How to change the home screen grid on a Google Pixel (Android 17)

Device

Android

Shown on

Google Pixel 10a, Android 17 (build CP3A.261005.005)

App

Home screen

Path

Home screen › Wallpaper and style › Home screen › Layout

Real screenshots

7 of 7 steps

Checked

October 2026

Sources

1 official, linked below

Step by step

1. 

   Open Wallpaper and style

   Press and hold an empty spot on the home screen. The menu has Wallpaper and style, Widgets, Apps list and Home settings. Tap Wallpaper and style.

   Done

2. 

   Go to Home screen

   Wallpaper and style opens with a preview. Google says to swipe left to select your home screen; the name above the preview then reads Home screen.

   Done

3. 

   Tap Layout

   Scroll down past Theme pack, Colours, Colour contrast and Icons. Layout is the last row; ours said Medium. Tap it.

   Done

4. 

   See the four sizes

   The Layout page shows a preview of your home screen and four sizes at the bottom: Small, Medium, Large and XL. Medium was highlighted on ours, and Apply at the top stayed dim.

   Done

5. 

   Pick a size and tap Apply

   Tap a size and the preview changes. With Small, the weather and Gemini widgets shrank and Play Store and Gmail moved up beside them. Tap Apply at the top right.

   Done

6. 

   Check the home screen

   With Small our icons were smaller, the weather widget showed only 13° and the Gemini widget only its star. Play Store and Gmail sat beside them, Photos and YouTube moved up below, and the bottom row got a fifth icon, Settings.

   Done

7. 

   Set it back

   To undo, open Layout again, tap the old size and tap Apply. We chose Medium: the weather widget (13°) and the Ask Gemini widget with Video and Live were back to full size.

   Done

If you do not see this option

• No grid option in Settings? Our Pixel had none in the Settings app or in Home settings. Google's steps start on the home screen too: touch and hold an empty space, tap Wallpaper and style, then Layout. Source: Add apps, shortcuts & widgets to your Home screens
• Google says icon size? Google's help says to select an icon size on the Layout page, to change the number of apps per row. On ours the four choices were called Small, Medium, Large and XL. Source: Add apps, shortcuts & widgets to your Home screens
• No Wallpaper and style in the menu? Press and hold an empty part of the home screen, not an app or a widget. On ours the menu then had Wallpaper and style at the top.

If this does not work

• Widgets went small? On ours Small also shrank the weather and Gemini widgets to small versions. Choosing Medium again put them back as they were.
• Apps moved around? With Small, our apps moved up to fill the space beside the widgets. Going back to Medium put them back in their old places.
• Text too small to read? Layout changes the grid, not the text. For bigger text everywhere: text and display size on a Pixel.

About this guide

Google's Pixel help says the Layout page changes the number of apps shown per row. On our Pixel it had four sizes, from Small (more, smaller icons) to XL. Our Settings app had no grid option, and Home settings had none either.

The screenshots are from our Google Pixel 10a with Android 17 (build CP3A.261005.005), in Dark mode. We tried Small, then set Medium back.

Good to know

Notification dots, At a Glance and new app icons are in Home settings, on the same menu: home screen and search settings. The picture behind the icons: change the wallpaper.

Add a clock, weather or other widget: add a widget on a Pixel.

In short: Press and hold the home screen, Wallpaper and style, Home screen, Layout: Small, Medium, Large or XL, Apply.