Articles on: Bugs & Issues

How To Fix Blank or Unresponsive App Icons on iPhone?

When you add or remove a session that has Strict Mode enabled, some system apps (preinstalled by Apple on all iPhones) may turn white or become unresponsive, meaning you can’t tap them to open. Don’t worry—we’ve identified the issue, reported it to Apple, and found a way to fix it in just a few taps.

What’s happening (simply)?

When you enable Strict Mode, the “Anti-uninstall” protection is automatically activated. This prevents apps installed on your iPhone from being deleted.

This action forces the iPhone to remove the “Remove App” option when you long-press on any app icon. Since iOS 26.2+, this can “break” the icons of some system apps (Books, Camera, Clock, Notes, etc.). This happens every time the schedule restarts and reapplies this protection—whether it’s with Jomo or any other screen time app (we tested the most popular ones to confirm this).

However, in some cases, this can also happen without any connection to Jomo. For example, this happens to me personally: when my iPhone activates the “Sleep” Focus mode (which reorganizes my apps), it consistently breaks the Books app ... 😑

In all cases, note that the app itself is not broken—you can still access it via Spotlight or the App Library. No worries: it’s really just the app icon that’s stuck in a strange state.

What should you do in this case?

Here's how to fix broken app icons (white or unresponsive)

In “Clear” mode (transparent, Liquid Glass icons), they turn white. In “Default” mode (colored icons), they become inactive.

Restart Your iPhone

Press and hold Volume Up + the Lock button (on the right).
Slide to power off.

Remove the app from the Home Screen (not from the phone) and add it back.

On the page with the broken app, long-press on any app icon (except the broken one).
Once the “–” appears in the top-right corner, tap the “–” on the broken app.
Select “Remove from Home Screen.”
Then open the App Library (the last screen on the far right).
Type the name of the broken app.
Long-press on the app icon (until the menu appears).
Drag the app icon back to the Home Screen page of your choice.

Avoid enabling the “Anti-uninstall” protection

When you enable Strict Mode, uncheck “Lock uninstalling Jomo and other apps.”

☝️ Whenever you make changes, always remember to restart your iPhone. This helps reset everything properly.

What is Jomo doing to fix this?

Our team has identified and successfully reproduced the bug. *We’ve sent screenshots, explanations, and sysdiagnoses to Apple to report the issue and request a fix as soon as possible. **We’re waiting—just as impatiently as you are*—for their response and a solution! 🤞

Updated on: 08/01/2026

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