iOS 16 brings many enjoyable new features, from customisable lock screens to the ability to edit sent messages. But not everything will be to your liking. Numerous iPhone owners have complained about the new home-screen search button, for example.

Fortunately it’s very simple to remove this potential annoyance.

Open the Settings app (ironically, you could use the search button to find it!) and swipe down until you see an entry marked Home Screen. It should be in the third bank of options. Tap this.

On the next screen, you’ll see a toggle under the heading SEARCH. It’s labelled “Show on Home Screen.” Tap this so it changes from green to light gray. The feature is now turned off.

Go back to the home screen and you’ll see that the search button has been replaced by the old set of dots to show how many home pages you’ve got, and which one you’re on. But if you change your mind, remember that you can go back to Settings > Home Screen and reactivate the feature at any time.

Foundry

For more advice on the latest iPhone operating system, read our guide to all of iOS 16’s new features.