Articles on: Troubleshooting

Why are some of my app icons blank or white?

If some Home Screen icons turned into blank white squares (a faint grid pattern, or an icon that doesn't respond to taps) around the time a block started or ended, the apps themselves are fine and nothing was deleted. The fastest fix: long-press the broken icon, tap Remove App, then Remove from Home Screen, and drag the app back from the App Library. Restarting your iPhone also fixes it. The cause is a known iOS bug (iOS 26.2 and later) triggered when a Strict Mode block starts or ends. It is not Detox's block screen, and it is not related to which apps you block: it hits Apple's built-in apps (like Safari, Health, Camera or Clock) even when they are not in any of your groups.


If you meant something else: your apps aren't blocking when they should → see Detox isn't blocking my apps. How do I fix it?. Detox is blocking an app you didn't expect → see Detox is blocking an app I didn't mean to block. How do I fix it?. you can't delete Detox → see Why can't I uninstall Detox?.


What it looks like


One or more icons on your Home Screen turn into a white placeholder, and tapping them may do nothing. It is always Apple's built-in apps, and usually the same ones each time. The apps still work: you can open them from the App Library or from search. It tends to happen right when a Scheduled Block or Block Now session with Strict Mode starts or ends, and a restart fixes it until the next time.


Why it happens


When a Strict Mode block starts, Detox asks iOS to prevent app deletion for the duration of the block, and releases that protection when the block ends. Since iOS 26.2, applying or releasing that protection makes iOS redraw the Home Screen, and that redraw sometimes breaks the icons of built-in Apple apps. This is an iOS bug, not something in your setup: it affects every screen time app that offers an uninstall lock, and it has been reported to Apple. Until Apple fixes it in an iOS update, the workarounds below are the only options.


Because this is not a blocking problem, Reset your blocks and Reconnect Screen Time won't help here. Your blocks keep working normally the whole time.


How to fix a broken icon


  1. Re-add the icon. Long-press the broken icon, tap Remove App, then Remove from Home Screen (not Delete App). Open the App Library, find the app, and drag it back to your Home Screen.
  2. Or restart your iPhone. Icons come back to normal after a reboot.
  3. If it keeps coming back and bothers you, turn off Strict Mode on the block that triggers it. Your block still runs normally; you lose the uninstall lock while it is active. See What is Strict Mode? for what the toggle does.



Updated on: 24/07/2026

Was this article helpful?

Share your feedback

Cancel

Thank you!