What if the Safari browser disappears mysteriously from your home screen? You may feel that Safari has been deleted or uninstalled. Nevertheless, the fact is, as the Safari browser is an inbuilt app in iOS, it is impossible to delete the Safari app from your iPhone or iPad.
However, Safari is one of the best web browsers, and it has a lot of cool features with a user-friendly interface and a super performance. But, every application can have bugs. So, let’s see the facts that can cause Safari to be lost from your iOS device.
- You may have inadvertently moved the Safari icon onto a screen or into a folder.
- You have activated some restrictions for Safari in settings
- Bugs in Safari browser.
- Errors due to the latest iOS update.
You already know that Safari is an inbuilt system app in iOS. So, it cannot be removed or uninstalled. In this article, we discuss how to get Safari back on iPhone.
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How to restore Safari on iPhone
In this article guides you four methods to get safari back on iPhone.
- Use the Spotlight Search to find the Safari app
- Disable all the Restrictions you have enabled for Safari in iOS 14
- Reset the Home Screen Layout in settings
- Restore factory setting to get safari back on iPhone
Before going to advanced options first, let’s try to restore Safari on iPhone with basic facts.
1. Use the Spotlight Search to find the Safari app
As mentioned above, You may have inadvertently moved the Safari icon onto a screen or into a folder on your iPhone’s Home Screen. So, you can use the Spotlight Search to find it. The app is still on your iPhone but will tell you where it is. For that,
- Make a swipe-down gesture on the Home Screen.
- In the Search box, type’ Safari.’
Then, it will show the app icon. You can also tap on the icon from within the search results to open the Safari.
NOTE: If you have jailbroken your iPhone or iPad, you can use iGotBlind Tweak to find the app icon’s location from Spotlight search.
2. Disable all the Restrictions you have enabled for Safari in iOS 14
Otherwise, if the Safari app is not available on your iPhone, you can make sure whether you have enabled any Restrictions or not. If so, turn off Restrictions for the app. For that,
- Go to Settings > Screen Time.
- Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions > Tap Allowed apps
- Next, make sure to enable the switch next to the Safari app. If it is disabled, do not forget to enable it. (also enable or allow iTunes and Installing Apps, Deleting Apps)
3. Reset the Home Screen Layout in settings
If all the steps above did not work, you have to reset the Home Screen layout in settings alternatively. In such scenarios, you will be able to get the Safari app back by resetting the Home Screen. For that,
- Go to Settings > General.
- Next, tap Reset at the bottom of the screen.
- Tap Reset Home Screen Layout
- Then, confirm it by pressing Reset Home Screen again in the pop-up message.
This process will reset the Home Screen to its default settings. This way, all system apps will come back if they were hidden for some reason.
4. Restore factory setting to get safari back on iPhone
Still, the Safari app icon is not available on your Home Screen, and you have to reinstall the Safari browser by restoring your iPhone or iPad to its factory settings. This method is very complex and risky, and you have to be very careful while implementing it. It will remove all your data from your iPhone or iPad.
Note: Before restoring your device, make sure to backup it.
- Go to Settings > General.
- Next, tap Reset at the bottom of the screen.
- Tap Reset All Content and Settings
- Then, tap Erase iPhone
That’s all. It will take a few minutes to restore your phone to factory settings. This way, it will restore your system apps, and Safari will be back on your Home Screen. Additionally, updating your iOS or iPadOS to the latest update can help eliminate bugs in your operating system.
NOTE: I do not recommend resetting your iPhone or iPad to factory setting firstly. Only reset your iPhone to factory settings if you can’t get your Safari app from the basic solutions.
However, if the issue still exists, then contact Apple support to get the necessary help. I suppose this article will help you clear all your doubts regarding how to get Safari back on iPhone.
