Here’s a Fix to the Most Annoying iOS 16 Feature

This story is part of Focal Point iPhone 2022, CNET’s collection of news, tips and advice around Apple’s most popular product.

Overall, the new features and settings that iOS 16 brings to the iPhone are very welcome. It’s great to finally be able to unsend text messages or get haptic feedback whenever you type in the keyboard — but there’s one feature that you might not be so fond of.

Many people are unhappy with the addition of the Search button to the bottom of the home screen, right above your dock. While the Search feature on iOS is useful for quickly finding text messages, files and settings, the new button is placed in a location where it’s easy to accidentally tap, especially when you’re scrolling through your various home screen pages.

And when you do inadvertently hit the new Search button, the Search feature blows up in full screen. Then you have to swipe out of it to go back to your home screen, which can get annoying.

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I’ll explain the easy fix to get rid of the new Search button on your home screen. And if you want to learn more about iOS 16, check out how to view all your saved Wi-Fi passwords and customize your lock screen with widgets.

How to get rid of the new Search button on iOS 16

On your iPhone running iOS 16, launch the Settings application, go to Home Screen and toggle off the Show on Home Screen button underneath “Search.” Instead of the Search button on your home screen, you’ll now see several dots indicating your various home screen pages instead. If you press on it, nothing happens.

If you want to access the Search feature after removing the home-screen button, you can access it the traditional way: swipe down from anywhere on your screen.