Unable to move or organize apps after iOS 26 update on iPhone 16 Pro

Even after installing the latest update public release of 26.1 no improvement to the moving of apps feature or the whole icons disappearing issue that is still ongoing on my iPhone 17 Air. I am beyond disappointed that Apple would release an iOS version so filled with bugs that basic operations that were once smooth and easy are now difficult and problematic and in some cases simply cannot be overcome depending on the issue.

The main thing that attracted me to Apple way back when I purchased my first iPhone which was the iPhone 3 followed by the 3G is the simplicity of it all. Over the years they have done a pretty consistent job of keeping it that way until now. It seems like now it’s all an experiment with a rush put on things that just are not ready for public release when it comes to iOS updates. The reality is this Apple is becoming overly focused on how many features they can pack into iOS and not on how they can continue to keep it simple.

if Apple wants to serve the general public the focus should be on design improvement and creation of their products as well as quality control of the production of them, and finally pricing.

The iPhone Air could have been much more successful if it they had focused on hardware like battery life and camera capability as well as performance, and antenna quality. I personally love the phone itself from a design perspective but it leaves a great deal to be desired in other areas for the price. But I digress. iOS 26 a flop in many ways and Tim Cooke should have had them working on it longer before its release date to make sure it was ready for the public.

I am repeating this message in case you missed it in another post. It does work but it is extremely slow.

UNTIL THEY FIX IT, BE PATIENT, TAKE YOUR TIME.

Moving apps has been a challenge, but all of a sudden I’m able to do it with lots of patience.

I have an iPhone 17 Air, iOS 25.1, with 1GB memory. Yes, I have a hundreds of apps, but that should not be a reason that I can’t move them around the screen easily like in previous iOS versions.

However, I have noticed that yesterday I finally figured out how to move apps and folders, even though it takes up to five minutes or more for each move.

Here’s what I have to do:

HOW TO MOVE A FOLDER TO ANOTHER PAGE

1 - press gently and hold on the folder until the window opens with the message “Edit Home Screen”

2 - Select “Edit Home Screen”.

3 - hold your finger gently against the folder that you want to move and wait patiently until it starts to expand just slightly.

4 - Then slowly move your finger with the folder toward the left side of the screen until you can just barely see your folder on the page. Then after a minute or so, the next page will arrive coming across slowly to put you on that next page. Never let go of with your finger on the screen.

5 - if this is not the correct page that you want then continue holding where you’re at on the left edge of the screen so that it will move to next page.

6 - Wait until the page stabilizes completely holding your finger with the folder into the position where you exactly want it to be left. Sometimes other folders will start to move around and not allow you to put the folder where you want it. You have to move it around slowly until finally it will give up and let you put it where you want it. Sometimes after a couple of minutes, it will give up and you will see the folder name appear at the bottom of the folder.

7 - Once this happens it is an indication that you should be able to let go with your finger. Don’t touch anything yet, but wait just a little bit and then you should be able to touch the END button at the upper right of the screen letting it know that you have completed the operation.

8 - hopefully after about five minutes working time, the folder will remain where you want it and you have successfully completed your task.

HOW TO REARRANGE OR MOVE AN APP INTO A FOLDER

1 - the steps are similar to moving a folder to another page with some exceptions.

2 - 1st place your finger on the app that you want to move and wait until the screen starts to jiggle the apps. Then select “Edit home screen.”

3 - once the app starts to expand in size just slightly you can then slide your finger to move where you would like it to be placed on the screen. If you’re moving it into a folder, slide it over the top of the folder and hold it there for at least a minute and a half until the folder starts to change its look. If it starts to expand in size a little you should be able to place that app inside the folder. But wait!

4 - don’t let go of your finger until you’re sure that that app is setting in a safe place inside that folder before you release the finger.

5 - once everything looks good then let go of your finger and don’t touch anything for another minute or so. Then you can click the END button at the upper right of the screen to stop the operation.

DEDICATION, PATIENCE, AND LOTS OF TIME IS REQUIRED TO DO EACH OF THESE OPERATIONS UNTIL THEY ARE SUCCESSFUL. A lot of trial and error until you can successfully complete these steps is required.

I don’t know if it’s a matter of memory problems that’s causing these operations that used to only take a few seconds to do.

I hope Apple can resolve this as quickly as possible.

GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE. 😎

As I think I have previously mentioned the issue is time and I suspect many people don’t have the time to move apps into folders or create folders. I have at least 10 items to move to different folders and the time needed to take to do this is not efficient. Why can’t Apple give us back what was working fine previously. I have always believed that if change is to occur it should be for the better NOT FOR WORSE as has happened with this particular Apple functionality. Apple please get this fixed.

HO HO HO!!! NO 🎄 MERRY CHRISTMAS GIFT 🎁 TO 📱iPHONE USERS YET. I have now downloaded iOS 26.2 and have found no improvements to this situation. As a matter of fact, it’s even gotten a little bit worse.

NEW ALERT: When trying to move an app to a new folder on another page, once you get to that page, sometimes it will quickly move to the next page of folders to the left and want you to drop the app on that page. You have to make sure you don’t let go of the app icon and move it back to the right to get it back again to the page and folder that you need. You’ll have to hold it for a little bit to make sure that it stays on that page and then begin to put it in the folder that you want. Be careful because it does odd things trying to adjust positions of folders on that page.

There have been no improvements that I have hoped for on this moving apps situation.

I guess Apple doesn’t want to give us a 🎄Merry Christmas gift of having this whole situation working correctly for the multiple thousands of people that are having this problem.

The post was created before any updates were released to iOS 26. From what I am reading the latest update for iOS 26.2 made this and some other issues even worse.

I’m simply not updating iOS past 26.1 until I see positive reviews on a release version that resolves these issues. If you own a Mac you can usually roll back to previous version if you have back ups stored in iCloud from before the updates. Otherwise you will have to just wait for Apple to realize how bad they messed things up and fix them.

I tried to rearrange my apps via "Apple Configurator", it made it even worse, all widgets were gone, some apps were arranged in folders and I am unable to get any app out of a folder anymore. Additionally all apps landed randomly on different screens.

If you have a lot of apps arranged in folders daily, and don’t want to lose the arrangements, don’t let Apple ask you to reset your iPhone. If you do that, you will lose all the set up that you had with apps in the folders and have to start all over again and rearranging the apps.

Apple needs to have a fix 🩺 that that step is not necessary. It seems that from some people it doesn’t make a difference if you do that anyway. They still can’t rearrange their apps properly and easily.

I guess there will not be any new 🍎 iOS update for 🌲🎁🎄 Christmas from 🧑‍🎄🤶 this year.

I am having the same issue. I miss beign able to organize my apps. Hope its fixed soon

The two-handed process does not work either, because as soon as the apps start to wobble, the system freezes and restarts after several minutes.

I have the latest update 26.1. Only problem is that it will not let me move folders that have apps in them to another page.

Still waiting for the app editing feature of rearranging apps to be fixed.

Are we condemned to keep our iphone 26.1 screens with the same app disposition for many years to come ? Or is Apple actually going to do something about the problem like, maybe, FIX IT ?

Like launching a new car. The steering wheel doesn’t work very well, but we’l see about that later….

I agree. But my phone now has a “flat tire”!

iOS 26.2 did not fix it.

Your comment is not an apt example. A flat tire is no fault of the automobile brand. It’s like saying dropping your phone is Apple’s fault. Stay on track. Please.