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How to arrange iPhone icons with iTunes

If you have a lot of apps on your iPhone, it can be difficult to arrange the home screen icons on your device. This article will show you how to use iTunes on your computer to easily arrange home screen icons on your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch.

UPDATE: Apple removed this functionality from iTunes for macOS and Windows. If you are using an older version of iTunes (pre 12.7), the instructions in this article will still "just work".

Why Not Arrange Icons on the iPhone?

The iPhone has the capability to arrange icons on the home screen. Simply hold a finger down on an icon until all of the icons start to wiggle. Next, drag icons into place or on top of each other to create a new folder. You can delete apps by pressing the "x" on the top left corner of the icon. When you're done, tap the home button and your iPhone will exit edit mode.

If you've tried doing this, you'll know that it's not always easy. When you move one icon into place, another may slide somewhere else, often to an undesired location. Then you have to move it back, which can cause another one to move. It can also be difficult to move icons between different home screens. Fortunately, you can use iTunes on your Mac or PC to arrange icons on the home screens.

Using iTunes to Arrange Home Screen Icons

This article assumes that you have downloaded and installed iTunes on your Mac or PC. iOS devices no longer require iTunes to function, but the software is a great accompaniment to any iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. In addition to managing your device, iTunes can also backup your device and move documents onto your computer. It's also a great place to store iTunes music, movies and TV shows so they don't take up space on your iOS device. You can even import music or video into iTunes and sync it onto your device. This article also assumes that you have set up WiFi sync or have connected your device to iTunes with a dock-to-USB cable.

First, launch iTunes and wait for the application to find your iOS devices. If you are using WiFi sync, this should happen automatically. Otherwise, you will need to connect your device to your computer using a dock-to-USB cable. Next, click on the "Devices" button on the top right of the screen, in the toolbar.

Click devices then click iPhoneClick on the device you would like to manage. The summary screen for your iPhone will appear. From the summary screen, click on the "Apps" tab in the top toolbar.

click on the apps tab

iTunes will sync with your iOS device and display every app that is installed on the left. On the right, you will see the home screens and folders. With this user interface, it's possible to arrange icons on the home screens, create folders and rename folders. You can increase the size of the home screens displayed by sliding the control located just above the "Home Screens" label. This may make it easier to view what you have installed on your iPhone. This gives you a bird's-eye view of your apps, making it easier to arrange them. (continue…)

iTunes screen for arranging iPhone home screens

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