Item cannot be moved - Home screen layout locked

The home screen of an Android smartphone can be individually configured by the user with apps and widgets. Thus, thematic or layout-specific arrangements can be defined.

If you now want to move an app or widget on the home screen, this message may appear on the screen:

 

"Element cannot be moved - Home screen layout locked".

If you see this notification, it is related to a special option in Android, the "Lock home screen layout" feature. This was implemented for the following reason:

If you put a lot of time and effort into the layout, it can be locked so that app icons or widgets are not moved by mistake, which can happen. For example when you give the smartphone to a child to play with.

Lock Layout Home Screen - Disable

To cancel the function, please proceed as follows:

1. Press long with one finger on a free area of the home screen.

2. Select "Home screen settings".

3. Set the slider for "Lock Home Screen Layout" to inactive.

You can now easily move elements such as widgets or app icons on the Home screen without the message "Element cannot be moved - Home screen layout locked" appearing.

About the Author

Manuel Solvemix Team small

Manuel has been involved with technology for more than 15 years, especially with mobile phones, smartphones and PC systems and shares his passion here in this blog. If he can help someone with a technical problem, he is especially happy about it.