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Where is the Files app?

I don't seem to have the Files app on my iPad or iPhone. If I go to the App store, I can open it from there, but there's no icon on either device. How do I get it to show up on iPad & iPhone? Thanks!

iPad Air 2 Wi-Fi

Posted on Sep 4, 2019 9:18 AM

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Posted on Sep 4, 2019 12:34 PM

Thank you! That worked. The search found Files instantly, but doesn’t tell me where it is so I can access it without having to do the swipe. I know it’s supposed to be in Utilities, but it’s not there. Where else could it possibly be?

9 replies

Sep 4, 2019 1:15 PM in response to Centime

If there's nothing to the right of the icon, it means that either Files is on a page somewhere and you just haven't seen it or you have too many apps to display. How many pages of apps do you have?


The nuclear option to find it would be to reset your home screen layout. Settings>General>Reset>Reset Home Screen layout. This will put all the pre-install apps back in their original positions. However, it will also remove any folders you've created.

Sep 4, 2019 12:22 PM in response to Centime

Swipe down from the middle of the screen, not the top, and not the top eight. Swipe from a point in the center of your iPhone or iPad screen. It doesn’t have to be the exact center of the screen, but approximately in the center top to bottom and left to right for lack of a better way of describing it.


This is a screenshot on my iPad. This is what you see once you have successfully swiped to get to the Spotlight Search.


Sep 4, 2019 12:40 PM in response to Centime

Do you see another folder name to the right of the icon when it appeared in the search? I searched for Mario on my iPad and I can see the Folder named “Games” to the right of the app icon. That is the folder that I put the game into.






If you don’t see a folder name, the app is somewhere that you just haven’t discovered yet. Have you swiped from Screen to screen to look for it?

Where is the Files app?

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