To change the Home screen on a Samsung Galaxy phone, touch and hold an empty area, then choose Wallpaper and style, Widgets, or Settings. You can also drag apps and folders into new positions and choose your main Home screen page. These steps use Samsung’s One UI Home launcher; available controls vary by model and software version.
The short version
- Background: Hold an empty area and open Wallpaper and style to choose a wallpaper.
- Layout: Open Settings > Home screen to choose how your apps are organized.
- Shortcuts and widgets: Drag apps into place and tap Widgets from the Home screen’s editing menu to add widgets.
- Keep your arrangement: Turn on Lock Home screen layout after you finish moving items.
| What you want to change | Where to start |
|---|---|
| Photo or built-in wallpaper | Wallpaper and style > Change wallpapers |
| AI-generated wallpaper | Generative under Create with AI on compatible models |
| Home screen or separate app drawer | Settings > Home screen > Home screen layout |
| Home screen grid | Hold empty space, then open Settings > Home screen grid |
| Apps button | Show Apps screen button on Home screen in Home screen settings |
| App drawer sorting and scrolling | Open the Apps screen, then More options > Sort |
| Main page and page arrangement | Hold empty Home screen space to open page previews |
| App shortcuts | Hold an app to add, move, or remove its shortcut |
| Favorites row | Drag shortcuts into or out of the bottom row |
| Folders | Drag one app onto another, then open the folder |
| Folder size | Hold a Home screen folder and tap Enlarge on One UI 7 or later |
| Widgets | Hold empty space and tap Widgets; hold an existing widget to adjust it |
| Widget stacks | Hold a widget and tap Create stack where supported |
| Icon size and labels | App and widget style in One UI 7 Home screen settings |
| Complete theme | Hold empty Home screen space and tap Themes |
| Icon pack | Themes > Icons |
| Previous theme | In Themes, open Menu, open My stuff, then select Themes |
| Hidden apps | Hide apps on Home and Apps screens in Home screen settings |
| Layout protection | Lock Home screen layout in Home screen settings |
| Additional grids and folder styles | Good Lock > Home Up on compatible phones |
| Favorites row visibility | Show Favorites in compatible Home Up versions |
| Free positioning, stickers, and layers | DIY Home Screen in compatible Home Up versions |
| Custom themes and icon designs | Good Lock > Theme Park on compatible phones |
Change your Home screen wallpaper
Touch and hold an empty area of your Home screen, then tap Wallpaper and style > Change wallpapers. Choose a wallpaper category or open Gallery for a personal photo. Select the image and tap Done.
Select Home screen, then tap Next. Position the image, adjust the styling controls offered by your phone, and tap Done. Wallpaper categories and effects depend on your Galaxy model and One UI version.
On Galaxy AI-compatible models offering generative wallpapers, open Change wallpapers and choose Generative under Create with AI. Pick a template, change its offered prompt words, and tap Generate. Choose an image, tap Set, select Home screen, then tap Next and Done.
Choose your app layout and grid
Open Settings > Home screen > Home screen layout. Choose Home screen only to keep your apps on Home pages, or Home and Apps screens for a separate app drawer. Tap Apply to save your choice.
On One UI 7, touch and hold an empty Home screen area, then tap Settings > Home screen grid. Choose 4x6 or 5x6, then tap Done; foldables and later releases can have different choices. One UI 7 removed 4x5 and 5x5 from the standard grid selection, though compatible Home Up versions offer additional layout controls.
With a separate Apps screen, open Settings > Home screen and turn Show Apps screen button on Home screen on or off. To sort the Apps screen, open it and tap More options > Sort, then choose Alphabetical order or Custom order. On One UI 7, Alphabetical order scrolls vertically, while Custom order keeps horizontal pages.
Set your main page and arrange other pages
Hold an empty Home screen area to show your page previews. Swipe to the page you want as your main Home screen and tap its house icon. Drag the previews to change their order.
To add another page, swipe to the empty page and tap its plus icon. To remove a page, tap its trash icon.
Move apps and organize them into folders
Open the Apps screen, touch and hold an app, and tap Add to Home, or drag it onto your Home screen. Hold a shortcut and drag it to a new position. To move it to another page, drag it toward the screen edge.
Place frequently used shortcuts in the favorites row at the bottom by dragging them into it. Drag shortcuts out to change the selection, or drag one shortcut onto another to create a folder in the row. Samsung says you can keep up to five favorites, or four when the Apps button takes one position, though layouts can differ.
Create a folder elsewhere on the Home screen by dragging one app onto another. Open the folder and tap Folder name to rename it, use its color circle to change its appearance, or tap its plus icon to add apps. Hold and drag the folder to move the whole group.
On One UI 7 and later, hold a Home screen folder and tap Enlarge to make it bigger. If enlargement is unavailable in its current position, move it somewhere with more surrounding space. Hold the enlarged folder and tap Shrink to reverse the change.
To clear an individual shortcut, hold it and tap Remove; the app stays installed. To remove a folder’s grouping, hold it and tap Delete folder. Home screen folders and Apps screen folders are managed separately.
Add widgets and adjust their size
Touch and hold empty Home screen space, then tap Widgets. Choose an app’s widget, select the format you want, and tap Add. Your widget choices depend on the apps installed on your phone.
Hold a widget to move it or drag its resize handles to change its size. For widgets with appearance controls, tap Settings from the hold menu to adjust supported colors, transparency, or displayed information. Not every widget supports resizing or appearance settings. To take a widget off the Home screen, hold it and tap Remove.
On Galaxy versions supporting widget stacks, hold a widget and tap Create stack. Choose another widget and tap Add, then hold the stack and tap Edit stack to reorder, add, or remove widgets. Turn Auto rotate widgets on or off where available. To delete the entire stack, tap Remove all, then Remove.
Adjust icon sizes and labels
On One UI 7, open Settings > Home screen > App and widget style. Move the App size slider to change the size of your app icons. Some current foldable interfaces place this slider directly under Home screen.
Turn App labels and Widget labels on or off to control the names beneath your items. You must enable App labels before you can enable Widget labels. On some phones, including current foldables, these switches appear directly in Home screen settings instead.
Apply a theme or different app icons
On phones supporting Galaxy Themes, hold an empty Home screen area and tap Themes. On first use, tap Continue or Agree, matching the button shown on your phone. Choose a theme and tap Download for a free theme, or tap its price for a paid theme and complete the purchase; availability and purchases depend on your region, model, and Samsung account.
Open Menu, then open My stuff and select Themes. Choose the downloaded theme and tap Apply, then tap Apply again if prompted. To restore a previous appearance, follow the same route and apply the default theme or another saved theme.
For an icon pack, open Themes > Icons, select a pack, and tap Download for a free set, or tap its price for a paid set and complete the purchase. Open Menu, open My stuff, then select Icons and choose your pack. Tap Apply, repeating it if prompted; some app icons may remain unchanged.
Hide apps and protect your finished layout
To hide selected apps, hold empty Home screen space and open Settings > Hide apps on Home and Apps screens. Select the apps and tap Done. Hiding is not a security lock, and hidden apps remain searchable.
To bring an app back, return to Hide apps on Home and Apps screens. Tap its red minus icon in the selected list, then tap Done.
Once everything is arranged, hold an empty area, open Settings, and turn on Lock Home screen layout to prevent rearrangement. If apps or widgets will not move during a later edit, turn that setting off before dragging them.
Use Good Lock for more layout choices
For additional customization on a compatible Galaxy, open Galaxy Store, search for Good Lock, and select its installation icon. You can also open the official Good Lock store listing on your phone. Open Good Lock and tap Agree and continue. Available modules and features vary by model, software, and region.
Open Home Up within Good Lock for additional Home screen, Apps screen, and folder layout options, including custom grids and popup folder styling on compatible versions. In versions offering Show Favorites, turn it off to hide the bottom favorites row.
Compatible Home Up versions also offer DIY Home Screen to resize and position apps, widgets, and folders freely, add stickers, and adjust layers. For custom themes and icon designs on compatible devices, open Theme Park within Good Lock and use its theme or icon editor to customize colors, icon shapes, or images.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you make a Samsung Home screen easier to read?
On Galaxy phones offering Easy mode, open Settings > Display > Easy mode and turn on its switch for larger items and a simpler interface. Turn it off to return to the standard interface. You can also adjust Font size and style or Screen zoom under Settings > Display; supported Z Fold phones use Screen layout and zoom. These display settings affect more than the Home screen.
Can you restore an earlier Samsung Home screen layout?
Yes, if you have an existing backup and your device and region support Samsung Cloud Home screen backup. Open Samsung Cloud > Restore data, choose the backup, select Home screen, and tap Restore, then Done. The restoration includes the layout and eligible wallpapers.
How do you add a website shortcut to a Samsung Home screen?
Open the website in Chrome, then tap More > Install and create shortcut > Create shortcut. Keep or edit the shortcut name and tap Add.
Can a Galaxy Z Fold use the same layout on both screens?
On Galaxy Z Fold3, Fold4, Fold5, Fold6, Fold7, and TriFold, open Settings > Home screen > Cover screen mirroring, select On, and tap Apply. With mirroring disabled, you can arrange the outer and inner Home screens separately. Samsung also lists Cover screen mirroring under Settings > Home screen on the Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra. It is a Fold and TriFold setting rather than a Z Flip FlexWindow setting.