It’s humbling to realize a problem you’ve been obsessing over has an easy fix. Google Chrome wouldn’t let me add websites to the Home screen on my mobile device.
It didn’t bother me much at first. I hardly ever needed web apps. But lately, I’ve been monitoring my author bios for quality control and other important pages. I dislike having to navigate the browser’s homepage and other menus to find them.
I assumed it was some bug, Realme’s software, or something buried deep in permissions. Turns out, the solution was plainly hidden in my device’s settings.
Here’s how I finally freed my shortcuts.
Add to Home screen stopped working for me
I’m glad it’s a general Android thing, and not just me
Add to Home screen is among Chrome’s most underrated conveniences. It sits in the middle between a bookmark and a full-blown app. It lets you pin your favorite websites onto your launcher so that you can open them instantly.
It wasn’t the case for my phone, which had completely stopped responding to the command. Nothing happened when I tapped and confirmed the action.
The issue seemed to have come unboxed with the device. However, I had performed an update after setting it up. So, I can’t pinpoint exactly when things went south.
While troubleshooting and searching for solutions online, I noticed other users complaining in different forums.
Google’s official community thread revealed that it’s been an ongoing problem for years and appears across different Android devices and versions, including Pixel phones.
I was worried it was a third-party manufacturer issue, which would hint at a deeper problem.
The feature could be working fine in Android’s code, but Realme’s launcher wasn’t responding properly to Chrome’s request to create a shortcut. Plus, there could be other features that were not communicating properly with the launcher.
That said, the root cause may not be far from it. There’s likely a larger system-level miscommunication between Chrome and the launcher framework.
It still sucks, but it means Google can fix it universally. I wouldn’t have to wait for the OEM to prioritize it, which could take ages.
I couldn’t test the theory on my iPhone because Apple doesn’t allow third-party browser apps. Not even Safari gets that privilege. Eventually, I forgot about the issue.
The fix that worked a little too well
Brace yourself for multiple apps crashing onto your screen
I was eventually able to add apps to my home screen, thanks to online forum suggestions.
I entered my phone’s settings menu and selected the Home screen and lock screen option. I tapped Home screen again and enabled the toggle button beside Add new apps to the Home screen.
The steps may look different on your device.
A shorter method I use is through the Home screen itself. Long-press it and tap the More option or settings button. Then go to Home screen > Add new apps to the Home screen.
I’ve never been a fan of this setting. I like keeping my layout intentionally arranged.
Unfortunately, the software had other plans. It unleashed every single app I’d downloaded while it was off.
Suddenly, I had three new pages filled with old apps and those I’d previously tried to add from the web.
The good news is that the Chrome shortcut finally appeared. The bad news is that I had to select and remove unwanted apps.
Realme UI doesn’t provide a button to delete the full Home pages on my device.
After I’d finally restored order, I disabled the feature to avoid apps crowding my layout in the future.
I’ve not been able to add sites to my home screen without it. You’ll just have to live with removing each downloaded app manually.
Migrating also makes web apps miss their way
A quick launcher reset should help them remember
You may have installed multiple custom launchers on your phone before migrating to a new device. Android doesn’t always set a default launcher.
It can’t tell which home app to trust after restoring your data. It’ll wait for you to choose, although your phone still shows your icons and wallpaper.
Any browser’s request to add a shortcut to the home screen then gets lost. Correct this problem in your device’s settings menu. Go to Settings > Apps > Default Apps > Home app.
Select a launcher so that Android officially recognizes it as the new home. Then, switch back to your original launcher to allow the software to reaffirm it as your home app.
Chrome has a lot going on
Chrome seems to be the bedrock of many users’ Android experiences, including mine.
When the browser breaks, the effects may ripple through the entire system. My Tab Groups nightmare made that obvious. A tiny sync glitch ended up replicating hundreds of old windows across my Android phone and laptop.
I’ve since trimmed how much it handles to reduce recurrences. Let other browsers or web-capable apps share the load. You don’t need Chrome to access every website.
