All shortcuts and widgets disappear from home screen after 2.1 update

[Vitticeps]

Since I applied the 2.1 update (manually) I have had all icons and widgets disappear from my home screen 2 times. Each time it was after updating an app in the market (Easy Spirit Level, Bluetooth File Transfer, and Astro). I updated Easy Spirit Level first and while it was downloading and installing I set the phone aside. A couple of minutes later when I woke it up and hit Home I was left with nothing but a picture frame widget; all other icons and widgets were gone from all 3 home screens. I rebooted and all was well.

Next I updated Astro and Bluetooth File Transfer and did the same thing, let the backlight time out. When I woke it back up and hit Home this time, everything was gone from all 3 home screens. Again I rebooted and all was well again.

I tried installing a new app to see if I could replicate it that way but didn't have any trouble.

I'm wondering if it has anything at all to do with the market or just coincidence. And if it is market related, is it exclusive to updates and not installs? And... if it is updates, does letting the phone go to sleep while downloading and installing have anything to do with it.

So, anyone else experiencing anything along these lines? If so please give as much detail as possible so we can try to pinpoint the cause.

 

[EtherGnat]

I had this problem sporadically on 2.01 and had it immediately after upgrading to 2.1 when switching from portrait to landscape. At this point I'd settle for a way to fix it without rebooting.

 

[SpencerC]

I had this problem sporadically on 2.01 and had it immediately after upgrading to 2.1 when switching from portrait to landscape. At this point I'd settle for a way to fix it without rebooting.

I am still on 2.01. Over the past few days all of my desktop icons and widgets disappeared several times, requiring me to reboot the phone. Also the phone rebooted itself once. This problem only started a few days ago for me.

 

[SpencerC]

I had this problem sporadically on 2.01 and had it immediately after upgrading to 2.1 when switching from portrait to landscape. At this point I'd settle for a way to fix it without rebooting.

I am still on 2.01. Over the past few days all of my desktop icons and widgets disappeared several times, requiring me to reboot the phone. Also the phone rebooted itself once. This problem only started a few days ago for me.

Had to reboot my phone again today due to losing all my icons and widgets on the desktop. One thing I did notice is that after I rebooted, I had new updates available for download. I dont know if this is related or not.........hopefully the new 2.1.......which I havent received yet........will fix this crap. Anyone else having this issue?

 

[frod329]

I'm having the same problem losing all icons and widgets but only after taking my phone off the media dock station. I manually updated to 2.1 and I've never had this problem before the update. I hope they fix this issue, it's getting really annoying having to battery pull every time i take it off the media dock station.

 

[SpencerC]

I'm having the same problem losing all icons and widgets but only after taking my phone off the media dock station. I manually updated to 2.1 and I've never had this problem before the update. I hope they fix this issue, it's getting really annoying having to battery pull every time i take it off the media dock station.

You have to pull the battery? You cant just power down the phone and power it back up?

 

[frod329]

I'm having the same problem losing all icons and widgets but only after taking my phone off the media dock station. I manually updated to 2.1 and I've never had this problem before the update. I hope they fix this issue, it's getting really annoying having to battery pull every time i take it off the media dock station.

You have to pull the battery? You cant just power down the phone and power it back up?

Nope if I do it that way I'm still left with no icons.:icon_evil:

 

[DROIDMASTER]

I had the same thing happen to me in 2.0.1 no icons or widgets. I rebooted deleted some apps to see if it was a memory problem but nothing. So after I tried everything I put everything back on my home screen manually. Then the next 2 days come and the widgets and icon s all came back but they were inserted behind the New widgets and icons I just put up!!! It actually looked pretty sick so I left it like that. It's still like that right now. I will post pics later

 

[kbzimmerman]

frustrating

so having all the icons disappear seems to be happening to many of us - yet no solution. That stinks. I'm in my first 30 days with DROID .. I'm thinking returning - and, waiting on the iPhone might not be a bad idea.

 

[MagGyver]

I just received my 2.1 update and was hoping this would fix the icons-disappearing problem, but alas it's not so. The problem usually happens after I've received a text message. Either reading the text message or replying to it, then returning to home screen, results in icons disappearing. I am using Handcent so I figured that must be the culprit so I uninstalled it, rebooted and used the stock messaging app for a few days, but the problem continued.

One time in particular I pinpointed the problem to receiving an update for one of my apps (Alice gig guide) so I uninstalled Alice and rebooted, but the problem has continued even after that. The Market isn't a common factor for me as it happens plenty of times when I don't visit the Market for days. I know one person suggested it might be when there are updates available, but I have the notifications turned off for Market updates so I'm not sure if I'm a candidate for that theory.

Very frustrating. I have a lot of apps installed, many that I use on a daily basis, so it would be a real nightmare to start junking apps to see if the problem continues; plus, since it doesn't happen every day, or every time I get a text message, I'd be unclear as to how long I would need to let it ride before determining whether the problem had resolved itself.

I'm glad to know I'm not the only one out there.

 

[enichols14]

I'm having the same problem! All of my shortcuts disappeared one day, so I manually put new ones in, and I liked that format. Well I woke up this morning and all of the original shortcuts and widgets came back, so the new and old ones are overlapping. I, unlike DROIDMASTER (no offense), don't really care for that. It's very confusing. Is there anyway I can just reset the home screen and save the settings so it doesn't happen again? Thanks for the help.

 

[Sweettooth]

I only had this problem once after the official OTA update finished installing. Instead of dragging all the icons back I first trashed the old Gallery icon and then simply powered off the device, and powered it back on and everything was back. This hasn't happened to me since and never happened prior to the update.

If this has happened to any of you more than once or twice I'd take it to Verizon to see if it's a software defect and see about getting you a new phone and/or wiping and reloading the one you have.

 

[f9dc]

Echoing a "me too" here. The only additional information I have to add is that this only happens (for me) when I'm on the homescreen and I open the keypad. This has happened twice in the last 48 hours. In both cases, simply powering down the phone and turning it back on restored the widgets and icons. I am running 2.1, but after searching around, I see that others have been complaining about this problem since November of last year.

The first time it happened, I thought we had been given a second bank of home screens and I had somehow swapped over to them. :biggrin:

This is an unfortunate problem to have, especially if I need to make an emergency phone call and don't have a phone icon.

 

[Sweettooth]

This is an unfortunate problem to have, especially if I need to make an emergency phone call and don't have a phone icon.

In that case you could simply press the power button to lock the phone, then unlock it and the Emergency Dialer is at the bottom.

 

[f9dc]

In that case you could simply press the power button to lock the phone, then unlock it and the Emergency Dialer is at the bottom.

Ahhh ... good to know. Hadn't thought of that. Thanks!

In searching around, I see some people are reporting success by doing a force stop on "home" (via the settings menu). It's still a problem, but I'll try this the next time it happens.