Podcast: Play in new window | Embed
Kenneth asked: “How do I keep icons on the bottom of of the screen. On the ZTE Avid Plus. When I turn the phone off, and back on they disappear.”
Kenneth, you’re probably doing everything right already! They most likely issue is a little obscure.
You may have noticed that some big name manufacturers go back and forth about whether or not to allow SD cards on their flagship phones… you just stumbled onto one of the reasons why.
Apps on SD cards have a number of downsides, among them: SD cards are slower than internal storage, if the card is damaged or removed the app disappears but the rest of the phone seems to run without issue, and the card needs to be mounted. Until it is, the phone cannot read the information on it.
Some big name manufacturers go back and forth about whether or not to allow SD cards on their flagship phones… you just stumbled onto one of the reasons why
What this means for you is that until the phone is done preparing to read the card and actually reading it, it thinks the app is gone. Since the app “is gone” as far as the phone is concerned it removes it from the dock at the bottom of the screen. Then it finds it and think “Oh great! New app! I’ll add it to the app drawer” and it shows up as one of your many apps.
The easiest solution is to open your settings and go to the apps you want to keep at the bottom of the screen and ask your phone to move them to internal storage. After you do that, they should stay through reboots.
If that also doesn’t work, remember that Android does let you use alternative launchers, so worst case you can install a different one to get around the problem, but that’s a more extreme solution, try to move the app to internal storage first.