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How to sort apps alphabetically on a Samsung Galaxy
In short
Swipe up on the Home screen to open the Apps screen, tap the three dots at the top right, tap Sort and choose Alphabetical order. Custom order puts the apps back where you placed them by hand.
Say you install a new app and then go swiping page after page to find it. Alphabetical order sorts your apps alphabetically. Ours was set to Custom order.
3 of 4 steps show a real screenshot from our Galaxy S26.
Steps
- 1
Open the Apps screen
Swipe up from the middle of the Home screen.
- 2
Tap the three dots at the top right, then Sort
The search bar is at the bottom of the screen on One UI 8.5 and 9. The menu also has Clean up pages, which closes gaps between apps, and Settings.
- 3
Choose Alphabetical order
The choices are Custom order and Alphabetical order. The apps are sorted A to Z at once.
- 4
Go back to your own order
Pick Custom order in the same menu to put the apps back where you placed them. We chose Alphabetical order for the picture and then set Custom order again.
If you do not see this option
- There is no Apps screen With Home screen layout set to Home screen only, Samsung says every app sits on the Home screen and swiping up shows only suggested apps and a search bar. Change it back under Settings, Home screen, Home screen layout. Source: Access and organize the apps on your Galaxy phone
- You would rather have an Apps button Samsung says Settings, Home screen, Show Apps screen button on Home screen puts a button in the corner of the Home screen that opens the Apps screen. Source: Access and organize the apps on your Galaxy phone
If this does not work
- You want your own order back Samsung says Custom order is the default. Choose it in the same Sort menu.
- An app is missing from the list An app hidden with Hide apps on Home and Apps screens is not shown. Samsung says you can still open it by typing its name in the Apps screen search bar.
- Home screen icons did not change? The Sort option is on the Apps screen. Move them by hand, or see move or remove an app from the Home screen.
- Some apps are still out of order? Open the folder to see the apps inside, or remove one from the folder: Samsung says it then goes back to its original location (the Home or Apps screens) and is not deleted.
- Gaps between apps after Custom order? Samsung's Clean up pages option closes up any gaps on the Apps screen for you. Tap the three dots, Clean up pages, then OK.
Good to know
Too many apps? how to hide apps on a Samsung Galaxy phone.
With Alphabetical order on, new apps you install slot into their place in the A to Z list instead of landing on the last page. Uninstalled apps simply drop out and the rest close up. Nothing else changes: the Home screen, your widgets and your folders stay as they are, and the setting has no effect on battery.
Folders are a tidy way to keep similar apps together. Samsung says you create one by touching and holding an app and dragging it onto another, and you can name it and change its colour. See make an app folder on a Samsung Galaxy.
About this guide
- Device
- Android
- Shown on
- Samsung Galaxy S26 (SM-S942N, Korean model), One UI 9.0, Android 17 (build CP2A.260605.016.S942NKSU5BZJB)
- Starts in
- Home screen
- Real screenshots
- 3 of 4 steps
- Checked
- November 2026
- Sources
- 1 official, linked below
The screenshots are from a Samsung Galaxy S26 with One UI 9.0 and Android 17. Samsung says which screens and settings you see can depend on your network, software version and phone model. The Apps screen shows the wallpaper behind it. Assistant app names are blurred.
Sources
Links checked November 2026. Menus and features can change with updates.Did this guide work for you?
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