Problem moving apps on iPhone

By Juliette, 14 January, 2017

Forum
iOS and iPadOS

I am trying to use the actions rotor to drop an app into another folder. But the only options I get are activate which would delete the app, and cancel movement. What can I do?

Options

Comments

By Chuck Winstead on Thursday, January 26, 2017 - 11:35

Hi, Have you tried to restart your phone? yOu may just need to turn off VoiceOver, and then turn it back on. Try those two things.

By Melissa on Thursday, January 26, 2017 - 11:35

Have you tried flicking down to arrange apps, then double tapping to move? This works for me much better than double tapping and holding to move.

I don't use double tap and hold anymore. When I tap on arrange apps, then select move, I am not given the option to drop the app out of the current folder. Can not move the app out of a folder at all.

By david s on Thursday, January 26, 2017 - 11:35

Hello,

To move apps out of a folder, double tap and hold on the app you want to move. Once in the edit mode, double tap and hold, then drag the app out of the folder. You will hear VO say something like move out of folder and to hold for 5 seconds.

This was the only way I was able to move an app out of a folder. If there is another way, Iā€™m sure someone will come along and post.

HTH and good luck.

By AnonyMouse on Thursday, January 26, 2017 - 11:35

Member of the AppleVis Editorial Team

Hello Juliette,

The good news is that it isn't just you. The bad news is that this is a bug that was discovered in iOS 10.2. As mentioned above you can simply double tap and hold and wait until you hear it can be moved. Now drag it to the bottom of the device towards the Home button for 5 seconds and it will drop you out of the Folder. It used to be that after using the Rotor to Move the app. There was an option to Move the App Out of the Folder. This is where the small bug comes in. That option simply disappeared. What I find easier to accomplish is do what you just did. Go to the Rotor. Arrange the Apps and select the Move. Now do a two fingers scrub on the screen. Now you are placed outside of the folder and place the app where you like it.

HTH

By Roxann Pollard on Thursday, January 26, 2017 - 11:35

AnonyMouse, thank you for your suggestion to move an app outside the folder. I was having the same problem. Your method works well, at least until they fix the bug.

By Joel Jeffries ā€¦ on Thursday, January 26, 2017 - 11:35

Hi, Juliette.
Here's what I do! I ignore the Actions Rotor on this one; and move apps the old way: by double-tapping and holding on the desired app until I feel a haptic response and the message, "Moving appname". Then, I keep draging that app to where I want to go. If I want to create a new folder (with suggested name), then I move that app on to the app I want and hold while VoiceOver says "On appname", and gives three successive tones. If I don't want the app I'm moving on the app where I am on the screen, I just keep dragging it till I hear "off appname". If I'm satisfied where I have placed my app, I lift my finger from the screen, and continue editing and moving apps, or I can press home and VoiceOver will say "finished editing". Be careful that you don't double-tap an app while editing or you will be on the "delete app" screen. Press cancel if this happens, unless you really want to delete it! You can move apps to different home screen pages and in to folders on those pages. The pages go by quit fast, so be prepared to lift finger when you hear VoiceOver announce "moving to page#".

Moving the app to or toward right edge of screen moves the app forward by pages, and moving the app toward the left side of screen moves app to previous Home Screen pages. The moved app usually lands on the lower right edge of screen just above the dock, or in the upper left of screen page, just below status bar. Then you can keep dragging it around to where you want it on current page.

I have moved more than 60 games in to my Blindfold Games folder in this way. This is true whether they were Blindfold Games or not. I just put all my games in one place. There are now 7 pages to my Blindfold Games folder. I leave the Blindfold Games app icon outside but next to the folder as I'm instructed to do in Help Documentation. That app then calls any of the games in my Blindfold Games Folder; or I can launch other non-Blindfold games from within the folder, like Audio Game Hub, or A Blind Legend, for instance.

It just takes a little practice. Don't get frustrated if you set an app in the wrong place or accidently create a folder. Just double-tap and hold the app to move to another place or off the other app, and after the tones and holding for 5 seconds, the folder closes and disappears.

Hope this helps.