How do I move the Compass app from a folder to the Home Screen?

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How do I move the Compass app from a folder to the Home Screen?

We just bought a new car without onboard navigation and no compass in its rear view mirror. My husband just wants to be able to clearly see whether he’s headed N,S,E or W (like on the map screen of our old car—the only thing he ever used the map for). We do have Apple CarPlay enabled, but Compass is not on the Home Screen so its icon doesn’t appear on the CarPlay screen. It’s in the Utilities folder, which appears only after I’ve swiped left enough times to reach the page of folders. When I press & hold it, it jiggles but the only option I see for it is the “-“ or “x” in the upper R corner of the icon. I try to drag it but can’t. He doesn’t want to put an old-fashioned ball compass on the windshield (suction cups) or dash (duct tape). And a separate GPS unit is theft-bait (he doesn’t want to have to go to the glove compartment every time he leaves or enters the car). AppleMaps does not show N,S,E, or W either. HELP!!!!! (IPhone 12 Mini running latest iOS).

iPhone 12 mini

Posted on Jul 21, 2022 4:04 PM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Chris0107

Level 9

52,001 points

Jul 21, 2022 4:19 PM in response to Sandra Andina1

If you're swiping left all the way to the far right screen, (which is the App Library) and you see the Compass app there in the Utilities category/folder.. I thought you could tap/hold and get the option to Add to the Home Screen, but it looks like it's smart enough to know that it's already on the Home Screen when you do it that way. So it won't give you that option. What that's telling me is that the Compass app is already on one of your Home Screens, maybe buried in a folder or something?

There are a couple of ways you can do this..

From any Home Screen other than the App Library, you should be able to swipe downward to get the search field. From there you can type Compass, it should show the top result as the Compass app.. and if the Compass app is currently buried somewhere in a folder on your Home Screen, off to the right, it will tell you the name of that folder where it's currently hiding.

If that helps you locate it, then you can go to that folder, edit the Home Screen and drag it out to wherever it will be more convenient for you to access.

The next method might be kind of a loophole, as the initial finding would suggest that Apple won't allow you to add the app to the Home Screen if it's already there.. but you CAN!

If you swipe left until you get to the App Library, swipe downward or tap the search field in the App Library, you'll get an alphabetical list of all your apps. Scroll down or type Compass, once found, tap/hold and drag.. it will let you add to the Home Screen this way even if it's already out there somewhere

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Answer 2

-Bubba-

Level 6

10,860 points

Jul 22, 2022 11:06 AM in response to Sandra Andina1

These instructions should allow you to move Compass to the Home Screen. First, unlock your iPhone, and swipe all the way to the right. You should be in something called the App Library that looks like the below picture-

Once in the App Library, click the "Utilities" folder (in the above image, it's the second folder from the top, on the left). Press and hold on the Compass app until it shakes, but don't let go! You'll see a menu like this on the screen-

Keep holding the app in the same place! After holding it for about three seconds, it'll automatically move it to the Home Screen, where you can let go and press Done.

Hope this helps!

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Answer 3

Jul 22, 2022 10:33 AM in response to Chris0107

My husband has no folders on his Home Screen, because he never heard of “folders” and so never made any. (He’s 72 and until we got the new car and discovered CarPlay, uses his phone only for calls, text and asking Siri for sports scores). He has plenty of empty space (the entire lower 1/3) on his Home Screen. I am more of a “power user” (iPhone 12ProMax) and have carefully organized my own apps into folders, but I’m stumped as to why Apple apparently created folders on his little 12Mini and hid them—and why some apps like Compass don’t appear anywhere on his screens. I’m wondering if maybe his hospital’s “Perfect Serve” messaging/paging app (which dominates the Home Screen) has hogged too many resources? (His hospital system has ordered all its doctors to use iPhones rather than Android, and even mandated Verizon as the carrier).

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How do I move the Compass app from a folder to the Home Screen?

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