A few days ago, I was working in my office when I picked up my iPhone to look up something. I glanced at my home screen as I prepared to launch an app and then did a double-take. Something wasn’t right. The first thing I noticed was that there were only three icons at the bottom of my screen instead of the normal four, and then I saw that there was an empty spot on the first of my home screen pages, which is never the case. I didn’t think to take a picture at the time, so here is a dramatic reenactment of what I saw:
It took me a few seconds to figure out what was gone, and then I realized that the Safari and the Camera icons were missing. My first thought was that one of my kids must have gotten a hold of my iPhone and deleted an app, so I started to wonder how I could restore a missing app while I was in my office (considering that I sync my iPhone with my home computer). But then I realized that the missing apps — Safari and Camera — are built-in apps. You cannot delete those apps on the iPhone. You can, however, move them around, so I started to swipe through screens to see if my kids had moved them. But again, no luck.
Because I was trying to get work done at the time, I put down my iPhone and decided to try to resolve this issue later. But then ten minutes later, one of my partners called me to ask me how to get her Safari icon to come back. I asked her if her Camera app was also missing, and after she looked she confirmed that sure enough it was missing too. So at that point I knew that the problem was not unique to my iPhone. A quick Google search revealed that there was not some worldwide Safari and Camera outage on the iPhone affecting everyone else, but I did run across this article on the Apple website: Knowledge Base Article HT3582 “iOS: Restoring a missing Camera or Safari Application.”
The article explains: “If your iOS device is configured to use an Exchange account, your Exchange Server administrator may have configured your account with a policy to disallow use of Safari or the Camera.” Bingo. I contacted someone in my law firm’s IT department, and it turns out that a tech person was in the process of doing something to configure an iPhone when he accidentally flipped a switch that turned off the Safari and Camera apps for an entire set of users. Ouch. Apparently, the IT folks realized the problem and then fixed it, and within a few hours the two apps had reappeared.
I was afraid that they wouldn’t reappear without some additional intervention. The Apple article says: “This policy will remain in effect until you delete the Exchange account from the device. This is true even if your Exchange Server administrator later relaxes the policy to allow use of Safari or the Camera—the iOS device will not recognize the policy change. To restore use of Safari or the Camera, you will need to delete the Exchange account from the device.” That wasn’t my experience at all. After a few hours, the apps just reappeared again, on their own.
I don’t know how common a problem this is, but I must not be the only person to fall victim to it for Apple to see the need to draft and post a Knowledge Base article, last modified on July 19, 2010. If you use your iPhone in a corporate environment and you ever discover that the Safari and/or Camera apps are missing, hopefully you will remember this post and know that you should blame the IT department, not the kids.
[UPDATE: As noted by several people in the Comments to this post, another possible cause for this sort of problem is the Restrictions setting. Go to Settings -> General -> Restrictions and make sure that they are turned off. If they are turned on, one or more built-in apps can be made to not appear.]
I can report another similar iPhone 4 anomaly. Recently all of my folders slipped out into a parallel universe. That is, I unlocked the 4 and there were no folders nor any trace of them, just more well-shuffled apps than I care to admit. A Web search produced information that others had experienced the problem, but no explanation or solution. I did not brave a reset. So, I am now tediously recreating my folder structure, which is akin to playing Concentration on a well-greased tabletop with seven decks of cards.
My prime suspect is iTunes, which also recently scrambled the cover art in my i4 iPod app. By this I mean, for example, that clicking Emil Gilels’ picture plays not the Brahms Piano Concerto, but an homage to Bill Evans, indistinguishable from the real Bill Evans.
My “Photo” app screen icon disappeared from my i4. 2 1/2 hours and five phone calls to Apple Tech “Support” (on hold listening to horrendous scratchy music) later, I am offered a “phone appointment” from iTunes to attempt to resolve the issue the following day at 12:45pm.
I went through three dysfunctional 3g phones while waiting for my dysfunctional i4. I spent $360 or so for extended Apple Care protection when I bought my Mac and have had many similar nightmares with their phone support regarding it. Now, I continue the tradition with the i4
Issues might be tolerable if Apple didn’t put their customers through torture when trying to resolve them. Their customers I made to feel like an annoying but necessary evil on Steve Job’s path to success.
I woke up to find the same apps missing on my phone today too. but visual voicemail is gone. it lets me use the old school, prehistoric voicemail but that is a nuisance when i’m trying to ignore the shrieking voices of bill collectors. please tell me that reappears as well!
I had the same “missing” Camera, Safari and YouTube Icons on my Iphone 3GS..turns out, I went into “Settings” and had turned off the “Restrictions” buttons for those 3 which in turn, had removed the icons from my desktop. Turned them back “on”, and there they were happily on the desktop again 🙂
Hey Guys I had been missing those basic apps too so I turned off my restrictions in the settings folder and things “REAPPEARED”
turning off restrictions works! thanks
Turning on the restrictions fixed my 4S, as well! Thanks for the suggestion.
Same thing happened on my new 4s. my restrictions were off so i went and put the restructions on. Then i turned the camera off. then i went back in and turned it back to on and my icon came back.
Hi. May be useful to note that the Safari and Camera Icons can also go missing if they are configured incorrectly under the Restrictions function. Check these first.
Thank you sooo much people!! I’ve blamed my son for the last couple of days for deleting my ‘camera’ icon and not being able to take pictures, and actually it was my fault for messsing around with my restrictions!! Oops, one big apology is due to my son!
Thanks! ;O)
my camera tab is removed.when i went to settings to turn off restriction then it is asking a 4 digit code
[Jeff responds: I presume it is asking for the same code that you use to unlock your iPhone’s screen.]
Thanks! It worked. I would never have thought to look at Restrictions!
Thanks for your comments,it’s really helped me to get back my camera back on my iphone 3gs
Thank you
I found my camera app as well as shortcut from locked screen goes missing as soon as I set-up a second Exchange account. As soon as I disable second account the camera shortcuts reappear.
Yeah you’re right. I panicked at first, contemplating of restoring the factory settings which is tedious and time consuming on restoring the backup file. I thought my daughter had accidentally deleted it.. i said to myself… another expense will be incurred for i will be bringing to a technician. Lesson learned… be calm, focus and try not to tinker the settings/restriction.
Thanks for this info had been tearing out what little hair I have left when the ipad safari and camera disappeared on me. Removed the exchange active sync and they were both waiting for me when I exited my mail prog!
no restrictions on my phone, but still the same problem
I have delet my exchange acount and my camera apps and safari come back
THANK U A TON – After several different attempts at trying to restore my camera – it was your suggestion that worked – and I have my camera icon back – again thanks 2K pounds (A TON) Dale
Thanks !! i recovered both icons
Me, too! Thanks so much!!
It Work… THnaks For Iphone 3G Go to Setting–>General–>Restrictions and enter pascode
My phone has no restrictions , no reset , no passcode lock what can i do they are missing please help
I checked restrictions and I myself restricted these apps and forgot.
thanx
Thanks, my camera is back in iPhone 4s after putting the restriction off..
I am unable to turn off restriction.
When I put my 4 digit code in restriction it dose not work
but when I put it on lock screen it works
I am much worried about this as I have lost
Camera. App Store and safari frome my iPhone 5s
Please help me to solve this problem
I just went through not having Safari or Camera on my iPhone 4s. Through this search found to go to Settings, General, Restrictions and make sure Restrictions was turned OFF. A OK now.
Thank you very much – after googling the earth to solve my issue your article has done the trick. Could not understand for the life of me why my camera icon dissapeared, and the problem was not under Restrictions like with most people. My exchange account was the culprit, so I just deleted it and boom it appeared. Thank you, you saved me a trip to the I-Store.