My android phone has suddenly rearranged all the icons through all the
screens.
A new little white circle with 9 little dots has appeared on the home
screen, and when you tap it, it goes to a page with "Search for apps" at
the top, Suggestions underneath (4 icons), then All. Down the right side
edge there's the alphabet, A to Z.

I've been seeing "A1 Search" a lot recently. Could this be something to
do with that?
My best guess is that I've somehow got stuck with A1 Search, and I can't
get out.

Phone works ok, apps work ok.

Ed

On 3/18/2024 10:42 AM, Ed Cryer wrote:
> My android phone has suddenly rearranged all the icons through all the
> screens.
> A new little white circle with 9 little dots has appeared on the home
> screen,

Unlike MS Windows that seems to re-arrange its desktop icons every time
it updates the icon cache, there are only two reasons that I'm aware of
that cause Android to re-arrange icons:
1. you installed a new app & have "Add to Home Screen" turned on
2. you changed Home Screen settings/customizations

You don't mention the brand/model of phone that you have.

The icon you describe sounds like the app drawer icon that I have on my
Samsung Galaxy S23. For my phone, I can control whether or not that
icon is displayed by Settings > Home Screen > "Show Apps screen button
on Home screen".

On my phone, I can control whether new app icons are displayed on the
home screen by Settings > Home Screen > "Add new apps to Home screen".
I believe that this setting is turned on by default. One of the first
things that I do with a new phone is to turn this setting off, since I
carefully organize the icons on my Home Screen & don't want anything to
change it.

Lastly, you should be able to see what has been recently installed on
your phone (assuming that you didn't manually side load an app) by Play
Store > click on profile pic or initials in upper right > "Manage apps &
devices" > Manage tab > select "Installed", then sort by "Recently updated"

Regards,

-David

David Oseas wrote:
> On 3/18/2024 10:42 AM, Ed Cryer wrote:
>> My android phone has suddenly rearranged all the icons through all the
>> screens.
>> A new little white circle with 9 little dots has appeared on the home
>> screen,
>
> Unlike MS Windows that seems to re-arrange its desktop icons every time
> it updates the icon cache, there are only two reasons that I'm aware of
> that cause Android to re-arrange icons:
> 1. you installed a new app & have "Add to Home Screen" turned on
> 2. you changed Home Screen settings/customizations
>
> You don't mention the brand/model of phone that you have.
>
> The icon you describe sounds like the app drawer icon that I have on my
> Samsung Galaxy S23.  For my phone, I can control whether or not that
> icon is displayed by Settings > Home Screen > "Show Apps screen button
> on Home screen".
>
> On my phone, I can control whether new app icons are displayed on the
> home screen by Settings > Home Screen > "Add new apps to Home screen". I
> believe that this setting is turned on by default.  One of the first
> things that I do with a new phone is to turn this setting off, since I
> carefully organize the icons on my Home Screen & don't want anything to
> change it.
>
> Lastly, you should be able to see what has been recently installed on
> your phone (assuming that you didn't manually side load an app) by Play
> Store > click on profile pic or initials in upper right > "Manage apps &
> devices" > Manage tab > select "Installed", then sort by "Recently updated"
>
> Regards,
>
> -David
My Home Screen Style setting somehow changed to Drawer from Standard, as
you suggested.
I'm back to normal with just a tap.
Ed

Ed Cryer <ed@somewhere.in.the.uk> wrote:

> My android phone has suddenly rearranged all the icons through all the
> screens.
> A new little white circle with 9 little dots has appeared on the home
> screen, and when you tap it, it goes to a page with "Search for apps" at
> the top, Suggestions underneath (4 icons), then All. Down the right side
> edge there's the alphabet, A to Z.
>
> I've been seeing "A1 Search" a lot recently. Could this be something to
> do with that?
> My best guess is that I've somehow got stuck with A1 Search, and I can't
> get out.
>
> Phone works ok, apps work ok.

What Android version are you now at? Sounds like you got an update.
Remember what OS version you had before?

David doesn't think an OS update will make a difference, but we don't
how far in versions you might've just jumped. The dotted icon you
mention sounds like the App Drawer icon to show all your apps instead of
just those on your screens.

You sure "A1 Search" isn't "AI Search"? You don't say when you see it.
Do you use the Android Chrome web browser, and that's where you see it?
Hard to pin point just what this is by your faint description.

https://www.fastcompany.com/91011561/google-has-some-new-ai-search-tricks
https://medium.com/@BiglySales/how-to-turn-on-google-ai-search-5f1658041467

VanguardLH wrote:

That Search program is a right pain. It can't be uninstalled, and it
jumps in all the time with just a swipe on the screen.
It's obviously designed to be that intrusive, otherwise it would use a
different call.

I haven't had a recent update. I suspect "accidental damage" from having
it in a coat pocket, and bouncing it alive. Easily done. However, it's
one of these things that, once seen and learned , you don't forget next
time. So I take a positive spin on the experience, and thank David for a
quick solution.

Ed

Ed Cryer wrote:

> VanguardLH wrote:
>
> That Search program is a right pain. It can't be uninstalled, and it
> jumps in all the time with just a swipe on the screen.
> It's obviously designed to be that intrusive, otherwise it would use a
> different call.
>
> I haven't had a recent update. I suspect "accidental damage" from having
> it in a coat pocket, and bouncing it alive. Easily done. However, it's
> one of these things that, once seen and learned , you don't forget next
> time. So I take a positive spin on the experience, and thank David for a
> quick solution.
>
> Ed

Because of continual problems with my carefully ordered Home screen being
messed about (usually in my pocket, as you mentioned) I took someone's
advice and installed a new launcher. I chose the Microsoft Launcher (there
are others) because it's fairly simple to install and, most importantly, it
has the ability to lock the Home screen. I've had no problems since (and
it's a much better launcher than the one supplied with my Motorola g84 5G.

--
Bob
Tetbury, Gloucestershire, England

If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything. — Mark Twain

On Mon, 18 Mar 2024 11:25:43 -0700, David Oseas
<doseas{nospam}@usa.net> wrote:

>On 3/18/2024 10:42 AM, Ed Cryer wrote:
>> My android phone has suddenly rearranged all the icons through all the
>> screens.
>> A new little white circle with 9 little dots has appeared on the home
>> screen,
>
>Unlike MS Windows that seems to re-arrange its desktop icons every time
>it updates the icon cache,

I have used this little Shell program for quite a while now to prevent
my icons from moving around in Windows. Works great!
http://www.midiox.com/index.htm?http://www.midiox.com/desktoprestore.htm

> there are only two reasons that I'm aware of
>that cause Android to re-arrange icons:
>1. you installed a new app & have "Add to Home Screen" turned on
>2. you changed Home Screen settings/customizations
>
>You don't mention the brand/model of phone that you have.
>
>The icon you describe sounds like the app drawer icon that I have on my
>Samsung Galaxy S23. For my phone, I can control whether or not that
>icon is displayed by Settings > Home Screen > "Show Apps screen button
>on Home screen".
>
>On my phone, I can control whether new app icons are displayed on the
>home screen by Settings > Home Screen > "Add new apps to Home screen".
>I believe that this setting is turned on by default. One of the first
>things that I do with a new phone is to turn this setting off, since I
>carefully organize the icons on my Home Screen & don't want anything to
>change it.
>
>Lastly, you should be able to see what has been recently installed on
>your phone (assuming that you didn't manually side load an app) by Play
>Store > click on profile pic or initials in upper right > "Manage apps &
>devices" > Manage tab > select "Installed", then sort by "Recently updated"
>
>Regards,
>
>-David

>>>>>>>>>>jetjock<<<<<<<<<<

On 3/18/2024 12:19 PM, VanguardLH wrote:
>
> David doesn't think an OS update will make a difference, but we don't
> how far in versions you might've just jumped.

I just checked the screencaps of my home screens back on my old Galaxy
S8 (Android 7) and my icon arrangement didn't change at all (the icon
design did change) when I ported my preferences to my Galaxy S23 via
Samsung Smart Switch. My S23 is now on Android 14/One UI 6.0. So, no,
icon layout shouldn't change between OS versions. If you switch
launchers or between manufacturers' modified versions of Android (ie,
from Samsung to Google Pixel), then it might.

Regards,
-David

doseas wrote:
> On 3/18/2024 12:19 PM, VanguardLH wrote:
>>
>> David doesn't think an OS update will make a difference, but we don't
>> how far in versions you might've just jumped.
>
> I just checked the screencaps of my home screens back on my old Galaxy
> S8 (Android 7) and my icon arrangement didn't change at all (the icon
> design did change) when I ported my preferences to my Galaxy S23 via
> Samsung Smart Switch.  My S23 is now on Android 14/One UI 6.0.  So, no,
> icon layout shouldn't change between OS versions.  If you switch
> launchers or between manufacturers' modified versions of Android (ie,
> from Samsung to Google Pixel), then it might.
>
> Regards,
> -David
>
I think my phone's android 9.
And I have a simple yes/no look at this problem
When I hit Standard, all is as I've had it for aeons.
When I hit Drawer, it changes to the weird display that I don't want.
After which a simple hit on the other layout brings it back.
That seems to imply that the Drawer layout is desirable in some
respects; as if it might provide some benefit.
And yet, it looks so screwed-up that I can't fathom any benefit.
Ed

Ed Cryer wrote:

> I've been seeing "A1 Search" a lot recently.

Sounds like you've accidentally, or someone has forced an unwanted
software install onto the phone, anything related to "A1" under apps
that you can uninstall?

Andy Burns wrote:
> Ed Cryer wrote:
>
>> I've been seeing "A1 Search" a lot recently.
>
> Sounds like you've accidentally, or someone has forced an unwanted
> software install onto the phone, anything related to  "A1" under apps
> that you can uninstall?
>
>
Only two AI (I for Ireland).
AI Search
AI Touch
Neither can be removed. I've tried "Force Stop" on them, but I don't
think it's produced anything efficacious.
Damned Google!
Ed