widgets please let me know!!

Welcome to Android Central! You may be better off starting a new thread in the General Help & How-to forum. What widget are you trying to remove? Are you sure it's a widget, or just an app shortcut?

Posted via Android Central App

 

[jnbarth]

If you are using your nexus in landscape orientation, the 'X' is at the upper left corner and it isn't red. In portrait mode it is red and pops up at the top center of the screen. The flick motion works in either mode.

Posted via Android Central App

 

[Revampd]

Thank you, thank you!! This was making me crazy. With my stock N7 the red x would appear in the corner. I flashed CM 10 the other day and I couldn't remove icons any longer... no red x. And dragging them to any edge did NOT work. "Flicking" does. For the umteenth time I'm wondering why it's so hard to find these answers. How on earth did you figure that out?

Thanks to all for the answers. It didn't work that way on my Nexus 7, and I'm wondering if mine just has different software. Dragging stuff to the top never made the red thing appear, as described by TraderGary and as seen in DirkBelig's video. That just never happened on my tablet. Instead I've discovered that things seem to be deleted (at least they're gone from the screen) if I hold and drag an icon, and then full-force fling it off the top of the screen, like pitching a fastball. Voooosh!

So, no complaints. And ten days in, my Nexus 7 is dollar-for-dollar the best piece of technology I've ever owned. Thanks again.

 

[Loran Thompson]

I'll confess that I'm new to all this -- my cell phone isn't smart and I've only had my Nexus 7 for a few days. I know my way around a PC but I've never used an Android product before. My first dumb question:

I want to remove some widgets from the home screen. The instructions say to "touch & hold, then drag (the widget) to the Remove icon at the top of the screen." There is no Remove icon at the top of the screen, at least nothing that I recognize as meaning Remove and nothing that acts like a Remove icon. There's also no trash/recycle icon. Please, how do I delete/remove unwanted widgets?

Thanks.

I tried dragging widgets to trash site on homepage. the widgets would not move. i want to delete these widgets from my home screen. what can i do now? i am exstremlly frustrated!!!

 

[B. Diddy]

Welcome to Android Central! First, I want to make sure we're talking about the same thing--you're talking about wanting to remove a widget from the homescreen, right? The screen that starts out blank, and where you can place app shortcuts and widgets, right? As opposed to the App Drawer, which is your list of all Apps and Widgets.

So if you're on the homescreen, which widget are you trying to remove? And what happens when you press and hold the widget in question? If you press and hold, after about half a second, you should see become movable, and there should be an "X" or "Remove" area that appears at the top of the screen. Do you see that?

 

[cruiser2000]

I had the same problem. So far I've notice android device aren't as intuitive as windows or mac's
Lots of new tricks to learn.

Who says you can't teach a old dog new tricks?

 

[Sheila Ervin-Parks]

Thanks,
I really appreciate the information to remove widgets from my mobile home screen!

 

[cruised]

Thank you so much! I hated having all them widgets on my home screen. Now I won't get them anymore and the ones I had are gone!

 

[Shaela White]

How do I remove the widgets I do not want there

 

[Sarath Raj M]

Hi I am using Gionee Elife E3, all the widgets which i want to remove from Home screen is movable but the one on top is not movable and if I press and hold it is taking me to Edit desktop, please help

 

[Lorenzo C]

THE ONLY THING THAT APPEARS WHEN I HOLD AND DRAG IS AN "APPLICATION INFORMATION" LINK (which if I drag on it it opens a page with all infor about the app, you can Terminate it, but nothing about removing the widget on home screen) NO REMOVE ICON, NO TRASH ICON, NO RED X, NOTHING ON ANY SIDE OF THE SCREEN APPEARS AT ALL. I have Android 4.4.2.I tried to hold and quickly swing it to the top of the screen, as suggested by another user. Nothing.
Then I tried to HOLD AND QUICKLY SWING IT TO THE ***BOTTOM*** OF THE SCREEN, AND THE WIDGET IS GONE. FINALLY.
SO DON'T SAY THAT ALL SOFTWARES ARE THE SAME. ABSOLUTELY NOT TRUE. My phone is a Wiko Sunset2 with Andorid 4.4.2.

 

[Lorenzo C]

Correction. No it does not work. I thought the widget was gon, it's only switched to another screen. Help !!!

 

[Confusedcom]

Thanks very much. Easy when you nw how.