Launchers with Known Issues
Icons disappearing? It’s your launcher, not Hermit
There is a standard Shortcuts API on Android for adding icons to your home screen, and most launchers support it well. However, some launchers have bugs.
The Shortcuts API works like this: Hermit asks your Launcher to create an icon by passing it an image and a title. After that point, there is no interaction between Hermit and your Launcher, and it is the Launcher’s responsibility to maintain those icons at their correct positions, with the correct icons & titles.
Typical Symptoms
- Icons get deleted on reboot.
- All Hermit icons start showing the Hermit app logo, not the Lite App‘s icon you chose.
- All Hermit icons get the name “Hermit ” instead of the name of the Lite App you picked.
We recommend you report these bugs to your launcher developers.
Work Around
Instead of Hermit requesting your launcher to add an icon, you can have your launcher ask Hermit for an icon. To do this
- Follow your launcher’s instructions for adding a New Shortcut or Widget
- From that list, pick “Hermit — Create a Lite App”
- Then pick your Lite App from the list that appears.
There is no guarantee this will work in a buggy launcher, but it is definitely worth trying. So, in addition, please contact your launcher developer and inform them of the bug in their software.
Recommended Launcher
We recommend the excellent free Nova Launcher, which is available for free in the Google Play Store to install on any Android phone.
As of 2021, even Nova Launcher has run into issues. Google has acknowledged the issue, and no solution is currently available.
- Pixel Support: All my home screen shortcuts disappeared.
- All my web shortcuts have disappeared from Android phone home screen. How do I get them back?
Launchers with Known Issues
Please reach out to the developers of these launchers to file bugs with them.
See also: Manufacturers with Known Issues.
❌ Xiaomi, RedMi
App takes too long to start up when using the built-in launcher. The problem goes away when using any other launcher.
❌ EMUI Launcher
Apps are blocked from creating home screen shortcuts by default on EMUI. To enable Hermit to work correctly, go to EMUI’s Apps Permission Manager, and unblock Hermit from creating home screen shortcuts.
❌ Z Launcher
Only shows the first icon. All other icons are not shown.
❌ CM Launcher
Icons may disappear any time.
❌ Nano Launcher
Icons may disappear on reboot.
❌ Tap2 Launcher
Icons may disappear on reboot.
❌ SF Launcher
Icons may disappear on reboot.
❌ OnePlus devices with OxygenOS Launcher
Set up works correctly, the icon names are correctly stored and displayed. But as soon as you restart the device, all names are forgotten and only display as “Hermit” for all Lite Apps.